Morning Briefing: World stocks steady despite lower Wall Street

World stocks steady despite lower Wall Street... Oil near three-month lows... Gold adds value but still at near 5-year low...

Steve Randall
World stocks steady despite lower Wall Street
Wall Street may have closed Thursday with slim losses but the rest of the world has not suffered from the weaker lead. Markets appear to be largely optimistic despite the likelihood of a US interest rate rise next month. There has been some caution though following news of gunmen storming a hotel in the African resort of Mali in what is reported to be a potential terrorist incident.

Asian markets closed broadly higher with China’s rate cut to small businesses boosting sentiment. Japan will be issuing $20 million in government bonds and the main Tokyo index closed close to a 3-month high.

European indexes are mixed so far ahead of potential stimulus measures from the ECB.
 
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North America (previous session)
US Dow Jones 17,732.75 (-0.02 per cent) +2.99 per cent +0.08 per cent
TSX Composite 13,473.83 (+0.55 per cent) -2.66 per cent -10.62 per cent
 
Europe (at 6.00am ET)
UK FTSE 6,332.74 (+0.04 per cent) -0.20 per cent - 5.18 per cent
German DAX 11,101.66 (+0.15 per cent) +9.40 per cent +17.06 per cent
 
Asia (at close)
China CSI 300 3,774.38 (-0.02 per cent) +5.50 per cent +48.77 per cent
Japan Nikkei 19,879.81 (+0.10 per cent) +9.19 per cent +14.91 per cent
 
Other Data (at 6.00am ET)
Oil (Brent) Oil (WTI) Gold Can. Dollar
44.38
(+0.45 per cent)
40.41
(-0.32 per cent)
1084.20
(+0.58 per cent)
U$0.7520
 
Aus. Dollar
U$0.7216
 
Oil near three-month lows
The price of benchmark Brent crude is hovering near three-month lows Friday as the global oversupply continues to dominate the market. West Texas crude is trending slightly lower while Brent has rebounded slightly. The stronger US dollar has also had an impact on prices this week.
 
Gold adds value but still at near 5-year low
The value of gold is at near 2010 prices and experts are expecting the situation to worsen for producers. The stronger US dollar is impacting commodities prices and an interest rate rise by the Fed will likely push the greenback higher. Reuters reports that Chinese banks are also becoming more cautious on gold lending following a rise in defaults from jewellers. That will further increase the pressure.
 

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