Global Markets Rise as Dollar Remains Under Pressure
By Dow Jones Newswires StaffU.S. stock futures were up again at the end of a week when all the major indexes hit fresh all-time highs fuelled by soaring artificial-intelligence and tech valuations.As the U.S. government shutdown continues, the dollar remains under pressure. Friday's ISM services index, which doesn't rely on government data, will land later, with a soft reading likely to lend further weight to a dovish Federal Reserve rate-cut path through the year-end, another driver of continued strength in equities.Meanwhile, gold prices were up again and oil benchmarks were higher following a fire overnight at a large U.S. refinery.U.S. stock futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were all up around 0.2%. The Nasdaq and S&P ended Thursday's session having hit their 30th record high so far this year, while the Dow notched its 10th record close.In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.4% in morning trading, reflecting similar gains across national bourses. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.3%. Stocks in Asia ended mixed; Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8%. Markets in China and South Korea were closed.The dollar traded steady early in European business hours. With official U.S. government data unavailable, private data are attracting more attention. A report from executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday showed employers announced fewer job cuts in September but hiring plans so far this year were the lowest since 2009. The ISM services report at 1000 am EST will be in focus. The DXY dollar index was last flat at 97.855 against a basket of major currencies.Bitcoin pulled back slightly after reaching a seven-week high in the previous session. It was recently down 0.7% to $119,927 after reaching a high of $121,065 Thursday, according to LSEG data.U.S. Treasury yields edged higher after recent declines. Yields, though, remained close to lows reached in the wake of Wednesday's ADP private payrolls data, which showed an unexpected drop. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 4.098%, near Thursday's two-week low of 4.083%, according to Tradeweb data.Gold prices were on track for a seventh consecutive weekly gain after hitting a new record on Thursday. Futures were up 0.4% to $3,882.50 a troy ounce in early trading and were up nearly 2% this week.Oil benchmarks rose after a fire broke out at a large U.S. refinery, but are still set for a steep weekly loss on fears of an oversupplied market. Brent rises 0.8% to $64.62 a barrel, while WTI is up 0.9% to $61.03 a barrel. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office posted on X that the governor has been briefed on the incident at Chevron's El Segundo refinery and is working to ensure public safety. The site is one the largest producing refineries on the West Coast. Still, prices are down more than 6% this week, pressured by expectations that OPEC+ will return more oil to the market.Write to Barcelona Editors at [email protected]