European Close Market Briefing – 11/12/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In European Equity Markets persistent weakness in tech stocks outweighed strong financials on Monday, while a climb in the euro dented euro zone markets, leaving the pan-European STOXX 600 index 0.1 percent lower. Euro zone blue-chips fell 0.3 percent as the single currency edged 0.3 percent higher, weighing on its mainly foreign-earning constituents. Britain’s FTSE meanwhile outperformed and was up 0.7 percent thanks to a weaker pound. Deutsche Bank fell 0.9 percent, despite its finance chief telling a German paper that it was able to cope with stricter capital rules agreed last week. Chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor was among the biggest fallers, down 3.2 percent, along with software firm Temenos and video games producer Ubisoft.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar weakened on Monday, weighed down by tepid inflation data from Friday’s jobs report, while safe-haven currencies the Japanese yen and Swiss franc gained after an explosion rocked one of New York’s busiest commuter hubs. The dollar was last down 0.08 percent at 113.38 yen and down 0.19 percent against the Swiss franc at 0.99 francs.  Sterling stabilised, edging lower after a volatile week, last at $1.3383. The euro rose 0.16 percent to $1.1793.  The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, eased 0.2 percent to 93.75, still hovering near a three-week high after five straight sessions of gains.

In Commodities Markets  oil prices rose Monday, reversing earlier declines, after a North Sea pipeline shut for repairs and investors focused on commodities following an explosion in New York.  Brent crude futures were up nearly 2 percent, at $64.60. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $57.87 a barrel, 51 cents or 0.9 percent above their last settlement. Spot gold was at $1,247.48 an ounce, little changed from late on Friday. Silver was down 0.4 percent at $15.77 an ounce. Platinum was down 0.1 percent at $886.40 an ounce, after touching its lowest since February 2016 last week. Palladium was 0.2 percent lower at $1,004.10 an ounce.

In US Equity Markets  stocks indexes edged higher on Monday, recovering from a brief uncertainty following an explosion at one of New York’s busiest commuter hubs. The Dow rose 0.07 percent, at 24,347.37 and the S&P 500 was up 0.16 percent, at 2,655.77. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.25 percent, at 6,857.40. Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by gains in energy index as oil prices edged higher on the back of New York explosion. Apple’s 1.5 percent rise led gainers among technology stocks and was the top boost to all the three major index. Century rose about 7 percent after the telecom services provider signed a 5-year contract to provide data networking products with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

In Bond Markets most U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday after reports of an explosion in midtown Manhattan prompted safety buying, though price gains were capped as investors prepared for new supply. Benchmark 10-year note yields fell as low as 2.35 percent on safe-haven demand for the bonds, before they retraced back to 2.37 percent. Three-year note yields rose to 1.918 percent, up slightly from 1.915 percent late on Friday.