Hong Kong:World shares slipped and oil prices soared Friday on deepening concern over the Israel-Hamas war. US futures edged lower, auguring more losses after a retreat Thursday driven by rising bond yields. Oil prices gained about USD 3 early Friday after Israel's military ordered hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City to evacuate ahead of a possible ground offensive. The directive followed what the United Nations said was a warning from Israel to evacuate 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza within 24 hours.
Since their summertime leap and subsequent regression a couple weeks ago, crude oil prices have been jolted by the fighting in Gaza. The worry is the violence could lead to disruptions in the supply of petroleum. A barrel of benchmark US crude gained USD 2.97 to USD 85.88 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It slipped 58 cents to settle at USD 82.91 on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, surged USD 2.98 to USD 89.01 per barrel.
In share trading, Germany's DAX fell 1 per cent to 15,274.88 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 92 cents to USD 7,039.45. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.6 per cent at 7,600.63. The future for the S&P 500 lost 0.3 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 per cent. In Asia, Hong Kong's benchmark dropped 2.3 per cent, to 17,813.45 as investors were disappointed by the latest Chinese economic data.
The data showed China's economy remains in the doldrums, with prices weaker due to slack demand from consumers and businesses. Consumer prices remained flat in September compared with a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said, while wholesale prices fell 2.5 per cent. Exports and imports also fell last month as demand fell in overseas markets. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6 per cent to 3,088.10.
In South Korea, the Kospi lost 1 per cent, to 2,456.15 after official data released on Friday showed unemployment rose to 2.6 per cent in September from a historic low of 2.4 per cent in August. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6 per cent to 32,315.99. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6 to 7,051.00. Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.3 per cent, and the SET in Bangkok gave up 0.6 per cent.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent and the Dow shed 0.5 per cent. The Nasdaq composite sank 0.6 per cent. The stock market has largely been taking its cues from the bond market recently. Weak results announced on Thursday for an auction of 30-year Treasury bonds sent yields higher on all kinds of Treasurys. Yields had already been on the rise in the morning following a report that showed inflation at the consumer level was a touch higher last month than economists expected. That raises worries about the Federal Reserve keeping its main interest rate high for a long time, as it tries to drive down inflation.
Another report said slightly fewer US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. That indicates a job market with few layoffs and a stronger economy. But it could also be adding upward pressure on inflation. A reporting season for S&P 500 companies is starting that could mark a return to profit growth following three straight quarters of declines. Several financial giants will report on Friday, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, along with UnitedHealth Group. In currency trading Friday, the US dollar fell to 149.63 Japanese yen from 149.81 yen. The euro cost USD 1.0530, nearly level with USD 1.0531 late Thursday.
