2023-09-08 20:34:34
* Longer-term Treasury yields fall * Apple shares up slightly following two days of losses * Oil prices rise (Updating US market closing levels) by Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Archyde.com) – The U.S. dollar index posted an eighth straight week of gains on Friday, while global stock indexes finished slightly higher ahead of key U.S. inflation data next week. The Dollar Index (link)=USD’s streak of weekly gains is the longest since 2014, supported by recent data suggesting the U.S. economy is still resilient. For the day, the index remained virtually flat at 105.08. On the other hand, the Chinese onshore yuan CNY=CFXS ended its domestic session at its weakest level since 2007 amid concerns regarding the slowdown in the Chinese economy (link). Strong U.S. economic data this week has some investors worried that even if the Federal Reserve leaves rates unchanged this month, they might remain high for longer than expected. Investors are awaiting the consumer price index for August, which is due to be released on Wednesday, especially as oil prices are on the rise. “The dollar rose on clearly stronger U.S. data… suggesting the Fed might move forward with another rate hike before the end of the year,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wall Street’s three major stock indexes finished slightly higher, with shares of Apple AAPL.O up just 0.3 percent. Apple had fallen in the last two sessions following reports that China would limit the use of the iPhone (link) by state employees. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI gained 75.86 points, or 0.22%, to 34,576.59, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.35 points, or 0.14%, to 4,457.49 and The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 12.69 points, or 0.09%, to 13,761.53. All three major U.S. stock indexes are down for the week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.2%, breaking a seven-day losing streak, while MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the world .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.01%. The dollar’s gains also prompted Japanese policymakers to step up their rhetoric, increasingly uneasy by the falling yen. Masato Kanda (link) said this week that authorities would not rule out any options to combat “speculative” moves, while Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government was monitoring the situation with “urgency” The Japanese yen JPY=EBS was last at around 147.82 per dollar and on the weaker side of the key 145 level that prompted Japan to intervene last year. Yields on longer-term U.S. Treasuries fell as investors digested recent comments from several Fed officials, including some comments that supported the idea that the U.S. central bank may be able to make a pause in its cycle of rate increases. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note US10YR=RR lost 1 basis point to 4.256%. The 10-year yield is up regarding 9 basis points for the week. In the energy sector, oil prices have increased
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