2024-01-12 20:38:50
Oil prices rose on Friday as some tankers turned away from the Red Sea following overnight US and British strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, while US Treasury yields fell following news of a unexpected drop in producer prices in December.
Stocks on Wall Street fell as the U.S. earnings season unofficially began. The main American banks announced a drop in their profits on Friday, during a quarter marked by special charges and job cuts.
Despite the drop in quarterly profit, JPMorgan Chase announced the best annual profit in its history.
best annual profit in its history
and forecast higher-than-expected interest income for 2024. Its shares fell 0.2% and the S&P 500 banking index fell 1%.
US and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of airstrikes in Yemen overnight, in retaliation once morest Iranian-backed Houthi forces, which attacked ships in the Red Sea. This action widened a conflict that stems from Israel’s war in Gaza.
Brent crude oil futures rose 88 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $78.29 a barrel. The session’s highest price was over $80, its highest level since the start of the year. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 66 cents, or 0.9%, to $72.68, limiting gains following hitting a 2024 high of $75.25.
US PPI data reinforced the idea that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates as early as March. The producer price index for final demand fell 0.1% last month as the cost of goods fell, while service prices remained unchanged, pointing to lower inflation In the coming months.
Data on Thursday showed that U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in December.
“Markets are discounting yesterday’s CPI report because the underlying inflation trend is improving and the Fed may legitimately consider cutting rates this year,” wrote Jeffrey Roach, an economist in manager at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The inflation pipeline is clearing and consumer prices will gradually move closer to the Fed’s 2% target.”
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell slightly that day to 3.952%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 150.51 points, or 0.4%, to 37,560.51, the S&P 500 lost 1.92 points, or 0.04%, to 4,778.32 and the Nasdaq Composite lost lost 18.43 points, or 0.12%, to 14,951.76.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.84% and the MSCI world stock index gained 0.22%.
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said rates might be cut if the central bank was certain inflation had fallen to its 2% target.
The US dollar index was up slightly in followingnoon trading, while the New Zealand and Australian currencies were among the best performers of the day.
The dollar index rose 0.186%.
Bitcoin was last at $43,642, down 5.4%. It hit a two-year high of $49,051 on Thursday following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved bitcoin-linked exchange-traded funds on Wednesday.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei extended its impressive year-to-date gains, jumping 1.5% to its highest level in 34 years.
China’s inflation data showed the country’s economic recovery remained weak in December, with the consumer price index falling 0.3% from a year earlier. However, separate trade data showed exports grew faster than expected last month, while imports returned to growth.
In Taiwan, hundreds of thousands of people took part in the final pre-election rallies ahead of Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections.
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