Saturday 13 August 2016

Stocks mixed, Fed rate hike looks "off the table"

Markets were mixed on Friday.

Asian stocks rose following a strong lead from the US on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index surged 1.6 percent.

However, the S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.2 percent.

US and European stocks fell despite a 2.3 percent rise in US crude oil.

US economic data released on Friday were disappointing. Retail sales were little-changed in July while wholesale prices fell 0.4 percent.

“Based on the PPI and retail-sales figures, all indications now look like a [Federal Reserve] rate increase in 2016 is clearly off the table,” said Tom di Galoma, managing director at Seaport Global Holdings.

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