Today's key market insights

US markets

The Dow Jones rose on Friday, while the S&P and the Nasdaq were down on the half-day of trading.

• All three major indexes rose on the week. The Dow gained 1.78%, S&P 500 climbed 1.53%, and the Nasdaq was up 0.72%.

• Earnings have been solid, and consumer spending hasn’t dropped, which has helped increase investor confidence.

• The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 3.70010%.

Canadian markets

Data from Ratehub.ca shows that homebuyers in 2022 are paying up to 250% more in interest during the first year of their mortgage than in 2021.

• In October 2021, a homebuyer with a $600,000 mortgage would have paid an average of $12,310 in interest in the first 12 months.

• In October 2022, a homebuyer with a $600,000 mortgage would have paid an average of $30,819 in interest in the first 12 months.

• The average house price in Canada has decreased by 9.9% from October 2021 to October 2022.

• According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the most common mortgage continues to be the five-year fixed rate with 25 years of amortization.

European markets

European markets were flat on Friday following an upward trend in the first four days of the week.

• The Stoxx 600 lost 0.25% on Friday after gaining at the start of the session before a downturn.

• The Stoxx 600 had its sixth consecutive winning week and also hit a three-month high last week.

• Credit Suisse shares are at an all-time low after losing more than 5%.

Asian markets

Shares in Asia were down on Friday after a volatile week of trading.

• Casino stocks in China saw losses. MGM China fell by 4%, Mynn Macau lost 2.5%, Sands China dropped by 3%, and SJM Holdings declined by 2.7%.

• Technology stocks in Hong Kong were also down as Tencent fell by 3%, Meituan lost 3.17%, and Bilibili dropped 4.36%.

• Japan’s inflation rate hit a 40-year high after consumer prices rose by 3.6% in November on an annualized basis.

Commodities

Oil prices were down on Friday due to continuing concerns about demand from China, where COVID-19 cases are increasing.

• Brent crude futures lost 1.6% and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7%.

• On the week, the benchmark crudes lost 3.8% and 3.9%, respectively.

• The G7 and EU have been discussing putting a price cap on Russian oil at between $65 and $70 per barrel.

Currency exchange rates

The U.S. Dollar increased slightly on Friday after falling a day earlier.

• China’s central bank said it would cut the amount of reserves banks had to hold.

• The Chinese Yuan lost over 0.4% following the news and has been negative for two consecutive weeks.

• The Japanese Yen lost 0.5% after data showed that Japan’s annual inflation hit a 40-year high.

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin has been holding its price since Wednesday despite suppressed trading volume in the U.S.

• Brendan Blumer, the Founder of Block.One has purchased a 9.3% stake in Silvergate Capital, making him the largest shareholder in the company.

• Incoming Kraken CEO Dave Ripley said he believes that self-custody and regulation will be the future of the crypto industry.

• Flashbots, an Ethereum R&D firm, is building a plug-and-play solution to change how validators earn MEV.

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