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Weak US jobs data cemented expectations of an interest rate cut later this month on Friday, but stocks slid on worries about the economic outlook and profit-taking.Wall Street’s three main indices opened in positive territory after official data showed the US economy added 22,000 jobs last month, down from July’s 79,000 figure. But then they quickly turned lower.Analysts had expected the figures to confirm a cooled labor market as companies pull back on hiring amid ongoing uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.Ahead of the figures, the market had already largely priced in an interest rate cut of a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points, when the US Federal Reserve holds its monetary policy meeting later this month.But the numbers were well below the 77,000 jobs analysts had expected.All three major US indices ended lower with the S&P 500 down 0.3 percent.”An initially positive reaction to today’s weak payrolls report has given way to some classic ‘buy the rumor, sell the fact’ action,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at investing and trading platform IG.Oxford Economics moved up its projection for a Fed rate cut to September after previously predicting one in December. “We don’t know how much longer this slowing of hiring is going to last,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.The jobs data also sent the dollar and US Treasury yields lower, while gold hit a new record high.Gold has benefitted as refuge for investors turning away from long-term bonds, which have recently been hit by concerns about debt sustainability.Gloomy economic data has recently supported stocks as investors see it as boosting chances the Fed will cut interest rates, which is positive for businesses.However, “as concerns about the economy grow, we could see stocks struggle,” warned Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.European stocks ended the day lower.Tokyo also climbed after Trump signed an order to lower tariffs on Japanese autos to 15 percent from 27.5 percent.Oil prices extended losses in anticipation of excess supply in the coming months as OPEC+ nations, which include Saudi Arabia and Russia, are expected to further unwind production cuts this weekend.Oil has tumbled more than 12 percent this year as global producers outside OPEC+ ramp up supply and tariffs curb demand.Shares in Tesla climbed 3.6 percent after the board of the US electric vehicle maker proposed a pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could top $1 trillion if certain performance milestones are met.- Key figures at around 2130 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 45,400.86 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,481.50 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 21,700.39 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,208.21 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,674.78 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,596.98 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 43,018.75 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 25,417.98 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,812.51 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1722 from $1.1649 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3508 from $1.3434Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.07 yen from 148.49 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.77 from 86.71 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.5 percent at $61.87 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.2 percent at $65.50 per barrelburs-jmb/md

South Koreans suspected of working in the United States illegally were the majority of 475 people arrested in a raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant being built in the southern state of Georgia, a US official said Friday.Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said the operation was the largest single site raid carried out so far as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide anti-migrant drive.Thursday’s raid stemmed from a “criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes” at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture plant in the town of Ellabell, Schrank told reporters.”This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses,” he said. “This has been a multi-month criminal investigation.”Asked by reporters at the White House about the raid, Trump said: “I would say that they were illegal aliens, and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was just doing its job.”South Korea expressed “concern and regret” over the raid, and urged Washington to respect the rights of its citizens.”The economic activities of our investors and the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the course of US law enforcement,” South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said.Schrank said the 475 arrested were “illegally present in the United States” and “working unlawfully.””There was a majority of Korean nationals,” he said, adding that it was the “largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.”In Seoul, a source familiar with the matter told AFP that around 300 South Korean nationals had been detained.Schrank said he could not give a breakdown of how many of those arrested at the plant, which is intended to supply batteries for electric vehicles, were employed by Hyundai, LG or subcontractors.Those taken into custody have been turned over to ICE for potential removal, he said.- Billions in investment -Schrank said some of those detained had illegally crossed the US border, others arrived with visas that prohibited them from working and others overstayed their work visas.”This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation,” he said.South Korea, Asia’s fourth biggest economy, is a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the United States.South Korean companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in America in a bid to access the US market and avoid tariff threats from Trump.President Lee Jae Myung met Trump during a visit last month, and Seoul pledged $350 billion in US investment in July.Trump has pledged to revive the manufacturing sector in the United States, while also vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants.In a statement, Hyundai said it was “closely monitoring” the situation at the Georgia construction site and “working to understand the specific circumstances.””As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” the firm said.LG Energy Solution said it was “gathering all relevant details.””We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities,” it added.

