The US economy saw the fastest pace of growth since 2021
Wall Street stocks finished lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite going deeper into correction territory as negative investor sentiment continues to dominate global financial markets. The tech-heavy index shed 1.76%, the S&P 500 dipped 1.18%, while the Dow Jones slipped 0.76%. In individual stocks, Meta shares gave up more than 3.5% despite strong quarterly earnings as the company pointed at some advertising softness. On the data front, US GDP increased at an annualized rate of 4.9% in the third quarter versus the prior quarter’s rate of 2.1%. This was the fastest pace of growth since 2021.
Today in Asia, equities saw some recovery after the recent slide. Leading the gains in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rallied nearly 2% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.99%. Japans’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.38% after the data showed that the core CPI in Tokyo rose 2.7% in October compared to a year ago versus an expected rise of 2.5%. The core consumer price index for Tokyo includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.21% higher, with the country’s PPI recording a 3.8% growth year-on-year and 1.8% advance on a quarterly basis.
European stocks opened mixed ahead of the weekend, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 shedding 0.1% in early deals. In individual stocks, NatWest gave up more than 15% after the UK’s FCA said it had found potential regulatory breaches in the bank’s handling of a decision to close former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage’s accounts. Elsewhere, the ECB on Thursday held interest rates steady for the first time in over a year. Lagarde said the topic of rate cuts was not discussed by the Governing Council.
After the central bank’s decision, the euro slipped to trim intraday losses eventually. On Friday, EURUSD holds steady, oscillating around the 20-DMA as the US dollar retains a bullish bias ahead of the weekend. The USD index has settled above the 106.50 region, staying below the 107.00 figure that represents the immediate upside target for buyers. The greenback was supported by strong US GDP data along with ECB’s inaction. However, as risk sentiment has improved somehow, the dollar lacks safe-haven demand at this stage. On the downside, the immediate support now arrives at 105.35, followed by the 105.00 figure.
