World equities flat, crude oil prices fall as Trump, Putin hold high-stakes talks

Free Malaysia Today

2 days ago

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an intra-day record high, becoming the last of Wall Street's main indexes to climb to a new peak this week. (EPA Images pic)
NEW YORK : Global stocks were flat but still traded near record highs on Friday as US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held high-stakes talks in Alaska over Ukraine.
US Treasury bond prices fell across the board with markets anticipating a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
The Dow hit an intra-day record high during the session, becoming the last of Wall Street's main indexes to climb to a new peak this week.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dropped, dragged down mainly by technology, financials, industrials and utilities stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.08%, the S&P 500 fell 0.29% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.40%.
'This market continues to move higher and the story is just earnings and margins,' said Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group in New Jersey.
'The inflation numbers that we saw this week were mostly services and in a services-based economy like ours, this is good for profit margins.'
Data showed that US retail sales increased solidly in July, rising 0.5% from the prior month, after an unexpected spike in producer price data on Thursday renewed inflation concerns and pared market expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
European shares touched a near five-month high before pulling back, as investors drew encouragement from a largely positive earnings season. The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished flat at 0.06%.
The MSCI All Country World Index consolidated recent gains. It was last flat at 951.70, just shy of the record level of 954.21 set on Wednesday.
Trump and Putin met face to face in Alaska in a high-stakes meeting that could determine whether a ceasefire can be reached in the deadliest war in Europe since WWII.
Trump has said a second summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could follow if the talks with Putin go well.
Details and the longevity of any agreement will be key, and for now investors are on standby. Ukraine's government bonds – key indicators of the mood – have largely stalled in recent days at a still-distressed 55 cents on the dollar.
'There's still a small degree of risk premium in European markets because of the war. Any type of resolution will ultimately pare that back,' said Shaniel Ramjee, co-head of multi-asset at Pictet Asset Management, adding that oil and other commodity prices could also react.
'But I think that the market has learnt not to expect too much from these negotiations. Ultimately, Zelensky and the Europeans are not invited. They will need to be involved in any final negotiation,' Ramjee added.
The two-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, rose 1.1 basis points to 3.751%, paring earlier losses. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose 2.7 basis points to 4.32%.
In currency markets, the dollar weakened 0.38% to 146.72 against the Japanese yen and was down 0.15% at 0.806 against the Swiss franc. The euro was up 0.48% at US$1.1702.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last trading down 0.34% at 97.85.
Japanese GDP data released on Friday showed the economy expanding by an annualised 1.0% in the April-to-June quarter, beating analyst estimates.
Brent crude fell 1.5% to settle at US$66.85 per barrel. US crude fell 1.8% to settle at US$62.80.
Spot gold rose 0.09% to US$3,338.65 an ounce. US gold futures settled almost flat at US$3,382.60.
Cryptocurrency markets stabilised after bitcoin touched a record US$124,480.82 on Thursday. It was down 0.78% at US$117,033.52.