China said Friday it would impose temporary anti-dumping duties on European Union pork imports, delivering another blow to shaky ties between the economic powerhouses as Brussels vowed to protect its producers. The two sides have navigated a challenging relationship in recent years, complicated greatly by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Chinese authorities launched the probe into European pork imports last year during scrutiny by Brussels of Beijing’s state subsidies for the domestic electric vehicle industry.The investigation has “preliminarily determined that imports of relevant pork and pig by-products originating in the European Union are being dumped”, a statement from China’s commerce ministry said.Authorities have decided to implement “provisional anti-dumping measures in the form of deposits”, it added.The European Commission described the allegations as “questionable”.”We will take all the necessary steps to defend our producers,” commission spokesman Olof Gill told a press conference. The import duties range from 15.6 percent to 62.4 percent and will enter into force on September 10, the Chinese ministry of commerce said. The provisional measures are still subject to its investigation, which had already been extended until December.- ‘Pork sector sacrificed’ -China — the world’s leading consumer of pork — imported 4.3 billion yuan ($600 million) in pork products from major producer Spain alone last year, according to official Chinese customs data.France, meanwhile, exported 115,000 tonnes of pork to China in 2024, according to industry association Inaporc.”China is our top export market — we export parts not consumed in Europe, such as feet and ears,” Anne Richard, director of Inaporc, told AFP. Richard denied the dumping allegations, and said the probe was “retaliatory”. “In fact, the prices of our pork feet are higher than if we sold them in Europe,” she said.Spain’s Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said he supported “resolving any dispute that may exist through negotiation” and insisted that trade relations with China were “fluid and intense”.But Spanish producers were less sanguine. The farmers’ association of the eastern Valencia region accused the EU of “sacrificing the pork sector” to protect its car industry.- Testy relations -Beijing’s move comes on the heels of a diplomatic blitz that saw President Xi Jinping meet face-to-face with several prominent adversaries of Western governments, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas on Wednesday criticised the three leaders’ joint appearance at a parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II as “a direct challenge to the international system built on rules”.The statement by Kallas drew choice words from a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, who said Thursday that “remarks made by a certain EU official are full of ideological bias”.Much to the chagrin of EU leaders, Beijing has never denounced Russia’s war nor called for it to withdraw its troops. Many of Ukraine’s allies believe that China has provided support to Moscow, repeatedly calling on Beijing to exert pressure on Putin to end the war. China insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine. Earlier on Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said it “strongly opposes” calls by US President Donald Trump for European leaders to put economic pressure on China over the war in Ukraine.Recent years have seen entrenched political disagreements between Beijing and Brussels threaten their strong economic relationship.The current trade spat erupted last summer when the European Union moved towards imposing hefty tariffs on EVs imported from China, arguing that Beijing’s subsidies were unfairly undercutting European competitors.Beijing denied that claim and announced what were widely seen as retaliatory probes into imported European pork, brandy and dairy products.

Asian and European stock markets advanced on Friday ahead of a key US jobs report that will give insight into the Federal Reserve’s path for interest rates.The global bond market was steady after yields jumped this week on concerns over mounting government debt.London, Paris and Frankfurt all gained in midday trading on Friday. Traders brushed off data showing German industrial orders unexpectedly fell in July. Investors are focused on US non-farm payrolls data (NFP) for August set to be released later on Friday.”There is a sense that the August report could be pivotal for financial markets,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.Figures are expected to confirm a cooled labour market as companies pull back on hiring amid ongoing uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.”We think that the September cut is a done deal at this stage… however, a stronger NFP report for August could cast doubt on the potential for rate cuts further down the line,” Brooks added.The report is set to attract heightened scrutiny.A poor showing last month prompted Trump to fire the commissioner of labor statistics after the president claimed the numbers were “rigged”. In Asia, China’s blue-chip CSI 300 benchmark recovered on Friday after falling 2.1 percent the previous day — the largest drop since early April when Trump’s tariff threats caused the index to drop more than seven percent in one day.An August rally in Chinese stocks, fuelled by surging shares in semiconductor firms, ground to a halt this week, with Cambricon Technologies tumbling 14 percent Thursday on reports of a regulatory clampdown.Main indices in Hong Kong and Shanghai closed higher Friday. Tokyo also climbed after Trump signed an order to lower tariffs on Japanese autos to 15 percent from 27.5 percent.The price of gold rested near its all-time high, remaining a refuge for investors turning away from long-term bonds despite traditionally seen as safe assets.Oil prices extended losses in anticipation of excess supply in the coming months as OPEC+ nations, which include Saudi Arabia and Russia, are expected to further unwind production cuts.Oil has tumbled 12 percent this year as global producers outside OPEC+ ramp up and tariffs curb demand.- Key figures at around 1050 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,241.54 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,704.85Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 23,807.91Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 43,018.75 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 25,417.98 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,812.51 (close) New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 45,621.29 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1696 from $1.1649 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3483 from $1.3437Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.14 yen from 148.45 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.76 from 86.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $63.02 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $66.63 per barrel

