Nikkei index extends rally to 9 days, longest win streak since 2019
Japan’s Nikkei stock index extended its winning streak to nine days on Friday, its longest rally since September 2019, as investors bought issues to secure rights for dividend payments.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 39.45 points, or 0.14 percent, from Thursday at 28,149.84. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 0.09 point, or 0.00 percent, lower at 1,981.47.
Gainers were led by marine transportation, farm and fishery, and pharmaceutical issues.
The U.S. dollar dropped to the upper 121 yen range after briefly rising to 122.41 yen, its highest level since December 2015, in New York trading overnight, as a lack of new incentives prompted investors to lock in gains, dealers said.
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 121.73-75 yen compared with 122.32-42 yen in New York and 121.62-64 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The euro was quoted at $1.1022-1024 and 134.17-21 yen against $1.0992-1002 and 134.52-62 yen in New York and $1.0978-0980 and 133.52-56 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond briefly rose 0.010 percentage point from Thursday’s close to 0.240 percent, its highest intraday level since January 2016, tracking a rise in U.S. Treasury yields, before closing at 0.235 percent.
The Nikkei average moved little throughout the day, hovering around the previous day’s closing level, before moving into positive territory toward the end of the trading session.
The nine-day winning streak is the longest since the benchmark index rose for 10 straight sessions in September 2019.
Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist in the Investment Content Department of Nomura Securities Co., said market participants flocked to some issues to secure rights for dividend payments for the business year through March.
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Sensex down 450 pts
Indian equity markets opened on a tepid note amid mixed global cues. Benchmark indices started Friday’s trade with nominal gains tracking mixed global cues. The BSE Sensex rose 200 points to 57,801, while the NSE Nifty was at 17,267, higher by 45 points. The indices, however, turned almost flat within minutes after opening, erasing all gains. Bajaj twins, SBI, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, M&M, and Kotak Bank were the top Sensex gainers, while Titan, PowerGrid, Nestle, HDFC Bank and Maruti, meanwhile, were the top losers. In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were in the positive territory, up to 0.6 percent higher.
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France stocks lower at close of trade; CAC 40 down 0.39pc
France stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Consumer Goods, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.39 percent, while the SBF 120 index lost 0.44 percent.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 335 to 211 and 91 ended unchanged.
Shares in Thales rose to 3-years highs; rising 1.72 percent or 2.00 to 118.00.
The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was unchanged 0.00 percent to 18.96 a new 52-week high. Gold Futures for April delivery was up 1.45 percent or 28.10 to $1,965.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 1.37 percent or 1.57 to hit $113.36 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 1.29 percent or 1.57 to trade at $120.03 a barrel.
EUR/USD was unchanged 0.09 percent to 1.10, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.18 percent to 0.83. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.25 percent at 98.86.
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Healthcare stocks boost FTSE 100
London’s FTSE 100 ended higher on Thursday, aided by healthcare and consumer staple stocks, although concerns about surging inflation and the fallout from the Ukraine crisis weighed on overall sentiment and dragged down the midcap index.
The blue-chip FTSE (.FTSE) index edged 0.1 percent higher, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) among the top gainers. While the domestically focused midcap index (.FTMC) slipped 0.5 percent.
Data on Wednesday showed inflation hit a new 30-year high, while measures unveiled by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak to ease the worst cost-of-living squeeze in decades did little to ease the worries.
“The outlook for the UK economy is weak at the moment because of the triple whammy of higher taxes, interest rates and energy prices. That is going to squeeze consumer spending in the next couple of quarters or so,” said Dhaval Joshi, chief strategist at BCA Research.
A survey earlier in the day showed that Britain’s private sector reported the steepest rise in prices charged by companies since at least 1999 and optimism is at its lowest ebb in almost a year and a half.
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E-Mini S&P 500 index eyeing breakout over 4530.50 fib level
June E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are edging higher shortly before the mid-session on Thursday as investors try to recover from Wednesday’s loss. The choppy trade this week suggests investors are being cautious over the war in Ukraine while assessing the potential impact of aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes amid persistent inflation.
At 18:44 GMT, June E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are trading 4488.75, up 41.25 or +0.93 percent. The S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY) is at $447.67, up $3.87 or +0.87 percent.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, NATO leaders met in Brussels Thursday to discuss increasing pressure on Russia, as Ukraine appears to be retaking ground in the war.
As far as the Fed is concerned, last week, policymakers raised interest rates for the first time since 2018. Chair Jerome Powell on Monday vowed to be tough on inflation and opened the door for more aggressive half-percentage-point rate hikes.
In other news, materials was the top performing S&P 500 sector. Mosaic and Freeport-McMoRan each added more than 3 percent.