Please share this page with the world
In European Equity Markets stocks were
steady on Friday with the focus on lenders after Deutsche Bank and
Credit Suisse settled mortgage securities fraud suits in the United
States, and Italy's Monte dei Paschi agreed to a bailout. The STOXX
Europe 600 was flat at its close and unchanged for the week, but
the index still on track for its best month since October
2015. Deutsche Bank trimmed early gains to end 0.3
percent higher after it agreed to a $7.2 billion settlement with
the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) over its sale of toxic
mortgage securities before the 2008 financial
crisis. Dutch insurer NN Group rose 3.7 percent after it
reached an agreement to buy Delta Lloyd. NN had nudged up its
unsolicited offer by 1.9 percent to 2.5 billion
euros.
In Currency Markets the dollar held steady
on Friday, lingering about half a percent below a 14-year peak set
earlier this week, as traders moved to the sidelines ahead of the
Christmas holiday weekend. With Japan markets closed for a holiday,
the yen edged up 0.1 percent against the euro and the dollar at
122.47 yen and 117.38 yen, respectively. The euro was up
0.13 percent at $1.0450, while sterling lost 0.15
percent to seven-week lows of $1.2267. The Australian
and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with Aussie down
0.76 percent at $0.7163 and with Kiwi falling 0.58
percent to $0.6865. The
dollar index was marginally firmer at 103.14, recovering from an
earlier low of 102.89.
In
Commodities
Markets
oil edged lower on Friday ahead of the Christmas and New Year
holiday week as the market waited to see how OPEC would manage its
planned output cuts with Libya expecting to boost production. Brent
futures for February delivery were down 0.3 percent, at $54.89 a
barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4 percent, to
$52.73 per barrel. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,131.66 an
ounce, while U.S. gold futures for February delivery were up $2.60
an ounce at $1,133.30. Silver was down 0.4 percent at $15.71, while
platinum was 0.1 percent lower at $901.40 an ounce and palladium
was down 0.3 percent at $652.75.
In
US Equity
Markets stocks
were lower in afternoon trading on Friday as investors
held back from making big bets ahead of the holiday season, but the
three major indexes were still on track to post weekly gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down
0.04 percent, at 19,911.49. The S&P 500 was down 0.22 points at
2,260.74 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 3.41 points at
5,450.83. Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were
lower, although losses were modest. The consumer discretionary
index's 0.22 percent fall lead the decliners. Fred's rose 3.9
percent after Alden Global Capital reported a stake of 24.8 percent
in the discount store operator. Cintas fell 3.6 percent after
the uniforms supplier cut the lower end of its revenue
forecast.
In
Bond
Markets U.S.
Treasury prices were firmer on Friday in thin volumes as investors
prepared for the three-day Christmas holiday weekend. Benchmark
10-year notes gained 4/32 in price to yield 2.54 percent, down from
2.55 percent late on Thursday. U.S. two-year Treasury yield was
1.197 percent, little changed on the day. Italian 10-year yields
declined five basis points to 1.80 percent, while German bund
yields slid three basis points to 0.22 percent.