OPENING CALL: The Australian share market is expected to open higher. The SPI200 futures contract expected to open up 8 points.
Saudi Aramco priced its initial public offering Thursday at the high end of the targeted range to give the oil giant a total value of $1.7 trillion in the world’s biggest-ever IPO.
Moncler’s main shareholder and chief executive Remo Ruffini threw cold water on reports that the company has held exploratory talks with French luxury-goods conglomerate Kering over a possible deal.
Overnight Summary
Each Market in Focus
U.S. stocks edged higher intraday as investors parsed the latest headlines on the trade dispute with China and looked ahead to Friday’s jobs report.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite inched up less than 0.1%.
Trade-related news has driven markets this week. China again offered reassurance Thursday on the state of trade talks between the world’s two largest economies, with a spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry saying the negotiating teams have maintained close communications.
The British pound has been on a roll of late, climbing against both the dollar and the euro on expectations the Conservative party will secure a majority in the Dec. 12 general election.
The pound reached a fresh five-month high against the U.S. dollar. With a majority in Parliament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to pass a withdrawal agreement bill to exit the European Union. Johnson would then have to negotiate a trade deal with the E.U.
The U.S. dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index, fell 0.2% to 97.43 against a basket of a half-dozen currency peers, extending a weeklong slide.
European markets were mostly lower as trade jitters continue to unsettle investors on both sides of the Atlantic. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.1%, the FTSE 100 was off 0.7% and the DAX fell 0.65%, though the CAC-40 edged higher.