However, US shares steadied thanks in large part to bargain hunting.
United States
US shares steadied Friday after dropping on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrials and S&P were both up 0.1 percent while the Nasdaq rebounded 0.6 percent. However, for the week, the three indices dropped 1.1 percent, 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.
Friday’s strength was due in part to bargain hunting with traders buying stocks that had fallen earlier in the week. Positive sentiment was also generated by the July consumer price index. The CPI edged up 0.1 percent on the month and 1.7 percent from a year ago. The core CPI also increased by a monthly 0.1 percent and 1.7 percent on the year. The smaller than expected increase led to optimism that the Federal Reserve will not be in a hurry to raise the fed funds rate. Buying interest was subdued as tensions between the US and North Korea continued to raise geopolitical concerns.
Seagate Technology rallied along with Autodesk and Red Hat. JC Penney dropped when its second quarter loss exceeded expectations. Snap declined after it reported earnings that missed forecasts. Blue Apron Holdings tumbled after it reported rising costs amid increased competition.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was up US$1.70 to US$1,286.10. Copper futures were up 0.3 percent to US$2.91. WTI spot crude was up 23 US cents to US$48.82. Dated Brent spot crude was up 20 US cents to US$52.10. The US dollar was down against all major counterparts including the yen, euro, pound, Swiss franc and the Canadian and Australian dollar. The Dollar Index was down 0.4 percent. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond was up 1 basis point to 2.79 percent while the yield on the 10 year note was down 1 basis point to 2.19 percent.
Europe
The European markets tumbled Friday and for the week. Investors continued to be rattled by the escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States. The FTSE and CAC were down 1.1 percent Friday while the SMI lost 0.7 percent and the DAX was virtually unchanged (down 0.24 point). On the week, The FTSE and CAC dropped 2.7 percent, the DAX was down 2.3 percent and the SMI lost 3.2 percent.
Innogy declined after the utility maintained the outlook on the current year’s business performance and first-half net income declined to €817 million from €1.08 billion last year. Volkswagen advanced after ending discussions with Tata Motors on a potential alliance. Total SA and TechnipFMC were lower. Old Mutual was down — the financial services firm, which is in the middle of breaking up into four parts, plans to list two divisions in 2018.
Tullow Oil and BP retreated. Mining stocks were lower after Chinese base metal prices fell. Anglo American, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Antofagasta and Glencore were down. Galapagos advanced on a broker upgrade. Shares of Coca-Cola continued to climb since Thursday when the beverage bottler said strong volume growth, price increases and improved packaging mix resulted in an increase in first-half earnings.
July consumer prices in Germany accelerated to a three-month high — the CPI was up 1.7 percent on the year after increasing 1.6 percent in June. The July CPI in France was up 0.7 percent on the year for a second month.
Asia Pacific
Asian shares declined Friday and for the week as the escalation in tensions surrounding North Korea continued to push investors towards safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and gold. The dollar set an eight-week low against the yen after rhetoric was ratcheted up. Japanese markets were closed in observance of the Mountain Day holiday. However, on the week the Nikkei was down 1.1 percent while the Topix was 0.9 percent lower.
The Shanghai Composite lost 1.6 percent as investors continued to take profits in cyclical sectors. The Hang Seng dropped 2.2 percent. On the week the indices were down 1.6 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries dropped 1.2 percent on Friday. On the week, both indices were down 0.5 percent. NAB retreated even though the bank reported a 5 percent rise in its third-quarter cash profit. ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac declined after RBA Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank is prepared to be patient on rates for quite some time. Miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were lower while gold miners Evolution and Newcrest advanced.
The Kospi declined 1.7 percent to an 11-week low amid selling by foreign investors as the tensions with North Korea escalated. On the week, the index lost 3.2 percent.
The Sensex declined 1.0 percent (3.4 percent on the week) thanks to a falling rupee and weak earnings updates from prominent public sector banks
Looking forward

Central Bank activities

Aug 16

United States

FOMC Minutes Published

Aug 17

Eurozone

European Central Bank Minutes Published

The following indicators will be released this week…

Europe

Aug 14

Eurozone

Industrial Production (June)

Aug 15

Germany

Gross Domestic Product (Q2. 2017 preliminary)

UK

Consumer Price Index (July)

Producer Price Index (July)

Aug 16

Eurozone

Gross Domestic Product (Q2. 2017 preliminary)

Italy

Gross Domestic Product (Q2. 2017 preliminary)

UK

Labour Market Report (July)

Aug 17

Eurozone

Merchandise Trade (June)

Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (July final)

France

ILO Unemployment (Q2.2017)

UK

Retail Sales (July)

Aug 18

Germany

Producer Price Index (July)

Asia Pacific

Aug 14

Japan

Gross Domestic Product (Q2.2017, first estimate)

China

Industrial Production (July)

Retail Sales (July)

;Aug 17

Japan

Merchandise Trade Balance (July)

Australia

Labour Force Survey (July)

Americas

Aug 15

United States

Retail Sales (July)

Import/Export Prices (July)

Empire State Manufacturing Index (August)

Business Inventories (June)

Aug 16

United States

Housing Starts (July)

Aug 17

Canada

Manufacturing Sales (June)

United States

Initial Unemployment Claims (week ending prior Saturday)

Philadelphia Fed Index (August)

Industrial Production (July)

Leading Indicators (July)

Aug 18

Canada

Consumer Price Index (July)

Consumer Sentiment (August, preliminary)

Global Stock Markets

*Note — all releases are listed in local time.

Source: Fidelity

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