New York (AFP) – Oil prices barreled higher again Thursday, extending their volatile run, while global stock markets had a mixed day ahead of key US employment data. With traders awaiting developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, the main oil contracts rose, Brent crude adding nearly four percent, while the main US contract WTI added nearly three percent.
Reports that a potential agreement bars US and Israeli vessels from entering the Strait have dampened expectations, said Again Capital’s John Kilduff. “This situation is just far from settled and you can only give hope so much of a chance, so the market is taking back some of the optimism about the situation,” Kilduff said. The rebound in oil prices weighed on US equity markets, with the Dow retreating from a record close and the Nasdaq ending flat. Adding to the caution, US investors are looking ahead to Friday’s monthly government jobs report.
European main indices closed mixed with London’s FTSE 100 losing 0.2 percent while Frankfurt and Paris climbed modestly, though fresh highs proved elusive. “Rising oil prices have crimped some of the optimism seen earlier in the week — but the price is still much lower than a week ago, providing a positive tailwind as we move into the second week of August,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading and investing platform IG.
Alcohol giant Diageo jumped seven percent to top London’s FTSE 100 index as it unveiled a major cost-cutting plan aiming to reverse sliding profits. Shares in the German industrial giant Siemens fell five percent in Frankfurt, but pulled more than half of that back, after its profit forecasts fell short of investors’ hopes.
In Asia, tech-heavy indices were weighed down by concerns over the profitability of AI investments after disappointing earnings from US giants SanDisk and Western Digital. Tech stocks staged a rally earlier this week after a month-long rout that slashed billions of dollars off valuations. Seoul, the poster child of the sell-off since June, shed more than four percent on Thursday, led by a 10 percent plunge in SK hynix and Samsung’s loss of more than six percent. Tokyo’s Nikkei, another tech-heavy index, lost nearly one percent, with chipmaker Kioxia down more than 10 percent and Tokyo Electron more than five percent lower. Hong Kong, Wellington, Manila, and Taipei fell, but Shanghai, Sydney, and Singapore rose.
– Key figures around 2020 GMT –
New York – DOW: DOWN 0.9 percent at 53,885.10 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,709.96 (close)
New York – NASDAQ Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,348.35 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,867.89 points (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 8,699.71 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 26,140.18 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 65,683.26 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 25,530.28 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,900.35 (close)
Seoul – Kospi: DOWN 4.6 percent at 6,296.38 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.40 yen from 157.75 yen on Wednesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1524 from $1.1553
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3456 from $1.3468
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.65 pence at 85.78 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.8 percent at $82.49 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.8 percent at $77.29 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
