Trump warned Washington could respond to any moves from Beijing with ‘the ultimate form of retaliation’ (Nicholas Kamm)

London (AFP) – Stock markets rose for the most part on Friday following a recovery on Wall Street that helped to ease global recession fears.

Equities have endured another volatile week as US-China trade talk hopes fade and following economic data that pointed to a possible worldwide downturn.

The Dow on Wednesday suffered its worst one-day fall of the year, before recovering slightly on Thursday, reassured by strong US retail sales and Walmart earnings.

“We’re ending a turbulent week on a more positive note,” noted Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group.

“The calendar may be a little thin (on Friday) but the yield curve inversion has spooked a lot of people this week and that may become very apparent again heading into the close.”

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond slid Wednesday below the yield on the two-year note, meaning the short-term interest rates were higher than longer-term ones.

The so-called “inversion” phenomenon is viewed by markets as a reliable harbinger of recession.

Economists have warned for months that trade tensions would drag down sentiment, which was already suffering owing to China’s economic slowdown and fears of Brexit’s impact on Britain and Europe.

The tensions have already hit global demand, with data this week showing China’s industrial output had plummeted to a 17-year low. Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong were adding to the negative sentiment.

Cathay Pacific on Friday announced the shock resignation of its chief executive Rupert Hogg, days after the Hong Kong carrier was censured by Beijing because some staff had supported pro-democracy protests in the city.

Paul Loo, Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer, also resigned.

Until recently Cathay had been celebrating a turnaround in fortunes after Hogg initiated a three-year cost cutting programme.

Elsewhere Friday, the opening of London’s benchmark FTSE 100 shares was delayed nearly two hours by a software issue, the London Stock Exchange said.

“London Stock Exchange experienced a technical software issue this morning that affected trading in certain securities, including FTSE 100 and (second-tier) FTSE 250 stocks,” said a statement. 

The pound meanwhile continued its recovery, “aided by a series of better-than-expected (UK) economic releases in recent days”, helping to offset Brexit uncertainty, according to David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB trading group. 

But the euro faltered on expectations that an ECB stimulus programme to be announced next month could be larger than expected.

– Key figures around 1100 GMT –

  

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,112.14 points

Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 1.1 percent at 11,539.96

Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 5,295.26

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.3 percent at 3,324.20 

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 20,418.81 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.9 percent at 25,734.22 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 2,823.82 (close)

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 25,579.39 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1079 from $1.1107 at 2100 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2161 from $1.2084

Euro/pound: DOWN at 91.10 pence from 91.84 pence 

Dollar/yen: UP at 106.35 yen from 106.10 yen

Brent North Sea crude: UP $1.07 at $59.30 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 96 cents at $55.43 per barrel

burs-bcp/wai

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.