Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.53%

Investing.com – Russia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Mining and Power sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index added 2.01% to hit a new 1-month high.

The best performers of the session on the MOEX Russia Index were Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO (MCX:CBOM), which rose 4.92% or 0.39 points to trade at 8.26 at the close. Meanwhile, AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS) added 4.57% or 1.81 points to end at 41.45 and MMC NORILSK NICKEL PJSC (MCX:GMKN) was up 3.94% or 5.10 points to 134.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were PhosAgro PJSC (MCX:PHOR), which fell 0.37% or 24.00 points to trade at 6,540.00 at the close. ROSSETI PJSC (MCX:FEES) unchanged 0.28% or 0.00 points to end at 0.07 and GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS (MCX:AGRODR) was 0.00% or 0.00 points to 1,083.80.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 184 to 57 and 11 ended unchanged.

Shares in GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS (MCX:AGRODR) unchanged to 52-week lows; unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to 1,083.80.

The Russian Volatility Index – RVI, which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, was down 1.89% to 30.14 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.36% or 15.15 to $4,227.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.85% or 0.51 to hit $60.18 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 0.89% or 0.56 to trade at $63.82 a barrel.

USD/RUB was down 0.91% to 76.50, while EUR/RUB fell 0.90% to 89.07.

The US Dollar Index Futures was unchanged 0.00% at 98.96.

Investing.com – Colombia stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Financials, Investment and Public Services sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Colombia, the COLCAP declined 0.15%.

The best performers of the session on the COLCAP were Promigas (BVC:PMG), which rose 1.88% or 120.00 points to trade at 6,500.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Organizacion Terpel SA (BVC:TPL) added 1.83% or 320.00 points to end at 17,800.00 and Celsia SA (BVC:CEL) was up 1.44% or 70.00 points to 4,920.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Corporacion Financiera Colombiana SA (BVC:CFV), which fell 2.57% or 480.00 points to trade at 18,200.00 at the close. Banco Davivienda Pf (BVC:DVI_p) declined 1.93% or 540.00 points to end at 27,400.00 and Mineros SA (BVC:MAS) was down 1.92% or 300.00 points to 15,360.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Colombia Stock Exchange by 1 to 0.

Shares in Organizacion Terpel SA (BVC:TPL) rose to 5-year highs; rising 1.83% or 320.00 to 17,800.00.

US coffee C for March delivery was down 1.63% or 6.20 to $374.30 . Elsewhere in commodities trading, US cocoa for delivery in March rose 3.79% or 208.00 to hit $5,694.00 , while the February Gold Futures contract fell 0.38% or 16.25 to trade at $4,226.75 a troy ounce.

USD/COP was up 0.80% to 3,838.00, while BRL/COP fell 1.78% to 704.80.

The US Dollar Index Futures was unchanged 0.00% at 98.95.

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 closed higher Friday after a relatively benign inflation report kept open the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (21:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 104 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.3%.

PCE inflation gauge in spotlight

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), indicated that inflation remained under control, suggesting that the U.S. central bank can cut interest rates next week to support the slowing economy.

Excluding food and energy, the underlying, or "core," PCE price index fell to 2.8% in the 12 months to September, below the expected 2.9%, and 0.2% month-on-month.

The importance of price stability, the second element of the Fed’s dual mandate, has faded a little of late, but the Fed policymakers will be pleased to see the index falling, further emboldening rate-cut expectations.

Expectations of a 25-basis point reduction at the Federal Reserve’s December 9–10 meeting have been running hot on the back of recent weak labor data and broader signs of economic cooling.

Thursday’s weekly jobless claims plunged by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000, the lowest level since September 2022, but economists cautioned that distortions tied to the Thanksgiving holiday may have exaggerated the decline.

Elsewhere, a private-sector payroll report from ADP on Wednesday showed a decline of 32,000 jobs -- the largest drop in over two and a half years, and a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas stated that announced job cuts dropped sharply in November but hiring intentions remained weak.

Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery

In the corporate sector, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has agreed to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) in a cash and stock transaction valued at $27.75 per share, with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion.

The deal, announced on Friday, follows a weeks-long bidding war where Netflix outbid Paramount Skydance’s (NASDAQ:{{8171’s|PSKY}}) nearly $24-a-share offer with its nearly $28-a-share proposal.

Should the transaction be finalized, it would transform Netflix into a media powerhouse with control over one of the most valuable content libraries in the entertainment industry.

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Elsewhere, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares soared after the cosmetics retailer topped Wall Street estimates for its fiscal third quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

Victoria’s Secret (NYSE:VSCO) stock rose strongly after the lingerie retailer reported better-than-expected third quarter results, raising its full-year outlook as its turnaround strategy shows signs of success.

On the flip side, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock slumped after the cloud services and hardware company missed analysts’ revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, posting $9.68 billion versus a consensus estimate of $9.94 billion.

On the geopolitical front, Treasury Secretary Bessent provided a positive update on U.S.-China trade relations, saying that implementation of the agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Donald Trump is "going well".

Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article