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US Markets

Markets rose significantly on Friday, lifting the Dow to its fourth consecutive positive week.

• The rise followed the release of economic data showing that inflation may be easing, while consumer spending remained steady last month.
• The Dow gained 5.7% on the week, the S&P 500 rose 3.9%, and the Nasdaq was up 2.2%.
• The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 4.01640%

Market Insight

There were a few key data points and events on Friday that provided some great insight for this week’s trading:

• Tech stocks were down, with Amazon falling 6.8% and Apple dropping 7.5% on Friday, while all the major tech companies underperformed on their earnings calls.
• Oil markets were supported by Chevron and Exxon Mobil’s rises after both had better-than-expected earnings reports.
• The Personal Consumption Price index rose 0.5% in September versus August and 5.1% compared to last year.
• 29 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs on Friday. 20 of those stocks also hit all-time highs, including Mcdonald’s, Campbell Soup, Pepsico, Hershey, General Mills, Exxon, and Chevron.

Canadian Markets

Data from Statistics Canada shows that the country’s economy grew by 0.1% in August.

• Retail, wholesale trade, agriculture, and public sector spending were the largest contributors to growth.
• The construction, manufacturing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sectors shrank.
• According to an estimate for Q3 2022, the economy grew 1.6% year-on-year, down from 3.3% in Q2 2022.

European Markets

Markets in Europe were down early on Friday before rising later in the day as investors reacted with volatility to the European Central Bank’s interest rate hike.

• The Stoxx 600 was up just 0.1% on Friday after markets were mixed during the trading session.
• Telecoms and healthcare stocks led the markets, gaining 1.8% and 1.4%, respectively.
• Basic resources and retail stocks both lost 2%, dragging down the markets.

Asian Markets

Stocks in Hong Kong are at their lowest point since 2009 as macroeconomic issues in Asia continue to push down markets.

• The Hang Send Tech Index was down almost 6% on Friday, which caused a significant decline in the Hang Seng.
• Xpeng slumped 14%, Bilibili and Li Auto dropped around 11%, Meituan lost 8%, while Tencent, Xiaomi, and Alibaba all fell more than 5%.
• Stocks in mainland China, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea were all down to close last week.

Commodities

Oil prices were down slightly on Friday as China added new COVID-19-related restrictions.

• On the week, Brent rose 2% and West Texas Intermediate gained 3%, even though both lost ~1% on Friday.
• China has increased social restrictions to fight COVID-19 outbreaks, including locking down entire city districts and sealing off buildings where infections were detected.
• The IMF decreased China’s 2022 GDP growth forecast to 3.2%, from 4.4% in April.

Currency Exchange Rates

The Yen lost more than 1% against the U.S. Dollar on Friday after the Bank of Japan decided not to raise interest rates.

• The U.S. Dollar Index was down 1% on the week.
• The Euro was even on Friday as investors reacted to the ECB’s 75-basis point interest rate hike on Thursday.
• The Bank of Canada’s smaller-than-expected interest rate hike caused some instability in the Canadian Dollar, which fell on Wednesday and Thursday before seeing some gains on Friday.

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