A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – The Dow has notched its third straight record high in mixed Wall Street trade as shares of Chinese internet company Alibaba soared following a record initial public offering.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 13.75 points (0.08 per cent) to close on Friday at 17,279.74.
The S&P 500 finished down 0.96 of a point (0.05 per cent) at 2,010.40, narrowly missing a record high a day after setting one. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 13.64 (0.30 per cent) to 4,579.79.
Shares of Alibaba bolted 38.1 per cent higher to $US93.89 on its first day of trade after its IPO raised $US25 billion ($A27.05 billion), the largest in history on any market.
Anticipation of the Alibaba trade helped push the market higher Friday morning, gains that were further propelled by Scotland’s referendum vote rejecting independence from Britain.
But all three indices retreated from their peaks as Alibaba began trading before 1600 GMT.
LONDON – London’s stock market jumped out of the blocks early as investors welcomed Scotland’s rejection of independence from the United Kingdom, but European stocks overall ended mixed.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index, after impressive morning gains on Friday, closed up 0.27 per cent to 6,837.92 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 slipped 0.08 per cent to 4,461.22 points, while Frankfurt’s DAX index ended virtually unchanged, edging up 0.01 per cent to 9,799.26 points.
Sterling hit a two-year euro high in anticipation of victory for the “No” campaign before recoiling.
The British pound began strongly before falling slightly. The euro tumbled to 78.10 pence on initial returns pointing to a victory for the “No” camp – the lowest level since July 2012 and compared with 78.82 pence late in New York on Thursday. It later recovered to 78.66 pence.
At the same time, sterling jumped to a two-and-a-half-week peak at $US1.6525, before dipping to $US1.6316.
HONG KONG – Asian markets rose following a record close on Wall Street.
Tokyo climbed 1.58 per cent, or 253.60 points, to close Friday at 16,321.17, its highest since November 2007.
Sydney added 0.32 per cent, or 17.3 points, to 5,433.1 and Seoul advanced 0.30 per cent, or 6.08 points, to 2,053.82.
Shanghai finished 0.58 per cent higher, adding 13.52 points to 2,329.45, while Hong Kong gained 0.57 per cent, or 137.44 points, to 24,306.16.
WELLINGTON – The NZX 50 Index gained 27.16 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5,181.35.
