Gauges of global and US stock performance set fresh all-time highs yesterday, buoyed by a bright business outlook and strong corporate earnings, while the economy’s strength in continental Europe lifted the euro to a two-month high against the dollar.
German business confidence hit a record high in November, a sign Europe’s largest economy is on track for a boom, the Ifo economic institute said. The Ifo survey helped allay concerns about the recent failure of forming a new German government.
The strong outlook from Europe put the euro on course for a third straight week of gains against the dollar, its best run since July. The single currency rose 0.6 per cent to 1.1921.
MSCI’s all-country world index of equity markets in 47 countries rose 0.25 per cent to a new record high.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of regional shares traded little changed, as strong gains in financials were off-set by heavy losses in health care.
However, several major European country indices, including France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX and Spain’s IBEX all advanced.
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit records, lifted by indications of a strong start to the US holiday shopping season. The biggest percentage gainer on the S&P 500 was department store Macy’s Inc, up 4.2 per cent, while the biggest point contributor was Amazon.com, which rose 1.89 per cent.
Turnout at US retailers was relatively subdued on Black Friday, with many shoppers flocking to stores to eye items in person and enjoy the festive atmosphere while waiting to do their actual bargain hunting online.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.2 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 23,578.38. The S&P 500 gained 5.43 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 2,602.51 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.53 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 6,880.89.
The dollar index fell to its lowest since September 26 at 92.719 and the Japanese yen weakened 0.24 per cent versus the greenback at 111.51 per dollar.
The index suffered its worst single-day decline in more than five months on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting showed some policy makers are concerned about stubbornly weak US inflation.
US light crude hit $58.92 a barrel, a more than two-year high, before easing to trade up 69 cents at $58.71.
Brent was last at $63.59, up four cents on the day.