London (AFP) – Stocks were subdued and precious metals hit fresh highs Friday after a turbulent week that saw US President Donald Trump back down from threats to seize Greenland and to issue tariffs against European allies. Gold — a safe haven asset — pushed towards a record $5,000 an ounce despite “a calmer end to a chaotic week on the markets,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. “Gold nudged ahead…as investors were reluctant to let go of their safety blanket, just in case Donald Trump woke up with another controversial idea,” he added.
Sentiment has calmed over the past two days after the US president pulled back from his warning to hit several European nations with levies because of their opposition to Washington taking over the Danish autonomous territory. European stocks hesitated Friday, with Paris dipping while Frankfurt and London were flat approaching the half-way stage. Asian markets closed higher tracking a successive advance on Wall Street.
Trump’s latest salvo against allies revived trade war fears and uncertainty about US investment, putting downward pressure on the dollar this week. Analysts said there was no guarantee that Europe-US relations had improved durably. The Republican’s willingness to threaten tariffs over any issue had rattled confidence on trading floors, weighing on the dollar and boosting safe-haven metals, analysts said.
Investors were also preparing for next week’s Federal Reserve meeting following economic data broadly in line with forecasts and after US prosecutors took aim at boss Jerome Powell, raising fears over the bank’s independence. The bank is tipped to hold interest rates, having cut them in the previous three meetings. The meeting also comes as Trump considers candidates to replace Powell when his term comes to an end in May.
Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged Friday ahead of the country’s snap election next week, which could impact government spending plans. After sharp volatility in the wake of the announcement, the yen traded slightly higher.
In company news, the share price of Japanese giant Nintendo closed up 4.5 percent as industry data showed that its Switch 2 console led the US hardware market in unit and dollar sales in 2025. Czech weapons manufacturer CSG debuted on the Amsterdam stock market Friday, raising 3.8 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in the world’s biggest initial public offering in the defence sector.
Next week’s US earnings calendar is packed with results from Apple, Microsoft, Boeing, Tesla, Meta, and other corporate giants.
– Key figures at around 1100 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,159.13 points
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,116.40
Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,860.23
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 53,846.87 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 26,749.51 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 4,136.16 (close)
New York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,384.01 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1735 from $1.1751 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3530 from $1.3500
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.20 yen from 158.39 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.73 pence from 87.05 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $60.19 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 percent at $64.95 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