Asian and European markets advanced on Friday, in line with a global equity rally ahead of a US jobs report that will give insight about the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates.A frenzied selloff of Chinese stocks meanwhile slowed over reports of a regulatory clampdown.The global bond market also eased after yields had jumped this week on concerns over mounting government debt.London, Paris and Frankfurt were having a fair time of it, trading up at the open on Friday.Across the pond, investors will be looking to US government jobs data due on Friday to cement rate-cut bets.”All eyes will be on Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report with bad news likely to be interpreted as good news as it will raise the market probability that the Fed cuts rates,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.Weekly data released on Thursday showed more first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the United States than analysts had expected, while figures from payroll firm ADP showed slowing private sector hiring in August.”Investors now look for final confirmation that the weakening trend is entrenched and justifies a Fed cut –- or two,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote bank.In Asia, an August rally in Chinese stocks, fuelled by surging shares in semiconductor firms, ground to a halt this week, with Cambricon Technologies crashing 14 percent on Thursday, as investors weighed potential regulations.China’s blue-chip CSI 300 benchmark recovered on Friday after falling 2.1 percent the previous day — the largest drop since early April, when US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats caused the index to drop more than seven percent in one day.Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taiwan all closed up on Friday. Shanghai’s benchmark index, which had been tracking down in early trading, clawed its way back up to end 1.2 percent up.Analysts said earlier falls had followed a Bloomberg report that China’s financial regulators might implement measures to cool the pace of the selloff in stocks.”The selloff is more than a blip; it’s the first crack in the facade of a $1.2 trillion melt-up that had traders whispering about deja-vu and a speculative frenzy reminiscent of the 2015 ‘crazy bull’,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.Gold remained a refuge for investors, who have been turning away from long-term bonds once considered safe assets.Bullion consolidated near its all-time high, while oil prices extended losses on Friday in anticipation of excess supply in the coming months, as OPEC+ nations are expected to further unwind production cuts.”Geopolitical risks… remain elevated, with mounting fears of further Russian attacks on Ukraine. That keeps downside potential in oil limited, likely into the $60–62 range,” Swissquote’s Ozkardeskaya said.Oil has tumbled 12 percent this year as global producers outside OPEC+ ramp up and tariffs curb demand.- Key figures at 0830 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.03 percent at 43,018.75 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.43 percent at 25,417.98 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.24 percent at 3,812.51 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,246.86Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,708.80Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 23,816.61Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1681 from $1.1649 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3470 from $1.3437Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.13 yen from 148.45 yenEuro/pound: FLAT at 86.72 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $63.14 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $66.69 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 45,621.29 (close)

Anthropic is barring Chinese-run companies and organizations from using its artificial intelligence services, the US tech giant said, as it toughened restrictions on “authoritarian regions.”The startup, heavily backed by Amazon, is known for its Claude chatbot and positions itself as focused on AI safety and responsible development.Companies based in China, as well as in countries including Russia, North Korea and Iran, are already unable to access Anthropic’s commercial services over legal and security concerns.ChatGPT and other products from US competitor OpenAI are also unavailable within China — spurring the growth of homegrown AI models from Chinese companies such as Alibaba and Baidu.Anthropic said in a statement dated Friday that it was going a step further in an update to its terms of service.Despite current restrictions, some groups “continue accessing our services in various ways, such as through subsidiaries incorporated in other countries,” the US firm said.So “this update prohibits companies or organizations whose ownership structures subject them to control from jurisdictions where our products are not permitted, like China, regardless of where they operate.”Anthropic — valued at $183 billion — said that the change would affect entities more than 50 percent owned, directly or indirectly, by companies in unsupported regions.”This is the first time a major US AI company has imposed a formal, public prohibition of this kind,” said Nicholas Cook, a lawyer focused on the AI industry with 15 years of experience at international law firms in China.”The immediate commercial effect may be modest, since US AI providers already face barriers to operating in this market and relevant groups have been self-selecting for their own locally developed AI tech,” he told AFP.But “taking a stance like this will inevitably lead to questions as to whether others will or should take a similar approach.”An Anthropic executive told the Financial Times that the move would have an impact on revenues in the “low hundreds of millions of dollars”.The San Francisco-headquartered company was founded in 2021 by former executives from OpenAI.It announced this week it had raised $13 billion in its latest funding round, saying it now has more than 300,000 business customers.And the number of accounts on pace to generate more than $100,000 annually is nearly seven times larger than a year ago, Anthropic said Tuesday.Some users in China do access US generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Claude by using VPN services.Assumptions that the US was far ahead of China in the fast-moving AI sector were upended this year when Chinese start-up DeepSeek unveiled a chatbot that matched top American systems for an apparent fraction of the cost.

