European Close Market Briefing – 05/07/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Wednesday at the end of a volatile session with gains among consumer stocks, led by Adidas on optimism over its upcoming earnings. A renewed slide in oil prices kept a lid on the increase, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index ending up 0.2 percent while the euro zone blue chip index closed flat. The top gainer on the STOXX was CHR Hansen  after the food ingredients maker beat third-quarter profit forecasts and raised its revenue growth guidance. Adidas was the second biggest, up 4.9 percent as brokers sounded upbeat ahead of the sporting goods group’s earnings release next month. In London, housebuilder Persimmon jumped 2.4 percent after it reported a 7 percent rise in first-half sales.

In Currency Markets the dollar inched up on Wednesday against a basket of currencies as traders awaited the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes on its June policy meeting which may hold more clues on its plan to possibly reduce its balance sheet later this year. The euro  was down 0.12 percent at $1.1329, retreating further from its highest levels in over a year reached last week. The greenback hit a seven-week high against the yen at 113.68 yen before fading to 113.27 yen, little changed on the day. The Canadian dollar fell 0.5 percent at C$1.3002 per dollar after hitting C$1.2912 on Tuesday, which was its strongest against the greenback since Sept. 9.

In Commodities Markets oil prices retreated more than 3 percent on Wednesday, ending their longest bull-run in more than five years, as climbing OPEC exports and a stronger dollar turned sentiment more bearish. Brent crude futures were down 3.3 percent, at $48 a barrel. Prices had climbed for eighth straight sessions to Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.8 percent, to $45.30 a barrel. Gold prices moved into positive territory on Wednesday, benefiting from a tick lower in both U.S. bond yields and the dollar, as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of Federal Reserve’s minutes from its June meeting. Gold futures for August delivery rose by $2.77, or 0.23 percent, to $1221.95 a troy ounce.

In US Equity Markets  the S&P 500 and the Dow were little changed in choppy trading on Wednesday, with a fall in oil prices taking a toll on energy stocks, but the Nasdaq was propped up by gains in tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average  was down 0.06 percent, at 21,466.51. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.43 percent, at 6,136.20 and the S&P 500  was up 0.08 percent, at 2,431. The tech sector led the S&P gainers with a 0.69 percent rise, with Apple, Microsoft and Amazon lifting the sector. O’Reilly Automotive fell as much as 19.9 percent to a near three-year low after its second-quarter same-store sales widely missed its own estimates.

In Bond Markets most U.S. Treasury yields edged lower on Wednesday after weak U.S. factory orders data but remained near multi-week or multi-month peaks as traders anticipated minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting to reinforce a recent hawkish shift in global central bank policy. In morning U.S. trading, benchmark 10-year yields hit their highest in more than seven weeks at 2.357 percent and three-year yields hit a roughly 3-1/2-month high of 1.598 percent.