New York: Global stock indexes fell amid disappointing company results and forecasts, while oil prices registered their biggest weekly loss in eight months on swelling storage of crude. US stock index futures hit session lows after the close on Friday after France was rocked by multiple, near simultaneous attacks around Paris. French media said at least 153 people were killed and hostages were being held in a concert hall in the capital on Friday evening.
S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 22 points in light volume. Weaker-than-expected U.S. October retail sales weighed on US stocks for much of the day, with Wall Street capping its worst week since August, and dragged US Treasuries yields to their lowest levels in a week.
The MSCI all-country world index lost 1.1 percent on Friday and fell 3 per cent for the week, its biggest weekly decline since early September. The FTSEurofirst 300 ended down 0.83 per cent, hit by weak earnings, and posted a loss of 2.7 per cent for the week. Friday's Paris attacks could add to market jitters, analysts said.
"The geopolitical aspect is always out there, and anything that brings that back into the headlines will pull the buy orders fairly quickly," said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, a Toledo, Ohio-based investment advisor. Along with the retail data, a disappointing forecast from Cisco Systems, which cited slower order growth and weak spending outside the United States, hurt sentiment on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 202.83 points, or 1.16 percent, to 17,245.24, the S&P 500 lost 22.93 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 2,023.04 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 77.20 points, or 1.54 per cent, to 4,927.88.
All three major indices had their worst week since August, when fears about the health of China's economy and stock market slammed global asset prices. "You had both earnings concerns and macroeconomic concerns, and what I'd call technical vulnerability, all ganging up on the market this week," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments in Atlanta, which has $50 billion in assets under management.
Cisco shares dropped 5.8 percent to $26.21, while an S&P retail index dropped 3.7 percent. Department store chain Nordstrom lowered its full-year forecast on Thursday. Commerce Department data showed U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in October amid a surprise decline in automobile purchases. The day's data reinforced the view of modest economic growth and tame inflation, pushing U.S. bond yields down.
Benchmark 10-year Treasuries notes were last up 13/32 in price with a yield of 2.273 percent, down 5 basis points from late on Thursday. The 10-year yield has fallen 6 basis points on the week, snapping three straight weekly increases.
The dollar rose as statements from Federal Reserve officials supported the view that the U.S. central bank could raise interest rates in December. The dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.3 per cent to 98.948. The index is down about 0.2 per cent this week as profit-taking sent it lower earlier in the week.
Copper slid to a six-year low on persisting worries over a supply glut and slowing economic growth in China, before rebounding. The metal used in power and construction ended little changed at $4,825 a tonne, down more than 3 percent this week. Brent settled down 45 cents to $43.61 a barrel, while US crude fell $1.01 to settle at $40.74. Both benchmarks lost 8 percent on the week, their most since mid-March.
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