US President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday to lower tariffs on Japanese autos, as Washington moves to implement a trade pact negotiated with Tokyo.Japanese autos will face a 15 percent tariff instead of the current 27.5 percent, while the level for many other goods will similarly be capped at 15 percent, according to the text of the executive order published by the White House.The outcome marks a win for Japan, after Tokyo’s tariff envoy headed to Washington on Thursday to press Trump to sign the document for the changes — weeks after both sides announced their agreement.Top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan welcomed the executive order, which marked “the steadfast implementation” of the deal.While the two countries had initially unveiled a trade pact in late July, they appeared to diverge in its details.When Trump in early August implemented higher tariffs on Japan — as part of a flurry targeting dozens of economies — its 15 percent rate stacked on existing levels for many products.Japan’s tariffs envoy Ryosei Akazawa had earlier told reporters that Washington was expected to revise the rule.According to the new order, the 15 percent cap for many products will apply retroactively to goods shipped from August 7 — the date that the higher duties on dozens of economies took effect.The modifications are to be made within seven days of the rule being published on the Federal Register.- ‘Still cause damage’-Apart from Washington’s country-specific tariff levels, Trump has also imposed separate sector-specific tariff rates, including a 25 percent duty on autos and parts.This, coupled with an existing 2.5 percent tariff the Japanese auto industry faced, took the overall level to 27.5 percent.The hefty duties had marked a heavy blow to Japan and its crucial auto sector, which accounts for around eight percent of the country’s jobs.Japan’s deal wins it a similar reprieve to the European Union, which also has a 15 percent maximum tariff on many products.But speaking in Washington, Akazawa told Japanese media Friday that the 15 percent tariff would “still cause damage to our nation’s industries”.”The Japanese government will take swift and necessary measures, like financing assistance,” he added.Akazawa was also expected to engage in further discussions during his US trip about Trump’s assertion that Japan would make investments worth $550 billion in the United States.According to Trump’s order, the investments “will be selected by the United States Government,” but the document did not go into detail.Ishiba said Friday that Tokyo had sent a letter to Washington saying “we would like to build a golden age for Japan and the United States together with President Trump, and that we would like to invite him to Japan”.Trump has said the United States will keep 90 percent of the profits from the investments, which Japan has said will mostly consist of loans and loan guarantees.Akazawa had cancelled an earlier visit after Washington said that it was considering including a reduction in Japanese tariffs on agricultural products in the presidential order, the Nikkei business daily reported.Trump has long pressed Japan to import more American rice.burs-aph/fox

The Australian government said Thursday it will fork out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle the country’s largest class action in history over a scheme that sent false debt repayment demands to welfare recipients.The “robodebt” scandal, which ran from 2015 to 2019, caused such distress to job seekers, pensioners, students and carers that some considered suicide. It also allegedly pushed two young men to take their own lives.Thursday’s settlement, subject to approval by the Federal Court, will pay Aus$475 million (US$310 million) in compensation to those affected by the scheme.It would be the largest class action settlement in Australian history, the Attorney-General’s office said in a statement.”Settling this claim is the just and fair thing to do,” Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said.”The Royal Commission described Robodebt as a ‘crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal’.””It found that ‘people were traumatised on the off chance they might owe money’ and that Robodebt was ‘a costly failure of public administration, in both human and economic terms’,” she said.The settlement will be paid on top of a 2020 class action settlement, when the government agreed to pay Aus$112 million in compensation to around 400,000 people.The “robodebt” scheme used income averaging — comparing a person’s reported income with their income as measured by the Australian Tax Office — to automatically issue notices to welfare recipients saying they would have to repay some of the benefits they had received.But the system was faulty, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people receiving demands to pay back money they did not owe.

