In US economic data, construction spending fell by 0.1% in May (survey: +0.4%). The ISM manufacturing index eased from 56.1 to 53.0 in June (survey: 54.9). The ‘final’ S&P Global manufacturing index fell from 57 to 52.7 in June (survey: 52.4). According to Wards, total vehicle sales rose from 12.68 million to 13.0 million in June (survey: 13.3 million).

European sharemarkets were little-changed on Friday. Gains in defensive sectors were balanced by falls in semi-conductors and commodity-linked stocks. Utilities rose by 3.1% while miners lost 2.5%. Data showed a lift in Eurozone inflation from 8.1% to a record high of 8.6% in June. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat. The German Dax index rose by 0.2% and the UK FTSE index fell by less than 0.1%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto fell by 1.7% and shares in BHP fell by 3.2%.

US sharemarkets rose on Friday in light trading ahead of a long holiday weekend. Gains were broad-based, led by utilities. The Dow Jones index rose by 322 points or 1.1%. The S&P 500 index lifted 1.1% with the Nasdaq index up by 99 points or 0.9%. Over the week the Dow fell by 1.3%; the S&P 500 fell by 2.2%; and the Nasdaq lost 4.1%.

US treasuries rose on Friday (yields lower). US 10-year yields fell by around 9 points to near 2.89% and US 2-year yields fell by around 9 points to near 2.84%. Over the week US 10-year yields fell by 25 points and US 2-year yields fell by 22 points.

Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro held between US$1.0365 and US$1.0470 and was near US$1.0430 at the US close. The Aussie dollar held between US67.60 cents US68.35 cents and was near US68.15 cents at the US close. And the Japanese held between 134.75 yen per US dollar and JPY135.65 and was near JPY135.20 at the US close.

 

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Global oil prices rose by near 2.5% on Friday. Disruptions to oil production in Libya and Norway offset concerns about weaker global oil demand. Also Reuters survey found that OPEC pumped 28.52 million barrels per day in June, down 100,000 bpd from May. The Brent crude price rose by US$2.60 or 2.4% to US$111.63 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude price lifted by US$2.67 or 2.5% to US$108.43 a barrel. Over the week, Brent crude fell by 1.3% while Nymex crude rose by 0.8%.

Base metal prices were mixed on Friday. Nickel, zinc and copper fell by as much as 3.9%. Other metals rose by up to 1.8%. Over the week zinc fell 11.8% but tin fell 7.3%.

The gold futures price fell by US$5.80 or 0.3% to US$1,801.50 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,810 an ounce at the US close. Over the week gold fell by US$28.80 or 1.6%. The iron ore futures price fell by US$14.77 or 11.4% to US$115.23 a tonne as China continues to idle dozens of blast furnaces. Over the week iron ore fell by US$13.30 or 10.3%.

Ahead: In Australia, data on building approvals, lending indicators and ANZ job advertisements are released with the monthly inflation gauge. US financial markets are closed for the Independence Day holiday

Originally published by CommSec