Global equities little changed; dollar up on Trump comments

Oil rises after IEA finds market nearing balance

NEW YORK, April 13, (Agencies): The US dollar rebounded on Thursday after sliding a day earlier following remarks by President Donald Trump on the currency and interest rates, while a consumer sentiment survey helped lift US Treasury yields off five-month lows.

The benchmark S&P 500 stock index was modestly higher as strength in US technology and financial stocks offset declines in sectors like energy and consumer staples.

The US dollar had tumbled Wednesday after Trump told the Wall Street Journal the greenback “getting too strong” and would eventually hurt the US economy. Treasury yields fell after Trump said he would like to see interest rates stay low.

Trading was thinner than usual during an abbreviated week, with the impending holiday for Good Friday in the United States and Europe, Ng said.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six tradeweighted peers, was up 0.4 percent, after a 0.6 percent decline on Wednesday marked its biggest one-day fall in three weeks.

The dollar was up 0.2 percent at $109.22 against the Japanese yen, having hit a five-month low of 108.73 yen in early Asian trading.

US Treasury yields hit session highs, pulling away from five-month lows earlier in the day, after a University of Michigan survey showed US consumer sentiment unexpectedly improved in early April.

The MSCI all-world stock index was little changed with a 0.01 percent increase.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9.12 points, or 0.04 percent, to 20,600.98, the S&P 500 gained 2.26 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,347.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 17.86 points, or 0.31 percent, to 5,854.02.

The S&P 500 bank subsector was boosted by stronger than expected earnings at JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup . However, Wells Fargo & Co was a drag with a 1.5 percent decline after it reported a big drop in mortgage banking revenue.

The FTS Euro first 300 index of large companies was down 0.4 percent, putting it on track for a loss for the holiday-shortened week.

Gold fell 0.09 percent to $1,284.90 an ounce after hitting a five-month high earlier in the session.

US

Wall Street edged lower on Thursday and looked set to book losses for the third straight day as investors weighed earnings from big US banks and President Donald Trump’s comments on the strength of the dollar.

Wells Fargo’s shares fell 2 percent, pulling down the S&P 500 and the financial sector, after the bank reported a big drop in mortgage banking revenue. Berkshire Hathaway’s disclosure on Wednesday that it had cut its stake in the bank also weighed on the stock.

JP Morgan and Citigroup also slipped, despite reporting better-thanexpected quarterly profits.

Bank stocks have retreated after a strong rally as investors fret over lofty valuations amid questions about Trump’s ability to do good on his promises of tax cuts and simpler regulations after failing to get a healthcare bill passed.

The S&P 500 financial index slipped 0.3 percent, setting it up for the fifth straight day of losses.

At 12:28 p.m. ET (1628 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 40.94 points, or 0.2 percent, at 20,550.92, the S&P 500 was down 3.84 points, or 0.16 percent, at 2,341.09 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.68 points, or 0.01 percent, at 5,835.48.

President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the dollar “was getting too strong” and that he would like to see interest rates stay low.

Investors have sought safe-haven assets through the week amid geopolitical tensions in Syria and North Korea. A report of a massive bomb being dropped by the United States in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday added to uncertainty.

Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, led by a near 1 percent decline in the energy sector as oil prices fell.

However, the technology sector’s 0.3 percent rise put it on track to break its nine day losing streak.

Trading volumes are likely to be weak on Thursday ahead of the Good Friday holiday.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,820 to 989. On the Nasdaq, 1,675 issues fell and 1,041 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed five 52-week highs and one low, while the Nasdaq recorded 23 highs and 42 lows.

UK

Britain’s top share index declined on Thursday as financials, energy stocks and firms trading ex-dividend weighed, though volumes were light ahead of a market holiday.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.3 percent at 7,327.59 points at its close, in line with a broader decline on European markets.

The FTSE 100 also posted a slight loss for the week.

