New York (AFP) – US stock indices rocketed to fresh records as markets digested disappointing US jobs data, while political upheaval in France lifted the European country’s borrowing rate. The US Labor Department estimated that 911,000 fewer jobs were created in the United States than previously reported in a revision to data for the 12 months ending in March. The figures suggest the job market has been slowing for longer than previously thought, further bolstering the odds of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts following poor monthly reports for July and August.
After last month’s big miss on US jobs creation, “these revisions suggest that jobs momentum is being lost from an even weaker position than originally thought,” said analysts at ING. Investors are now looking to consumer inflation data coming Thursday, since a hot reading could keep the Fed from cutting further as it looks to curb price increases. After sluggish trading early in the day, US indices picked up momentum throughout the session. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all finished at records.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei briefly spiked to a new record before ending lower amid hopes that whoever replaces Shigeru Ishiba as prime minister will unveil a fresh round of economic stimulus. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party will pick its new leader on October 4 to replace Ishiba, who resigned at the weekend after huge election setbacks. In Paris, the CAC 40 index moved higher after French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou submitted his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of his government’s ousting. Bayrou on Monday suffered a crushing loss in a confidence vote he called in parliament, seeking support for more than 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in budget cuts to rein in France’s debt.
France’s borrowing costs briefly exceeded those of traditional European debt-laggard Italy on Tuesday, ahead of an update on the country’s credit rating from Fitch on Friday. However, “for now, the market impact seems limited,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, agreed that “a genuine financial crisis with a self-reinforcing doom loop (higher yields = bigger deficits = even higher yields…) remains quite unlikely for the time being.”
Gold, an investment haven in uncertain times, extended its record run, hitting an all-time high of over $3,680 an ounce. Oil prices moved higher after Israel’s strikes on Qatar added to worries of a broadening of the Middle East conflict.
On the corporate front, British mining group Anglo American and its Canadian peer Teck Resources announced plans for a multi-billion-dollar merger, creating a behemoth of copper production and of other critical minerals. Anglo American shares ended nine percent higher in London, while Teck’s stock jumped 11.3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares in rival miners jumped on their coattails.
Indonesian stocks and the rupiah tumbled after President Prabowo Subianto removed Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in a cabinet reshuffle following fatal anti-government protests across the country.
**Key figures at around 2110 GMT:**
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 45,711.34 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 6,512.61 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 21,879.49 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,242.53 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,749.39 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,718.45 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 43,459.29 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 25,938.13 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,807.29 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1707 from $1.1763 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3527 from $1.3545
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.42 from 147.50 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.57 pence from 86.84 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $66.39 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $62.63 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
