Friday,05 January 2024 16:56:32

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Friday,05 January 2024 at 16:56

UK and European markets closed lower, rounding off a choppy first week of the new year, as investors reacted to euro zone inflation data and December’s U.S. jobs report.

US stocks bounced back as investors digested more strong labour market data that will play into expectations for interest-rate cuts.

Gold prices slipped and were on track for their first weekly fall in four, weighed down by a stronger dollar and higher bond yields.

Oil prices gained as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to visit the Middle East to try and prevent the Israel-Gaza conflict from widening.

In corporate news, Endeavour Mining tanked after it announced late on Thursday that president and chief executive Sebastien de Montessus had been dismissed with immediate effect for "serious misconduct".

The sacking follows an investigation by the board into "an irregular payment instruction issued by him in relation to an asset disposal undertaken by the company".

The amount of this irregular payment instruction is $5.9m and Endeavour said the board recently became aware of it in the course of a review of acquisitions and disposals, which is ongoing.

Markets

At the close

FTSE 100 7,689 (-0.43%)

FTSE 250 19,210 (-0.83%)

DAX 16,590 (-0.16%)

At 16:45

Dow Jones 37,508 +0.18%

S&P 500 4,710 +0.46%

NASDAQ 14,585 +0.52%

Fixed Income

UK 10-YR YIELD 3.776

Exchange Rates

GBP/USD 1.274

GBP/EUR 1.161

Commodities

Gold $2,050 +0.35%

Brent $78.68 +1.32%

Important - No news or research item should be construed as a recommendation to trade. The inclusion of securities within this report does not necessarily imply their suitability for individual portfolios or situations in respect of which further advice should be sought. Information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable but is not warranted to be accurate or complete.