New York (AFP) – Stock markets wavered on Friday as investors digested mixed American economic data and monitored a landmark US-Russia summit aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. In choreographed drama, US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin each arrived in their presidential jets and greeted one another on the tarmac of a US air base, before walking a red carpet together to an honor guard salute.
Trump, setting off for the Alaska meeting with Putin, had described his Russian counterpart as a “smart guy” and hailed a “good respect level” on both sides. The possibility of an end to a conflict that Putin began in 2022 had put the markets in an optimistic mood, analysts said, although oil prices had been volatile owing to Russia’s status as a major producer and uncertainty over the summit’s outcome. After rallying about two percent on Thursday, oil prices gave back most of those gains on Friday. Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower following a mixed round of economic data. London and Frankfurt ended lower while Paris rallied to finish in positive territory. Tokyo’s main stocks index extended a record run higher following Japanese economic growth data that beat expectations.
US retail sales climbed 0.5 percent in July to $726.3 billion from June, in line with analyst expectations and a solid performance after numerous tariff announcements by Trump. But the Federal Reserve’s index for industrial production edged down in July, while the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey fell for the first time in four months. Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers said Friday’s reports amounted to a “difficult combination” of data that the market took in stride. “When the news is good, (stocks) react really positively,” he said. “And when the news isn’t good, they just go down a little.”
Trump continued his tariff campaign on Friday, saying he would soon announce massive import duties on semiconductors. Shares in chip giants Nvidia and AMD were down following the news. Markets were also waiting for the Trump-Putin meeting, with Russia’s foreign minister saying his country would not make guesses on the outcome. Putin, landing in Alaska, stepped onto Western soil for the first time since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a war that has killed tens of thousands of people. Every word and gesture will be closely watched by European leaders and by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited and has publicly refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia.
– Key figures at around 1540 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 44,946.12 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 at 6,449.80 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.4 percent at 21,622.98 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,138.90 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,923.45 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,539.30 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 43,378.31 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 25,264.47 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,696.77 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1704 from $1.1648 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3557 from $1.3532
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.85 yen from 147.76
Euro/pound: UP at 86.34 pence from 86.07 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.8 percent at $62.80 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $65.85 per barrel
burs-jmb/mlm
© 2024 AFP
