NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) – A gauge of global stocks edged
higher on Friday, poised for a sixth straight day of gains,
while the dollar dipped against a basket of major currencies
following soft data on U.S. business activity.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 showed modest losses as names
such as Meta META.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O lost ground in the
wake of earnings from Snap Inc SNAP.N, which plunged 37.31%
but defensive sectors such as utilities .SPLRCU and consumer
staples .SPLRCS rose. nL1N2Z22MN
Still, the benchmark S&P index was up more than 3% for the
week, on pace for its biggest weekly percentage gain in four.
“We’ve had an amazing week and quite frankly it’s quite
surprising to see the strength we have had, the resilience,
given that we are going to get a three-quarter point hike next
week, and of course there is still another one looming out in
late September,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading
and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
“We have had four suckers’ rallies this year already and I
hope this is not one of those but I just think caution would be
prudent here.”
S&P Global on Friday said its preliminary U.S. Composite PMI
Output Index had tumbled far more than expected to 47.5 this
month from a final reading of 52.3 in June, the first
contraction in almost two years. nZON005ZC3
Recent data has showed signs of a slowing economy, but the
Federal Reserve is still widely expected to raise interest rates
by 75 basis points at its policy meeting as it attempts to
combat inflation. On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB)
raised rates by 50 basis points after weeks of indicating a 24
basis point hike was in the offing. nL1N2Z20BK
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 93.91 points,
or 0.29%, to 32,130.81, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.91 points, or
0.02%, to 3,998.04 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
72.30 points, or 0.6%, to 11,987.31.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.51% and
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.22% after climbing to 623.79, its highest level since June 10.
The STOXX 600 was on pace for its biggest weekly percentage gain
in four months.
The dollar lost ground on the heels of the business activity
data, as investors attempt to weigh slowing economic activity
against the rate of easing inflation.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.281%, with the euro EUR= up
0.02% to $1.023.
The euro slipped in choppy trading after data showed euro
zone business activity also unexpectedly contracted this month,
with companies continuing to report rising costs as inflation
bites, hitting consumer demand and weighing on the outlook, a
survey showed. nZRN004S4M
After touching a 20-year high last week, the dollar was on
track for its biggest weekly percentage decline in 5-1/2 months.
The Japanese yen strengthened 1.03% versus the greenback at
135.98 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.2042, up 0.41% on the day.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 33/32 in price
to yield 2.7886%, from 2.908% late on Thursday.
U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 0.51% to $96.84 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $104.67, up 0.78% on the day.
Source: ASEAN Exchanges