European shares bounced back from a four-day slump on Wednesday, lifted by a report that Beijing and Washington are moving closer to a trade deal.
European shares bounced back on Tuesday from their sharpest decline in two months in the previous session, boosted by technology stocks, but gains were capped as investors grappled with prospects of fresh global trade disputes.
European shares logged their best day in three weeks on Friday, as upbeat data out of major eurozone economies, as well as positive rhetoric on a U.S.-China trade deal, ended a dour week on a positive note.
Nov 18 A bidding war for Spanish bourse BME and gains in defensive stocks propped up European markets on Monday, although doubts on whether or not the United States will impose tariffs on EU carmakers weighed on shares.
European shares climbed back to a four-year high on Tuesday as positive German investor sentiment data and a slew of upbeat earnings lifted the mood, but Spanish stocks lagged after socialist and far-left parties joined forces to form a coalition.
Demand for defensive stocks helped European shares recover from early losses on Monday as investors grappled with issues ranging from violent Hong Kong protests to an inconclusive Spanish election and weak data from China.
(Updates prices, adds news items) By Agamoni Ghosh and Sruthi Shankar Nov 8 Brazil's real led Latin American currencies lower on Friday, hit by underwhelming oil auctions and political concerns, while stocks in the region fell on doubts about an agreement between Washington and Beijing to roll back tariffs. MSCI's index of Latin American currencies fell nearly 1% as most currencies were thwarted by a stronger dollar, with the real set for its worst week since August 2018. The steep declines come after major global oil companies snubbed Brazil's biggest-ever pre-salt oil auction earlier this week. Adding to the real's woes was a decision by the country's Supreme Court that could lead to the release of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from prison, which could unite leftist forces against the right-leaning government in power. "Lula may have the ability to unite the left side of the political spectrum, thus increasing opposition to fiscal reforms and austerity measures," said Simon Harvey, FX analyst at Monex Europe. If released, Lula, 74, would be free to engage in politics but not eligible under Brazil's Clean Record law to seek elected office until 2025, eight years after his first conviction. All other major Latin American currencies were also set to end the week lower with Chile's peso headed for its third straight week of losses as the country reels with the after-effects of its worst domestic unrest since the South American nation's return to democracy in 1990. MSCI's index of Latin American stocks fell 1.6% with most indexes in the red as conflicting trade headlines kept investors on the back foot. The Bovespa fell 0.6% but still was on track to the end the week higher, helped by some upbeat earnings. Chile's SPIPSA index bucked the gloomy trend to climb 0.3% higher, driven by shares of consumer-focused companies. Data showed consumer prices in the country rose 0.8% in October, slightly above market expectations. Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 19:01 GMT Stock indexes daily % Latest change MSCI Emerging Markets 1064.55 -0.84 MSCI LatAm 2747.77 -1.75 Brazil Bovespa 108444.72 -1.04 Mexico IPC 43744.56 -0.85 Chile SPIPSA 4689.90 0.37 Argentina MerVal 34202.55 -4.646 Colombia IGBC 13310.04 -1.21 Currencies daily % Latest change Brazil real 4.1475 -1.31 Mexico peso 19.1001 0.07 Chile peso 746.3 -0.54 Colombia peso 3336 -0.60 Peru sol 3.359 -0.48 Argentina peso 59.5000 0.17 (interbank) (Reporting by Agamoni Ghosh and Sruthi Shankar)
By Sruthi Shankar Nov 8 The Brazilian real was set to record its worst week in over a year on Friday, hit by underwhelming oil auctions and political concerns sparked by a Supreme Court ruling that could lead to the release of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The real dropped about 1% to 4.1398 per dollar, adding to sharp declines this week after major global oil firms snubbed Brazil's biggest-ever pre-salt oil auction, with only the state-owned Petrobras and Chinese state firm CNODC awarded blocs. Adding to the downbeat mood, Brazil's Supreme Court decided on Thursday to end the mandatory imprisonment of convicted criminals after they lose their first appeal, overturning a rule that contributed to the success of Brazil's biggest corruption investigation, the so-called Car Wash operation. The ruling, which allows convicts to exhaust their appeal options before being locked up, could benefit dozens of high-profile prisoners, among them Lula, jailed last year for taking bribes. If and when he is released, Lula would be free to engage in politics but would not be eligible under Brazil's Clean Record law to seek elected office for eight years after his first conviction in June 2017. "Lula may have the ability to unite the left side of the political spectrum, thus increasing opposition to fiscal reforms and austerity measures," said Simon Harvey, FX analyst at Monex Europe. "Much of today's weakness can be attributed to the double whammy of poor oil auctions." Brazil's Bovespa fell 0.9%, but still was on track to the end the week higher, helped by some upbeat earnings reports and optimism over a U.S.