On 27 September, 2016 – Global stocks mixed

Investors reacted to Monday night’s debate in the US and for the most part, shrugged off lower oil prices.
United States
US markets were up on Tuesday but energy companies lagged other sectors as the price of crude oil slumped. Waning expectations of an oil supply freeze at a meeting in Algeria among the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) weighed on prices. The Dow Jones industrials were up 0.7 percent, the S&P gained 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq was 0.9 percent higher.
Devon Energy and Halliburton declined. Netflix, which has slumped so far this year, rose. AutoZone and Amazon advanced. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, helped pull tech stocks higher. IBM climbed higher. Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises made some of the biggest gains in the S&P. Carnival advanced after the company posted solid quarterly results. Royal Caribbean, Southwest Airlines and Expedia also gained.
American Express was higher after a federal appeals court ruled late Monday that the company did not violate antitrust laws when it prevented stores from asking customers to use one credit card over another and steering consumers to another type of payment. On Tuesday, the company said it would buy back as many as 150 million shares of its stock and raised its dividend to 32 cents from 29 cents.
Rice Energy declined after it said it would buy Vantage Energy for $2.7 billion including debt. The Vantage business will become part of a separate Rice company called Rice Midstream Partners. Chesapeake Energy fell after another sign that the activist investor Carl C. Icahn has been reducing his involvement with the company. Kite Pharma was higher after the company reported positive results from a study of its experimental lymphoma drug.
September consumer confidence reached its highest level in nine years this month. The Conference Board said its index rose to 104.1 as consumers grew more optimistic about the labor market. The result was better than expected and the highest reading on the group’s survey since August 2007.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was down US$13.50 to US$1,327.00. Copper futures were down 1.2 percent to US$2.17. WTI spot crude was down US$1.36 to US$44.57. Dated Brent spot crude was down US$1.48 to US$45.87. The US dollar was up against the yen, euro and Swiss franc. It declined against the pound and the Canadian and Australian dollars. The Dollar Index was up 0.2 percent. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond was down 4 basis points to 2.28 percent while the yield on the 10 year note slipped 2 basis points to 1.56 percent.
Europe
Stocks were mostly lower Tuesday. After getting off to a positive start, the markets quickly slipped into negative territory and remained there for the rest of the trading session. The continued weakness of the European banks weighed on investor sentiment. Concern over Deutsche Bank and the enormous fine the German lender is facing from the United States has hit the sector hard in recent days. Energy stocks were also under pressure because of falling crude oil prices. Saudi Arabia and Iran downplayed expectations of a deal with Russia to curb oil supplies. The FTSE and CAC declined 0.2 percent while the DAX lost 0.3 percent. The SMI, however, added 0.1 percent.
Commerzbank dropped on a report that it plans to slash around 9,000 jobs over the coming years as part of a restructuring plan. Deutsche Bank retreated after a German magazine reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel had ruled out providing government aid to the bank. In Paris, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas also finished lower.
Standard Chartered dropped after The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Justice Department is investigating the company over allegations that an Indonesian power company controlled by Standard Chartered paid bribes to win contracts. Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays retreated. Total and Technip declined. Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Tullow Oil also dropped. In London, Wolseley declined after the company unveiled plans to close 80 UK branches and a distribution center after reporting full-year underlying trading profit below expectations. Thomas Cook Group fell after the tour operator revealed a 4 percent decline in overall bookings for summer 2016. Centrica was down on a broker downgrade.
Eurozone money supply growth accelerated in August and loans to households increased at a steady pace. M3 climbed 5.1 percent on the year in August after increasing 4.9 percent in July.
Asia Pacific
Asian stocks recouped early losses to end mixed Tuesday. Stocks fluctuated during the US Presidential debate which was taking place during the trading session. Encouraging Chinese industrial profits data also helped stocks across the region finish off their lows. Profits earned by China’s industrial firms grew at the fastest pace in three years, driven by government spending and the property market boom. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.6 percent while the Hang Seng added 1.1 percent.
The Nikkei was up 0.8 percent and the Topix gained 1.0 percent even though banking stocks were under pressure after US bond yields declined and investors continued to worry about the financial health of Deutsche Bank. Exporters Canon, Honda Motor, Mazda and Toyota advanced as the yen drifted lower on improved global risk sentiment. Banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial all retreated. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma jumped on a Nikkei report that the drug maker is in the final stage of clinical trials for a new cancer treatment.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries were down 0.5 percent as investors looked ahead to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) monetary policy meeting on October 4. The big four banks were lower. Rio Tinto declined after announcing a bond buyback plan as part of its ongoing capital management program. BHP Billiton slipped. Oil stocks such as Woodside Petroleum and Santos dropped after the Iranian Minister of Petroleum said he expects Wednesday’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries isn’t going to be anything more than a “consultative” gathering of crude oil suppliers. Oil prices retreated in Asian deals after climbing overnight.
The Kospi added 0.8 percent. The Sensex retreated 0.2 percent. Financial markets and offices in Taipei were closed Tuesday as Typhoon Megi lashed Taiwan.
Looking Forward
In the US, August durable goods orders and the weekly EIA petroleum status report will be released. The International Energy Forum which includes representatives of producing and consuming countries is scheduled in Algiers.
Global Stock Markets

*Note — all releases are listed in local time.

Source: Fidelity

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