Global stocks edge higher after Yellen, Draghi speak; euro jumps

Dollar index falls 0.78 pct, yen weakens

NEW YORK, Aug 26, (Agencies): The euro jumped more than 1 percent and yields on benchmark US government debt remained at unattractive rates on Friday after the world’s two leading central bankers declined to discuss monetary policy in keynote speeches.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s non-policy remarks at an annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming pushed US Treasury debt yields lower and increased chances that the US central bank will not raise interest rates in December as had been widely anticipated.

The dollar index fell 0.78 percent and the euro gained 1.03 percent to $1.1919. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.23 percent versus the greenback at 109.30.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes rose 6/32 in price, pushing the yield down to 2.1711 percent.

MSCI’s index of stocks across the globe rose 0.26 percent and its index of emerging market stocks rose 0.27 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 30.27 points, or 0.14 percent, to 21,813.67. The S&P 500 gained 4.08 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,443.05 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.68 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,265.64.

European share markets closed lower. The pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index slid 0.14 percent as Dutch supermarket operator Ahold fell 6.1 percent after Amazon said it will cut prices when its acquisition of Whole Foods Market is completed on Monday.

Ahold has a strong presence on the US east coast.

US US stocks rose slightly on Friday, lifted by high-dividend-paying stocks, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen stayed silent on monetary policy in a much-anticipated speech.

Interest-rate sensitive sectors such as telecommunications , up 0.8 percent, and utilities, up 0.3 percent, rose as Yellen’s speech did not comment on the path of interest rate hikes for the central bank, which sent US Treasury yields lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30.27 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 21,813.67, the S&P 500 gained 4.08 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,443.05 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.68 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,265.64.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.65 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.72 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 0.79 percent. The weekly gains for equities snapped a two-week skid of declines for the Dow and S&P 500 and a four-week drop for the Nasdaq.

Broadcom’s shares were down 3.7

percent after its quarterly earnings report weighed the most on the S&P 500 technology index as well as the Nasdaq and S&P.

Energy shares, up 0.52 percent, also advanced on a climb in oil prices as major Hurricane Harvey drew closer to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Shares of Autodesk were up 3.9 percent after the software maker raised its forecast. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.33-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.51-to1 ratio favored advancers.

About 4.81 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges, well below the 6.02 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

UK Britain’s leading share index edged lower on Friday as strength in banks and energy firms was not enough to offset a drop in retailers, which fell back as concern over competition from Amazon reared its head again.

Britain’s FTSE 100 ended the week

0.1 percent lower at 7,401.46 points as sterling rose towards the end of the session, but the blue chips still posted a 1.1 percent gain and was on course for a 1.1 percent gain on the week.

Subprime lender Provident Financial jumped 22.5 percent, recovering some of the heavy losses sustained on Tuesday after its second profit warning in as many months.

Energy stocks and financials combined added 7 points to the index, while miners Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American cemented gains as copper prices hit a three-year high on a brightening outlook for demand from China.

Cyclical sectors such as miners, which benefit from their high dollar exposure in a weaker sterling environment, have been supporting benchmarks and the FTSE 350 mining index hit its highest in three years on Friday.

Retailers, however, limited index gains after Amazon said it would cut prices at Whole Foods Market, the

food chain it acquired in June, reigniting fears of aggressive price competition for Europe’s supermarkets.

Supermarket chains Tesco, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s were among top fallers, down by 0.4-1.7 percent and tracking a broader slide in European retail stocks.

Drugmaker Shire was also among the biggest gainers, rising 1.5 percent after Kepler Cheuvreux gave the stock a “buy” rating.

Asia Tokyo’s Nikkei ended 0.5 percent higher thanks to a weaker yen.

Hong Kong rose 1.2 percent, marking a fourth-straight day of gains, while Shanghai added 1.8 percent. Energy firms in both cities were lifted by news that PetroChina’s net profit jumped more than 2,000 percent to $1.9 billion in the first half and that it would distribute the cash among shareholders in the form of dividends. The move fuelled hopes of similar moves by other energy companies.