Stock market today: World shares are mixed after a blockbuster US jobs
report
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[October 07, 2024] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
World shares were mixed on Monday while oil prices pushed higher after
the Israeli military said that projectiles fired from Gaza set off
sirens in central Tel Aviv, as Israel marked a year since the Oct. 7
attack by Hamas.
After a day of strong gains in Asia, shares fell in Europe. The CAC 40
in Paris edged 0.1% lower to 7,530.43. Germany's DAX lost 0.3% to
19,059.46 and the FTSE 100 in London was down 0.1% at 8,275.18.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were
down 0.4%.
Asian shares logged strong gains after a surprisingly strong U.S. jobs
report raised optimism about the economy, sparking a rally Friday on
Wall Street.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.8% to 39,332.74 after the yen sank
against the U.S. dollar. The Japanese currency has bounced on
speculation over the central bank's plans for interest rates since Prime
Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office last week. Lower interest rates tend
to boost prices of shares and other asset, and both Ishiba and the
central bank governor suggested no hikes were likely soon.
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Nintendo gained 4.4% following reports that a Saudi wealth fund was
planning to increase its investment in the Kyoto, Japan-based video game
maker.
In a policy speech on Friday, Ishiba said he wants to see salary
increases that outpace inflation and that he will promote investment to
create “a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution.” He promised
economic support for low-income households and measures for regional
revitalization and disaster resilience.
But he offered no major new initiatives, and his initial public support
ratings are around 50% or lower, relatively low for a new leader,
according to Japanese media. He plans to dissolve parliament on
Wednesday for an election on Oct. 27.
After gaining briefly against the dollar, the yen fell back late last
week. Early Monday, the dollar was trading at 148.34 yen, down from
148.72 late Friday. The euro rose to $1.0974 from $1.0967.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.6% to 23,099.78,
and the Kospi in Seoul surged 1.6% to 2,610.38.
Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.8%.
Mainland Chinese markets reopen from a weeklong holiday on Tuesday, and
the government said it plans to explain details of plans for economic
stimulus at a morning news conference in Beijing. Before the Oct. 1
National Day holiday began, announcements of policies aimed at reviving
the ailing property market pushed share benchmarks sharply higher and
this week could bring more volatility.
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Signs mark the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in the
Financial District on Oct. 2, 2024, in New York. Trinity Church is
in the background. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
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“More fiscal stimulus to stabilize
the property market and restructure local government debts, and
structural reforms to address the over-capacity and deflation issues
are needed to turn around the economy,” B of A Securities said in a
research note, pointing to continued declines in home sales, housing
prices and credit growth.
On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% and got close to its all-time
high set on Monday. The Dow gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq climbed 1.2%.
Worries over tensions in the Middle East have pushed oil prices
sharply higher as the world waits to see how Israel will respond to
an Oct. 1 missile attack by Iran.
Monday's surprise cross-border barrage caught Israel unprepared on a
major Jewish holiday, as the nation mourned the hundreds of victims
of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the dozens of hostages still in
captivity and the soldiers wounded or killed trying to save them.
After slight losses earlier in the day, U.S. benchmark crude oil was
up $1.26 at $75.64 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international
standard, picked up $1.09 to $79.14 per barrel.
In Friday's report, the U.S. government said employers added 254,000
more jobs to their payrolls last month than they cut. That was an
acceleration from August’s hiring pace of 159,000 and blew past
economists’ forecasts.
Recent encouraging data on the economy have raised hopes that the
job market will hold up after the Fed pressed the brakes on the
economy through higher rates in order to stamp out high inflation.
The Fed has begun cutting interest rates and Friday’s jobs report
was so strong traders are now forecasting it will not deliver
another half-point interest rate cut before the end of the year
after doing so in September.
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