London (AFP) – Global stocks on Friday mostly held onto gains made earlier this week on expectations of a cut to US interest rates. Wall Street opened mixed after reaching fresh record highs the previous day as US inflation and jobless claims data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will trim borrowing costs at its meeting next week.
“Stock markets (are) at record highs on hopes for falling interest rates,” noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown. Markets expect the Fed to cut interest rates by a quarter point next week and make another two cuts of the same size at its two remaining meetings this year. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said a lack of buying conviction on Wall Street wasn’t notable, but rather the lack of selling conviction despite reaching new all-time highs, which could spark concerns about valuations. “The market is effectively riding the trend until the price action tells it to jump off that ride,” said O’Hare. “That message hasn’t been delivered yet.”
European stock markets were steady in afternoon trading, while Asia’s main indices made gains. There were fresh records this week also for the Tokyo and Seoul stock markets, while London on Friday neared a new all-time high. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 rose thanks to a drop in the British pound following data showing the UK economy stalled in July. “While the data underscores the fragile state of the UK economy, sterling weakness and continued strength in energy and financial names are helping the index outperform broader European peers,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets.
Hong Kong led the way among Asia’s top stock markets on Friday, closing up more than one percent thanks to a surge of more than five percent in the share price of Alibaba. The e-commerce titan’s New York stock had spiked eight percent Thursday, helped by its latest moves in the artificial intelligence sector. This week saw also more record highs for the price of gold, viewed as a safe haven investment, following escalating tensions over the Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine conflicts.
Russia’s central bank on Friday trimmed its key interest rate to 17 percent as the country risks an economic slowdown. The Bank of England is next week widely expected to keep its key rate on hold as elevated UK inflation offsets stagnant growth. The European Central Bank on Thursday held interest rates steady with eurozone inflation under control and trade tensions having eased, even as France’s political crisis presents policymakers with a fresh challenge.
– Key figures at around 1330 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 46,015.94 points
New York – S&P 500: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 6,583.93
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 22,072.28
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,328.56
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,831.03
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 23,693.87
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 percent at 44,768.12 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 26,388.16 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,870.60 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1710 from $1.1732 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3540 from $1.3580
Dollar/yen: UP at 147.82 from 147.18 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.48 pence from 86.43 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $67.37 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $63.22 per barrel
burs-rl/lth
© 2024 AFP
