US financial markets were closed on Thursday in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
The latest meeting minutes of the European Central Bank (ECB) showed policymakers feared that inflation may be getting entrenched, justifying more rate hikes, but Reuters noted “for how long and how much remained a debate.”
European sharemarkets closed higher on Thursday hitting fresh 3- month highs. The real estate sector rose by 2.5%. The Ifo Institute in Germany reported a business climate index of 86.3, higher than analysts’ forecast of 85.0 in a Reuters poll, and following a revised reading of 84.5 in October. Shares of world’s largest classified ads company Adevinta and Polish insurer PZU jumped 7.2% and 6.6%, respectively after posting strong third-quarter results. The continentwide FTSEurofirst 300 index lifted by 0.3% on Thursday but the UK FTSE 100 was unchanged.
US sharemarkets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving public holiday. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones index was up by 96 points or 0.3%. The S&P 500 index rose by 0.6% and the Nasdaq index added 111 points or 1.0%.
The US treasury market was shut for a public holiday on Thursday. On Wednesday, US 10-year Treasury yields fell by around 6 points to near 3.69%. And US 2-year Treasury yields dropped by around 3 points to near 4.48%.
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Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro held between US$1.0380 and US$1.0450 and was near US$1.0400 in afternoon North American trade. The Aussie dollar held between US67.25 cents and US67.80 cents and was near US67.60 cents in afternoon North American trade. And the Japanese yen held between 138.07 yen per US dollar and JPY139.65 and was around JPY138.45 in afternoon North American trade.
Global oil prices were little-changed on Thursday. Reuters reported: “European Union governments remained split over what level to cap Russian oil prices at to curb Moscow’s ability to pay for its war in Ukraine without causing a global oil supply shock, with more talks possible on Friday if positions converge.” Weighing on prices was news
that China had posted the highest number of Covid-19 cases in nearly three years, leading to a tightening of controls. The Brent crude oil price fell by US29 cents or 0.3% to US$85.12 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude oil price rose US2 cents to US$77.96 a barrel in after hours trade.
Base metal prices were mixed in London on Thursday with aluminium and nickel lower by as much as 1.3%. Other metals rose with lead up 1.2%.
The gold futures price rose by US$9.50 an ounce or 0.5% to US$1,755.10 an ounce in after hours trade. Spot gold was trading near US$1,755 an ounce in afternoon North American trade. Iron ore futures was unchanged at US$91.94 a tonne.
Originally published by CommSec
