On 23 February, 2017 – Global stock indices were mixed

Stocks traded in a narrow band around the unchanged mark.
United States
Stocks were mixed Thursday. Higher oil prices buoyed the energy sector. They were also lifted by a renewed pledge from President Donald Trump to chief executives of major US companies to bring back millions of jobs to the United States. Investors continue to look for more clarity on the President’s proposals. The Dow Jones industrials were up 0.2 percent while the S&P was virtually unchanged (up 0.99 point). The Nasdaq slumped 0.4 percent thanks to a decline in the biotechnology sector.
L Brands plunged after the company reported weak sales at Victoria’s Secret, its biggest business by revenue. Boston Scientific retreated after the company recalled its Lotus Valve heart devices, citing reports of problems with the locking mechanism. Edwards Lifesciences advanced. Both Intercept Pharmaceuticals and Nvidia were down on the day. Gains in oil prices helped lift shares of Transocean, National Oilwell Varco, Exxon Mobil and Chevron. The Dow benefited from strong gains by Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Verizon. Hormel Foods was lower after the food company reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings and lowered its full year guidance. Cliffs Natural Resources, Ryerson and U.S. Steel retreated.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the corporate hardware and enterprise software business of Hewlett-Packard, reported a 10.4 percent drop in revenue, largely due to sluggish demand for its servers and storage equipment. The company’s net income was flat at $267 million for the first quarter ended January 31. On a per share basis, the company’s net income rose by 1 cent to 16 cents per share from a year earlier. Revenue fell to $11.41 billion from $12.72 billion.
Weekly jobless claims were up 6,000 to 244,000.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was up US$11.25 to US$1,247.90. Copper futures were down 3.3 percent to US$2.66. WTI spot crude was up 77 US cents to US$54.36. Dated Brent spot crude was up 61 US cents to US$56.45. The US dollar was down against all of its major counterparts including the yen, euro, pound, Swiss franc and the Canadian and Australian dollar. The Dollar Index was down 0.3 percent. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond was down 1 basis point to 3.02 percent while the yield on the 10 year note was down 3 basis points to 2.38 percent.
Europe
Most European stock indices retreated Thursday after gyrating between small gains and losses. Investors coped with a high volume of corporate earnings reports and had their first opportunity to react to the minutes of the latest FOMC meeting. The FTSE and DAX lost 0.4 percent, the CAC slipped 0.1 percent and the SMI was 0.2 percent lower.
According to European Central Bank Executive Board member and Chief Economist Peter Praet, policymakers will have to study the reasons for the surge in consumer prices. He noted that with the fading of the declines in energy prices that restrained inflation, headline inflation has moved up quite sharply. Inflation had held well below the ECB’s target of below but close to 2 percent since early 2013. “In the near future, we will have to assess how the forces that are driving prices today can influence the outlook for price stability in the medium term and help durably stabilize inflation around our goal.”
Dialog Semiconductor, the supplier which relies on Apple for around three quarters of its annual revenue, advanced after the company said it expects good sales growth in 2017. Henkel declined despite reporting stronger than expected fourth quarter results and lifting its 2016 dividend. Aareal Bank Group declined after the company said it expects its fiscal 2017 consolidated net interest income to decline to between €620 million and €660 million, largely due to the continued, scheduled reduction of non-strategic portfolios in the entities acquired over the past two years.
Bouygues surged after the conglomerate reported an increase in fiscal year 2016 net profit to €732 million from €403 million in the previous year. Orange advanced after its fiscal 2016 net income increased to €2.94 billion from €2.65 billion last year. Peugeot retreated after it pledged to protect all the existing jobs at Opel and Vauxhall were the carmaker to go through with its acquisition of General Motors’ European operations. Technicolor was lower after it swung to a FY net loss of €26 million from a profit of €78 million last year. Barclays dropped after the bank said it swung to a full-year net profit and said it is nearing the end of a major restructuring program. HSBC was also lower.
Insurer RSA gained after its 2016 operating profit beat forecasts. BAE Systems advanced after the defense contractor reported solid growth in its 2016 sales and underlying earnings and said it anticipates further progress in 2017. Glencore gained after it reported an 18 percent increase in 2016 profits, buoyed by higher commodity prices.
German fourth quarter gross domestic product was up 0.4 percent on the quarter and up 1.7 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
Asia Pacific
Asian stock indices were mixed. Investors were focused on European political risk and at the same time, the minutes of the most recent FOMC meeting. The minutes indicated that a fed funds interest rate increase would be discussed at the March meeting.
The Nikkei was virtually unchanged (down 8.41 points) and the Topix slipped 0.1 percent thanks to a firmer yen and a broad-based selloff in the financial sector. Banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined. Toshiba tumbled after climbing the previous day on a Nikkei report that the company has asked potential bidders for its memory chip business to peg the operations’ value at ¥2 trillion or more. Nissan Motor retreated on news that Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn will step down as president and CEO of the company.
The Shanghai Composite was down 0.3 percent and the Hang Seng lost 0.4 percent. Realty and construction-related stocks led the declines after reports emerged that China’s financial regulators are working on new rules to rein in asset management risks. The Kospi was virtually unchanged (up 0.84 point). The Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 1.25 percent where it has been since June 2016.
The S&P/ASX was down 0.4 percent while the All Ordinaries were 0.3 percent lower. Commodity prices sent mining stocks sharply lower and private capital expenditure figures disappointed investors. Declining copper and iron ore prices weighed on the mining sector, with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and South32 all tumbling.
The Sensex edged up 0.1 percent as the near month February 2017 derivatives contracts expired and investors locked in some profits ahead of the long weekend. Markets in India will be closed Friday.
Looking Forward
Canada posts January consumer price index. The US reports January new home sales and final February consumer sentiment.
Global Stock Markets

*Note — all releases are listed in local time.

Source: Fidelity

Fidelity disclaimer:

The objective of this page is to present users with objective news, information, data and guidance on personal finance topics drawn from a diverse collection of sources including affiliated and non-affiliated financial services publications. Content is not intended to provide tax, legal, insurance or investment advice and should not be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security or investment by any Fidelity entity or any third-party.

Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Disclaimer:

This article, does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Limited is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA and is a Member Firm of the Malta Stock Exchange. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information contact Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Limited at 67, Level 3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 21224410, or email [email protected]