Stock Index

London shares rose on Friday, with mining stocks leading gains on the FTSE 100. Spot gold traded above $4,500 an ounce and copper held near record levels, boosting the sector. Antofagasta climbed 4% to 3,864p, while Fresnillo and Anglo American rose 3% each and Endeavour Mining gained 3%, with Glencore up 2%. Bitcoin also surged 10% to above $79,000.

European shares posted modest gains on Friday, supported by a rise in gold prices, though the region was still poised for a weekly decline. Investors weighed persistent strain in global bond markets, while a diplomatic deadlock in the Gulf lifted oil prices and renewed inflation worries. Data showed $2.44 billion flowed into European equities in the week to Aug. 12, the biggest weekly inflow since late February. Brent crude touched a one-month high of $94.71 before profit-taking emerged.

U.S. stocks ended lower, with the Dow down 0.8%, the S&P 500 off 0.3% and the Nasdaq down 0.8%. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed back to around 5.25%, weighing on equities. On the earnings front, revenue rose nearly 6% to $187.9 billion and adjusted earnings were $0.81 per share, both ahead of expectations. Labor-market data was steady, with continuing claims falling to about 1.83 million.

Major U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday as rising government bond yields weighed on sentiment, while Walmart’s quarterly sales miss added to worries about softer consumer demand. The S&P 500 consumer staples index dropped 1.6%. Amazon and Tesla declined, while Nvidia and Apple rose and offered partial support. Investors also watched the outlook for Federal Reserve rates and inflation pressures linked to higher oil prices.

US stocks opened lower as government bond yields rose, weighing on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81.8 points to 53381.22, while the S&P 500 slipped 17.5 points to 7690.49. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 119.6 points to 26211.52.

London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% to 10,723.02 in intraday trading on Thursday, while the midcap FTSE 250 slid 0.3%. Sentiment in retail stocks weakened after JD Sports issued a downbeat forecast. A rebound in government bond yields added further pressure on the market.

Asian equities rose on Thursday, tracking an overnight advance on Wall Street. South Korea’s Kospi surged nearly 6% to recoup the prior session’s drop tied to renewed selling in artificial intelligence-related shares. Samsung Electronics climbed 9.5%, while SK Hynix jumped 12.7% after announcing a significant share buyback plan. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2% and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.2%.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow posting modest gains while the Nasdaq 100 slipped. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 5 basis points to 4.65% after the U.S. Treasury said it would double buybacks of longer-dated nominal coupon securities to at least $4 billion. Moderna shares jumped more than 176% after reporting positive results from its personalized cancer vaccine trial with Merck & Co. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was unchanged at 6.77%.

U.S. stocks closed modestly higher as easing Treasury yields lifted risk appetite and a sharp jump in Moderna powered the healthcare sector. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average all posted small gains. Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed “several” officials were prepared to raise rates, and “many” said a hike would be needed if inflation fails to fall to the central bank’s 2% target. Marvell Technology rose after saying it will help develop Google’s in-demand custom chips and has offered the company the right to buy a potential $12.2 billion stake.

Japan’s 30-year government bond yield climbed to an intraday 19-year high of 5.33% on Tuesday, underscoring market unease about fiscal policy. In the U.S., a $1.8 trillion fiscal-year deficit has pushed total government debt to nearly $40 trillion, while private investors’ share of Treasury holdings has risen to 73%. Japan, which imports about 90% of its energy, posted 1.1% year-on-year GDP growth in the second quarter versus an expected 2.0%. The short-term policy rate remains 1.0%, and the yen has fallen to a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar.