European equities mostly rise

Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, December 8:

1. Dollar Rises With U.S. Employment Report on Tap

The U.S. Labor Department will release its November nonfarm payrolls report at 8:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT) on Friday, and it will be watched more for what it says about wages than hiring.

The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 200,000, after adding 261,000 positions in October, while the unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 4.1%.

Most of the focus will likely be on average hourly earnings figures, which are expected to rise 0.3%, following a flat reading a month earlier. On an annualized basis, wages are forecast to gain 2.7%, improving from 2.4% in October, which was the weakest rise in a year-and-a-half.

A pickup in wages could be an early sign for higher inflation, supporting the case for higher interest rates in the months ahead.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.27% at 94.00 by 05:30 a.m. ET (09:30 GMT), its highest since November 21.

2. Brexit Negotiations Pass Important Stage

The pound strenthened after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday that "sufficient progress" has been made in the first phase of Brexit talks and that discussions can now move to trade.

The news came after the British government finally agreed that there will be no "hard border" in Ireland and EU citizens in the UK, and UK citizens in the EU, will see their rights protected.

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, whose opposition last Monday led to Brexit talks breaking down, said there was still "more work to be done" and how it votes on the final deal "will depend on its contents".

3. Bitcoin Pulls Back After Breaking $17,000 Threshold

Bitcoin climbed to another record high above $17,000 overnight, as investors continue to bet that demand for the popular digital currency will surge with the launch of bitcoin futures expected before year-end.

On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin (bitcoin) was down 9.42% at $15,039 by 05:30 a.m. ET (09:30 GMT), after climbing to a new all-time high of $17,160 overnight.

The optimism in bitcoin comes amid expectations that bitcoin exchange-traded-funds will follow the launch of bitcoin futures, which many believe paves the way for bitcoin to become an established asset class, which would spur institutional demand.

Cboe Global Markets Inc. said Monday it will start trading bitcoin futures on Dec. 10, after receiving the go ahead last week from US futures regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The news comes after CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) announced last week that it would launch bitcoin futures on Dec. 18.

4. Crude Oil Prices Remain Supported Despite U.S. Output Concerns

Crude oil prices rose for a second consecutive session on Friday, as an increase in demand from China offset mountint concerns over rising U.S. oil production.

The General Administration of Customs reported on Friday that China's crude oil imports rose to 37.04 9.01 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, the second highest on record.

The data came after the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday revealed a big jump in U.S. fuel inventories while domestic production hit another weekly record, pushing oil prices sharply lower.

Fears that rising U.S. output would dampen OPEC’s efforts to rid the market of excess supplies are weighed on sentiment, according to market participants.

The producer group, along with some non-OPEC members led by Russia, agreed last week to extend current oil output cuts for a further nine months until the end of 2018.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 39 cents or around 0.69% at $57.06 a barrel by 05:30 a.m. ET (09:30 GMT), off a three-week low of $55.83 hit on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., were up 45 cents or about 0.72% at $62.65 a barrel.

5. Global Stocks Move Higher, Chinese Trade Data Supports

World shares were mostly higher on Friday, helped by improving market sentiment thanks to progress on the U.S. tax reform front and upbeat Chinese trade data.

Asian-Pacific equities closed higher after data on Friday showed that China's imports climbed more than expected by an annual rate of 17.7% in November, while exports increased by 12.3%.

European shares also mostly higher in midday trade on Friday, as risk-sentiment increased globally.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks pointed to a higher open after the U.S. Congress on Thursday passed legislation to temporarily fund the government through December 22, before a Friday midnight deadline and fuelling hopes the highly-anticipated U.S. tax reform will also be passed before the end of the year.

U.S. Senate Republicans agreed to talks with the House of Representatives on a major tax reform bill on Wednesday, signaling that lawmakers could agree on a final bill ahead of a self-imposed December 22 deadline.

Source: AFP