Financials were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, taking off nearly 10 points. HSBC, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland all fell by 1.3 percent to 1.7 percent, with broadly well-received earnings releases from their US peers failing to boost sentiment. Energy stocks also dragged, taking off around 9.7 points. Royal Dutch Shell fell 1.2 percent, and BP was down 0.3 percent as the price of oil edged lower.

Stocks trading without rights to their latest dividend payout dragged, including Standard Life, which dropped 2.4 percent and was the biggest individual faller.

Europe

European shares were led lower by declines in the bank sector on Thursday, leaving an index of the continent’s top companies to nurse a weekly loss.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.4 percent, ending the week with a 0.2 percent decline over a holiday-shortened four-day week, following two weeks of gains.

The banking sector was down 1.2 percent at a five-week low, set for its fifth straight day of losses as investors globally fled risky assets.

Spain’s Banco Popular and Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank led the sector’s losses, down 3.6 percent and 5.5 percent respectively. French banks Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas were also among the top fallers, down by between 1.4 and 2.6 percent.

German airline Lufthansa fell 3.1 percent after investor InfiniteMiles placed a 2.5 percent stake at 15.25 euros per share.

Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget rose to a record high, up 7.8 percent. A group of private equity companies bid around 200 billion Swedish crowns ($22.3 billion) for the hygiene arm of the tissue and forestry products company, a Swedish newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

SCA, which declined comment on the report, said last year it would split its business into a hygiene segment and a forestry segment.

Gold climbed to a five-month high on geopolitical tensions and US President Donald Trump’s comments on the dollar’s strength.

Gold miner Centamin was up 5.1 percent. Blue-chip peers Fresnillo and Randgold Resources also gained.

Mediclinic rose 3.1 percent after a trading update showed 2017 revenue increased 3.5 percent.

Asia

Asian markets were mixed Thursday, with the dollar in retreat as US President Donald Trump voiced fears about a strong greenback and softened his stance on Beijing, easing concerns of a possible trade war.

Tokyo ended the day 0.6 percent lower while Sydney lost 0.7 percent. Hong Kong dipped 0.2 percent and Singapore fell 0.5 percent.

Shanghai inched up less than 0.1 percent, eking out thin gains after the release of stronger trade figures for March brightened the economic outlook, with a 16.4-percent jump in exports year-on-year marking a dramatic turnaround from the 1.3 percent yearon-year drop recorded in February.

A pickup in external demand, surging import prices, and a stable domestic economy boosted the figures, China’s government said.

The stronger yen hit exporters with Toyota falling 1.15 percent while smaller rival Mitsubishi Motors lost 2.45 percent. - Key figures at 0800 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.68 percent at 18,426.84 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.2 percent at 24,261.66 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP less than 0.1 percent at 3,275.96 (close)

Oil

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the market was nearing balance, while data showing higher US production kept gains in check.

Benchmark Brent crude futures were up 13 cents at $55.99 a barrel at 1525 GMT, on track for their third straight weekly gain after touching a one-month high on Wednesday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 22 cents at $53.33 a barrel, also set for a third consecutive weekly gain.

The Paris-based IEA, which advises industrial nations on energy policy, said on Thursday supply and demand in the global oil market was close to matching after a fall in stockpiles in developed countries in March.

“It can be argued confidently that the market is already very close to balance,” the agency said in its monthly report.

The market has been oversupplied for three years, prompting members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non OPEC producers to agree to cut output in the first six months of 2017 to rein in the glut.

OPEC data showed members of the group had cut March output beyond the level they had promised.

The IEA said oil stocks in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) industrialised countries fell by 17.2 million barrels in March, although inventories were still 300 million barrels above the five-year average.

Gold

Gold pulled back from an earlier five-month high on Thursday as the dollar clawed back some of the ground it lost after US President Donald Trump said the US currency was too strong.

The metal stayed on track for its best week since June, however, as concerns over tensions in North Korea and the Middle East kept stock markets under pressure.

Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,283.30 an ounce by 1410 GMT, having earlier hit its strongest since early November at $1,287.98 an ounce. US gold futures for June delivery were $7.10 higher at $1,285.20.