London (AFP) – Stock markets advanced Friday despite mixed US jobs data and as traders awaited a possible Supreme Court ruling on US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. The US economy added 50,000 jobs last month according to the Labor Department, below market expectations, and capping off a year of weakness in the job market that had prompted the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. However, the unemployment rate slipped to 4.4 percent and average wages continued to rise.
“The key takeaway is that the low unemployment rate will temper concerns that consumer spending and the economy will slow rapidly due to a weak labour market,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. However, “It will also likely keep the Fed’s next rate cut at bay.” The report is expected to play a key role in the central bank’s decision-making at its next policy meeting this month. The Fed indicated last month that its next move could be a pause after three successive cuts, and Friday’s data failed to boost expectations of a January cut.
Wall Street’s major indices opened higher, with the blue-chip Dow adding 0.2 percent. The US jobs data “keeps the goldilocks scenario intact for stocks,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada, as the labour market weakness enables the Fed to cut rates without threatening a recession. Most stock markets have enjoyed a solid start to the new year, with indexes in Frankfurt, London, Paris and Seoul hitting record highs this week, largely on optimism for the tech sector and gains in defence sector shares.
Swiss mining giant Glencore jumped ten percent to top London’s FTSE 100 index after confirming it was in merger talks with Australian-British rival Rio Tinto, which fell two percent. Europe’s main markets were higher in afternoon trading, with Paris setting a new all-time high, even as France’s opposition failed to derail EU approval of the trade deal with Brazil and other nations in the Mercosur bloc. Investors were also keeping watch on a potential US Supreme Court ruling on the legality of many of Trump’s punishing tariffs. A ruling against the government could have a huge impact on its economic and fiscal plans, despite pledges that tariffs could be re-imposed by other means.
Briefing.com’s O’Hare said to watch the reaction of the bond market to the ruling. “They will ultimately be the judge and jury on what any IEEPA ruling means in the near term for the economy and the market,” he said, referring to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump used to impose the tariffs.
Asian markets also mostly rose, with Hong Kong and Shanghai helped by figures showing that Chinese inflation rose more than expected last month, extending a period of growth following months of deflationary pressure. The 0.8 percent increase in consumer prices was the fastest pace since February 2023, though analysts noted that the increase was mainly for food costs, masking broader weaknesses.
Oil prices extended their gains after rallying more than three percent Thursday, after Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard” if the authorities killed protesters amid mounting civil unrest over an economic crisis. They were up more than one percent on Friday after Trump said the world’s biggest oil companies pledged to invest $100 billion to revive Venezuela’s oil sector as he prepared for a meeting with top industry executives.
– Key figures at around 1430 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 49,357.63 points
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,931.76
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP less than 0.1 percent at 23,491.13
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,104.42
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.2 percent at 8,335.41
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 25,262.83
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 51,939.89 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 26,231.79 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 4,120.43 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1638 from $1.1652 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3417 from $1.3432
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.94 yen from 157.16 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.76 pence from 86.75 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.8 percent at $58.82 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.7 percent at $63.03 per barrel.
© 2024 AFP
