The world’s major stock markets mostly rose and oil prices steadied Friday as investors awaited US jobs data for an update on the world’s biggest economy, faced with soaring global inflation.
Also Friday, the International Energy Agency was holding an emergency meeting on possible new measures to calm oil prices fuelled by the reopening of economies post pandemic lockdowns and following the invasion of Ukraine by major crude producer Russia.
Fallout from the war sent consumer prices in the eurozone surging by a record 7.5 percent, EU statistics agency Eurostat said heading into the weekend.
“Investor concerns have persisted about the continuing conflict in Ukraine and its inflationary effect on prices and, of course, the Federal Reserve’s response,” noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
“Fed rate hike expectations should react asymmetrically to any surprises in Friday’s US employment report for March.”
The Fed has joined other central banks in hiking interest rates to combat decades-high inflation that is curbing economic growth.
Stock markets were slightly upbeat Friday after their worst quarter since the early days of the pandemic.
Traders are struggling to ascertain the outlook for the next three months, largely owing to uncertainty over energy prices.
The second quarter of 2022 “is going to start as messily as the first quarter has finished, with markets buffeted by a multitude of strong winds from various directions, with the outcome no clearer for the future than ever”, said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at OANDA, a foreign exchange firm.
The upcoming earnings season will be closely watched to see what impact higher inflation and the war has had on firms’ bottom line and their forecasts for the year ahead.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced a record release of oil onto the market — one million barrels of US government oil every day for six months.
Biden described the move as a “wartime” measure that will defuse Russia’s leverage as an energy power.
However, while the move to ease a global supply crisis was welcomed, commentators warned it would only be a stopgap and could not be a long-term solution.
“It is worth keeping in mind that 180 million barrels is approximately nine days of US demand,” said Innes.
“And while one million barrels per day is better than nothing and can help balance the four million a day lost from Russia for about six months, what happens after?”
US oil prices briefly dropped under $100 on Friday.
– Key figures around 1100 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,526.49 points
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 14,459.17
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 6,692.75
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 3,925.83
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 27,665.98 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 22,039.55 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,282.72 (close)
New York – Dow: DOWN 1.6 percent at 34,678.35 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.3 percent at $104.97 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $100.20 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1063 from $1.1067 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3144 from $1.3143
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.15 pence from 84.20 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 122.39 yen from 121.69 yen
