Daily Digest: Friday 17th May
USA
US equity performances were mixed through Friday, the S&P 500 and Dow indexes pushed higher while poor constituent performances pulled the Nasdaq 100 lower. The Dow led session gains breaking a new record close above the 40,000 level, traders pushed index prices 134.21 points (0.34%) higher to 40,003.59. S&P 500 ($SPX) gains were slightly lower as the index moved 6.17 points (0.12%) higher to 5,303.27. As noted, the Nasdaq 100 ($NDX) was an outlier as prices fell 11.74 points (0.06%) to 18,546.23, marking a second consecutive session of losses.
Europe
The FTSE 100 (FTSE) traded lower for a second session as sell-offs continued pushing prices down 18.39 points (0.22%) to 8,420.26. Only 29 of the indexes constituents closed higher on Friday, the biggest movers being Antofagasta (ANTO.L) a South American copper mining company whose shares rose 3.55%, alongside Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and precious metals miner Fresnillo (FRES.L) whose shares rose 2.41% and 3.36% respectively. These movements were heavily influenced by noise regarding the merger of two industry giants, alongside strong commodity demand forecasts and spot price increases.
The Pan-European STOXX 600 (€SXXP) followed the FTSE’s movements falling 0.68 points (0.13%), while the French CAC (€FCHI) extended its declines falling 20.99 points (0.26%) to 8,167.50, and the German DAX (€GDAXI) fell 34.39 points (0.18%) to 18,704.42.
Rest of the World
The benchmark Japanese equity index, the Nikkei 225 (¥N225) ended a three session streak of gains as prices were pushed 132.88 points (0.34%) down to 38,787.38. Traders tested support around the 38,680 level during the latter part of the session before pushing higher into the close. Once again the USDJPY has been trading between the 155 and 156 levels an area of relative stability since Thursday, though the currency continues to trade at a discount against BOJ targets indicated by ministry of finance interventions earlier in May.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (¥SSE) extended Thursday’s gains rising a further 31.63 points (1.01%) to 3,154.03. Meanwhile, the Indian Nifty 50 (₹NSEI) rose 62.25 points (0.28%) to 22,466.10.
Commodities
WTI crude prices extended Thursday’s gains rising 0.97% to $80 per barrel as of the close, Gold also trended to the upside following yesterday’s sell offs rising 1.44% to $2,419.80 per ounce.
Sources:
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/world-indices/
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/commodities
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/indices/ftse-100
https://www.binance.com/en-GB/price/bitcoin
https://www.binance.com/en-GB/price/ethereum
https://qontigo.com/index/sxxp/
Stock Market Activity Today & Latest Stock Market Trends | Nasdaq
https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#market-cap
https://www.forexfactory.com
Definitions:
YoY - Year on Year, or, Year over Year
MoM - Month on Month, or, Month over Month
QoQ - Quarter on Quarter, or, Quarter over Quarter
ECB - European Central Bank
BOJ - Bank of Japan
Fed - Federal Reserve
BOE - Bank of England
SNB - Swiss National Bank
DOJ - Department of Justice