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Land Prime analyst Ioan Mihalachi

  • Head of European Market Strategy and Education Department
  • Market research experience with over 7 years of comprehensive understanding of Financial Markets.
  • Investment management using the combination of fundamental and technical market analysis.

10 March 2017

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Currency Markets the dollar firmed to six-week highs against the yen on Friday, on track for weekly gains against most rivals as investors awaited U.S. job data that is likely to reinforce expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next week. The dollar was up 0.2 percent at 115.21 yen, firming to its highest levels since Jan. 27, and up 1 percent for the week. The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.0594, but still down 0.3 percent for the week even after comments from ECB head Mario Draghi pulled it off its session lows on Thursday. Against the yen, the euro rose 0.4 percent to 122.07, ascending to its highest levels since early February and up 0.8 percent for the week. The dollar index edged up 0.1 percent to 101.90.

 

Commodities Markets crude prices inched up on Friday after falling to their lowest in more than three months the session before, pressured by concerns that a global supply glut is proving stubbornly persistent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 40 cents at $49.68 a barrel. It fell below $50 on Thursday for the first since mid-December, when OPEC and other producers agreed to cut output. Brent crude was up 35 cents at $52.54 a barrel. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,197.90 per ounce after touching $1,197.02 earlier in the session, its weakest since Jan. 31. Silver was down 0.3 percent at $16.89 per ounce. Platinum was mostly unchanged at $932.49 per ounce, while palladium fell 0.2 percent to $745.10.

US Equity Markets a  late rebound in energy stocks helped U.S. stocks end a choppy session a tad higher on Thursday ahead of the U.S. monthly jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.01 percent, to 20,858.19, the S&P 500 gained 0.08 percent, to 2,364.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.02 percent, to 5,838.81. The S&P 500 energy index rose 0.6 percent, snapping two days of big losses, even as crude prices slid nearly 2 percent. The S&P 500 financial index, which had boosted the market earlier in the day, cut gains in afternoon trading and ended up 0.3 percent.  Johnson & Johnson was up 1.5 percent after Jefferies raised its price target on the healthcare conglomerate's stock.

 Bond Markets  short-term Japanese government bond yields ticked up on Friday after the Bank of Japan reduced its purchase in those maturities, while longer-dated bonds were mixed ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the day. The two-year yield rose 1.5 basis points to minus 0.255 percent. Other maturities were steadier, with the 10-year yield down 0.5 basis point at 0.080 percent, while the 20-year yield up 1.0 basis point at 0.675 percent.

 Asian Equity Markets Japan's Nikkei index rose to a one-week high on Friday morning as exporters benefited from the dollar hitting six-week highs against the yen, while investors awaited U.S. jobs data later in the day to provide further evidence that U.S. interest rates are likey to rise. The Nikkei added 1.3 percent to 19,575.34 at the midday break after hitting as high as 19,582.75, the highest level since March 3. The broader Topix was up 1.1 percent to 1,571.68 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 1.1 percent to 14,067.92. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 percent, taking cues from a modest bounce in Wall Street overnight. Shares in South Korea rose 0.3 percent.