China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, announced on Friday that it is going to cut its required reserve ratio (RRR) for most banks by 25 basis points from December 5, 2022. European sharemarkets were little changed on Friday as hopes of slowing interest rate hikes offset a real estate sector (-0.9%) sell-off and retailers (-0.6%) were hurt by fears of a bumpy holiday shopping season. Shares of Credit Suisse slid 6.6% to a record low in the wake of capital raise plans. Germany’s economy, as measured by GDP, expanded by 0.4% in the September quarter and by 1.3% on the year (survey: +1.2%). The continentwide FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.1% and the UK FTSE 100
lifted by 0.3%. For the week, the FTSEurofirst 300 added 1.7% and the FTSE 100 rose 1.4%.

US sharemarkets were mixed on Friday amid low trading volumes in a holiday-shortened session. A 2% lift in Boeing
shares supported the Dow Jones index. But shares of Apple fell by 2% on news of reduced iPhone shipments from a Foxconn plant in China in November as production was hit by virus-related worker unrest. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes were also weighed down by shares of Activision Blizzard, which dropped by 4.1% on news that the US Federal Trade Commission could block Microsoft from taking over the gaming company. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones index was up by 153 points or 0.5%. The S&P 500 index fell by less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq index shed 59 points or 0.5%. All three indexes ended the week higher. The Dow rose by 1.8%, the S&P 500 gained 1.5% and
the Nasdaq was up 0.7%.

US government bonds rose marginally on Friday (yields lower) amid low liquidity after falling early in the session in reaction to a sell-off in German bonds. US 10-year Treasury yields fell by 1 point to near 3.69%. And US 2-year Treasury yields also dipped by 1 point to near 4.47%. For the week, 10-year yields slid 13 points with 2-year yields 4 points lower.

Major currencies were weaker against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.0425 to lows near US$1.0353 and was near US$1.0380 at the US close. The Aussie dollar dipped from highs near US67.74 cents to lows near US67.11 cents and was near US67.15 cents at the US close.

And the Japanese yen eased from near 138.42 yen per US dollar to near JPY139.59 and was around JPY139.10 at the US close. Global oil prices fell 2% on Friday as the EU suspended talks over a proposed US$65-$70 Russian oil price cap. Poland and the Baltics felt the cap was too generous to Russia with discussions postponed until Monday. The Brent crude oil price fell by US$1.71 or 2% to US$83.63 a barrel. The US Nymex crude oil price shed US$1.66 or 2.1% to US$76.28 a barrel. Brent ended the week down 4.6%, while the US Nymex fell by 4.7%.

 

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Base metal prices were mixed on Friday. Copper rose by 0.3% after China, the biggest metals consumer, announced measures to support its economy and property sector. But aluminium fell by 1%. Over the week, copper fell by 0.1% and aluminium slid 2.5%.

The gold futures price rose by US$8.40 an ounce or 0.5% to US$1,754 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,756 an ounce at the US close. For the week, gold fell by US40 cents an ounce or less than 0.1%. Iron ore futures lifted US80 cents a tonne or 0.9% to US$92.74 a tonne. Iron ore was down US15 cents a tonne or 0.2% over the week.

Ahead: In Australia, retail trade data is scheduled. Reserve Bank (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe appears before the Senate Economics Legislation Committee.

In the US, the Dallas Federal Reserve manufacturing index is released.

Originally published by CommSec