Global Markets Update
- U.S. equity markets closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones up +1.3%, with Banks leading the gains as rising yields increased the outlook for profits. NASDAQ was up +1.0% and S&P 500 closed +1.1% higher, after the Federal Reserve said the widening Covid-19 vaccination program has helped the U.S. economy stage a robust rebound, while pledging that monetary policy will continue to provide “powerful support.”
- Long-dated U.S. treasury yields were higher, with the 2-Yr yield at 0.213% and the 10-Yr yield at 1.360%.
- European markets. European equity markets closed higher on Friday with the Stoxx Europe 600 up +1.3%, with investors continuing to rotate out of more economically sensitive sectors as finance ministers and central bankers from G-20 warned that coronavirus variants present continued risks to growth even as the overall outlook brightens. The U.K. FTSE 100 was up +1.3% and German DAX closed +1.7% higher.
- Asian markets. Asian equity markets closed mixed on Friday, with the Shanghai Composite flat as worries over global trade with
the U.S. adding 34 entities to its economic blacklist, including 14 Chinese enterprises that are alleged to be involved in human-rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, were mostly offset by investor sentiment buoyed by China’s move to boost lending to help the economy with authorities cutting the reserve requirement ratio for most banks, unleashing about 1 trillion yuan of long-term liquidity into the economy from July 15. The Hang Seng was up +0.7%, KOSPI down -1.1% and Nikkei 225 declined -0.6%. China’s factory inflation peaked and started to ease in June with PPI rising +8.8% yoy, as a stronger dollar and government measures helped to cool commodity prices, and CPI increased +1.1% yoy in the month.
- WTI oil is trading at US$74.56 a barrel. Iron ore price is at US$212.25 per ton. Spot gold is trading at US$1,808 per oz.
ASX Market Update
- ASX performance. The ASX 200 closed -0.93% lower on Friday.
- Viva Energy Group Ltd (VEA) was up +5.1%, after the Company said it now expects to record underlying group EBITDA of $390-410m in the first half versus $269.3m in pcp.
- Today’s trading. In Japan, PPI and machine tool orders data is to be published.