Investing.com - Global markets began the week with a mixed performance, following last week's gains in the three major US indexes, spearheaded by the NASDAQ Composite's 2.9% surge.
By 11:30 am AEDT (12:30 am GMT), the S&P/ASX 200 and KOSPI 200 saw increases of 0.8% and 0.3% respectively, the Nikkei 225 experienced a 0.3% dip.
North American markets exhibited a mixed performance on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 marking their best weeks of the year. Despite the Dow Jones slipping by 305 points or 0.8%, and the S&P 500 edging down 0.1%, the Nasdaq managed to add 0.2%. All three indexes reached new record highs this week.
Investor worries surrounding the Federal Reserve seemed to dissipate ahead of the central bank's policy announcement on Wednesday. The market accepted that the Fed might need to delay rate cuts slightly. When the Fed's policy statement, projections, and Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference on Wednesday did not present hawkish signals, the market anticipated a potential rate cut in June, if inflation data follow suit. This anticipation fueled a rally in stocks.
Several stocks made significant moves on Friday. FedEx (NYSE:FDX)'s fiscal third-quarter earnings surpassed analysts' predictions due to successful cost-cutting efforts, leading to a 7.4% increase in shares. Nike (NYSE:NKE) shares fell by 6.9% after the company's fiscal third-quarter revenue showed a slight year-on-year increase, but warned of challenging sales in the first half of fiscal 2025. Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose by 0.5% despite being sued by the Justice Department, and Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU)'s shares fell by 16% after its fourth-quarter earnings exceeded expectations, but its guidance fell short.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell by 0.4% to US$85.43 a barrel and gold dropped by 0.7% to US$2,165.44. In bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds fell to 3.81% while the 10 Year yield rose to 4.03%. US Treasury notes also fell, with the 2 Year yield at 4.59% and the 10 Year yield at 4.20%.
Asian markets exhibited mixed performance. Chinese shares closed lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.95% while the Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 2.2%. Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in auto and financial stocks. Indian shares closed higher, reversing earlier losses.
European shares closed mixed. The STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.03% at 509.64, the DAX 40 rose 0.15% to 18,205.94, and the CAC 40 slipped 0.34% to 8,151.92. The FTSE 100 outperformed European indexes, rising 0.7% to a one-year intraday high of 7961.43, amid growing prospects of an earlier Bank of England interest-rate cut.