Stocks experienced a mixed trading day on Friday, with European equities and US futures seeing declines while Asian markets posted gains. Investors were closely monitoring the trajectory of interest rates.
The focus was on the Bank of Japan, which decided to keep rates unchanged but hinted at a possible tightening as inflation picks up. This led to fluctuations in the yen.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 slipped as Mercedes-Benz Group AG cut its financial forecast, causing a 7.7% drop in its stock. US equity futures also edged lower following the S&P 500’s record-breaking performance. On the other hand, Asian stocks climbed by 0.8%.
The Federal Reserve’s recent 50-point rate cut boosted market confidence in its ability to manage the American economy. Fed policymakers are projecting further cuts totaling 1.5 percentage points by the end of next year.
Despite the optimism in the markets, concerns remain. Futures are indicating a more aggressive pace of rate cuts than what was suggested by the Fed’s dot plot on Wednesday. Traders are preparing for the quarterly “triple witching” event, which could amplify market movements as various derivatives contracts expire.
In commodities, gold held steady near a record high and oil was on track for its biggest weekly gain since February following the US rate cut.
Key events to watch out for this week include Eurozone consumer confidence and Canada retail sales.
Here are some of the main market moves:
Stocks:
– Stoxx Europe 600 fell by 0.4%
– S&P 500 futures declined by 0.1%
– Nasdaq 100 futures dropped by 0.2%
– MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose by 0.9%
– MSCI Emerging Markets Index increased by 0.7%
Currencies:
– Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index remained stable
– Euro rose by 0.1% to $1.1178
– Japanese yen fell by 0.2% to 142.95 per dollar
– British pound rose by 0.4% to $1.3336
Cryptocurrencies:
– Bitcoin rose by 0.8% to $63,564.01
– Ether increased by 3.7% to $2,557.4
Bonds:
– Yield on 10-year Treasuries was unchanged at 3.72%
– Germany’s 10-year yield remained stable at 2.20%
– Britain’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 3.89%
Commodities:
– Brent crude fell by 0.1% to $74.77 a barrel
– Spot gold rose by 0.9% to $2,608.82 an ounce
This article was created with the help of Bloomberg Automation and contributions from Winnie Hsu, Richard Henderson, and Sagarika Jaisinghani.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.