European Close Market Briefing – 04/11/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In European Equity Markets stocks crept higher on Friday on firmer tech stocks and carmakers, though gains were limited as earnings weighed on shares in French bank Societe Generale and Dutch telecoms firms Altice. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.2 percent, set for its second week of gains in a row, while Germany’s DAX hit a record high, up 0.4 percent. France’s Renault rose 5 percent, leading European autos after the French government began the sale of its 4.73 percent stake in the carmaker. Societe Generale fell 3 percent after the French bank reported third quarter earnings which included a 15 percent decline at its investment banking arm.

In Currency Markets the dollar rose broadly on Friday after the release of U.S. factory orders and services sector data that beat estimates, reversing an earlier slide after an underwhelming October jobs report. The euro turned negative against the dollar, falling to its lowest level of the day after the U.S. factory orders and ISM non-manufacturing PMI data, while the dollar turned positive against the Japanese yen erasing earlier losses. Sterling rose 0.10 percent to $1.3073. Sentiment on sterling remained negative amid expectations that the Bank of England would be reluctant to raise rates anytime soon following its decision to raise rate for the first time in a decade on Thursday. The dollar index rose by 0.23 percent to 94.84.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Friday, nearing their highest levels in more than two years, supported by rising global demand and physical prices and continuing expectations that OPEC and other producing countries will extend a deal to cut output. Global benchmark Brent futures traded up 18 cents at $60.79 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $61.15. Brent has risen around 38 percent since its low in 2017 reached in June. U.S. West Texas Intermediate  crude traded at $54.57 a barrel, up 3 cents. Spot gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,266.91 and was on track for third straight weekly decline. Spot silver inched 1.3 percent lower to $16.87 an ounce and platinum eased 0.7 percent to $918.30, while palladium fell 0.6 percent to $992.50.

In US Equity Markets  the S&P and the Dow were flat in late morning trading on Friday after October payrolls data sparked concerns about tepid wage growth while a jump in Apple supported the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.07 percent, at 23,500.91 and the S&P 500  was down 0.06 percent, at 2,578.41. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.14 percent, at 6,724.61, helped by Apple and Starbucks.  Starbucks was up 2.6 percent after falling earlier following results a day earlier. AIG fell 4.69 percent after the insurer posted a bigger loss on huge catastrophe losses and said it set aside more in reserves. Apple gained as robust initial demand for its new iPhone X allayed investor worries and strong results a day earlier.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell to two-week lows on Friday after the government’s jobs report for October showed that wages did not pick up in the month, raising concerns about continuing low inflation. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 3/32 in price on the day to yield 2.338 percent, after falling as low as 2.323 percent on the data. Germany’s 10-year bond yield fell to a seven-week low at 0.35 percent. Other bond yields were also slightly lower on the day.