NEW YORK, Sept 8 ― Global stock indexes were mostly lower yesterday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling with shares of Apple, and the US dollar advanced after weaker-than-expected US jobless claims data.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly to 216,000 in the week ended Sept. 2 from a revised 229,000 the week before. The latest week's numbers were the lowest since February.
A separate report showed US worker productivity in the second quarter was not as strong as initially announced.
Recent data has underscored the view that the US economy remains resilient and that US interest rates may need to stay higher for longer.
China's onshore yuan slid to a 16-year low versus the dollar, weighed down by a property slump, weak consumer spending and shrinking credit growth in the world's second-largest economy.
China trade data released yesterday, while not as dire as economists predicted, still showed a nearly 9 per cent slide in exports and a more than 7 per cent drop for imports.
In Japan, traders remained on intervention watch as the Japanese yen struggled to make sustained headway against a resilient dollar.
The greenback hit a fresh top of ¥147.875 (RM4.70) earlier, its highest since November, and was last down 0.4 per cent at 147.20.
Against a basket of currencies including the euro and sterling, the dollar rose 0.1 per cent to 105.05, after earlier touching a six-month peak.
“The fundamental story in the US is still a bit stronger than the rest of the world. That continues to be a huge catalyst for dollar strength,” said Brad Bechtel, global head of foreign exchange at Jefferies in New York.
Shares of Apple were down 2.9 per cent after sources familiar with the matter said China has in recent weeks widened existing curbs on the use of iPhones by state employees.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.54 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 34,500.73, the S&P 500 lost 14.34 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 4,451.14 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 123.64 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 13,748.83.
European stocks ended down for a seventh straight session, while the MSCI global index was down for a third day in a row.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended down 0.1 per cent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.35 per cent.
US Treasury yields eased following the US economic data.
The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.25 per cent.
Investors also digested comments late in the day from Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams, who said that it's an “open question” whether monetary policy is restrictive enough to bring the economy back into balance.
In the energy market, Brent crude oil fell below US$90 a barrel in volatile trade after a near two-week rally, amid signals of weaker demand.
Brent crude futures settled 68 cents, or 0.8 per cent, lower at US$89.92 a barrel, while US crude futures finished down 67 cents, or 0.8 per cent, at US$86.67. ― Reuters
