Asia
Markets in Asia-Pacific took their cue from Wall Street’s weaker performance on Thursday, where equities were sold off amid fears that planned corporate tax changes would take much longer than expected. Japan’s Nikkei, which hit a 25-year high above 23,000 on Thursday, shed nearly 200 points to close trading week at the same level as the open on Monday.
China’s CSI 300 was the standout index in the region, rising nearly 1% to 4,111 points, amid signs of positive progress – from China’s point of view – in trade talks between the emerging superpower and the United States. China has also agreed to raise ownership limits for foreign firms owning Chinese finance companies.
Europe
In London, the FTSE 100 struggled to make gains as fashion retailer Burberry (BRBY), which announced a move upmarket yesterday, continued to weigh on the blue-chip index. Shares in the luxury fashion group were off nearly 4% in midmorning trading, combined with a 10% fall on Thursday. The shares are now trading around £17, compared with a level of £20 at the start of the week.
The FTSE 100 was also held back by a rise in sterling after strong industrial data on Friday morning. The UK’s trade deficit – the difference between imports and exports of a country’s goods and services – also narrowed unexpectedly in September.
In continental Europe, exchanges followed the lead from weaker US shares after a recent strong run for global equities. Indices in Spain, Germany, France and Italy were around 0.5% lower approaching midday.
North America
Futures markets are suggesting further weakness for US indices heading into the weekend. The dollar will also be focus as San Francisco Fed President John Williams, who sits on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rating setting committee, said he expects an interest rate rise at December’s meeting and three more rate hikes next year.
Last night the Nasdaq slipped back by less than 1%. But after market close, shares in Nasdaq-listed semiconductor maker Nvidia (NVDA) rose over 3% as the company beat earnings estimates with EPS of $1.33, against a forecast of $1.07. The company, which makes graphical chips for high-speed computers, has seen its shares double this year. But Nvidia faces increased competition from the likes of Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD). The company’s earnings beat has maintained the bullish mood from technology firms such as Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (APPL) and Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL).
Earnings on Friday are lighter but in economics the University of Michigan sentiment survey for November is the standout release.
