The euro was little changed at US$1.1027 (RM4.47) as of 8.19am in Tokyo today, after declining as low as US$1.0980 in NY, the weakest level since June 27. The odd movement came from the Japanese yen which gained strength against the greenback to trade at 1.0594 after broaching the 107 level earlier in the day.
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HOW MUCH HIGHER? Stocks have climbed steadily upward since hitting a bottom almost a month ago, aided by better-than-expected reports on corporate earnings and the US economy.
“It’s a confounding market”, he said. Some analysts see that as a worrying sign and want to see improvement in areas of the market that are more closely tied to the health of the economy, such as financials or companies that sell non-essential goods and services to consumers, before becoming more optimistic.
On the positive side, equipment rental company Ashtead rose 5.1 per cent, gathering strength from a surge in shares of U.S. peer United Rentals after it reported better than expected results overnight. The Dow and S&P 500 have been setting a series of all-time highs this week.
SOLD: Southwest Airlines fell $3.62, or 8.6 percent, to $38.41 after reporting revenue and earnings growth that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.36% was down 0.5% at 329.24 following a flat open and a gain of as much as 0.3% The benchmark on Wednesday drove up 1% for its best close since the June 23 Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom that resulted in the country working toward leaving the European Union. It lost 77.80 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,517.23. On Thursday, it sank $1 to settle at $44.75 per barrel.
OVERSEAS: European markets were mixed.
FRANKFURT-European Central Bank President Mario Draghi stopped short of pledging fresh stimulus for the eurozone economy on Thursday, after the ECB left interest rates on hold at its first policy meeting since Britons voted to leave the European Union.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2 percent.
Shares were down by 5 percent, a fall of 60p, down to 1067p, after the low cost airline said that it had been forced to cut fares – already down by more than 5 percent year-on-year, to improve demand.
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In London, the FTSE 100 closed 0.43% down at 6,699.89. The dollar fell to 106.03 Japanese yen from 106.87 yen late Wednesday. The euro edged down to $1.1022 from $1.1027 on Thursday.
