Global Stocks Mixed As Elections Heat Up

AFP/APP

New York: Equity markets were mixed Friday as investors assessed fallout from a bumpy US presidential debate and looked ahead to weekend elections in France that could boost the far right.

US stocks had initially risen following an improving reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index, a closely-watched benchmark that boosted the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

But yields on US Treasury notes rose as the day progressed, pressuring the market in the final session of the first half of the year.

All three major indices finished down in New York, with the tech-rich Nasdaq suffering the biggest drop at 0.7 percent.

Nonetheless, all three major indices are up handsomely in 2024 so far, with the S&P 500 up more than 14 percent.

US President Joe Biden’s performance in a debate with predecessor Donald Trump was widely criticized by observers, who said it raised concerns the president is too old to run again.

“There is a lot of speculation about what may or may not happen, but it’s fair to say that some added uncertainty has been injected into the presidential race,” said a mid-session note from Briefing.com.

“That uncertainty could be playing a part in the market’s inability to hold on to stronger gains along with quarter-end activity.”

But some analysts expect a limited impact in the near future.

“We don’t think Biden’s disastrous performance at last night’s debate will have a material impact on markets in the short term,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

“The election is still many months away and a lot could change.”

In Europe, the Paris stock market dropped 0.7 percent on the last day of trading before France’s first-round legislative polls on Sunday.

– Key figures around 2030 GMT –

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 39,118.86 (close)

New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,460.48 (close)

New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 17,732.60 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,164.012 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,479.40 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 18,235.45 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,894.02 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 39,583.08 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 17,718.61 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 2,967.40 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 160.92 yen from 160.76 yen on Thursday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0715 from $1.0704

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2644 from $1.2639

Euro/pound: UP at 84.71 pence from 84.68 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP less than 0.1 percent at $86.41 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $81.54 per barrel