LONDON: European and Asian stocks mostly rebounded on Friday as risks of contagion from troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande eased. US stocks pulled from record highs, however, as disappointing earnings from Snap pulled down other social media shares.
Evergrande has made a key offshore interest payment a day ahead of a weekend deadline, Chinese state media said on Friday, averting a default for now. The crisis at one of the nation's biggest property developers, which is drowning in $300 billion of debt, has hammered investor sentiment and fuelled fears of a spillover into the wider economy.
Evergrande's share price jumped more than four percent in Hong Kong, though that came a day after a drop of more than 12 percent sparked by its announcement that the planned sale of its property services unit had fallen through. The payment helped boost sentiment in Asian and European equity trading.
However, US stocks were pulled lower as disappointing results from the owner of Snapchat pulled down other social media stocks. "The results from Snap were a reminder of the indirect impact that global supply chain issues can have on businesses," said market analyst Craig Erlam at currency trading platform Oanda.
"In their case, it was advertising spend that will be inhibited as a result of firms suffering supply issues during a typically lucrative time for the industry," he added. Overall though investors have been satisfied with third earnings by companies, driving both the S&P 500 and Dow to new highs this week.
Stocks stumbled last month as investors worried about persistent supply chain problems that are stoking inflation and which are pushing monetary policymakers to begin to wind down economic stimulus measures. But corporate earnings have largely beat expectations with many companies having been able to pass along price hikes and maintain profits.
Analyst Fawad Razaqzada at ThinkMarkets said that records likely reflects a view by investors that the supply bottlenecks and surge in inflation are likely to be temporary after all, and that therefore central banks won't tighten monetary policy too much. "Central banks wouldn't want to choke off economic growth by being too aggressive when they tighten their policies especially as there have been some signs of weakening recovery of late," he said.
Bitcoin falls
In foreign exchange activity on Friday, the British pound briefly hit a 20-month high versus the euro on increased expectations that the Bank of England will lift its main interest rate next month to combat high inflation.
The single currency took a knock also from a survey showing the eurozone economic recovery losing steam. "The ongoing pandemic means supply chain delays remain a major concern," warned Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, which carries out the purchasing managers' index measuring corporate confidence.
Elsewhere, bitcoin fell as profit-takers moved in after the digital currency hit a record $66,976 this week. The world's leading cryptocurrency has taken another step towards mainstream status as bitcoin forayed onto Wall Street.
A bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund, a type of financial instrument, launched this week on the New York Stock Exchange. The new fund is a more accessible vehicle that puts bitcoin within the grasp of even more investors.
Key figures
Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.8 percent
FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent
Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent
Hong Kong: UP 0.4 percent
Shanghai: DOWN 0.3 percent
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1635
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3768
Euro/pound: UP at 84.51 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 113.72
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.4 percent
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent.
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