Global News
In Asia the Nikkei index climbed higher after the U.S. dollar rose above 110 yen for the first time since April 6, lifting a broad swath of shares that benefit from a weaker yen. The Nikkei 1.2% higher at 17,572.49. Mitsubishi Motors Corp (T:7211) ended the day 13.6% lower as it continued to struggle with an unfolding scandal that erupted after the automaker said on Wednesday afternoon that it had overstated the fuel efficiency of 625,000 cars sold in Japan.
In Currency Markets the yen was lower after a media report said that the Bank of Japan could expand its negative interest rate policy beyond its current applications. The BOJ is considering applying negative rates to its lending program for financial institutions, Bloomberg reported on its website Friday. The dollar is trading around 110.13 yen, up 0.6% on the day. The yen also fell against the euro, which rose 0.8% on the day to 124.45 yen. The BOJ may consider the new step if the central bank decides to lower further the negative rate that it already applies to some bank reserves parked with the institution, the report said.
Oil prices were higher today setting crude futures on course for solid weekly gains, as market sentiment turned more upbeat despite ongoing oversupply. International benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $45.10 per barrel, up 57 cents, or 1.28% from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 62 cents, or 1.45%, at $43.80 a barrel. Brent has risen about 4.5% so far this week and WTI 8%, putting the contracts on track for a solid price rally. Traders said that sentiment in the entire commodity complex had turned more confident despite ongoing oversupply, with new cash being put into the market by investors, lifting prices.
In the US stocks were lower on Thursday after a mixed bag of quarterly reports and a warning by Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) that a strike by workers would likely impact its bottom line. Verizon’s shares fell 3.32% after the telecom said a strike by its wireline workers would likely hurt earnings this quarter. Under Armour (NYSE:UA) rose 6.78%, while General Motors (NYSE:GM) added 1.46% after both reported better-than-expected profits. The S&P 500 lost 0.52% to 2,091.48.
Economic Calendar
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14:45 GMT+1 US Flash Manufacturing PMI
US Equities After the Close Earnings
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Q1 Adj. EPS USD 7.50 vs. Exp. USD 7.97 and Q1 Revenue USD 20.26bln vs. Exp. USD 20.37bln. Furthermore, Q1 Advertising Revenue USD 18.02bln vs. Prev. USD 18.5bln, Q1 Aggregate paid clicks declined 3% and Q1 Aggregate cost per click fell 9% Y/Y Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Q3 Adj. EPS. 0.62 vs. Exp. USD 0.64 and Q3 sales USD 20.5bln vs USD 22.1bln. Furthermore, Q3 productivity and business processes revenue USD 6.522bln vs. Exp. USD 6.457bln and Q3 office commercial products and cloud services revenue grew 7% Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Q2 Adj. EPS USD 0.39 vs. Exp. USD 0.39 and Q2 revenue USD 4.99bln vs. Exp. USD 5.03bln.
Furthermore, Co. report record Q2 financial and operating results, EPS up 18% and they add 100mln share buyback authorization. The Co. reaffirm FY16 growth targets, Q2 global comp sales up 6.0% vs. Exp. 6.7% Visa (NYSE:V) Q2 Adj. EPS exitems USD 0.68 vs. Exp. USD 0.67 and Q2 Revenue USD 3.6bln vs. Exp. USD 3.6bln. Additionally, they reaffirm their financial outlook for fiscal 2016.
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