normal
October 14, 2023
09:04 am
The Standard & Poor’s and Nasdaq indices closed lower on Friday, as weak consumer confidence data and conflict in the Middle East led investors to refrain from taking high-risk bets and erased the impact of positive quarterly profits for a number of the largest American banks. The three Wall Street indices began trading on an upward note, but the situation changed after the preliminary reading of US consumer confidence showed a sharp decline in October.
Investors are also monitoring news coming from the Middle East, where Israel said on Friday that it had carried out operations inside the Gaza Strip in the first announcement that reflects the start of ground operations in the Strip.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell by 21.66 points, or 0.49 percent, to 4,328.34 points, and the Nasdaq fell by 166.98 points, or 1.23 percent, to 13,407.23 points. As for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it rose 39.41 points, or 0.13 percent, to 33,673.39 points at close.
European stocks
European stocks fell on Friday after US inflation data fueled fears that interest rates would remain high for a longer period, while weak inflation data from China exacerbated concerns about the global economy.
The European Stoxx 600 index fell 1%. Shares of mining companies and oil and gas companies were among the few to record gains as commodity prices, including oil and copper, rose.
At the close, the German DAX indices fell -1.55%, the British FTSE -0.59%, and the French CAC -1.42%.
Asian stocks
Asian stocks also fell, affected by data from China indicating continued deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy.
Japanese stocks fell on Friday, but the Japanese Nikkei index’s losses were limited due to a 5.75 percent jump in the index’s heavyweight Fast Retailing, the company that owns the Uniqlo brand, after a strong earnings report. The Nikkei index closed 0.55 percent lower at 32,315.99, ending a three-day winning streak. The broader Topix index fell 1.44 percent.
2023-10-14 05:04:51
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