Excluding an election-week boom, stocks have been in a rut most of the past month following a red-hot six-week stretch early this fall. A still-strong economy and some mixed inflation reports in recent weeks have cast some doubt as to whether the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark rate for the third time in a row when it meets for the final time in 2024 next month.
Lower interest rates can act as fuel for the stock market, and the broad expectation that the Fed was ready to go on a rate-cutting binge put investors in a buying mood.
On Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested the U.S. central bank needs to be cautious about future interest rate decisions. Speaking in Dallas, Powell noted that inflation is edging closer to the central bank's 2% target, "but it is not there yet."
“The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates,” Powell said.
In equities trading, Domino's Pizza and Pool Corp. both jumped around 6% on reports that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had taken significant positions in the companies. Berkshire also reportedly dumped most of its shares in cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty, which tumbled 5% after hours.
Investors are also waiting for the latest government data on retail sales, which comes out later Friday morning.
Elsewhere, in Europe at midday, Britain's FTSE 100 fell a modest 0.1% after data from the Office for National Statistics showed economic growth slowed to 0.1% in the July-September quarter from the 0.5% in the previous quarter. It was below analysts' estimates.
Germany’s DAX was flat and in Paris, the CAC 40 was down 0.1%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 38,642.91. The yen has been weakening against the U.S. dollar, boosting share prices for exporter like Nissan Motor Co., whose shares jumped 4.5% on Friday.
Japan's economy grew at a 0.9% annual pace in the July-September quarter, higher than the 0.5% increase in the previous quarter, even as the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate to 0.25% from 0.1% in July. The BOJ said during its October meeting that it plans to continue increasing rates, with a potential target of 1% in the second half of the next fiscal year, which begins in April, if economic activity and prices develop as expected.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.1% to 19,426.34 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.5% to 3,330.73 after a report from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed the nation’s retail sales rose 4.8% year-on-year in October, beating forecasts. But industrial output slowed from the previous month and improvements in the property industry were marginal.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 8,285.20, while South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.1% lower, to 2,416.86.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 26 to $68.44 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 30 cents to $72.26 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 155.21 Japanese yen from 156.23 yen. The euro edged up to $1.0586 from $1.0534.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP