European Close Market Briefing – 13/09/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday, as London-listed shares sold off and Apple Inc. suppliers declined a day after the tech giant revealed its new iPhones. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.08 point to end at 381.34, narrowly breaking a five-session winning streak. Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA shares lost 1.2 percent even as the Swiss luxury products maker posted a 12 percent rise in sales. Vivendi SA gained 2.8 percent after UBS raised its rating on the French media company to buy from neutral. Germany’s DAX 30 index ended 0.2 percent higher at 12,553.57, and France’s CAC 30 index moved up 0.2 percent to 5,217.59.

In Currency Markets the dollar rose on Wednesday after a report showed U.S. producer prices rebounded in August and as traders turned their focus to consumer inflation data due on Thursday that will be closely watched by the U.S. Federal Reserve as it considers when to next raise interest rates. The dollar index, which tracks the currency against a basket of six major rivals, was up 0.45 percent at 92.295, after rising to 92.336, its highest in a week. The euro fell 0.59 percent to $1.1894 while the Japanese yen weakened 0.39 percent versus the greenback at 110.61 per dollar. The Australian erased earlier gains, with Aussie down 0.39 percent at $0.7988, while Kiwi retreated 0.56 percent to $0.7245.

In Commodities Markets  oil prices rose on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency said a global surplus of crude was starting to shrink, even though U.S. data showed another big increase in crude inventories due to the ongoing effects of Hurricane Harvey. The U.S. EIA’s weekly data showed a build of 5.9 million barrels of crude, exceeding expectations for a 3.2 million-barrel hike. U.S. crude futures were up 1.1 percent, to $48.75 per barrel and Brent crude was up 32 cents to $54.59 a barrel, about where prices were prior to the data.   Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,326.07 an ounce. Silver was flat at $17.90 an ounce. Platinum was 0.1 percent lower at $985.90 an ounce and palladium was down 0.8 percent at $947.25.

In US Equity Markets  stocks were little changed in late morning trading on Wednesday as Apple-led losses in technology stocks were offset by gains in consumer discretionary and energy stocks, which helped the S&P 500 inch up to a record intra-day high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.22 points, flat on a percent basis, at 22,119.08 and the S&P 500 was down 0.03 percent, at 2,495.77. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.06 percent, at 6,450.46. Apple fell 1.3 percent on concerns about the newly launched iPhone X’s hefty price tag and its later-than-expected availability date of Nov. 3. Western Digital was down 5.3 percent after Toshiba said it would focus on selling its chips unit to a group led by Bain Capital and SK Hynix.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday with 10-year yield hitting a 2-1/2 week high as investors reduced their bond holdings to make room for this week’s government and corporate debt supply. The 10-year yield was 2.179 percent, up almost 1 basis point from late on Tuesday and just marginally below a 2-1/2 week peak. The 30-year bond yield hovered near a three-week peak at 2.778 percent in advance of a $12 billion auction of long bond supply.