By IFCMarkets
US stocks booked fresh records on Friday after announcement of a phase one trade deal. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to new record 3221.22, adding 1.7% for the week. Dow Jones industrial added 0.3% to 28455. The Nasdaq gained 0.4% to 8924.96. The dollar weakening reversed as data showed personal spending and income rose more than expected in November. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, rose 0.3% to 97.66 but is lower currently. Futures on US stock indices point to higher openings today.
European stock markets ended higher on Friday. EUR/USD joined GBP/USD’s continued slide on Friday with both pairs gaining currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.7%. The DAX 30 added 0.8% Friday to 13318.90. France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.8% and UK’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 7582.48 as UK third-quarter GDP was upgraded to 0.4% quarter-on-quarter from 0.3% preliminary reading.
Asian stock indices are mixed today in subdued trading ahead of Christmas holidays. Nikkei ended 0.02% higher at 23821.11 as yen resumed climbing against the dollar. China’s markets are mixed as Beijing promised more private access to oil, telecom and power markets: the Shanghai Composite Index is 1.4% lower while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is up 0.04%. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index lost 0.5% as Australian dollar slowed its climb against the greenback.
Brent futures prices are extending losses today. Prices fell on Friday as Baker Hughes reported that the number of active US rigs drilling for oil rose by 18 to 685 last week, a second straight weekly rise in rigs: Brent for February settlement lost 0.6% to $66.14 a barrel Friday. Saudi Aramco shares extended their losses for a fourth session on Sunday. Shares closed 0.6% down at 35.30 Saudi riyals. Saudi Aramco started trading publicly on December 11. It became the world’s largest corporation, worth just under $2 trillion. Foreign investment is limited yet as it trades on the Tadawul, Saudi Arabia’s exchange, which limits foreign investment. The IPO was structured so that retail investors can get one share for every 10 shares they hold, up to a hundred shares if they hold their shares for 180 uninterrupted days. Retail investors have represented one third of the offerings.
Gold prices are recovering today. Prices retreated on Friday as dollar resumed strengthening: February gold lost 0.26% to $1480.90 an ounce Friday.
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