US markets
Stocks rose on Friday with their first major rally of 2023.
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The rally came after a positive jobs report in December and signs that inflation is slowing.
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All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 were up on the day, led by materials stocks, which gained 3.4%.
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The worst-performing sector was healthcare, which rose 1%.
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So far this year, the only sector in negative territory is healthcare, which has lost 0.1%.
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The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 3.56260%.
| Market | Price | Move |
| Dow Jones | 33,630.61 | 2.13% |
| S&P 500 | 3,895.08 | 2.28% |
| Nasdaq | 10,569.29 | 2.56% |
| Russell 2000 | 1,792.80 | 2.26% |
Canadian markets
Canada’s job market saw gains for the fourth consecutive month in December, which may give the Bank of Canada more justification to continue raising interest rates.
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The Canadian economy added 104,000 jobs in December, significantly more than the 5,000 increase expected by economists.
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The unemployment rate fell to 5%, lower than the 5.2% expected by analysts.
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The labor force grew by 91,00 last month, and the labor participation rate is at 65%.
| Market | Price | Move |
| TSX | 19,814.51 | 1.58% |
European markets
European markets were up on Friday following the publication of positive inflation data.
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In December, the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone was at 9.2%, down from 10.1% in November.
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The Stoxx 600 rose 1.1% on Friday and gained 3.4% on the week.
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Basic resource stocks led gains on Friday with an increase of 2.5%.
| Market | Price | Move |
| Euro STOXX 50 | 4,017.83 | 1.47% |
| UK (FTSE 100) | 7,699.49 | 0.87% |
| Germany (DAX) | 14,610.02 | 1.20% |
| France (CAC 40) | 6,860.95 | 1.47% |
Asian markets
Stocks in Asia were mixed on Friday but most countries saw gains.
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Tesla said it will lower prices for some of its cars by between 6% and 13.5% in China, and the carmaker’s suppliers in the country rose as a result.
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Investors believe that Chinese companies will continue to take market share from their Taiwanese rivals in 2023 as geopolitical tensions increase.
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Samsung may need to cut production in 2023, which could negatively impact the South Korean economy.
| Market | Price | Move |
| S&P Asia 50 | 4,695.73 | 0.29% |
| Japan (Nikkei 225) | 25,973.85 | 0.59% |
| South Korea (KOSPI) | 2,289.97 | 1.12% |
| China (Hang Seng) | 20,991.64 | –0.29% |
| India (SENSEX) | 59,900.37 | -0.75% |
Commodities
Oil prices were flat on Friday as the major benchmarks ended the week down.
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Brent lost 0.2% on Friday and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 0.1%.
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Brent and WTI both lost 8% last week after gaining 13% in the last three weeks of 2022.
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Saudi Arabia has lowered prices for the crude it sells to Asia – they are now at the lowest level since November 2021.
| Market | Price | Move |
| Oil (NYSEARCA:OIL) | 28.10 | 0.46% |
| Gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) | 173.71 | 1.87% |
| Silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) | 21.92 | 2.48% |
| Corn (NYSEARCA:CORN) | 25.93 | 0.00% |
| Lumber (NASDAQ:WOOD) | 75.43 | 2.67% |
Currency exchange rates
The U.S. Dollar was down on Friday after the release of data showing that the U.S. job market is strong.
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Wages were up 0.3% in December after rising 0.4% in November. Wages rose 4.6% in 2022.
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The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the USD against six major fiat currencies, lost 1.17%.
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Investors estimate a 73% chance of a 25-basis point interest rate hike at the start of February.
| Market | Price | Move |
| UK(GBP) | £0.83 | 0.07% |
| Europe (EURO) | €0.94 | 0.21% |
| Canada (Canadian Dollar) | $1.34 | -0.01% |
| Japan (Yen) | ¥131.95 | -0.10% |
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin and Ethereum were stable on Friday and over the weekend.
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SuperRare, Ethereum’s digital work market, said it plans to reduce its workforce by 30% in a cost-cutting measure.
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Crypto exchange Huobi has announced that it will cut its payroll by 20% and will pay workers in stablecoins.
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After USDD fell by $0.03 on Friday the stablecoin is no longer pegged to the U.S. Dollar.
| Market | Price | Move |
| Bitcoin | $16,955.70 | 0.04% |
| Ethereum | $1,269.83 | 0.47% |
| Litecoin | $76.44 | 0.10% |
| Bitcoin Cash | $102.24 | 0.61% |
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