London (AFP) – Global stock markets and the dollar diverged Friday as investors awaited US jobs data for signs of possible cuts to interest rates in the world’s biggest economy. It comes at the end of a volatile week for assets caused by US President Donald Trump’s move to impose tariffs on key trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico.
“All eyes will be on US jobs figures later today,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “The market is expecting a big drop in non-farm payrolls in January…likely impacted by the LA fires and cold weather,” he added. A below forecast reading could rekindle hopes of further US interest rate cuts, analysts said, after the Federal Reserve kept borrowing costs steady last week. The latest figures will be looked at particularly closely as they contain annual revisions for “the previous five years of payrolls,” noted Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.
Wall Street provided a broadly positive lead Thursday, despite a disappointing earnings release from Amazon—a day after a similar result from Google-Parent Alphabet. On Friday, European stock markets performed steadily having recovered from heavy losses at the start of the week. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index hit a fresh record high Thursday, as listed multinationals earning in dollars benefited from a slump in the pound.
Sterling had retreated sharply after the Bank of England halved its forecast for UK economic growth this year, citing the possibility of Trump imposing tariffs on British imports. The BoE also cut its main interest rate amid deteriorating business confidence in the UK—and forecast that the country would experience higher-than-expected inflation in the coming months owing to elevated energy bills.
The FTSE 100 fell overall Friday in morning deals but there were some bright spots. Insurer Legal & General saw its share price jump five percent after the group announced the sale of its US insurance arm for $2.3 billion. In Frankfurt, which has also hit new heights this week, Porsche slid more than five percent after the luxury carmaker’s forecasts for the year ahead disappointed expectations.
Gold was another shining performer this week, reaching a new all-time peak as the precious metal profits from its status as a haven investment. Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets closed solidly higher Friday thanks to gains across technology firms. Chinese startup Deepseek has shaken up the race for AI supremacy, spooking US tech companies. Tokyo stocks were weighed by a stronger yen, which picked up this week after Bank of Japan board member, Naoki Tamura, said he wanted borrowing costs to increase.
**Key figures around 1100 GMT:**
– London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,701.83
– Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,998.01
– Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 21,922.26
– Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent to 38,787.02 (close)
– Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent to 21,133.54 (close)
– Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.0 percent to 3,303.67 (close)
– New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,747.63 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0379 from $1.0387 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2451 from $1.2436
Dollar/yen: UP at 152.16 yen from 151.47 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.36 pence from 83.50 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $74.84 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $71.12 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
