European Close Market Briefing – 30/10/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In European Equity Markets Spanish equities rebounded on Monday, reassured by weekend demonstrations for a unified Spain and a poll lead for parties opposed to Catalan independence. Spain’s IBEX benchmark outperformed a 0.1-percent gain for the pan-European STOXX 600 index, rising 2.4 percent led by Caixabank and Banco de Sabadell, which both jumped more than 4 percent. Spain’s Bankia gained 2.2 percent after reporting a smaller-than-expected decrease in net profit and as the lender made progress in shrinking its bad loan portfolio. Glencore rose 0.8 percent after falling earlier in the session after a trading update and a report saying it would cancel its secondary listing in Hong Kong due to lack of interest from investors.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell on Monday after posting its biggest weekly rise this year as investors took profit and grew cautious amid news that President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager faces charges of conspiracy against the United States. The day’s risk aversion lifted the Japanese yen often sought in times of geopolitical uncertainty, against the greenback. The dollar was last down 0.25 percent to 113.41 yen, near a one-week low.  The dollar was flat against the euro, which fellafter the release of German inflation data that showed prices had stalled. The euro was last at $1.1614, hanging above a three-month low touched Friday. Sterling rose 0.3 percent against the dollar as traders bid the currency higher on the expected rate rise.

In Commodities Markets  Brent oil fell but held above $60 a barrel on Monday, near its highest since mid-2015, on expectations OPEC-led production cuts would be extended beyond March although rising Iraqi exports put a lid on prices.  Brent crude futures were down 1 cent to $60.43 per barrel and yet the benchmark was still close to its highest level since July 2015. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 2 cents higher at $53.92 a barrel. Spot gold was at $1,271.59 an ounce, little changed from its late Friday level but well off that session’s three-week low of $1,263.35. Silver was down 0.7 percent at $16.70 an ounce. Platinum was 0.1 percent higher at $915.20 an ounce, while palladium was up 0.1 percent at $966.20.

In US Equity Markets  an Apple-led rise in technology stocks lifted the Nasdaq to a record high on Monday, while the Dow and the S&P were weighed down by losses in healthcare stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.05 percent, at 23,421.45 and the S&P 500 was down 0.08 percent, at 2,579.11. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.26 percent, at 6,718.59. Apple was higher after research firms pointed to strong demand for the iPhone X. Merck fell 4.7 percent after the company said it had withdrawn an application for European use of its key cancer immunotherapy. General Motors lost 2.7 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company’s stock to “sell” from “neutral”.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury prices gained on Monday as investors readied for a busy week that includes a heavy slate of data, the Treasury Department’s refunding plans, a Federal Reserve meeting and the expected announcement of a new Fed chair. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 12/32 in price to yield 2.39 percent, down from 2.43 percent on Friday. The yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds steepened to 90.50 basis points, up from 88.8 basis points on Friday.