NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares fell on Friday as data from China, the eurozone and the United States put a lid on expectations for a continued global rebound, with traders already worried about a delay in US fiscal stimulus .
Traders work for the German stock price index, DAX board, on the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 8, 2017. REUTERS / Pawel Kopczynski / Files
An assessment of U.S.-China trade sales initially slated for Saturday will be delayed due to problems with plans and no new date has been agreed, according to sources familiar with the plans.
European stocks were further offset by a hit for travel stocks after Britain added more European countries, including France, to its quarantine list amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Wall Street, a slowdown in retail sales growth last month and concerns about further consumer volatility weighed on shares, but the S&P 500 ended almost unchanged, not far from record highs.
“The economy remains on life support and Congress continuing with recession is bad news for large parts of the economy,” Edward Moya, New York-based senior market analyst at OANDA, wrote in an afternoon note. “Shares will not sell because of the extraordinary policy support that central banks and governments have put in place.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 34.3 points, or 0.12%, to 27,931.02, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.58 points, or 0.02%, to 3,372.85 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 23.20 points, or 0.21% , to 11,019.30.
MSCI’s world index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.25%, beating all other highs in February. The index is still running close to 50% of the March trough despite global economic consequences of combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
The eurozone reported the biggest drop it has ever recorded in employment in the second quarter. Data also confirmed a record decline in gross domestic product last quarter and an expansion in the eurozone’s trade surplus with the rest of the world.
Data showing a slower-than-expected rise in Chinese industrial production and a surprising drop in retail sales put Asian stocks on the defensive.
Yields on benchmark U.S. Treasuries dipped but remained rising after a 30-year bond auction on Thursday met a bad demand. The 30-year yield increased every day this week.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT = RR pulled past 2/32 in price to yield 0.7094%, up 0.716% late on Thursday.
The 30-year bond US30YT = RR last fell 12/32 in price to yield 1.4439%, from 1.428%.
Gold ticks lower and posted its steepest weekly fall since March, following a string of nine-week gains.
Spot gold XAU = dropped 0.5% to $ 1,943.76 an ounce. Silver XAG =, also posting a weekly loss after a long string of gains, fell 4.16% to $ 26.41.
The dollar index went to an eighth consecutive week of loss, its longest weekly losing streak in a decade. The index = USD fell 0.163%, with the euro EUR = up 0.25% to $ 1.1841.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.30% against the greenback at 106.59 per dollar, while Sterling gained GBP = 0.16% to $ 1.3084.
Oil continued to fall below $ 45 a barrel, up some of this week’s gains, amid doubts over demand recovery due to the COVID-19 pandemic and growing supply.
US crude CLc1 recently fell 0.05% to $ 42.22 per barrel after hitting $ 41.62 earlier and Brent LCOc1 was unchanged in late trading at $ 44.96 after falling to $ 44.47.
Report by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reports by Alex Lawler and Tom Arnold in London, Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh in Bengaluru and Karen Brettell and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Edited by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell
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