EQUITIES
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks slumped on the last trading day of the year last Friday, led down by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other big tech stocks, but major indexes still posted solid gains in 2016.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 57.18 points, or 0.29 percent, to 19,762.6 on Friday, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 10.43 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,238.83 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 48.97 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,383.12.
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LONDON - Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE closed 2016 at a record high level, with a blistering rally in mining stocks and a sharp fall in sterling after June's shock Brexit vote boosting the market.
The benchmark index, dominated by global companies, closed 0.3 percent higher at a life-time peak of 7,142.83 points on Friday, surpassing the previous record of 7,129.83 set in October.
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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average dropped to a three-week low in choppy trade on Friday as investors took profits from the recent gains on the last trading day of 2016, but the market managed to eke out marginal gains for the year.
The Nikkei .N225 ended 0.2 percent lower at 19,114.37, the lowest closing level since Dec. 9.
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SYDNEY - Australian shares face a cautious start to the new year, following a weak lead from Wall Street last Friday. Trading is likely to be thin as many investors remain off for summer holidays.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.58 percent, or 33.27 points, to 5,665.8 on the last trading day of 2016 last Friday, but ended the year up 4.2 percent in its best annual gain since 2013.
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar recovered from a two-week low against a basket of six major currencies on Monday, though trade was thin with many markets closed for the New Year holiday.
On Monday the euro fell 0.4 percent to $1.0513 EUR= despite strong manufacturing data for the currency bloc, while the dollar index climbed half a percent to 102.68, close to the 14-year peak of 103.65 it touched on Dec. 30.
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury debt yields closed lower on Friday in a shortened session, falling for the third straight day to end a weak fourth quarter with a modest consolidation and rounding out a year of surprises.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR rose 8/32 in price to yield 2.446 percent.
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COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold prices eased last Friday as gains from a weak dollar were offset by profit-taking at the end of a year in which bullion gained about more than 8 percent, snapping three years of declines.
Spot gold XAU= reached its highest since Dec. 14 at $1,163.14 an ounce, before retreating 0.7 percent to $1,150.5 per ounce. Prices were up about 8.5 percent annually, their biggest increase since 2011.
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BASE METALS
LONDON - Zinc CMZN3 on the London Metal Exchange ended 2016 up 60 percent from 2015, tin CMSN3 surged 45 percent, nickel CMNI3 gained 14 percent and copper CMCU3 rose 18 percent for its first annual rise since 2012.
The Chinese New Year holiday in the first quarter of 2017 will mean slowing manufacturing activity, while the U.S. currency is near 14-year highs, making metals priced in dollars more expensive for non-U.S. firms.
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OIL
NEW YORK - Oil prices settled slightly lower on Friday, the year's last trading day, but attained their biggest annual gain since 2009, after OPEC and partners agreed to cut output to reduce a supply overhang that has depressed prices for two years.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 crude futures were down 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $53.72 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 fell 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $56.82.
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