U.S. President Donald Trump’s first solo news conference on
Thursday, where he took a combative stance against the news media and deflected
questions about contacts between his presidential campaign and Russian
operatives, also gave investors pause. “Apart from a reflection of the slight
easing in U.S. market momentum after several strong days, investors are making
some greater allowance for rising risk,” said Angus Gluskie, managing director
of White Funds Management in Sydney. “Trump’s erratic performance in the press
conference has had a destabilising influence on investor confidence.”
The arrest of Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee over his alleged
role in a government corruption scandal is also a source of concern, Gluskie
said. Until Thursday, the index had beaten its previous intraday highs for
seven consecutive sessions, and closed at 19-month highs in the past two. A
batch of positive economic data out of Asia this week, driven by improving
exports and rising commodity prices, has bolstered shares, although concerns
linger that any protectionist threats posed by U.S. President Donald Trump
could reverse the recovery. On Friday, Singapore revised its fourth-quarter
gross domestic product growth sharply higher. Earlier in the week, Taiwan
raised its 2017 economic growth target to a three-year high, Indonesia’s
January exports rose at the fastest pace in more than five years and China’s
January inflation picked up by more than expected to near six-year highs.
Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.6 percent, set to close 0.7 percent lower
for the week. Australian shares were down 0.1 percent, shrinking the week’s
gains to 1.5 percent. Chinese shares slipped after earlier touching a near
two-month high after the securities regulator said that, starting Friday, it
will relax certain rules on stock index futures trading as the government
starts to gradually unwind restrictions imposed during the 2015 stock market
crash.
The CSI 300 index lost almost 0.1 percent after gaining as much
as 0.5 percent, on track for a weekly advance of 0.7 percent. Hong Kong shares
dropped 0.3 percent, but are still poised to close up almost 2 percent for the
week. The dollar edged up tentatively, but remained near the one-week low hit
on Thursday, when it posted its biggest one-day drop in more than two weeks, as
uncertainty about the timing of the next Federal Reserve rate hike offset the
impact of stronger economic data.
Manufacturing activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region surged to
its highest in 33 years, housing data indicated a recovery in the sector was on
track, and weekly jobless claims pointed to a labour market that continues to
tighten. But traders concluded that Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s
economic testimony before Congress on Wednesday didn’t offer enough
conviction that the central bank would raise rates at its next meeting in
March.
The dollar climbed almost 0.2 percent on Friday to 113.42 yen,
up by the same percentage for the week. It lost about 0.8 percent on Thursday.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted
peers, was up almost 0.1 percent at 100.50, on track to end the week 0.3
percent lower. It tumbled 0.7 percent on Thursday. The euro was little changed
at $1.0671 on Friday, retaining Thursday’s 0.7 percent gain, and set to end the
week 0.3 percent higher.
The stronger dollar on Friday weighed on gold, which slipped 0.1
percent to $1,237.20 an ounce. But the precious metal remains poised for a 0.3
percent rise for the week. Oil prices built on Thursday’s gains on positive
sentiment over reports that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
may consider extending its oil supply-reduction pact with non-members and may
even apply deeper cuts if inventories don’t fall to a targeted level.
For now, that optimism appears to be winning the tug of war with
concerns over a rise in U.S. production, but that worry is set to leave oil
prices with a weekly loss. U.S. crude added 0.2 percent to $53.46 a barrel, but
is headed for a decline of 0.7 percent for the week. Global benchmark Brent
crude advanced 0.2 percent to $55.76, narrowing the week’s loss to 1.7 percent.
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