Colombia’s coal exports fell by almost half in July compared to the same month last year, official figures showed Wednesday, amid a global price crisis and days after President Gustavo Petro’s ban on sales to Israel.Colombia is Latin America’s leading coal producer but the sector has contracted for five consecutive quarters due to the collapse of international prices and domestic policies. The country exported $479.8 million worth of coal in July, a 45.8 percent drop from the $885.8 million sold during July 2024, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics.Local mining unions blame increased production in Indonesia that has driven down global prices.Last month, Petro issued a second decree for Colombia to halt coal exports to Israel in protest against its deadly war in Gaza, renewing a June 2024 edict. Colombia was previously Israel’s top coal supplier. In a broader push for sustainability, the leftist president has imposed higher taxes on coal with a view to moving his country toward renewable energies.  Since coming to power in 2022, Petro has also halted several mining projects and instead promoted agriculture and tourism as alternative sectors for the roughly 350,000 people employed in mineral exploration. But some miners have told AFP they fear losing their jobs, while towns whose economies depend on the industry are also feeling the impact.”The government wants to end mining … but they don’t think about us,” said Jorge Noriega, a 60-year-old worker at a coal mine in Tausa, a town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from capital Bogota. El Cerrejon, Colombia’s largest coal mine operated by Anglo-Swiss firm Glencore, said in March it would reduce its production by 50 percent due to high operating costs. 

European and US equities mostly rebounded Wednesday as a global bond selloff eased, with shares in Google parent Alphabet jumping after a favorable court ruling.Nevertheless gold struck a new record high as investors continued to worry over mounting government debt, with Japanese bond yields hitting a new high.Wall Street stocks were mostly higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index finishing up around one percent after a US judge refrained from requiring Google to sell its Chrome web browser in an antitrust case.Shares in Google parent Alphabet rose around nine percent, while Apple — whose lucrative deal to make Google search the default on iPhones was also spared in the court ruling — rose nearly four percent.”Overall, investors saw the outcome as supportive for big tech, showing that while regulatory scrutiny is ongoing, the business models of major players remain largely intact,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.Meanwhile, a soft US labor market report helped boost investor confidence the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, a positive for equities.European equities also firmed, but Asia’s major stock markets were in the red.The selloff in Japanese debt mirrored similar moves in the United States and Europe on Tuesday, with investors spooked over substantial piles of government debt globally.”Government bond yields have jumped sharply in recent days, largely because investors are demanding a higher return to lend to countries with heavy borrowing needs,” said Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot. It has been fueled by “ballooning sovereign debt, political hurdles to fiscal tightening… and structurally higher inflation following the Covid disruptions and the ongoing trade war”, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.Investors in Japan reacted also to concerns that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba might soon be forced to step down.In the United States, the 30-year government bond yield eased back, having come close to hitting the five-percent mark, reflecting concerns over the country’s deficit and the impact of a court ruling against President Donald Trump’s tariffs.Bonds of leading European nations also showed signs of stabilizing, a day after the yield on Britain’s 30-year gilts hit levels not seen since 1998. Investors are “choosing to hold gold as protection against a host of uncertainties including President Trump’s tariffs, fiscal policy across major economies and rising bond yields,” said Trade Nation’s Morrison.Investors have also grown nervous about the US Federal Reserve’s future after Trump attempted to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.Trump’s intervention “raises questions about the long-term independence of US monetary policy — a concern that gold naturally absorbs as a hedge against political interference”, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo bank.Oil prices dropped back amid expectations of excess supply in the coming months as OPEC+ nations are expected to further unwind production cuts.- Key figures at around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 45,271.23 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,448.26 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 21,497.73 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 9,177.99 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,719.71 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 23,594.80 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 41,938.89 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 25,343.43 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,813.56 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at 1.1663 from $1.1640 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at 1.3445 at from $1.3394Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.12 yen from 148.36 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.75 pence from 86.90 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.3 percent at $67.55 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.5 percent at $63.97 per barrelburs-jmb/md