- US stocks and bonds experienced a volatile session on Friday following a jobs number that fuelled bets the Fed will continue tightening after a lot of talk of a slowdown of rate hikes this month. The Dow Jones fell hard at the open but managed to recover its losses and finish up 34 points (+0.10%). The NASDAQ finished 0.17% lower and the S&P 500 lost 0.12%. European markets were mostly lower, with STOXX 600 down 0.15%, UK FTSE down 0.03%, France down 0.17%, Italy down 0.26%, and Greece down 2.00%, German DAX finished 0.27% higher. SPI Futures are up 19 points (+0.26%), following a 0.6% rise in the ASX 200 for the week.
- US employers added more jobs than expected and wages increased by the most in nearly 12 months. Nonfarm payrolls were 263K higher in November, ahead of market forecasts of 200K, with the unemployment rate steady at 3.7%.
- US bond yields spiked on the jobs number but gave up their gains and were relatively unchanged for the session, the US 10-Year fell 4.1bps, while the 2-Year rose 2.2bps. The USD index jumped close to 1% on the release but finished down 0.17%. The Aussie Dollar was unchanged against the USD, fetching 68.03c.
- In commodities, easing restrictions in China has provided a boost for metals, with all finishing higher. Copper rose 1.56% to its highest level since mid-November, while nickel added 4.58% and aluminium climbed 2.68%. Gold finished 0.32% lower after a good run against the USD. Oil prices slumped on the EU agreeing to a $60 Russian oil price cap, and reports that the US oil-production rebound is set to slow. Brent crude was down 1.28% and WTI fell 1.48%. Coal prices rose again, adding 1.59%, for the week, it gained 14.23%.
- OPEC Plus announced no changes.
- China relaxing more CV19 restrictions over the weekend.
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