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World stock market overview

07 December 2009 08:03 (UTC +04:00)

Baku- APA-Economics. A sharp slowdown in U.S. job losses last month pushed Bank of America, Boeing and the broader market higher Friday, though a subsequent rally for the dollar weighed on commodities prices and stocks, including Exxon Mobil and Alcoa, ibtimes reported. The unemployment rate edged lower to 10% in November from 10.2%. Stocks rallied after the report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading up roughly 150 points. At close, the Dow ended up 22.75 points, or 0.22%, to 10388.90. The index’s strongest components were a series of large industrial firms, including Boeing, up 91 cents, or 1.7%, to 54.68, and United Technologies, which rose 1.06, or 1.6%, to 68.32. Bank of America was also strong Friday, up 52 cents, or 3.3%, to 16.28, after disclosing plans on Wednesday to repay $45 billion to the U.S. government. Given the interest-rate implications, the jobs report was a boon for the dollar, with a stronger dollar weighing on commodities prices, including gold and oil, as well as commodities producers.
Two of the Dow’s weakest components were Exxon Mobil, down 74 cents, or 1%, at 74.25, and Alcoa, which slid 28 cents, or 2.1%, to 12.99. The Dow was also hurt by component DuPont, which pushed back its timelines for the North American release of its Optimum GAT corn and soybean seeds, which have a special herbicide tolerance and provide high yields. DuPont closed down 2.49, or 7.2%, at 32.34. Among other indexes, the Standard & Poor’s 500 closed Friday up 6.06 points, or 0.55%, to 1105.98, and ended the week up 14.49, or 1.33%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 21.21, or 0.98%, to 2194.35, on Friday. The technology-heavy index closed the week up 55.91, or 2.61%, marking its first weekly gain in three weeks. In the broader market, the drop for commodities prices hurt steel and other metalscompanies, including AK Steel, off 76 cents, or 3.8%, to 19.38, and Massey Energy, down 96 cents, or 2.6%, at 36.21. Gold producers were also hammered Friday as the price of gold dropped below $1,200. AngloGold Ashanti lost 1.86, or 4.1%, to 43.65, and Newmont Mining fell 2.43, or 4.5%, at 52.05. In addition, Barrick Gold fell 4.16, or 8.9%, to 42.68.
European shares staged a sharp turnaround Friday afternoon, after data painted a much better-than-expected picture of the U.S. economy. After trading lower though much of the session, the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 1.1% to 249.05 after the data, taking weekly gains to 2.7%. That showed the U.S. labor market improved markedly in November, with the unemployment rate falling back to 10% and job losses shrinking to the lowest level in nearly two years, the Labor Department reported Friday. Gains were also marked in regional European equity markets. The German DAX index advanced 0.8% to 5,817.65 and the French CAC-40 index rose 1.3% to 3,846.62. The U.K. FTSE 100 index underperformed, up just 0.2% at 5,322.36 as the stronger dollar hit gold futures and mining shares hard, with Rio Tinto shares down 1.8%. As the dollar rose, the euro fell, lifting shares in companies that manufacture in Europe but sell their products in dollars, such as airplane maker EADS, up 3.9%. Autos such as BMW, up 1.7%, are also sensitive to currency moves as they sell their products into the U.S. Airlines operating between Europe and the U.S. can also be tied to U.S. consumer spending trends.
Asian stock markets ended mixed Friday as resource stocks in Australia declined along with commodity prices, while a battle for a piece of Japan Airlines lifted the carrier’s stock and pushed Japan’s benchmark above the 10,000 point mark. Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 0.5% higher, South Korea’s Kospi Composite climbed 0.6%, but Taiwan’s main index shed 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 0.3% lower while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.6%. Gold prices also dropped back after recent gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 seesawed between positive and negative territory before ending above the 10,000 point level for the first time since Oct. 30 as optimism over a weakening yen offset earlier profit taking. Japan Airlines saw its stock climb 8.7% to post its biggest one-day percentage gain since October as speculators bought on the intensifying battle between AMR’s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines to acquire a stake in the ailing Japanese carrier.