New York (AFP) – World stock markets gave a mixed picture on Friday, with sentiment underpinned by hopes for sustained US central bank rate cuts, but nagging inflationary worries limiting the gains in bourses that advanced. Market optimists now expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates not just this month, but also on several more occasions throughout next year. Such expectations are, however, contingent on tame inflation in the United States.
On that front, Friday’s personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation — was less than reassuring, analysts said. The PCE reading, which came in line with forecasts, “should cement a rate cut at next week’s Fed meeting,” said Bret Kenwell, US Investment Analyst at eToro, a trading firm. But, he cautioned, “it continues to point toward a sticky inflation situation.” Optimism on a series of 2026 rate cuts has been mostly based on reports reinforcing the view that the US jobs market is softening.
Friday’s PCE report rose to 2.8 percent on an annual basis in September from 2.7 percent in August, a release delayed by the lengthy US government shutdown. US markets largely shrugged off the inflation report. All three major indices in New York finished modestly higher, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.2 percent.
Netflix’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, announced before Wall Street’s opening, upstaged other business stories. The $83 billion deal represents the biggest consolidation in the entertainment sector this decade but could, according to analysts, run into regulatory problems because of its size. The deal also sparked opposition on Capitol Hill and in Hollywood, where Variety’s front-page headline read: “Is Netflix Trying to Buy Warner Bros. or Kill It?” Netflix shares finished down around three percent, while Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped 6.3 percent.
Earlier Friday in Asia, Mumbai equities won a boost from a rate cut by the Indian central bank. The rupee, which this week hit a record low against the dollar, rose. On the corporate front in Asia, shares in Chinese group Moore Threads Technology, which makes chips for the artificial intelligence sector, soared more than 500 percent on its market debut in Shanghai after the company raised $1.1 billion in an initial public offering. “This IPO has become a barometer for faith in China’s next-gen AI‑chip ambitions,” said Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone.
In Europe, shares in Swiss Re were down more than six percent at the close after the reinsurance giant’s profit target for 2026 and plans for share buybacks disappointed financial analysts.
**Key figures at around 2115 GMT**
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 47,954.99 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,870.40 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.3 percent at 23,578.13 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 9,667.01 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,114.74 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 24,028.14 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 50,491.87 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 26,085.08 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,902.81 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1642 from $1.1644 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3329 from $1.3327
Dollar/yen: UP at 155.32 yen from 155.10 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.35 pence from 87.37 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $63.75 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $60.08 per barrel
burs-jmb/aha
© 2024 AFP
