Today's key market insights

US markets

Stocks closed nearly flat on Friday after taking a dip earlier in the session following the release of higher-than-expected labor figures in the morning.

• All three major indexes were up on the week. The Nasdaq rose 2.1%, the S&P 500 gained 1.1%, and the Dow was up 0.2%.

• However, they were mostly flat on Friday, when the Nasdaq lost 0.2% and the S&P 500 and the Dow both fell 0.1%.

• The unemployment rate was steady at 3.7% in November, and wages rose 0.6% compared to a month earlier.

• The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 3.53440%.

Canadian markets

The unemployment rate in Canada decreased to 5.1% in November, from 5.2% a month earlier, as the labor market remains strong.

• The economy added 108,000 jobs in October and 10,000 in November.

• Statistics Canada said that the employment rate of women aged 25 to 54 reached 81.6% in November, a record high.

• Wages were up 5.6% year over year in November, which is below the annual inflation rate of 6.9%.

European markets

European markets were down on Friday as investors continued to react to Covid related news in China and the release of positive employment data in North America.

• The Stoxx 600 lost 0.2% on the day, with declines led by oil and gas stocks, which dropped 1.1%.

• The retail sector led gains with a 0.7% increase.

• Hexatronic, a Swedish fiber optic firm, was the best-performing stock, gaining 8%, after announcing plans to acquire KNET, a telecommunications firm.

Asian markets

Markets in Asia were down on Friday amid ongoing uncertainty about China’s plans to ease Covid restrictions as cases continue increasing in the country.

• The Economist Intelligence Unit published its Cost of Living Survey, which ranks Singapore and New York as the world’s most expensive cities.

• S&P and Morgan Stanley believe that India will be the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, overtaking Japan and Germany.

• South Korea recorded an inflation rate of 5% in November, slightly below expectations.

Commodities

Oil prices decreased on Friday, ahead of the EU’s Russian crude ban coming into effect today.

• Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude both lost 1.5%.

• On the week, Brent was up 2.5% and U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 5%.

• Russian oil output is expected to decline by 500,000 to 1 million barrels per day in 2023 due to the EU’s ban.

Currency exchange rates

The U.S. Dollar was down on Friday as Federal Reserve officials again indicated that rate hikes will likely decline.

• The U.S. Dollar Index lost 0.19% on the day.

• The Fed is currently expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its next meeting.

• The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index rose 0.3% in September.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto markets were flat over the weekend after suffering from volatility on Friday.

• Celsius has started putting assets up for sale after filing for bankruptcy over the summer.

• $35.6 million in capital has been seized from Three Arrows Capital’s accounts in Singapore after the firm entered liquidation with $3.5B in debt.

• Hackers took $15M from Helio on Friday, only hours after Ankr was attacked, with $5M taken.

---

The trading ideas goes into active money management by the team of Elite CurrenSea (ECS), which you can follow at $0 upfront fees over their website.