ASIA/PACIFIC
-The Australian stock market ended lower for a fourth day running on Friday, with miners leading losses following a negative lead from Wall Street overnight.
-Asian stocks ended mixed after Beijing’s affirmation of its recent policy shifts and plans to boost growth, following the Central Economic Work Conference Thursday, appeared to have fallen short of investors’ expectations.
-Japan’s industrial production in October increased 1.4% on an annual basis, slightly below analysts’ expectations, according to a report by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
. EUROPE
– European stocks closed lower weighed down by disappointing economic data from the U.K. and Germany. The German trade surplus stood at €13.4 billion in October while UK’s economy shrunk 0.1% in October.
-The Deutsche Bundesbank revised growth in 2025 down to 0.2%, 0.8% in 2026 and 0.9% in 2027.
-A survey by the Bank of England (BoE) and Ipsos revealed that respondents in the United Kingdom expect inflation to stand at 3% over the next 12 months.
. AMERICAS
North America
-The major U.S. averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
Latin America
-Base Exchange, a newly established stock exchange based in Rio de Janeiro, is set to launch operations in 2025.
-JP Morgan Chooses Argentina: 1,500 New Tech Jobs Show Latin America’s Rising Power, the Rio Times reported.
. AFRICA
-Goldman Sachs anticipates a rebound in the Egyptian pound in early 2025, following its sharp decline to a record low of EGP 50.8 against the USD in the offshore market this week, Arab Finance reported.
-Supermarket Income REIT plc (SUPR), a prominent real estate investment trust based in the United Kingdom (UK), has listed today on the Main Board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) via a secondary listing.
-Ghana’s equity market has demonstrated remarkable strength in 2024, with the Composite Index surging nearly 50% year-to-date through November, significantly outpacing the 29.71% gain recorded in the same period last year.
. MIDDLE EAST
-The UAE’s ADNH Catering PLC has signed an agreement to increase its stake to 50% in its Saudi JV, Compass Arabia.
-State Street Global Advisors has launched a UCITS ETF for European investors looking for exposure to the Saudi bond market: The SPDR JP Morgan Saudi Arabia Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF (KSAB) will be listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Borse’s Xetra in Germany.
-Spanish construction giant Ferrovial announced the completion of the sale of a 19.75% stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings, one of England’s busiest airports, for €2 billion to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and French investment firm Ardian.
. COMMODITIES
GOLD
Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,688.29 per ounce, as of 0320 GMT while U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,711.30.
SILVER-PLATINUM-PALLADIUM
Spot silver was unchanged at $30.94 per ounce. Platinum gained 0.4% to $933.65 and palladium
fell 0.1% to $969.09.
OIL
Brent crude futures edged up 5 cents to $73.46 a barrel by 0716 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 8 cents at $70.1 a barrel.
