Oil prices fell overnight on Friday after the state-run IRNA news agency reported that Iran had launched an air defense battery early Friday following an apparent drone attack by Israel on a major air base and nuclear facility near the central city of Isfahan. skyrocketed. However, oil prices reversed and stopped their rise by early morning.
Also on Friday, S&P downgraded Israel’s long-term credit rating, citing the risk of military escalation with Iran. This is the second major credit rating agency in the United States to do so. S&P’s downgrade came just before the attack on Iran and about three months after Moody’s, another major US credit agency, downgraded Israel’s rating due to its “continued military conflict with Hamas.”
Netflix, which fell more than 5% in after-hours trading after the streamer reported strong financial results and subscriber growth last quarter, said in a letter to shareholders that its total subscriber numbers will increase starting next year. The company surprised investors by announcing it would no longer provide quarterly updates. In a video conference with analysts, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said it makes more sense for management to focus on the company’s financial growth rather than quarter-to-quarter fluctuations in subscriber numbers. He said he thought so.
Stocks have struggled recently as bond market yields have risen. The pressure has increased as investors have largely given up hope that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates significantly this year.
U.S. Treasury yields fell on Friday after rising a day earlier on reports that the U.S. economy was still doing better than expected. The yield on the two-year note fell to 4.97% from 4.99% on Thursday, and the yield on the 10-year note fell to 4.59% from 4.64%.
Federal Reserve officials have recently said they may keep interest rates high for some time after a series of reports showing that inflation this year is higher than expected.
This was a disappointment after the Fed had earlier indicated it could cut interest rates three times this year. But Fed officials insist they want to see inflation falling toward their 2% target before lowering the central bank’s key interest rate from its highest level since 2001.
In European markets, Germany’s DAX was down 0.5% as of midday, while Paris’ CAC40 index was down 0.1%. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.4%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.7% to 37,068.35 yen, smoothing losses from a 3.5% drop in early trading.
Semiconductor equipment supplier Lasertec posted the largest loss, down 8.4%. But most other major tech stocks also fell. Renesas fell 6%, Tokyo Electron fell 8.7% and Sony Group fell 1.8%.
Toyota Motor Corporation fell 2.2%.
Japan’s headline inflation rate slowed to 2.7% in March, but the core-core index, which excludes fresh food and energy costs, slowed to 2.9%, falling below 3% for the first time since November 2022, according to a government report. Ta.
The yen rose slightly against the US dollar, falling from 154.64 yen to 154.55 yen.
The euro rose to $1.0661 from $1.0644.
After Japan’s central bank last month raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years, ending years of negative interest rate policy aimed at stimulating the economy, markets are watching to see what the bank will do next. However, that percentage is still close to zero.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1% to 7,567.30. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.6% to 2,591.86. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.9% to 16,231.40, and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 3,065.26. Taiwan’s Tyex fell 3.8%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shares also fell 6.7%.
In oil trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 62 cents to $81.48 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 60 cents to $86.51 a barrel.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 5,011.12, after making small gains and losses throughout the day. Although the decline was small, it was still enough to snap the index to its fifth consecutive loss. This is the longest losing streak since October and is 4.6% below the record set late last month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to $37,775.38, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5% to $15,601.50.
