FEZ Rises by 1.2% on Strong Employment Data
FEZ, Developed Markets Rise on Strong US Employment Data
FEZ rose by 1.2%
The SPDR Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (FEZ) and the iShares MSCI Eurozone (EZU) closed on positive notes on Friday, December 4, 2015. Both the ETFs rose by 1.2% on the same day, closing at $35.80 and $36.44. The non-farm employment data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that US job growth rose in November.
Non-farm employment data showed that the US economy created 211,000 jobs last month, which is above analysts’ estimation of 201,000. The data will most likely pave the way for the Federal Reserve to make its first rate hike in nearly a decade this month.
Following the data, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 2.0% on December 4, 2015. Technology stocks such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook (FB) contributed, rising 3.2%, and 1.7%, respectively. The iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI) rose 1.4% on December 4, 2015.
EWJ rose by 0.57%
The iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) rose 0.57% on December 4, 2015, following the positive trend in the US market after the release of the US non-farm employment data.
Japanese consumer confidence data released by the cabinet office on December 4 stood at 42.6 in November compared to 41.5 in October. This implies that overall livelihood, income growth, and climate for major purchases rose in November.
Commodity indexes
In the commodity space, the United States Oil ETF (USO) fell 2.4% on December 4, 2015, as OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting results disappointed investors. OPEC said it will keep pumping as much as it does now, about 31.5 million barrels per day, and there will be no cutback in production.
This news dragged crude oil prices down, and it fell 2.7% on the day. Integrated oil and gas stocks such as Total (TOT), BP (BP), and Eni (EAA) fell 2.2%, 1.8%, and 1.4%, respectively, on December 4, 2015.
Both base metals and precious metals closed higher on December 4. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) rose 2.2% after the announcement of the US jobs report.
Let’s now move to the performances of the different industries of the FEZ as of December 4, 2015.
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