epa05624345 The sign for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) during trading in London, Britain, 09 November 2016. The London Stock Exchange saw a sharp fall in trading after the announcement that Donald Trump had won the US Presidential election. EPA/WILL OLIVER
LONDON: European stock markets headed towards the weekend on a mixed note Friday, as Tokyo again pushed higher thanks to a weaker yen while Wall Street reopened higher after Thanksgiving.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index added of 0.3%, as unrevised official data showed Britain’s economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter.
The update came two days after the UK government said Britain’s economy would grow far slower than expected next year as state borrowing jumps mainly as a result of a projected financial fallout from Brexit.
”The only real piece of weighty news today was UK GDP, and even this didn’t really cause much excitement, given the quarter-on-quarter figure was unchanged from the previous forecast,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG trading group.
Wall Street reopened Friday after Thanksgiving, although only for a shortened trading session.
Shares of leading retailers rose, lifting US stocks as the holiday shopping season kicked off amid expectations of solid sales. The Dow gain 0.2% in opening trade.
With traders confident the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates before Christmas, the dollar has been cruising along, hitting record highs against India’s rupee and the Turkish lira and touching multi-month highs elsewhere.
The dollar lost a bit of steam on Friday with many US investors expected to take a long holiday weekend.
The dollar’s advance has come hand in hand with a rally across world markets since Donald Trump’s shock presidential election win, with dealers expecting his big spending, low tax plans will boost the world’s top economy.
However, there are some concerns inside emerging market governments about his campaign pledge to review global trade deals, which could lead to an era of protectionism and throw up huge US tariffs.
‘Clearest indication yet’
While trading has been slow on Friday, next week the pace is expected to pick up.
”As well as the much-anticipated Opec-meeting and top-tier Chinese economic data, we will also have important macro pointers from the world’s largest economy, which should provide the clearest indication yet if the Fed will indeed raise interest rates come December 14,” said market analyst Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.
US third quarter GDP data and monthly employment data are to be released.
In Asian trading hours Friday, the dollar hit an eight-month high at 113.90 yen -- providing more support for Japan’s exporters -- before falling back in European trades.
Japan’s Nikkei stocks index came off earlier highs but still ended 0.3-percent higher, its seventh straight gain.
Another weak reading on Japanese consumer prices meant any monetary tightening by Japan’s central bank was unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Oil prices weakened as markets looked ahead to next week’s meeting of the Opec oil cartel to discuss a possible cut in crude output.
* Key figures around 1430 GMT (10:30pm Malaysian time)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3% at 6,845.94 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.08% at 10,680.32
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.02% at 4,543.43
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.03% at 3,041.51
New York - Dow: UP 0.2% at 19,120.95
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3% at 18,381.22 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.5% at 22,723.45 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6% at 3,261.94 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0617 from $1.0553 Thursday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 112.82 yen from 113.20 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2431 from $1.2464
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 76 cents at $47.20 a barrel
Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 81 cents at $48.19 - AFP
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