Asia
A record close above 25,000 on the Dow on Thursday night helped maintain the positive momentum across global markets on Friday morning. Japan’s Nikkei pushed over 200 points higher to 23,714, its highest level since 1992, led by financial stocks and a rise in electronics giant Toshiba (6502). Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained ground again, and closed near to the all-time high of 31,958 last seen in October 2007, on the back of gains for oil and property stocks. In China, the performance of the Shenzhen Composite Index held back gains for the CSI 300, which mirrors the movement of the top 300 stocks in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets.
Europe
In London, the FTSE 100 caught the global mood and rose to its own record high above 7,700, although the daily gain was only 20 points. British Gas owner Centrica (CNA) was the biggest riser, while insurer Admiral (ADM) was the biggest faller after analysts lowered their price target and took a gloomy view of the car insurance sector. Staying with the car industry, news of a sharp fall in car registrations put pressure on listed car dealers such as Inchcape (INCH).
Eurozone inflation for December came in exactly as forecast a 1.4%, although core inflation was higher than expected at 1.1%, against 0.9% in November.
In Europe, Germany’s Dax came close to reaching November 2017’s record high by posting a 1% gain to 13,303. France’s CAC 40 was also higher on Friday, although the index is still way below record highs posted in 2000.
North America
Forecasts suggest that the American economy added 190,000 jobs in December, down from 228,000 in the previous month. The closely watched figures, which will be released before the market opens on Friday, could help determine the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate rise. Canadian job figures for December are also released.
Next Friday sees the US banks JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) kick off earnings season. The fourth quarter figures releases by America’s biggest corporate names is likely to test the strength of the latest stage in the global bull market.