The Dow Jones Industrial Average (US30) was down 0.55% at Thursday’s close, the S&P500 Index (US500) decreased by 0.19%, and the Nasdaq Technology Index (US100) fell by 0.31%. Liquidation of long positions and profit-taking before Friday’s release of the monthly payroll report negatively impacted stocks. In addition, hawkish comments from San Francisco Fed President Daly on Wednesday evening weighed on stocks when she stated that the Fed has “no sense of urgency” to cut interest rates.
Economic news out of the US on Thursday was mixed for stocks. Weekly initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to a 6-week high of 224,000, indicating a weaker labor market than expected at 215,000. The US trade deficit for October narrowed to $73.8 billion from $83.8 billion in September, better than expectations of $75.0 billion and a positive for Q4 GDP.
Equity markets in Europe rallied on Wednesday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 0.63%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed higher by 0.37%, Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) added 1.57%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed 0.16% yesterday. Eurozone retail sales for October fell by 0.5% m/m, weaker than expectations of 0.3% m/m and the biggest decline in 4 months. S&P’s German Construction PMI for November fell 2.2 to 38.0, the steepest decline in 7 months. German factory orders for October fell by 1.5% m/m, which was a smaller decline than expectations of 2.0% m/m. In France, markets remained stable despite political turmoil.
The World Gold Council reported that China, a major gold consumer, saw a decline in physical demand in 2024 while investment remained strong. The council also forecast that both sectors could stabilize, with demand for gold jewelry likely to increase and gold investment likely to slow in 2025.
WTI crude oil prices extended their recent decline to around $68 a barrel on Friday as OPEC+’s decision to postpone restoring halted production failed to lift market sentiment amid expectations of oversupply next year. On Thursday, the producer group postponed a supply increase for another three months, gradually increasing in April and gradually cutting output over 18 months at a slower pace than originally planned. Experts believe that oil will show moderate growth over the next week after a sharp drop in the previous week.
Asian markets traded without any dynamics. Japanese Nikkei 225 (JP225) rose by 0.30%, Chinese FTSE China A50 (CHA50) fell by 0.61%, Hong Kong Hang Seng (HK50) fell by 0.92%, and Australian ASX 200 (AU200) was positive 0.15% yesterday.
The offshore yuan held steady at 7.26 per dollar, supported by rising expectations of potential additional stimulus measures from the Chinese authorities during key policy meetings in mid-December, notably the Politburo meeting and the annual Central Economic Work Conference. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley forecast a 40 bps cut in the Chinese central bank’s main discount rate in 2025, which would be the largest interest rate cut in a decade.
The Australian dollar fell as low as $0.643 on Friday, nearing four-month lows, as disappointing economic growth data fueled speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may take a softer stance at next week’s monetary policy meeting.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unexpectedly cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.0%, the first cut since April 2020. The RBI governor said the decision was in line with the central bank’s neutral policy, reflecting a balanced approach to liquidity management while ensuring economic stability. India’s GDP growth slowed to 5.4% year-on-year in September 2024 from 6.7% in the previous quarter, the weakest since December 2022. At the same time, annual inflation rose to 6.21% in October 2024, the highest in 14 months, and exceeded the central bank’s upper tolerance limit of 6% for the first time in a year.
Vietnam’s annual inflation rate fell to 2.77% in November 2024, down from 2.89% in the previous month. The decline was mainly due to softening inflation on food and catering services. Meanwhile, the annual core inflation rate, which excludes volatile goods, rose to a seven-month high of 2.77%, up from 2.68% in October.
