Early Caution in U.S. Holiday Shopping, World Markets Down on China Worries

Nichole Harper
27 Nov, 2015
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street traded sideways and shopper were in a cautious mood and search deeper bargains online. Holiday shoppers started early and most large discount stores began offering early bargains online to attract customers away from other online stores only.

[R][1:05 PM New York City, New York – Stocks on Wall Street traded sideways and shopper were in a cautious mood and search deeper bargains online. Holiday shoppers started early and most large discount stores began offering early bargains online to attract customers away from other online stores only.[/R]

Market indexes on Wall Street traded sideways and retailers were in focus after a cautious start of holiday spending.

National Retail Federation is estimating holiday sales to increase at a slower pace of 3.7% after rising at 4.1% in 2014 and the industry association added stagnant wages and sluggish job growth are affecting consumer spending.

The so called Black Friday weekend that began today is expected to generate 20% of total holiday spending.

On Wall Street, Tollbooth Strategy Index rose 8.99 to 10,968.12.

S&P 500 index edged down 0.06 to 2,088.93 and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.63 to 5,118.77.

Crude oil in New York slipped 99 cents to $42.05 a barrel and gold declined $14.62 to $1,057.71 an ounce.

U.S. Movers

Renren Inc ((RENN)), the China-focused social networking platform provider said revenues in the third-quarter ending in September plunged 36.4% from a year ago to $12.4 million.

Net loss in the quarter widened to $82 million or 8 cents per diluted share compared to $38.1 million or 2 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

Target Corporation ((TGT)) gained 52 cents to $73.68 after the discount retailer suggested in a press release that the online store traffic was strong and “unprecedented” at the start of the holiday shopping season that has been come to be known as Black Friday.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc ((WMT)) fell 25 cents to $60.01 after the specialty retailer’s chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies said 25 million people visited its online store on Black Friday.

European Markets

European markets headed south on Friday following a sharp decline in Chinese equities, prompted by government investigation of large brokerage houses and deteriorating domestic economic data.

Mining companies led the decliners on the worries that the slowdown in China may dent sales further.

The government reports show that October industrial profit in China fell 4.6% in comparison with the year-ago period.

Additionally, the Chinese government is investigating violations at two main brokerages.

In the UK, the seasonally adjusted service sector index jumped 2.7% in September from a year ago. The largest contributions came from business services, finance, distribution, hotels and restaurants, the Office of the National Statistics said.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index fell 15.27 or 0.2% to 6,377.92 and in Frankfurt the DAX index slid 4.30 to 11,316.46.

In Paris, CAC 40 index edged up 2.28 to 4,948.30.

Resource sector decline was led by Anglo American with a loss of 7.7% and BHP Billiton lost 3.5%.

Rio Tinto Limited fell 2.77% to 2,208 pence after the mining company decided to invest $1.9 billion in the Amrun Project to expand its bauxite output.

The Amrun Project involves the construction of a bauxite mine, processing and port facilities.

In London, CEO Sam Walsh said initial output will be 22.8 million tons per year.

Production and shipping is expected to commence by 2019, while the majority of capital expenditure is scheduled for 2017 and 2018.

Asian Markets

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans for financial assists to the developing countries by providing 1.3 trillion yen per year by 2020 to fight against the climate change.

Nine out of 10 major domestic power suppliers’ plans to reduce their electricity rates for January after the sharp fall in crude oil prices but all four major gas suppliers raise their rates due to increase the prices of liquefied natural gas.

The consumer prices index in October increased 0.3% from a year ago month but decreased 0.1% from September, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate in October unexpectedly declined to a 20-year-low of 3.1% from 3.4% in the previous two months, in a preliminary report the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

The number of unemployed people rose a seasonally adjusted 9.6% to 2.06 million while the number of workers fell to 63.96 million.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 80.31 or 0.4% to 19,864.10 and the broader Topix index slipped 8.67 to 1,593.65.

For the week, Nikkei 225 gained 1.5%.

The yen weakened to 122.56 against a dollar.

Toshiba Corp jumped 2.4% to 292.30 yen after the diversified conglomerates intends to split a part of its chip business, raise capital in the aftermath of $1.3 billion accounting scandal.

However, chief executive officer Masashi Muromachi confirmed that the NAND flash memory chip unit will remain in the group and will not be sold but he also added that ""we would consider selling every asset that is possible to sell.""

In October, Toshiba agreed to sell its image sensor business to Sony Corp.

Stocks in Mumbai traded higher and rupee dropped to a new record low against the U.S. dollar.

The stocks of logistics companies traded higher on the hopes that the parliament may pass Goods and Services Tax Bill.

Rupee dropped 17 paisa to 66.73 against one U.S. dollar.

The Sensex Index increased 169.57 or 0.7% to close at 26,128.20. The CNX Nifty advanced 58.90 or 0.8% to 7,942.70.

For the week, Sensex Index gained 1.2% and CNX Nifty increased 1.3%.

Ashok Leyland won order for 3,600 vehicles worth $200 million from Cote d’Ivoire.

U.K.-based Hardy Oil & Gas plc is in talks to acquire 90% stake in a gas discovery block off the coast of Gujarat from Reliance Industries.