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Asian markets mostly fell on Monday with Tokyo tumbling almost two percent after data showed Japan's economy had slipped into recession, while Hong Kong and Shanghai were mixed on the first day of a landmark link-up between the two indexes.
A day after heads of the Group of 20 pledged to boost the global economy by US$2 trillion in four years, Tokyo authorities said Japan had contracted for a second straight month, fuelling expectations of a snap election and the delay of a planned sales tax hike.
Tokyo, which has surged more than 10 per cent this month, sank 1.92 per cent and Sydney fell 0.56 per cent, while Hong Kong lost 0.14 per cent and Shanghai put on 0.11 per cent. Seoul was 0.10 per cent lower.
The U.S. dollar moved lower against the euro on Friday, after U.S. a report of consumer sentiment indicated that expectations for higher inflation fell. The consumer -sentiment report suggests that the Federal Reserve may be in no rush to raise rates.
The euro EURUSD, +0.40% moved up $1.25 against the dollar on Friday from $1.2475 late Thursday. The shared currency had been trading flat to down against the dollar, on the heels of an upbeat U.S. retail sales report.
The WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, -0.07% was down fractionally 0.2%, to 79.89, while ICE Dollar Index DXY, -0.26% a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, notched lower to 87.54 from 87.82 on Thursday.
The dollar did, however, move higher against the yen, hovering at a seven-year high against the Japanese currency on Friday.
The greenback USDJPY, +0.45% bought ¥116.31, up from ¥115.77 late Thursday, climbing back to levels not seen since 2007.
The pound GBPUSD, -0.26% ended virtually flat against the dollar at $1.57 from $1.5710 Thursday evening.
December natural gas NGZ14, +2.11% rose 4 cents, or 1.1%, to trade at $4.0200 per million British thermal units. On the week, natural gas declined 8.9% as weather forecasters predicted a return to warmer weather by the end of the month, cutting down on heating fuel demand.
the Energy Information Administration reported that natural-gas supplies rose 40 billion cubic feet in the week ended Nov. 7. That was slightly above analyst expectations of an increase between 37 bcf and 39 bcf.
Gasoline for December delivery RBZ4, +2.43% rose 4 cents, or 2%, to settle at $2.0425 a gallon. Gasoline futures lost 4.3% on the week.
December heating oil HOZ4, +2.57% rose 5 cents, or 2.3%, to finish at $2.4161 a gallon. The commodity lost 3.3% on the week.
December silver SIZ4, +4.38% soared 69 cents, or 4.4%, to $16.31 an ounce.
January platinum PLF5, +1.41% added $14.10, or 1.2%, to $1,213.10 an ounce, while December palladium PAZ4, -0.57% rose 50 cents to $771.35 an ounce. High-grade copper for December delivery HGZ4, +1.67% gained 5 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.05 a pound.
