US Stocks Climb as Dow Hits New High on Black Friday

On Friday, Wall Street saw stocks go up during a shorter "Day of trading", as the US Black Friday shopping event kicked off. Traders were also wondering if President-elect Donald Trump might change his plans for trade tariffs on countries like China, Canada, and Mexico. People were waiting to see what Trump would do once he became president in January.

The Japanese yen also The situation improved. Against the US dollar after inflation in Japan increased. This made people think that Japan’s central bank might raise interest rates soon. The yen gained 1 percent against the dollar, but this caused Japanese companies that sell products overseas to lose value. Because of this, the Tokyo stock market closed lower.

This month has been full of The stock markets experiencing fluctuations, including both highs and lows. This is partly because Trump won a second term in the presidential election. It’s also because of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Many traders are paying attention to Trump’s promise to put high tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico when he takes office. There is a lot of uncertainty about how these plans might affect the markets.

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Even with all this uncertainty, the US stock markets ended higher on Friday. The Dow and the S&P 500 both reached new record highs, following the Thanksgiving break. The rise in stock prices was also helped by good news about chip companies. A report came out saying that President Joe Biden’s administration might place some restrictions on semiconductor sales to China, but the restrictions would not be as harsh as originally thought.

Nvidia’s stock rose by 2.2 percent after the news came out. Patrick O'Hare from Briefing.com said that the market seems to be moving smoothly at the moment without any big problems.

In Europe, stock markets also went up. The stock markets in Paris and Frankfurt finished in the green, meaning they went up, while London’s stock market had smaller gains. The rise in stock prices was helped by easing fears about tariffs. There was a phone call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. After the call, Sheinbaum said that there would not be a tariff war between the US and Mexico. This news helped calm the markets.

Many traders in the US were still off for the Thanksgiving holiday, so the main focus in the past few days was on the fact that people were less worried about tariffs. This made traders more confident. People were also looking forward to Black Friday, the big shopping day, even though many people now shop online and the huge crowds of people rushing into stores are not as big a deal as they used to be.

Inflation in the Eurozone and French Politics

In Europe, inflation went up again in November. Consumer prices in the eurozone increased by 2.3 percent compared to the same time last year. This was higher than the 1.7 percent rise in September. But experts believe this rise in inflation won’t stop the European Central Bank (ECB) from cutting interest rates next month to try to help the economy grow.

In France, the government is facing challenges with its budget. The country has a large deficit, meaning it owes a lot of money, and Prime Minister Michel Barnier is facing tough opposition from political parties on both sides. This has caused some uncertainty about the country’s future economy.

Asian Markets and Japan’s Inflation

In Japan, inflation data showed that prices in Tokyo went up by 2.6 percent over the 12 months ending in November. This was higher than expected and much more than the previous month. Because of this, people think that Japan’s central bank might raise interest rates again soon. This caused the yen to get stronger, rising by 1 percent against the US dollar.

However, the stronger yen made things harder for Japanese companies that sell products to other countries, like carmakers. When the yen gets stronger, it makes Japanese goods more expensive for people in other countries. As a result, the Tokyo stock market went down.

In Hong Kong and Shanghai, stock markets went up. Chinese leaders are trying to find ways to encourage people in China to spend more money to help the economy grow. Since the pandemic, China’s economy has not been growing as quickly, so the government is looking for ways to get people to buy more products and boost the economy.

Overall, while the markets have gone up and down this month, things ended on a positive note. Traders are continuing to watch closely to see what will happen with tariffs, interest rates, and the economy in the next few weeks.