London (AFP) – Global stock markets and the dollar mostly firmed Monday as fresh hopes for a US interest-rate cut provided calm after last week’s rollercoaster ride fuelled by worries of an AI tech bubble.
“In a week that is stunted by the Thanksgiving celebrations, there is a degree of hope that perhaps the worst is behind us, and we can get into a more festive mood,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets.
“The stage seems set for a continued rebound as another Fed member joins in calls for a December rate cut, while a call between the US and Chinese leaders also helped to bolster sentiment,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
After a cautious start to a holiday-shortened week, a little over two hours into the session, Wall Street’s Dow index rose 0.7 percent while the tech-rich Nasdaq barrelled ahead 2.3 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 was up 0.7 percent.
Major European markets were a little more cautious. Frankfurt closed 0.6 percent ahead after German business sentiment fell more than expected in November, the latest sign that industry is losing faith in the government’s plans to revive the economy.
London ended just 0.1 percent in the green ahead of the UK government’s annual budget on Wednesday, while Paris closed down 0.3 percent.
Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong closed up 2.0 percent and Tokyo was shut for a Japanese public holiday. The scramble to snap up artificial intelligence stakes has propelled equities skywards this year, pushing several companies to records — with chip titan Nvidia last month becoming the first company to top $5 trillion.
Monday saw Nvidia shares up 1.7 percent mid-session while Google parent company Alphabet added almost 5.0 percent as it continues to bask in its first-ever $100 billion quarterly revenue and to surf the AI wave. Recent weeks have nonetheless seen investors grow increasingly fearful that the vast sums pumped into tech may have been overdone and could take time to see profits realized, leading to warnings of a possible market correction.
That has been compounded in recent weeks by falling expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates for a third successive time next month, as stubbornly high inflation overshadows weakness in the US labour market. However, risk appetite was given a shot in the arm Friday when New York Fed boss John Williams said he still sees “room for a further adjustment” at the bank’s December 9-10 policy meeting. His comments came a day after figures showed that while more jobs were created in September, the unemployment rate crept up to its highest level since 2021.
Focus is now on the release this week of the US producer price index (PPI), one of the last major data points before officials gather, with other key reports postponed or missed because of the recent government shutdown.
**Key figures at around 1645 GMT:**
– New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 46,548.11 points
– New York – S&P 500: UP 1.4 percent at 6,695.21
– New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 2.3 percent at 22,794.95
– London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,553.21 (close)
– Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,959.57 (close)
– Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 23,239.18 (close)
– Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.0 percent at 25,716.50 (close)
– Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,836.77 (close)
– Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
**Exchange Rates:**
– Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1525 from $1.1519 on Friday
– Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3093 from $1.3107
– Dollar/yen: UP at 156.80 yen from 156.39 yen
– Euro/pound: UP at 87.96 pence from 87.88 pence
**Commodities:**
– Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $62.97 per barrel
– West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $58.40 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
