Energy Stocks Lead US Equities Higher
US stocks retreated on Thursday led by telecommunications stocks, financials and consumer discretionary sectors. The dollar fell on the back of sharp euro rise as the European Central Bank left policy unchanged: the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar's strength against a basket of six rival currencies, fell 0.8% to 91.523. Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.1% closing at 21784.78 with shares of Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) the biggest decliners. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% settling at 2465.10. The Nasdaq index managed to gain 0.1% closing at 6397.37.
Growth Upgrade Supports European Indices
European stock indices advanced on Thursday on stronger euro-zone growth report. Euro-zone economy expanded 2.6% in the second quarter, up from the 2.5% rate of growth Eurostat estimated earlier. Both euro and British pound extended gains against the dollar. The Stoxx Europe 600 closed 0.3% higher. Germany's DAX 30 outperformed gaining 0.7% to 12296.63. France's CAC 40 added 0.3% and UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7396.98. Indices opened 0.3% - 0.4% lower today.
Asian Markets Mixed
Asian stock indices are mostly lower today with investors refraining from big bets ahead of North Korea holiday on Saturday. Many traders expect Pyongyang may launch another missile on Founders Day anniversary. Nikkei fell 0.6% to 19274.82 as yen hit 10-month high against the dollar. Markets shrugged off the report Japan’s Q2 GDP was downgrade to an annualized rate of 2.5% from an initial estimate of 4.0%. Chinese stocks are mixed: the Shanghai Composite Index is little changed while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.4% higher. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index is 0.3% lower as the Australian dollar continues the rally against the greenback.
Oil Rising
Oil futures prices are inching higher as Hurricane Irma is heading for Florida. Market participants are concerned the damage from Hurricane Harvey was bigger than expected. Prices rose yesterday despite a US official report domestic crude inventories climbed 4.6 million barrels last week. Brent for November settlement rose 0.5% to end the session at $54.49 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange on Thursday.