Global stock markets ended the week on a sour note Friday after US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell indicated a slower pace of interest-rate cuts.After Powell indicated the Fed was in no hurry to cut rates as it monitors inflation’s path towards the bank’s target, Wall Street turned red with the Dow off 0.7 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 2.2 percent adrift some two hours into trading.Leading the way down notably were a clutch of leading vaccine-makers’ stocks after US president-elect Donald Trump indicated he would appoint vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr as his health secretary.Tokyo had ended just in the green, with other major Asian markets stalling.In Europe, London was off just 0.1 percent, digesting disappointing growth data. Frankfurt and Paris also ended in the red to round off a painful week fuelled by worries about another disruptive China-US trade war under Trump.Disappointing US retail sales in October did not help overall sentiment as oil prices also drifted down.”The post-election rally paused for breath, with the latest Fed comments on the economy stopping the surge in its tracks,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.In a speech Thursday, Powell said that “the economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates”.While the central bank is expected to cut interest rates again next month, investors are scaling back their bets on how many cuts will be made next year.Investors are worried that tax cuts and tariffs planned by Trump could reignite inflation.”The (Trump) administration’s renewed focus on tariffs could weigh heavily on currencies of trade-exposed economies, particularly those in Asia and the eurozone,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets.European markets stuttered as the European Commission predicted economic growth would pick up slightly and inflation would keep falling in the eurozone next year, but warned of growing risks linked to geopolitical tensions.London stocks edged down after official data showed the UK economy grew less than expected in the third quarter, with finance minister Rachel Reeves saying she was “not satisfied” with the latest reading.In Asia, Shanghai shed 1.5 percent but Tokyo rose despite data showing a slowdown in Japanese economic growth.China’s retail sales beat expectations, expanding 4.8 percent on-year in October, data showed Friday, lifting hopes for the world’s number two economy. It was also the best performance since February.The figures provided optimism that the country’s consumers are becoming more confident and follows a slew of measures out of Beijing in recent weeks aimed at kickstarting growth.”Policymakers will need to continue to provide decisive support to sustain the momentum,” said Erin Xin and Taylor Wang at HSBC Global Research.Bitcoin clambered back above $89,000 meanwhile, two days after striking a record of $93,462.Observers have predicted the unit may soon break the $100,000 mark after Trump’s pro-crypto comments during his election campaign.- Key figures around 1645 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 43,424.13 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.4 percent at 5,866.05New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 2.2 percent at 18,676.98London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,063.61 (close) Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,269.63 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 19,210.81 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 38,642.91 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,426.34 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 3,330. 73 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0548 from $1.0524Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2622 from $1.2662Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.55 yen from 156.28 yen on ThursdayEuro/pound: UP at 83.57 pence from 83.11 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.6 percent at $67.59 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $71.55 per barrel
Fri, 15 Nov 2024 17:21:48 GMT
