Advanced Search

Share Coverage



Category: Business, Economics and Finance / Company News / Industry / Oil and Gas / Markets / Currency / Futures / Stockmarket

Wall Street barely moves, oil slumps

Friday, 10 Mar 2017 05:55:13 | Lucia Stein

Analysts are eyeing oil prices to see if the decline continues. (f-l-e-x: www.flickr.com)

Stocks in the United States barely moved overnight, as financial stocks rose once again offsetting falls in energy shares as oil prices fell nearly 3 per cent.

Markets at 8:15am (AEDT):

  • ASX SPI 200 futures -0.1pc to 5,758
  • AUD: 75.07 US cents, 61.66 British pence, 86.26 Japanese yen, 70.92 eurocents, $NZ1.08
  • US: S&P 500 +.07pc to 2,364, Dow Jones +0.01pc to 20,858, Nasdaq +0.02pc to 5,838
  • Europe: Euro Stoxx +0.55pc to 363.12, FTSE -0.27pc to 7,314
  • Commodities: Gold -0.57pc to $US1,200.00/ounce

The drop in oil prices extended the previous session's dive, which saw prices reach its lowest levels this year.

There were doubts about whether OPEC-led supply cuts would reduce a global glut, after data showed a record number of US crude inventories.

Analysts are looking to see if this decline continues, expecting it to have implications for inflation globally.

"Higher oil prices are a key reason why headline inflation is up in many countries and as the lift falls out of annual calculations, the pace of inflation will slow, all else equal," an ANZ analyst note said.

"However, if prices keep falling we could be looking at an even more dramatic softening, once again questioning the market's collective enthusiasm to embrace the reflation trade."

Financial stocks were boosted by a report showing the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to 243,000 last week, with analysts encouraged that it remained below the key 300,000 figure.

Tech giant Apple was one of the worst performers in the session, with stocks sliding on speculation of a delay in the iPhone 8 launch.

European stock markets were stronger, making slight gains after the European Central Bank (ECB) left policy unchanged, in line with expectations.

President of the ECB Mario Draghi said that the growth outlook was improving, causing bank stocks to rise and offset the drop in oil.

"There is no longer that sense of urgency in taking further actions," Mr Draghi said during the press conference.

"That urgency that was prompted by the risks of deflation isn't there."

The Australia market is on track for a fairly flat open.

The Australian dollar is down this morning and a short time ago was worth $US75.01.

West Texas Crude oil has slipped to $US48.62 a barrel, a barrel of Tapis is worth $US52.05 and spot gold is down to $US1,202 an ounce.

AustraliaPlus


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend