Dow Jones hits tenth straight high | IFCM UK
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Dow Jones hits tenth straight high - 24.2.2017

Dow Jones hits tenth straight high

US stocks closed higher on Thursday on positive performance of energy stocks and Trump’s renewed pledges to major US companies to bring back jobs to the US. US dollar index, a measure of a greenback’s value against a basket of six major currencies, lost 0.2% to 100.82. S&P 500 index added 0.04% to 2,363.78. Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.16% to 20,809.84, its tenth straight high, while Nasdaq lost 0.43% to 5,835.51. Energy added 0.5% on rising oil prices. On the other hand, retail stocks fell 1.0%. Today in the US no significant economic data are expected. At 16:00 CET the University of Michigan will release a handful of economic indicators. At 19:00 CET the Baker Hughes rig count will be released.

UK’s FTSE 100 index falls to its 2-week low

European stocks are falling for the third straight day as bond market jitters spilled over into stocks today. French CAC 40 index lost 1.5% on Friday having recorded its worst day in nearly five months. STOXX EUROPE 600 lost 1% on subdued expectations from European blue chip BASF and Vivendi and on weak performance of mining stocks. UK’s FTSE 100 slumped 0.6% to its 2-week low. Stocks of Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland lost around 3% as their restructuring programs put a strain on their finances. UK banking index slipped 0.7% being among the sectoral top decliners. Mining sector also underperformed having lost 1.3% as the shares of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Glencore lost from 0.7 to 1.9%. No significant economic data came out today in Europe.

Asian stocks retreat on weak commodity prices

Asian stocks fell from their 1-1/2-year highs on Friday as materials stocks suffered from the unexpected slump of copper and other commodities. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.5% while China’s mainland shares were flat. Japanese stocks dipped on Friday as investors were risk-averse on uncertainty over the US economic policies under Trump’s presidency and on the looming French presidential elections. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to 19,283.54 having gained 0.3% this week. The broader Topix slid down 0.4% to 1,550.14. USDJPY fell to 112.55, its two-week low, on Thursday but then stood at 112.79 yen.

Oil prices hold gains

Oil futures prices rose on the data that US crude stockpiles advanced for the seventh straight week but much less than anticipated. US WTI oil stood still at $54.41 a barrel having added 1.8% so far this week. Brent crude futures also stood at $56.57 having added 1.2% this week.

Gold benefits on weak US dollar

Gold reached its 3-1/2-month high on Friday as US dollar showed a week of decline after the new US treasury secretary said that any steps by Trump’s administration would have only limited impact this year. Another supportive factor for gold was the tempered expectations of the March rate hike after the release of the Fed meeting minutes. But even if the rate happens to be hiked, gold is unlikely to fall in price ahead of French presidential elections. Spot gold climbed 0.6% to $1,256.31 per ounce having earlier hit its high since mid-November. US gold futures added 0.5% to $1,257.30.

Silver advanced 0.6% to $18.25 an ounce having touched its 3-1/2-month high of $18.32.

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