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Holiday Note
Many financial centers are closed today. These include Australia, India, most European markets, and the US. In Asia, equity markets that were open moved higher. The Nikkei, which gapped higher on Monday, rose 0.5% today for a 1.5% gain on the week. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.6%, lifting the weekly increase to 2.6%. The US dollar is confined to narrow ranges but has drifted lower against all the majors after yesterday's gain on the back of strong retail sales, a new cyclical low in weekly jobless claims. Among emerging market currencies, the Turkish lira and South African rand are a bit soggy, while several ... (full story)