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Category: Stockmarket / Currency / Futures / Markets / Money and Monetary Policy

US shares finish flat amid weak inflation

Friday, 15 Apr 2016 06:46:14 | Rebecca Hyam

US stocks ended flat as gains for financial firms offset a drop in oil. (Keith Bedford: Reuters)

It was a flat finish to the overnight session on Wall Street, with volatile oil prices weighing on energy stocks, while banks gained value amid more earnings results from the financial sector.

Economic figures revealed that consumer prices hardly rose in March throughout the US and underlying inflation slowed.

The Consumer Price Index gained just 0.1 per cent last month, with a rally in fuel prices partially offset by a fall in the cost of food.

On an annual basis, inflation stood at 0.9 per cent.

Analysts said the data suggested no urgency for another interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve in the near term.

A second report issued overnight showed initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 13,000 last week, to 253,000.

Jobless claims are at their lowest level since 1973, suggesting a robust employment market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1 per cent higher at 17,926.

The S&P 500 Index ended unchanged at 2,082 and the Nasdaq edged 1 point lower to 4,945.

European markets were also fairly muted - London's FTSE 100 Index rose by just 2 points to 6,365.

Locally, shares are in for a reasonable start and, at 7:05am (AEST), the ASX SPI 200 was up 0.3 per cent to 5,106.

At the same time, the Australian dollar was worth 76.9 US cents, having rallied overnight.

On the cross-rates it was buying 68.27 euro cents, 54.31 British pence, 84.09 Japanese yen and $NZ1.123.

West Texas crude oil eased to $US41.40 a barrel, a barrel of Tapis was higher at $US45.51 and spot gold had edged down to $US1,227.01 an ounce.

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