In US economic data, retail sales were flat in September (survey: +0.2%). Excluding cars and gasoline, retail sales rose 0.3%. Export prices fell by 0.8% in September (survey: -1.0%). Import prices lost 1.2% in September (survey: -1.1%). The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose from 58.6 to 59.8 in October (survey: 58.8).
European sharemarkets rose for a second day on Friday. Most sectors rose, led by utilities, up 1.8%. British Prime Minister Liz Truss fired her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, scrapping some economic plans but retaining plans to increase corporation tax. The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.4%. The UK FTSE 100 index added 0.1%.
US sharemarkets gave back the previous day’s gains on Friday. Inflation expectations rose, raising expectations for rate hikes. The University of Michigan’s preliminary October reading of consumer sentiment showed one-year inflation expectations rose to 5.1% from 4.7%. Bank shares rose after quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase (+1.7%); Citigroup (+0.7%) and Wells Fargo (+1.9%). Shares in supermarket firm Kroger lost 7.3% after it said it would buy smaller rival Albertsons in a $24.6 billion deal. Tesla shares slumped 7.5% on reports that it had put on hold plans to launch battery cell production at its plant outside Berlin. The Dow Jones index fell by 404 points or 1.3%. The S&P 500 index lost 2.4%. And the Nasdaq index fell by 328 points or 3.1%. Over the week the Dow rose 1.2%; S&P 500 fell 1.5%; and Nasdaq fell 3.1%
US treasuries fell on Friday (yields higher). US 10-year yields rose by around 7 points to near 4.02%. And US 2-year yields lifted by around 5 points to near 4.50%. Over the week US 10-year yields rose by 14 points and US 2-year yields rose by 18 points. US 2-year yields hit 15-year highs of 4.535% on Thursday.
Major currencies were weaker against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro fell from near US$0.9800 to lows near US$0.9710 and was near US$0.9720 at the US close. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US63.45 cents to lows near US61.90 cents and was near the lows at the US close. And the Japanese yen eased from 147.35 yen per US dollar to JPY148.85 and was near JPY148.75 at the US close.
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Global oil prices fell by 3-4% on Friday after rising around 2% a day earlier. Fears of global recession and weak oil demand weighed on prices. The Brent crude oil price fell by US$2.94 or 3.1% to US$91.63 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude oil price lost US$3.50 or 3.9% to US$85.61 a barrel. Over the week Brent fell by US$6.29 or 6.4%. And Nymex fell by US$7.03 or 7.6%.
Base metal prices fell by as much as 2.9% on Friday, led by nickel. But zinc rose 1%. Over the week nickel, zinc and lead fell by as much as 3.2%. Other metals rose by as much as 2.6%, led by tin.
The gold futures price fell by US$28.10 an ounce or 1.7% to US$1,648.90 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,642 an ounce at the US close. Over the week gold fell by US$60.40 an ounce or 3.5%. Iron ore futures rose by US53 cents or 0.6% to US$95.930 a tonne. Over the week iron ore rose by US31 cents or 0.3%.
Originally published by CommSec
