Stocks drift, dollar drops amid political turmoil

London - European stocks drifted following a lackluster session in Asia on Friday. The dollar weakened as investors considered the implications of continuing personnel turmoil in the Trump administration.

The greenback was mixed against major peers, but a jump by Japan’s yen helped drive down Bloomberg’s dollar index. The Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump plans to remove his national security adviser, something the White House press secretary later denied was happening.

US equity futures traded little changed. Stocks were already lower in Asia before the reports, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged higher.

Any removal of HR McMaster as the national security adviser would follow the resignation of the White House’s top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and the ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Investors were earlier weighing the prospects for heightened US trade protectionism after new White House appointee Larry Kudlow said he’d sell gold and buy the greenback, which gained on Thursday.

Elsewhere, West Texas crude steadied above $61 a barrel as signs of stronger US fuel consumption balanced OPEC’s forecasting for the first time that new supplies from its rivals will exceed demand growth this year.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.1% as of 10:13.

• The MSCI World Index of developed countries gained less than 0.05%.

• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.1% to the lowest in a week.

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dipped 0.6% to the lowest in a week.

• The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 0.2% to the lowest in a week.

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose less than 0.05% to 2 756.75.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.2% to 1 128.71.

• The euro gained 0.2%.

• The British pound climbed 0.3% to the strongest in more than three weeks.

• The Japanese yen gained 0.5% to ¥105.77/$, the strongest in two weeks on the biggest rise in more than two weeks.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.82%, the lowest in more than two weeks.

• Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.57%, reaching the lowest in more than seven weeks on its fifth straight decline.

• Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 1.423%, the lowest in seven weeks.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.2% to $61.30 a barrel.

• Gold rose 0.2% to $1 319.11 an ounce.

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