Tengku Zafrul: Last year’s weak ringgit main reason for Malaysia’s slide in world competitiveness, but ranking to improve as currency stronger now
However, while a rebound in employment helped lift the reading, price pressures eased, adding to recent data that has boosted optimism that inflation may be cooling. The Dow Industrials managed to eke out a small gain, in part driven by a climb in McDonald’s shares. The Dow ended the week up 1.44 per cent, its biggest weekly percentage gain since mid-May. The S&P rose 0.61 per cent for its third straight weekly advance. The Nasdaq rose only 0.003 per cent on the week, its third straight weekly advance.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.57 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 39,150.33, the S&P 500 lost 8.55 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 5,464.
European stocks closed lower, pressured by falls in bank stocks and technology shares against a backdrop of economic data showing euro zone business growth slowed sharply this month. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, gained 0.17 per cent to 105.81, with the euro down 0.09 per cent at US$1.069.Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.43 per cent to 159.59. That level had not been seen since late April when Japanese authorities intervened to halt the rapid fall in the currency.