London/Singapore — Stocks struggled on Friday as worries about a resurgence in coronavirus cases and lingering disappointment that central banks merely affirmed their monetary support this week, without promising new stimulus, kept investors wary.
Tensions in Asia also bubbled up after Taiwan scrambled fighter jets as multiple Chinese aircraft approached the island during Chinese military exercises. Spain’s Bankia slipped 2% after CaixaBank valued it at €4.3bn as part of a deal that will create Spain’s biggest domestic bank. The US-heavy MSCI world shares index was up 0.1%, heading for its first weekly gain in three weeks. But analysts warned about potential volatility related to a quarterly expiration of US stock options, stock index futures and index option contracts, known as “quadruple witching”.
Shrugging off a dovish-sounding Bank of Japan, the yen gained against the dollar, staying close to the seven-week high hit on Thursday, at ¥104.610.