AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Highlights
Australian shares are expected to open higher on last day of the week.
ASX 200 may open 10 points or 0.15% higher on Friday.
The Dow Jones fell 0.26%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.078%, and the NASDAQ ended 0.41% higher.
Australian shares are expected to open higher on last day of the week ahead of the release of Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest monetary policy statement at 11:30 AM (AEST). The domestic market is set to finish the week slightly higher despite mixed overnight closing on Wall Street.
On the other hand, domestic technology stocks are likely to follow their foreign peers’ rise while mining shares may weigh the benchmark on softer commodity prices.
The latest SPI futures indicate that the ASX 200 may open 10 points or 0.15% higher on Friday. The benchmark index dropped 1 point to 6,974.9 points on Thursday.
Global equities
In the US, the Dow Jones fell 0.26%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.078%, and the NASDAQ ended 0.41% higher. The monthly US non-farm payrolls data is awaited on Friday for clues on whether the tight labor market will continue to boost wages.
In Europe, the Stoxx 50 rose 0.6%, the FTSE surged 0.03%, the CAC gained 0.6%, and the DAX ended 0.6% higher.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England announced a massive half-point rise in interest rates.
Bond yields
The two-year Treasury yield fell to 3.0366%, while the 10-year yield dropped to 2.6846%.
Oil prices fall
Oil prices on Thursday fell to multi-month lows on concerns of a slowdown in demand after an increase in US crude and gasoline inventories.
- Brent crude futures finished down at US$94.12.
- WTI crude futures closed down to US$88.54.
Gold prices rebound
Gold prices rebounded on Thursday underpinned by a retreat in the US dollar and Treasury yields, as investors closely tracked US-China tensions.
- Spot gold rose 1.5% to a one-month high of US$1,794.79 an ounce.
Meanwhile, bitcoin eased 1.3% to US$22,536.
