Share

Global stocks rise as investors weigh future of US rates

According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, investors are now pricing in a 24% chance of a rate hike by September, up from 21% before Yellen and Fischer spoke.

Advertisement

“Indications that the neutral interest rate has fallen notably in the past three years gives the USA central bank two dilemmas [concerning] when they should next tighten policy and how fast should they transition the cycle”, he said.

The DJIA or Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3 percent or 53 points to touch 18,395. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes went up 1.62 percent.

The U.S. Commerce Department said that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.3 percent last month after a 0.5 percent gain in June.

“After all was said and done, we are still left pondering the most fundamental question, when will the Fed lift off”. The financial sector of the S&P 500 has gained just 1.8 percent in 2016 versus a 6.7 percent increase for the broader index. The data showed the British economy grew 0.6 percent in the second quarter and was up by 2.2 percent on year, in line with preliminary readings and forecasts. A Wall Street Journal report earlier Friday said that the investment bank Jefferies had been looking for buyers for Icahn’s position. Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) was down 0.5 percent in afternoon trade, while the French CAC (Euronext Paris:.FCHI) was down around 0.7 percent.

Shares in Hong Kong, where monetary policy is linked to that of the United States, fell 0.4 percent, while Sydney closed 0.8 percent lower and Seoul eased 0.3 percent.

He said investors were taking Fischer’s comments as less hawkish than initially thought, while acknowledging there has been a turn for the better in US economic data in recent weeks that could support tighter monetary policy.

Brent crude futures were up 6 cents at $49.32 a barrel, while USA crude added 9 cents to $47.0. In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell 5 cents to $1.47 a gallon, heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.49 a gallon and natural gas fell 2 cents to $2.85 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Friday’s USA employment report is expected to show an increase of 180,000 jobs in August, according to the median estimate of 89 economists polled by Reuters, below the better-than-expected 255,000 additions in July.

“The retreat. back towards the $1.30 level captures our view that part of the squeeze higher in the pair had been due to a softer dollar”, said ING currency strategist Viraj Patel.

Advertisement

Gold for December delivery edged up $1.20 or 0.1% to close at $1,326.70 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A woman walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Tuesday Aug. 30 2016. Asian shares were mostly