Stocks in the US finished mixed on the last trading day of the September quarter, as the prospect of a government shutdown and interest rates remaining elevated at decades high weighed on sentiments. The Dow Jones ended 157 points lower, as Walmart (-1.6%) and Chevron (-1.1%) were the biggest laggards. The S&P lost 0.3% while the Nasdaq added 0.1%, booking their worst month of the year. In corporate news, Carnival shares tumbled 4.9% after the cruise operator's earnings outlook disappointed. On the other hand, Nvidia and Tesla added 0.9% and 1.6% after receiving a buy rating on their stocks. Meanwhile, Nike surged 6.7% after an upbeat earnings report. The Dow booked a 3.2% decline this month and a 2.4% fall for the quarter. The S&P 500 finished the month down 4.8% and the quarter lower by 3.5%. The Nasdaq lost 4.9% in September, and fell 2.9% for the quarter.
European equity markets rose on Friday, with the German DAX up 0.4% and the benchmark Stoxx 600 adding 0.5%, as investors were digesting a batch of inflation data from the Eurozone. The latest CPI report showed that inflation across the 20 countries that use the euro slowed more than expected to 4.3% in September, marking the lowest rate since October 2021, and the core inflation rate cooled to an over one-year low of 4.5%. These data points indicated that easing inflationary pressures were beginning to materialize, even though both rates remained well above the ECB's 2% target. Despite Friday's gains, the DAX 40 lost 3.5% in September, the most in a year, due to concerns that interest rates are likely to remain elevated for an extended period. The STOXX 600 dropped 1.6% in September and fell by 2.9% in Q3, its worst performance for a year.
The Nikkei 225 Index shed 0.05% to close at 31,858 while the broader Topix Index lost 0.94% to 2,323 on Friday, extending losses from the previous session as investors reacted to mixed economic data in Japan. Data showed that Tokyo’s core inflation rate, a leading indicator of nationwide price trends, came in at 2.5% in September, lower than the 2.6% expected by analysts. Investors also digested Japanese unemployment, industrial output and retail sales data for August. Financial stocks led the decline, with notable losses from Mitsubishi UFJ (-2.2%), Sumitomo Mitsui (-2%) and Mizuho Financial (-2.2%). Shipping and resource-related firms also slumped, including Kawasaki Kisen (-4.6%), Kobe Steel (-3.7%) and Nippon Steel (-3.7%). The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 2.3% for its third straight monthly decline in September, while the Topix Index shed 0.37% for the month.
The BSE Sensex gained 0.49% to close at 65,828 on Friday, its best day in nearly three weeks and ending the September month 1.5% higher. Traders now await the RBI's interest rate decision and key domestic PMI data released next week. Among individual stocks, NTPC, India's largest energy company, was the top performer, rising 3.3% on strong business outlook given its current aggressive approach to expanding renewable energy production. Also, Tata Motors and Sun Pharma rose 2.7% and 2.3%. Conversely, IT stocks were the biggest laggards, after Accenture's forecast for full-year earnings and Q1 2023 revenues were revealed below expected: HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra fell 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 rose 0.59% to 19,638.
The S&P/TSX Composite index edged lower by 0.2% to close to 19,541 on Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street while softer-than-expected GDP data raised hopes of a rate pause by the Bank of Canada. Preliminary results showed that the domestic GDP expanded in August, recovering from the second quarter’s stall. Hopes of softer monetary policy in the US supported tech shares traded in Toronto, as Shopify soared 2.6% leading the gains among high-cap companies. Miners also advanced amid the support for bullion and copper benchmarks, as Teck Resources gained 1.8%. On the other hand, oil prices eased from recent one-year peaks and sent energy producers 1% lower on average. The benchmark index, booked its worst month since May after losing 3.7% and its worst quarter since June 2022, dropping 3%.
The Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to close at 3,110 while the Shenzhen Component inched up 0.05% to 10,110 in cautious trade on Thursday, as trading volume dried up ahead of the week-long National Data holiday. Surging oil prices and government bond yields also dented risk sentiment. Oil prices jumped to one-year highs amid tightening supplies, while the benchmark 10-year US yield hit its highest levels since 2007 on the back of a higher-for-longer interest rate scenario. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China said on Wednesday it would step up policy adjustments and implement monetary policy in a "precise and forceful" manner to support the economy. Gains were seen from heavyweight firms such as Seres Group (10%), HWA Create (10.5%) and CPT Technology (10.1%), while losses were seen from Longi Green Energy (-1.7%), Hebei Changshan (-2.9%) and Wuxi Apptec (-1.7%).
