Market Update & Important Indicators:
U.S. stocks rose Friday, even as drug maker declines cut into the broader market's advance. Shares of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies fell after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unveiled a new drug pricing plan that would allow government officials to impose penalties for "unjustified price increases" on older treatments. Stocks, bonds and even the dollar have been locked in a fairly narrow trading range and volumes have dropped off sharply, while both implied and realized volatility have plumbed their lowest levels in months, a state many traders have blamed on uncertainty about next moves by the Fed. Many traders expected Friday's jobs report, the last broad reading of the labour market before the Fed's September meeting, to spark stock-market swings, but that wasn't the case. In morning trading, major stock indexes rose following a slightly softer-than-expected August jobs report. The S&P 500 ended the day up 0.4%, the Nasdaq Composite also edged up 0.4% as did the Dow Jones Industrial Average. All three indexes finished the week with gains.
Stocks across Europe on Friday closed at their best level in more than four months, after a lacklustre U.S. monthly jobs report dampened expectations for a U.S. interest-rate hike. The Stoxx Europe 600 advanced 2% to finish at 350.44, the highest close since April 20, according to Dow Jones data. Friday's climb helped the index to notch nearly all of its 2% weekly advance–its largest weekly rise since July 15.
Asian shares were mixed Friday as traders awaited the latest U.S. jobs report, the strength of which could help determine the timing of the next interest-rate increase. A sooner-than-expected rate increase in September by the Federal Reserve could pull foreign capital out of emerging markets in Asia, analysts say, though a December rate increase would have already been priced in by investors. The Nikkei Stock Average closed flat and in South Korea, the Kospi ended up 0.3%, after the government revised its second-quarter economic growth figure to 3.3% on year, compared with 3.2% earlier. Friday's gains helped the benchmark index reverse losses for the week to end up 0.1%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.5%, reaching its highest closing level in nearly a year.
Australian shares ended the week on a low note, as resources stocks notched up a weak recovery but all other sectors retreated ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the global day that will be a factor in the timing of the next Federal Reserve interest-rate rise. The local market has fallen in six of the last seven sessions, ending Friday at an over-seven-week low. Financial markets have been cautiously awaiting the latest U.S. monthly payrolls data amid heightened expectations the Fed may soon increase short-term rates following comments from Chairwoman Janet Yellen last week that the case for an increase had strengthened in recent months. That in turn buoyed the U.S. dollar and weighed on commodity prices for much of this week. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 42.8 points, or 0.8%, to 5372.8 on Friday. That left it down 2.6% for the week, a third straight week in the red.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed down 0.1% at $4,627/t. Other base metals were mixed on Friday. Aluminium fell 1.3% to $1,576/t, zinc rose 1.0% to $2,368/t, tin rose 1.0% to $19,349/t, nickel rose 1.5% to $10,004/t, and lead rose 0.6% to $1,936/t.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Pantoro Limited (PNR), Boss Resources Ltd (BOE), Metro Mining (MMI), Metal Bank Ltd (MBK), Actinogen Medical (ACW), St. George Mining Ltd (SGQ), Resapp Health Ltd (RAP), Orecorp Limited (ORR), Dimerix Limited (DXB), Genesis Minerals Ltd (GMD), Dakota Minerals Ltd (DKO), Breaker Resources NL (BRB), Bard1 Life Sciences Ltd (BD1), Alto Metals Ltd (AME), Birimian Limited (BGS), Antipa Minerals Ltd (AZY), Vault Intelligence Ltd (VLT), Noxopharm Ltd (NOX), Gage Roads Brewing Co. (GRB), West African Resources (WAF), Cedar Woods Properties Ltd (CWP), Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd (SEH), Salt Lake Potash Ltd (SO4), Kalina Power Ltd (KPO), Austal Limited (ASB), Agrimin Ltd (AMN)
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