In US economic data, new home sales rose from a 629,000 annual rate to 696,000 in May (survey: 588,000). The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped from 58.4 to a record low 50.0 in June (survey: 50.2).
European sharemarkets posted solid gains on Friday. The panEuropean STOXX 600 index rose by 2.6%, its best session in three months. The benchmark index rose 2.4% on the week. Gains were broad-based with technology up 3.7% and healthcare up 3.4%. The German Dax index rose by 1.6% and the UK FTSE index rose by 2.7%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto rose by 1.4% and BHP gained 1.7%.
US sharemarkets recorded solid gains on Friday. Banks rose 3.7% after all lenders passed the Federal Reserve stress tests. Shares in FedEx rose 7.2% after the parcel delivery company issued a stronger-than-expected full-year profit forecast. The Dow Jones index closed up by 823 points or 2.7%. The S&P 500 index added 3.1% and the Nasdaq index gained 375 points or 3.3%. Over the week the Dow rose by 5.4%; S&P 500 rose 6.4%; and the Nasdaq rose 7.5%.
US treasuries fell on Friday (yields higher). US 10-year yields rose by 7 points to near 3.14% and US 2-year yields rose by 5 points to near 3.06%. Over the week US 10-year yields fell by 9 points and US 2-year yields fell by 11 points.
Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.0515 to highs near US$1.0570 and was near US$1.0555 at the US close. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US68.90 cents to highs near US69.55 cents and was near US69.50 cents at the US close. But the Japanese yen eased from 134.40 yen per US dollar to JPY135.39 and was near JPY135.15 at the US close.
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Global oil prices rose by around 3% on Friday. Unrest in Libya continues to restrict global oil supplies. OPEC+ nations meet on June 30 to discuss production quotas. The Brent crude price rose by US$3.07 or 2.8% to US$113.12 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude price lifted by US$3.35 or 3.2% to US$107.62 a barrel. Over the week Brent crude was flat and Nymex crude fell by US$1.94 or 1.8%.
Base metal prices fell by as much as 8.3% on Friday with tin down the most while copper fell 0.2%. Investors worry that central bank rate hikes will stifle economic growth and reduce metal demand. Over the week metals fell 1.6-20.2% with aluminium down the least and tin down the most.
The gold futures price rose by US50 cents or less than 0.1% to US$1,830.30 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,826 an ounce at the US close. Over the week gold fell by US$10.30 or 0.6%. The iron ore futures price fell by US79 cents or 0.6% to US$128.53 a tonne. Over the week iron ore fell by US$2.85 or 2.2%. Ahead: No major economic data is scheduled in Australia. Chinese industrial profits figures are due. In the US, data on pending home sales is released with the durable goods orders report and the Dallas Federal Reserve manufacturing index.
Originally published by CommSec
