New York (AFP) – Major US stock indices closed at fresh records Wednesday following a US-Vietnam trade deal, while oil prices jumped after Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at records for the third time in four days after Trump reached an accord with Vietnam. “Little by little, we are coming to agreements,” said Sam Stovall of CFRA Research. This “should be regarded as positive.”
The Vietnam announcement bolsters hopes about additional US trade accords and helped offset a report that showed private-sector US employers shed 33,000 jobs in June. The strong performance in US stocks also came in spite of a rise in US Treasury yields that suggests unease in the bond market as Congress weighs Trump’s massive tax and spending package that has been projected to swell US debt. Optimism over the bill’s extension of deep tax cuts has been offset by concerns it will add around $3 trillion to the US national debt. “It’s driven a wedge between stocks and bonds,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital Management. “Equity markets are applauding the tax cuts…bond markets are concerned about the long-term effects.”
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.1 percent and the pound lost around one percent against the dollar on speculation over the future of British finance minister Rachel Reeves. Reeves appeared visibly upset in parliament a day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government U-turned over key welfare reforms, wiping out a multibillion-pound boost to public finances and triggering speculation that she could lose her job. “The prospect of political turmoil is causing bond yields to rise. The market is pricing in the possibility of a replacement chancellor with a more left-leaning agenda, which is spooking the bond market and waking up the bond vigilantes from their slumber,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. Brooks added that axing Reeves would be “a strange choice” from a market perspective.
Oil prices jumped about three percent as analysts cited a revived chance of fighting between Iran and Israel. On June 25, a day after a ceasefire took hold between the two countries, Iranian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to suspend cooperation with the Vienna-based IAEA. State media confirmed on Wednesday that the legislation had now taken effect. Washington, which has been pressing Tehran to resume the negotiations that were interrupted by Israel’s military action on June 13, said the Iranian decision was “unacceptable.” “We’ll use the word unacceptable, that Iran chose to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
– Key figures at around 2040 GMT –
New York – Dow: FLAT at 44,484.42 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,227.42 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.9 percent at 20,393.13 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,774.69 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,738.42 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 23,790.11 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 39,762.48 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 24,221.41 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,454.79 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1801 from $1.1806 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3634 from $1.3746
Dollar/yen: UP at 143.65 yen from 143.42 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.52 pence from 85.88 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.0 percent at $69.11 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.1 percent at $67.45 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
