Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Global stock markets diverge

By AFP
06 February 2017   |   12:59 pm
World stock markets diverged on Monday as investors tracked a record on Wall Street fuelled by a better-than-expected jump in US jobs.

Traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City. Kena Betancur/Getty Images/AFP

World stock markets diverged on Monday as investors tracked a record on Wall Street fuelled by a better-than-expected jump in US jobs.

Among individual sectors, financials were boosted by US President Donald Trump’s review of trading regulations, an analyst said.

However, the dollar’s struggles extended as the employment report also showed tepid wage growth, which chimed with the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates only gradually.

“Transatlantic politics remains ever dominant,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.

While the week has started on a positive note, investors are on edge as they try to assess how a Trump presidency will affect the global economy following his outbursts against trade deals and accusations Japan and China were manipulating their currencies.

New York’s main indices provided a positive lead Friday, with the Dow bouncing back above 20,000 points and the Nasdaq hitting an all-time high after figures showed 227,000 new jobs were created in January.

Tokyo ended 0.3 percent higher Monday, while Hong Kong added one percent and Shanghai closed up 0.5 percent.

Around midday in Europe, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.2 percent compared with the close on Friday.

The Paris CAC 40 index was flat, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 0.3 percent.

– Trump’s financial reforms –
The global banking sector meanwhile cheered Trump’s order to review key reforms enacted after the 2008 financial crisis.

The announcement was the first step towards scaling back tougher regulations on the banking industry, with Trump having promised to cut red tape to try to fire up the world’s top economy.

“President Donald Trump has proven to be one of the biggest influences on global markets since winning the US election,” said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG trading group.

“Friday’s comments regarding a wish to reduce financial regulations provides yet another batch of winners, with banks rallying sharply.”

Key figures around 1115 GMT
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,201.30 points

Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 0.3 percent at 11,613.98

Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 4,824.68

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,269.36

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 18,976.71 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 1.0 percent at 23,348.24 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,156.98 (close)

New York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 20,071.46 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0742 from $1.0782

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2493 from $1.2482

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 112.59 yen from 112.61 yen

Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 10 cents at $53.93 per barrel

Oil – Brent North Sea: DOWN four cents at $56.77

In this article

0 Comments