S&P 500 advances on strong bank earnings - 15.4.2019

Dollar weakens on import prices rise

US stock market resumed advancing on Friday on better than expected earnings from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo. S&P 500 added 0.7% to 2907.41, closing 0.5% higher for the week. Dow Jones industrial rose 1% to 26412.30. The Nasdaq advanced 0.5% to 7984.16. The dollar erased all of previous session gains as data showed 0.6% jump in import prices in March due mainly to rising fuel prices. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, lost 0.3% to 96.917 and is lower currently. Futures on US stock indexes point to lower openings today.

DAX 30 outperforms European indexes

European stocks advanced third straight session on Friday supported by strong US earnings reports. Both the EUR/USD and GBP/USD turned higher and continue climbing currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2% led by bank and auto shares. The DAX 30 advanced 0.5% to 11999.93. France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.3% and UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 7437.06.

Nikkei leads Asian indices gains

Asian stock indices are mixed today after initial gains on US-China trade deal hopes. Nikkei rose 1.4% to 22.169.11 while yen turned higher against the dollar. Chinese markets are lower despite Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s weekend comment US and China were “getting close to the final round of concluding issues.” The Shanghai Composite Index is down 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.2% lower. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index is 0.1 points higher as the Australian dollar continues its climb against the greenback.

Brent down

Brent futures prices are edging lower today. Prices rallied on Friday as fighting in Libya continued, and despite Baker Hughes report that the number of active US rigs drilling for oil rose by two to 833 last week: Brent for June settlement rose 1% to close at $71.55 a barrel Friday, gaining 1.7% for the week.