Mixed day for global stocks amid troubles with Brexit, US tech

World stock markets were mixed on Friday, September 11, as European traders mulled Britain’s increasingly acrimonious war dance with the European Union, while in the United States technology shares continued to pull back.

Sterling remained under pressure as Britain sparred with Brussels, rejecting an ultimatum to withdraw controversial Brexit legislation but agreeing to extend talks next week.

On the plus side for British industry, a stuttering currency – which hauled itself off multi-month midweek lows – has been helping to boost share prices of index multinationals’ earnings in dollars.

Those increases helped London’s FTSE index gain ground on Friday.

After the sterling selloff on Thursday, September 10, the pound was stable on Friday amid news the British economy expanded 6.6% – albeit still well off pre-coronavirus levels.

“Ultimately UK investors will probably thank the UK government for pushing down sterling and allowing the FTSE the room to recover 6,000 [points],” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

“Given time, however, we can expect the index to return to its dismal ways, as the global investing community picks the more solid performers on Wall Street over an increasingly fraught UK outlook.”

Meanwhile, US stocks concluded a volatile week on a mixed note, with the Dow rising and the Nasdaq suffering its 5th decline in 6 sessions.

Tech shares have been under pressure since hitting a record on September 2, with investors questioning skyrocketing stock values.

Markets are also assessing the timing of vaccine candidates for COVID-19 and how much a vaccine could erode the advantage tech companies have attained from higher demand for e-commerce and digital services if the economy normalizes quickly.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities, said September has historically been a volatile month for equities. 

This year, there is also unease about the upcoming presidential election, rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, and worries over coronavirus outbreaks, including at colleges, Hogan said.

“Volatility is going to be norm for the balance of this month and probably October also,” he said.

Key figures around 8:50 pm GMT

• New York – Dow: UP 0.5% at 27,665.64 (close)
• New York – S&P 500: UP 0.1% at 3,340.97 (close)
• New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6% at 10,853.55 (close)
• London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5% at 6,032.09 (close)
• Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 0.1% at 13,202.84 (close)
• Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2% at 5,0346.14 (close)
• EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1% at 3,315.81 (close) 
• Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7% at 23,406.49 (close)
• Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.8% at 24,503.31 (close)
• Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8% at 3,260.35 (close)
• Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2800 from $1.2805 at 9 pm GMT
• Euro/pound: UP at 92.52 pence from 92.27 pence
• Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1843 from $1.1815
• Dollar/yen: DOWN at 106.10 yen from 106.13 yen 
• West Texas Intermediate: UP less than 0.1% at $37.33 per barrel
• Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.6% at $39.83 per barrel

– Rappler.com