A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – US stocks finished an up-and-down week on a high note, posting solid gains on a strong Nike earnings report and a rally in Apple shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 167.35 points (0.99 per cent) to 17,113.15.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 16.86 (0.86 per cent) to 1,982.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index surged 45.45 (1.02 per cent) to 4,512.19.
Nike surged 12.2 per cent as fiscal first-quarter earnings jumped 23.3 per cent to $US962 million, besting expectations.
Apple, the biggest US company by market capitalisation, bolted 2.9 per cent higher, making up most of Thursday’s losses after it released a new version of a software update that had earlier caused glitches in iPhones.
LONDON – Europe’s main stock markets were mixed while the euro continued to slide against the dollar.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.15 per cent at 6,649.39 points while in Paris, the CAC 40 climbed 0.91 per cent to 4,394.75 points.
However, Frankfurt’s DAX index shed 0.20 per cent to 9,490.55 points after disappointing German consumer confidence data and a drop in shares in Allianz after its bond unit Pimco lost its chief.
Madrid’s IBEX 35 index added 0.63 per cent after Spain raised its growth and cut its unemployment forecasts.
GfK’s headline German household confidence index fell to 8.6 points in September and was forecast to fall to 8.3 points in October.
Bill Gross, who built Pimco into the world’s largest bond investor and wielded outsized influence for years in the capital markets, is leaving the firm for rival Janus Capital group. Allianz shares fell to 128.20 euros on the news.
HONG KONG – Asian markets mostly fell as traders followed heavy losses on Wall Street.
Tokyo sank 0.88 per cent, or 144.28 points, to 16,229.86, while Sydney dropped 1.28 per cent, or 68.8 points, to 5,313.4, leaving it in negative territory for the year to date.
Seoul fell 0.12 per cent, or 2.47 points, to 2,031.64 and Hong Kong eased 0.38 per cent, or 89.72 points, to 23,678.41.
However, Shanghai reversed morning losses to end 0.11 per cent higher, adding 2.62 points, to 2,347.72
Analysts said the losses could be partially blamed on profit-taking at the end of the quarter after a recent uptrend.
WELLINGTON – The NZX 50 Index fell 24.37 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5,253.49.
