Oil prices barely moved on Friday even as more supply came back online in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following two hurricanes, with benchmark contracts on track to post weekly gains of around 4% as the output recovery is seen lagging demand.
The dollar was up on Monday morning in Asia, continuing its gains from the previous week. Investors remain wary of the U.S. Federal Reserve beginning asset tapering even as the number of COVID-19 cases surges globally.
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The Nasdaq ended Friday at a new peak but the other main Wall Street indexes fell, reflecting the mixed sentiment stemming from a disappointing U.S. jobs report which raised fears about the pace of economic recovery but weakened the argument for near-term tapering.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record finishes on Thursday, while the Dow also posted a modest gain, as higher commodity prices helped energy names recover ground and the latest jobs data left investors unfazed about existing positions.
Gold was down on Thursday morning in Asia. Moves remained small as investors wait for the latest U.S. jobs report that could hold clues about the Federal Reserve’s asset tapering plan, with preceding employment data missing expectations.
