S&P 500 index posted a strong gains on Friday as investors bet on a positive outcome in Greek elections and awaited further actions regarding stimulus from global central banks. S&P 500 index added 1.03% or 13.74 points and finished at 1,342.84, the highest value since May 11. Energy shares climbed most. Wpx Energy soared 5.9% and Chesapeake Energy rallied 4.4%.
The board of the Reserve Bank of India decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged as the record high inflation rate across emerging nations reduces the room for the central bank to support slowing economy. The central bank maintained the interest rate at 8.0% instead of predicted cut by 0.25 percentage point.
US equity markets ended higher on Friday as investors hoped for a positive outcome in Greek elections and awaited further actions regarding stimulus from global central banks. S&P 500 index added 1.03% or 13.74 points and finished at 1,342.84. Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.91% or 115.26 points and closed at 12,767.17. Nasdaq Composite soared 1.29% or 36.47 points and
The New Zealand and Australian Dollar strengthened against US Dollar and Yen on Monday as worries over Greek exit from the Eurozone eased as pro-austerity parties are likely to form a new coalition. Aussie advanced 0.6% versus greenback to USD 1.0117 while Kiwi climbed to USD 0.7924. Currently AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0102 and NZD/USD is trading at USD
The prices of homes declined in 54 of 70 China's city in May, government report showed on Monday. Chinese developers have reduced the prices to stimulate sales, analysts suggest. Prices fell most in Wenzhou posting a 14% drop. Shanghai and Beijing reported a slump of 1.6%. China maintains housing market curbs despite slowing economy pushing PBOC cut the interest rate
The 17-nation currency appreciated sharply reaching almost a monthly record high after preliminary election results showed parties supporting austerity got enough votes to lead Greek parliament. Euro climbed 0.5% versus US Dollar to USD 1.2705 in Asian trade, the highest value since May 22. Currently EUR/USD is trading at 1.2712.
French President's Hollande's Social Party got the vast majority in parliamentary elections, exit polls indicated on Sunday. The Socialist party took 314 out of 577 seats while its main competitor Sarkozy's Popular Movement gained 228 places. The victory provides Socialists with a control over almost all French political institutions starting from presidency to lower and upper houses of parliament.
Greece's two historically competing parties are rushing to build a coalition as the nation's cash reserves fade, bank deposits leave the country and EU requires re-introducing austerity measures before providing more bailout financing. Greece may run out of cash in the middle of July. EU political officials demand Greece to renew spending cuts in order to receive next portion of USD 305 billion rescue
Greek voters elected a pro-austerity parties on Sunday, easing concerns about short term future of Euro Area and sending financial markets higher. Preliminary results show that pro-austerity force New Democracy has won with 29.7%. The anti-austerity party is likely to end second with a 26.9% gain. Currently ruling Pasok party gained 12.3%. Analysts expect that pro-austerity coalition consisting of New Democracy
The United Kingdom and the France increased their holdings of the US treasury securities by more than 26% in April. U.K.'s holding increased by 26.5% and reached USD 154b. France's holdings increased by almost 30% and reached USD 59.4b. The biggest buyer of US securities remained China which holds USD 1.15T as by now. Specialist state that US treasuries ares till considered safe
German DAX index moved higher on Friday as investors prized report from G-20 saying that global central banks are ready to intervene if Greek parliamentary elections signal deeper financial turmoil. Commerzbank provided the main gains for the index adding 3%. Car makers also partly recover from earlier losses. Daimler advanced 1.3% and Volkswagen soared 2.1%. BMW breached the positive trend
UK FTSE 100 retreated from previous loss on Friday as the board of the Bank of England signalled it will boost its cheap lending program to inject money into British firms and households. Banks rallied on cheap loan perspectives with RBS gaining 8.3% and Lloyds advancing 4.4%. Royal Dutch Shell gained 2.3%. Oil shares rose after crude price climbed above
On Friday, official data showed that U.S. treasury International Capital grew in April less than it was expected. The U.S. Department of Treasury reported that TIC long-term purchases rose to 25.6 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis from 36.0 billion in the month before. Analysts' expectation was that U.S. TIC long-term purchases would increase to 45.3 billion.
The Euro fell versus the Greenback on Friday despite the weak U.S. economic data, since investors were focused on upcoming Greek elections and continuing Spanish financial crisis. EUR/USD was traded at 1.2614, losing 0.15 during the early U.S. trade. The pair's support was likely to be found at 1.2443, and resistance could possibly be at 1.2647.
On Friday, official data showed that manufacturing activity in New York grew less than expected. Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that the index of Empire State manufacturing activity surged to 2.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis, whereas the figure for the preceding month was 17.1. Analysts predicted that the Empire State manufacturing index would be 13.0.
Futures for gold were growing in the early U.S. trading session, as both expected disappointing U.S. economic data and Eurozone fears triggered the demand for the precious metal. On the NYMEX, August delivery futures were traded at USD1626.25 per troy ounce, adding 0.41% during the early trade. Support was prone to be at USD1583.05, while resistance could be at USD1628.95.
Mervyn King in his speech announced that the central bank and the government will flood the banking system of the U.K. with 100 billion Pounds through providing the banks with low-cost long-term funding. The Bank of England and the ministry of finance have designed a scheme that will offer banks loans at below market rates, but demanding the banks to increase lending to households
In a report on Friday, Eurostat said that the trade balance for Eurozone was EUR5.2 billion. This is a decrease comparing to the March's EUR7.5 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis. However, this is an increase comparing to the same month in the previous year, when the trade deficit was EUR4.5 billion. In April, exports tumbled 1.3% and imports slumped 3.0% compared to the previous month.
The pound lost ground on Friday on the country's Central Bank speculations on purchase of government debt in order to support U.K. economy as European debt crisis worsens. Sterling fell 0.1 per cent to $1.5549, a 0.1 per cent decline to 81.22 against the euro.
On Friday, Eurostat reported that the Eurozone employment level declined by 0.2% during the first three months of the year, in line with expectations, whereas it remained stable in the whole European Union. Comparing to the same quarter in the previous year, employment level dropped 0.5% in the single currency bloc, and fell by 0.1% in 27 EU countries.
European stocks jumped on Friday, on contingency plans reports of governments and central banks that will start to fall into place after elections in Greece. The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.4 per cent to 242.70 and Spain's IBEX 35 index climbed 1 per cent. The German DAX 30 index and the French CAC 40 index inched higher 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per
The euro gained versus the greenback on Friday ahead of weekend's Greek elections. The single European currency ticked higher from $1.2613 to $1.2631. The ICE dollar's index, which shows currency's relation to its six major counterparts, edged lower to 81.770, compared to 81.917 on Thursday.
The yen rose versus the euro and the dollar on Friday after the Bank of Japan decided to keep monetary policy measures. Japan's currency gained 0.4 per cent to 79 per U.S. dollar and climbed 0.5 per cent to 99.79 against the single European currency.
Futures for natural gas declined in the European trading session on Monday. On the NYMEX, July delivery futures for natural gas were traded at USD2.513 a MMBtu, shedding 0.70% by 09:00 GMT. Earlier, natural gas was traded at USD2.498, a session low. The support for natural gas futures were likely to be found at USD2.170, whereas resistance may be at USD2.543.