Market Headlines 18/9/2017

US

• US stocks advanced on Friday, rising 0.2%, leading to a total weekly gain of 1.6%, the biggest weekly advance since January. Up 12% since January, the S&P 500 is on course for its best annual gain in four years.
• Among the index sectors, technology shares rebounded and banks climbed with Treasury yields.
• The US 10 year rate is now over 2.21%, having risen from lows of 2.04% at the start of the month. An inflation data release last Thursday which beat expectations helped to shift market expectations surrounding the next Fed policy move.
• The Federal Reserve will announce their latest policy rate decision on Wednesday of this week.

Europe

• European stocks fell, reducing their biggest weekly gain in two months, as a retreat in banks outweighed a rally in carmakers.
• The Stoxx 600 lost 0.3%, reducing its gain for the week to 1.4%, auto producers advanced 0.8% and banks lost 0.9% in the worst performance among industry groups.
• In the UK, equities also declined, falling 1.1% widening the weekly index drop to 2.2%.

Asia

• In Asia overnight, Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. The Japanese yen dipped 0.3% against the dollar, extending Friday’s 0.5% drop.
• Hong Kong-listed Chinese shares rallied overnight gaining 0.4%, led by a rise in brokerages after China relaxed rules on index futures trading.