European Close Market Briefing – 06/11/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In European Equity Markets stocks ended the day in positive territory on Monday after a session in which promising euro zone economic data and rising oil prices failed to offset some earnings and corporate news disappointment. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose a little more than 0.1 percent to 396.59 points, within range of two-year highs. Energy company SBM Offshore lost 13.8 percent after taking a $238 million provision to settle a U.S. investigation over a Latin American bribery case. Among gainers, Royal Dutch Shell  rose by close to 1.5 percent to finish at a record high. Shares in Deutsche Telekom fell 2.6 percent to the bottom of the DAX after an attempt by its T-Mobile U.S. unit to merge with Sprint Corp collapsed at the weekend.

In Currency Markets the dollar was holding near a one-week high against a basket of currencies on Monday, with traders wary of pushing it higher because of a proposed U.S. tax overhaul and uncertainty about the composition of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The dollar was 0.04 pct higher against the Japanese yen, and the euro was 0.16 percent lower against the greenback. Sterling rose 0.28 percent against the dollar, recovering some ground from a one-month low hit after the Bank of England raised its lending rate for the first time in a decade last Thursday but forecast only gradual tightening ahead. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.04 percent at 94.982.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose 3 percent on Monday, hitting the highest since early July 2015, as Saudi Arabia’s crown prince cemented his power over the weekend with an anti-corruption crackdown, while the U.S. rig count fell and markets continued to tighten.  Brent crude futures were trading $1.86 or 3 percent higher at $62.46 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.7 percent to $57.13 a barrel. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,271.11 an ounce. Among other precious metals, silver was 0.8 percent higher at $16.93 an ounce, platinum was up 0.1 percent at $919.40, and palladium was down 0.3 percent at $994.50.

In US Equity Markets  the Nasdaq rose to hit a new intraday high on Monday, buoyed by the news of a potential $103-billion megadeal in the chip sector, while gains on the S&P and the Dow were capped by losses in the telecom sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.02 percent, at 23,542.94, the S&P 500 was up 0.04 percent, at 2,589.12. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.24 percent, at 6,780.47. Shares of Qualcomm rose 3.1 percent and were the biggest boost to the tech-heavy index after Broadcom offered to buy the smartphone chip supplier in what could be the biggest merger in the tech sector.  Michael Kors jumped 13.3 percent after the fashion accessories maker raised its 2017 revenue forecast.

In Bond Markets the gap between U.S. short-dated and long-dated Treasury yields on Monday shrank to its tightest levels in a decade as sluggish domestic inflation underpinned demand for longer-maturity government bonds. The benchmark 10-year yield was down 1 basis point at 2.329 percent after hitting its lowest level in two weeks, while the two-year yield was unchanged at 1.625 percent. The 30-year yield was 2.804 percent, down 2 basis points from late Friday.