France NFP Rises 0.3% QoQ in Q3

News Event

From Trading Economics: Non-farm payrolls in France rose 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the September quarter of 2016, compared to a 0.2 percent growth in the preceding quarter, preliminary estimates showed. While employment in services sector increased further (+0.5 percent from +0.4 percent in the second quarter, driven by a rebound in temporary work: +5.1 percent), those in construction stabilised (after a 0.2 percent contraction). In contrast, employment in industry fell 0.3 percent (from a 0.3 percent drop). Year-on-year, payroll employment rose 0.9 percent, creating 145,100 jobs.

Market Snap

Market Opening Wrap

In Asian Equity Markets Japanese stocks rose on Thursday and posted their biggest gain in nine months in a turnaround just as dramatic as the previous day's plunge, as markets reassessed the economic implications of Republican Donald Trump's shock U.S. presidential election victory. The Nikkei index ended 6.7 percent higher to 17,344.42, posting the biggest daily percentage gain since mid-February. The broader Topix rose 5.8 percent to 1,376.35, with all of its 33 subsectors rising. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 5.9 percent to 12,351.63. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan bounced 2 percent. Australian stocks rose 3.3 percent in the largest daily gain since late 2011 and Shanghai rose 1.3 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar eased on Thursday as traders sought some stability after 24 hours of high drama in global markets that saw a massive selloff in risk assets and an equally dramatic turnaround on Republican Donald Trump's shock U.S. presidential win. The dollar was last down 0.3 percent at 105.40 in choppy trade that took it to a session low of 104.99 from a high of 105.95, its loftiest level since July 27. The euro spiked as high as $1.1299 on Wednesday, its highest since Sept. 8, before tumbling to $1.0902. It last stood at $1.0926, up 0.2 percent. The dollar index was slightly higher on the day at 98.523 after rising to an overnight high of 98.704, its highest since Oct. 28.

In Commodities Markets  oil prices reversed some early losses to push higher on Thursday as markets recovered from their initial shock at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's surprise victory, although traders said that crude fundamentals remained weak. U.S. WTI crude futures were up 0.3 percent, from their last settlement at $45.42 a barrel. Brent crude oil futures were trading at $46.70 per barrel, up 0.7 percent, from their last close.  Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,283.76 an ounce and silver was up 0.54 percent at $18.57 an ounce. Copper rose to a near 16-month high on expectations that a Trump presidency could unleash a flood of infrastructure spending. Iron ore rose 4.7 percent to its highest since January 2015.

In US Equity Markets  stocks rose sharply on Wednesday in a dramatic turnaround from deep overnight losses as Wall Street embraced the upset presidential election victory of Republican Donald Trump. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.4 percent to end at 18,589.69. The S&P 500 rose 1.11 percent to 2,163.26 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.11 percent to end at 5,251.07. Shares of big pharmaceutical companies gained, with Pfizer jumping 7.07 percent. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF rose  8.93 percent and was on track for its biggest daily percentage gain in eight years. Among financials, JPMorgan Chase was up 4.60 percent, while Wells Fargo rose 5.38 percent.

In Bond Markets  Japanese government bond prices fell on Thursday following the plunge in U.S. Treasuries, with the benchmark JGB futures posting their biggest fall since the Bank of Japan started soft-peg of long-term bond yields in September. The 10-year JGB yield hit a 1-1/2-month high of minus 0.035 percent from minus 0.080 percent, while the price of the benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.40 point to 151.55. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield shot up to a 10-month high of 2.092 percent from a low of 1.716 percent hit earlier on Wednesday.

Source: Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management