The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged as expected on Thursday and also maintained its asset buying program.
Advertisement
“Markets had a bit of an expectation built into it”, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in NY. Apple shares fell after Wednesday’s unveiling of its new iPhone and an updated Apple Watch (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-does-the-iphone-7-release-mean-for-apple-shares-2016-09-08).
After opening 0.7 percent lower, it was last trading down 1.3 percent from Thursday’s close.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.04 per cent, or 6.51 points, to 14,803.26 in Toronto.
“We don’t think really much has changed in the reasons the New Zealand dollar was strong to begin with – the data is great, growth looks good and there’s a lack of desire to push the United States dollar much higher”.
Market bears have groused that major USA stock-market indexes trading near record levels are not underpinned by strong corporate quarterly results and are likely due for a more pronounced selloff. The Aussie has been among the best performing G10 currencies this year, rising 5.4 percent thanks in large part to offshore interest in carry trades – where investors borrow at low rates in yen or euros to buy higher-yielding assets. (CHK) closing up almost 14%, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.(DO) gaining 9%, Apache Corp.(APA) and Southwest Energy Co.(SWN) both surging 7.1%, and Murphy Oil Corp.(MUR) closing up 6.8%.
“It was pretty much a non-event”, said Greg Anderson, global head of foreign exchange strategy at BMO Capital Markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 46.23 points, or 0.3%, to close at 18,479.91, with 2.7% drops of both Nike Inc.
Meanwhile, investors in the US are turning their focus to incoming economic data in an attempt to gauge when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again. The European Central Bank held interest rates steady, as expected, on Thursday.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dropped 0.6 percent after touching a 13-month high on Thursday, mirroring the slide in the MSCI’s all-country world index .MWD00000PUS .
Adding to the selling pressures in the U.S. Treasury market was a report that showed the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to a two-month low, reflecting a strong jobs market.
The dollar retreated 0.4 percent to 102.10 yen JPY= , surrendering some of Thursday’s gains resulting from the wider gap between US and Japanese bond yields. The euro rose to a session high of $1.1326 against the dollar during Draghi’s speech, its strongest since August 26.
West Texas Intermediate for October delivery rose $2.12, or 4.7 per cent, to $47.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. He also said the bank’s low rates were being more effectively transmitted through the banks and credit markets, meaning more effective stimulus.
The council expects rates to remain at current, or lower, levels “for an extended period of time”, the European Central Bank said in a statement.
“But unless the Fed sends a message, it will be hard for them to make the markets price in a rate hike by the end of the year”.
Advertisement
The S&P 500 fell approximately 0.2 percent, with information technology lagging.