-China trade deal. However, doubts about an agreement between Washington and Beijing to rollback tariffs imposed on each other's goods kept investors on edge. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the deal faces fierce internal opposition at the White House. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday told reporters he has not agreed to roll back tariffs on China but that Beijing would like him to do so. The Mexican peso held steady, but the Chilean and the Colombian fell amid falling commodity prices. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1458 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1065.97 -0.71 MSCI LatAm 2762.61 -1.22 Brazil Bovespa 108619.22 -0.88 Mexico IPC 44041.41 -0.18 Chile IPSA 4700.69 0.6 Argentina MerVal 34976.35 -2.489 Colombia IGBC 13372.95 -0.74 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.1358 -1.03 Mexico peso 19.1066 0.13 Chile peso 746.1 -0.51 Colombia peso 3336.1 -0.60 Peru sol 3.3478 -0.14 Argentina peso (interbank) 59.5000 0.17 (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru Editing by Alistair Bell)
Nov 8 Lingering doubts about a U.S.-China trade deal, a Moody's rating cut on India's sovereign outlook and another power outage in South Africa dampened emerging markets on Friday but did little to take the shine off a strong week for stocks and currencies.
By Sruthi Shankar Nov 7 Brazil's real dipped on Thursday, adding to its worst decline in three months, after the country held a disappointing second round of oil auctions, although optimism over a U.S.-China trade deal and positive earnings supported Brazilian stocks. The real dropped 0.4% to 4.098 per dollar. The currency had shed about 2.2% on Wednesday after Brazil's biggest-ever oil auction frustrated investors' expectations as high prices and the dominant role of state-run oil company Petrobras scared off global oil majors. The country held a second disappointing oil auction on Thursday, with major global oil firms passing again. The only block awarded in Thursday's auction went to Petrobras, and Chinese state firm CNODC, which offered the minimum bid. Four other blocks received no bids. "While Petrobras' win might remove the need to buy USD, the result meant that there would be close to no inflow to the country by way of signing bonuses," Citi's Dirk Willer wrote in a client note, adding that "we think the market will unwind some of the (BRL) outperformance over the past two weeks." Sao Paulo-listed shares, however, gained 0.6% as stock markets across the globe rose after China's Commerce Ministry said the United States and China were working on a deal that would roll back trade tariffs in different stages. Shares in Banco do Brasil SA rose 0.3% after it reported a 33.5% jump in third-quarter profit, and Switzerland's UBS Group AG said the two banks are set to launch an investment bank in South America. The top gainer on the index was refiner Ultrapar Participações SA, which was up 6% after it reported better-than-expected net income in the third quarter. Airline Azul SA fell 0.4% after reporting a net loss of 438 million reais, affected heavily by the depreciation of the real. Trade optimism helped the Chilean peso hold steady even as data showed the country's export revenue plunged by one-fifth to $5.3 billion in October, as the value of copper exports from the world's top producer fell. Mexico's peso was also little changed after data showed inflation stayed close to the central bank's 3% target in October, fueling expectations of further interest rate cuts. A jump in oil prices to more than $62 per barrel helped Colombia's peso gain 0.2%. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1435 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1073.04 0.39 MSCI LatAm 2779.06 -0.27 Brazil Bovespa 108988.17 0.58 Mexico IPC - - Chile IPSA 4607.08 0.17 Argentina MerVal 35674.41 0.49 Colombia IGBC - - Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.0980 -0.42 Mexico peso 19.1518 -0.06 Chile peso 740.9 0.01 Colombia peso 3329.49 0.17 Peru sol 3.3398 -0.02 Argentina peso (interbank) 59.6000 0.10 (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru Editing by Paul Simao)
The White House promised to respond to a Friday deadline set by U.S. House of Representatives Democrats for President Donald Trump to decide whether to take part in proceedings as lawmakers consider what articles of impeachment to bring against him.