PHOTO
- Global markets mostly rise
- Oil prices remain mainly unchanged
- Gulf stock markets drop on Thursday
- Dollar, gold remain unchanged
Global markets
Stocks from across the globe mostly rebounded on Friday, after United States President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said trade talks between the United States and China were “constructive.”
MSCI’s gauge of stock performance in 47 countries across the globe gained 0.32 percent. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.32%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.01 points, or 0.44%, to 25,942.37. The S&P 500 gained 10.68 points, or 0.37%, to 2,881.4 and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.35 points, or 0.08%, to 7,916.94.
In the short term, China needs a trade deal more than the U.S. But in the long term, the U.S. needs it more than China, Oliver Pursche, chief market strategist at Bruderman Asset Management in New York told Reuters, calling it a “pretty good balance.”
“The market is getting that the statements (from Mnuchin and Trump) are more political than indicative of a change in strategy. Nothing has changed in terms of our investment thesis,” Pursche said.
Oil prices
Oil prices were mainly unchanged on Friday.
Brent crude oil settled 23 cents, or 0.4 percent, higher at $70.62 a barrel, but posted a weekly loss of 0.3 percent.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended 4 cents lower at $61.66, with a weekly loss of 0.5 percent.
“Crude oil has more potential for upside,” Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, told Reuters. “With Gulf refineries starting up, demand is going to be significantly above supply for the next 100 days or so.”
Middle East markets
In Dubai, the stock market index lost 1.5 percent, with the emirate's biggest lender Emirates NBD dropping 2.5 percent, while blue-chip developer Emaar Properties fell 2.8 percent.
The Abu Dhabi index fell 1.4 percent, declining for the sixth straight session, with Abu Dhabi National Hotels plunging 7.4 percent and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) sliding 5 percent.
Saudi's index was down 0.5 percent, with Middle East Healthcare plunging 9.6 percent after it reported a 83 percent slump in first-quarter profit and its board decided gainst a dividend payout for 2018.
Qatar's index was down 1 percent with heavyweight stocks Qatar National Bank and Industries Qatar falling 2.4 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Egypt's blue-chip index was up 0.2 percent with El Sewedy Electric jumping 7.4 percent.
Kuwait’s premier market index dropped 1 percent, Bahrain’s index fell 0.3 percent and Oman’s index edged 0.3 percent lower.
Currencies
The dollar was mainly unchanged on Friday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.07 percent.
Precious metals
Gold prices were also steady on Friday.
Spot gold was steady at $1,284.65 per ounce at 0142 GMT and is up about 0.4 percent for the week.
U.S. gold futures were unchanged at $1,285.70 an ounce.
(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.
© ZAWYA 2019
