Market Headlines – 16/11/2017

US

• A sell-off in commodity-sensitive names weighed on markets for a second consecutive session yesterday. The S&P 500 ended 0.6% lower, with Energy and Material companies among the worst performers.
• A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) projecting lower oil demand for this year and 2018, in combination with higher than expected inventory data in the US, led to a 0.5% decline in oil prices. Base metal prices also had a weak session as Copper lost 0.3%, iron ore fell 5% and nickel settled 0.8% lower.
• Positive US economic data reversed an initial decline in the dollar – at one stage the dollar fell to $1.1860 against the euro before strengthening into the close to finish broadly unchanged.
• On the economic data front, US core inflation rose to an annualised rate of 1.8% last month, coming in ahead of expectations. US retail sales also beat expectations, rising 0.2% month-on-month.

Europe

• European equities also closed lower yesterday. The Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.3, the German DAX index lost 0.4% and the UK’s FTSE 100 closed 0.5% lower. Energy and Materials stocks broadly mirrored the performance of their US peers, contributed the most losses to European indices. Telecoms, on the other hand, outperformed.
• In the UK, the September unemployment rate was in line and steady at 4.3% – still at a 42 year low, while the average weekly earnings growth remains low but was slightly above expectations at 2.2% year-on-year.

Asia

• Japanese equities bounced 1.5% overnight, bringing a run of 6 consecutive negative sessions to an end. All sectors finished in positive territory with the exception of Energy, which fell 1.5%.