Market Update & Important Indicators
U.S. stocks edged higher Friday as investors anticipated central banks would remain supportive after the U.K.'s vote to exit the European Union. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended the week down less than a percentage point from their levels before the U.K. vote, with traders on Friday describing a subdued session ahead of the three-day U.S. holiday weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19.38 points, or 0.1%, to 17949.37, posting a fourth straight day of gains. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4%. Stock markets had sold off sharply last Friday and Monday in the immediate aftermath of the referendum result, triggering the greatest week of equity outflows since August, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. But many stocks have rebounded sharply since Tuesday amid hopes that central banks around the world would help shore up liquidity and keep monetary policy loose.
European stocks ended higher Friday, pushing the Stoxx Europe 600 to its best week in five. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7% to 332.24, its highest close since June 23, FactSet data show. The index broke a four-week losing streak to end up 3.2% since last Friday. In economic data ,the jobless rate in the Eurozone in May fell to 10.1% from 10.2% in April, to reach its lowest level since July 2011, the EU's statistics agency said. Separately, a Market purchasing managers index for manufacturing in June rose to 52.8 from 51.5 in May, higher than expected.
Asian stock markets rose Friday after Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney signalled a stronger possibility of a summer rate cut to support the U.K. economy in the wake of the country's vote last week to leave the European Union. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7% while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.9%. The Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.1%. Hong Kong and Thailand's markets were closed for a national holiday. Chinese stocks edged up, with military defence and shipping manufacturing stocks leading gainers, as the country's Communist Party celebrated its 95th anniversary Friday. More than 3.7 billion yuan in foreign funds has fled the mainland stock market over the past 10 sessions, reflecting waning appetite among foreign investors in Chinese equities.
Australian shares Friday notched their strongest weekly advance since mid-April despite the heightened volatility after Britain's vote last week to exit from the European Union. Although off its highs for the day, the S&P/ASX 200 managed to close up 13.2 points, or 0.25%, at 5246.6 on Friday. That left the index up 2.6% for the week, after falling four weeks in a row and losing 2.7% in June. A third straight day of gains by mining stocks drove the wider market to a modest rise Friday, helping it recover most of the ground lost in a sharp dive a week earlier.
Copper prices closed Friday at a near two-month high on a weaker dollar and hopes of further stimulus in China, the world's largest importer of the metal. The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract was up 1.36% at $4,911 per ton, its highest price since May 2. Other base metals also closed higher. Aluminium closed up 0.7% at $1,655 a ton, zinc was up 2.4% at $2,152 a ton, nickel was up 5.6% at $9,927 a ton, and lead was up 3.5% at $1,848 a ton.
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