New York (AFP) – Global stocks began 2025 in muted fashion while the dollar advanced Thursday as markets gird for a much heavier news flow later in January with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. US stocks opened the day higher but tumbled into the red mid-session before concluding the day modestly lower. “It feels like we won’t have all of the players back until Monday,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management. “We’re stuck in holiday mode.”
London, bolstered by rising commodity shares to offset banks going in the opposite direction, closed with a one percent gain, while Frankfurt ended 0.6 up and Paris eked out a narrow gain. The Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets had set a negative tone earlier, slumping more than two percent while Tokyo was closed. Investors are gearing up for big changes in the weeks ahead, especially the January 20 presidential inauguration of Trump, who has threatened deep tariffs that could rattle international trade.
There are also significant economic releases in the coming period relating to the job market, inflation, and retail sales during the holiday shopping season. “We know that part of the policy mix that the incoming president is recommending is pro-growth and part could cause some market volatility like the policies around trade and immigration,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones.
The dollar index hit its highest level against other currencies since November 2022, reflecting expectations that the US economy will outpace others. Both the euro and the pound fell sharply against the US currency. “Optimism about the strength of the mighty US economy remains buoyant for 2025,” Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said Thursday. “Already growth has kept outpacing forecasts as consumers and companies have shrugged off the impact of high interest rates.”
Oil and natural gas prices also pushed higher, boosted by forecasts for a cold wave in parts of the United States in the coming period. Among individual companies, Tesla slumped 6.1 percent after fourth-quarter auto sales lagged expectations. While the result was disappointing, analysts noted that Tesla shares have rocketed higher since the US election. Constellation shot up 8.4 percent after announcing it won more than $1 billion in US contracts to supply power to government agencies.
– Key figures around 2150 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,392.27 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,868.55 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,280.79 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 8,260.09 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,393.76 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 20,024.66 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: closed
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 19,623.32 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 2.7 percent at 3,262.56 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0269 from $1.0356 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2382 from $1.2517
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.52 yen from 157.24 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 82.92 from 82.74 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.7 percent at $75.93 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $73.13 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
