In US economic data, the S&P Global manufacturing index eased from 52.7 to 52.3 in July (survey: 52.0). And the S&P Global services index fell from 52.7 in July to 47.0 (survey: 52.7).
European sharemarkets were firmer on Friday. Real estate, utilities and food and beverages sectors rose while banks and energy fell. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.3% to be up 2.9% on the week – the best weekly gain in two months. The German Dax index and the UK FTSE index both rose by 0.1%. The Italian sharemarket rose 0.1% despite a snap election being called for September 25. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto rose by 1.7% with BHP shares up by 2.8%.
US sharemarkets eased on Friday. Disappointing earnings from Snap weighed on social media and ad tech firms. Shares in Snap fell by 39.1%. Shares in Meta Plaforms fell 7.6% and Alphabet (Google) lost 5.6%. The Dow Jones index fell by 138 points or 0.4% and the S&P 500 index fell by 0.9%. The Nasdaq index lost 225 points or 1.9%. Over the week the Dow rose 2%; the S&P 500 rose 2.6%; and the Nasdaq lifted 3.3%.
US treasuries were stronger on Friday (yields lower) after business activity readings in the US, UK and Euro zone all weakened in the past month. US 10-year yields fell by around 15 points to near 2.75% – the lowest level since late May. And US 2- year yields fell by around 12 points to near 2.97%. Over the week US 10-year yields fell by 17 points and US 2-year yields fell by 16 points.
Major currencies were firmer against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.0132 to highs near US$1.0250 and was near US$1.0210 at the US close. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US68.95 cents to highs near US69.73 cents and was near US69.25 cents at the US close. And
the Japanese yen rose from near 137.95 yen per US dollar to near JPY135.63 and was at JPY136.05 at the US close.
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Global oil prices eased on Friday. Reuters reported “The European Union said it would allow Russian state-owned companies to ship oil to third countries under an adjustment of sanctions agreed by member states this week.” The Brent crude price fell by US66 cents or 0.6% to US$103.20 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude price shed US$1.65 or 1.7% to US$94.70 a barrel. Over the week Brent rose by 2% while Nymex fell by 3%.
Base metal prices were higher on Friday except lead which was flat. Over the week metals rose 0.7-14.2% with nickel up the most and tin up the least.
The gold futures rose by US$14.00 an ounce or 0.8% to US$1,727.40 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,726 an ounce at the US close. Over the week gold rose by US$23.80 or 1.4%. The iron ore futures price rose by US$1.10 or 1.1% to US$104.46 a tonne. Over the week iron ore rose by US$1.39 or 1.3%.
Ahead: In Australia, CommSec issues the State of the States economic report card. In the US, the Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index and the Dallas Federal Reserve manufacturing index are both scheduled.
Originally published by CommSec
