Base metals plunged on Wednesday amid weak manufacturing data releases across the globe. US manufacturing sector activity declined to 49.8 while experts predicted the PMI to approach 50.3. Meanwhile, euro-area PMI contracted to three-year low of 44 last month. Aluminum dropped on bleak PMI data from the EU and US. Additionally, high China's aluminum output weakened the light metal further. Copper tumbled
US equities edged down on Wednesday on disappointing Fed monetary policy statement. The Fed decided to stick to the current policy but pledged to hold record low interest rates till 2014. Meanwhile, mixed corporate reports also weighed on the US stocks. S&P 500 lost 0.3% to close at 1,375.32. Oil and gas industry posted the strongest gains. Exxon Mobile and
Precious metals tumbled on Wednesday as Fed meeting resulted in absence of significant changes in the current monetary policy. Moreover, strengthening US Dollar and weaker global equities weighted down on the commodity group. Gold attained one-week low after upbeat ADP non-farm employment data. However, news that the US manufacturing sector continued to contract in July provided slight support for the yellow
On Thursday, Spain sold 3.1 billion Euro of debt, but low expectations of ECB's decisive action pressured the country to pay bigger yields compared to a month ago on its 10-year notes. Demand dropped, with bid-to-cover ratio at 2.4 from 3.2 in previous month. A bond maturing July 30, 2014 sold 1.1 billion Euro at 4.774% yield. A bond due
The Markit construction PMI advanced to 50.9 in July from 48.2 in June, exceeding expectations of further drop to 48.0. New orders showed the second-biggest fall since January 2010, but the decline was smaller than in June, and the drop didn't prevent confidence about the next year climbing to at three-month high.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2% and the Euro climbed before ECB reports policy announcements after the U.S. Federal Reserve promised additional allowances for the U.S. economy. The Euro gained 0.2% to $1.2246. Copper climbed 0.4% and corn increased first time in 3 days.
German 10-year yields close to a three-week high on Mario Monti's yesterday talk about the region's bailout fund, which will get access to ECB money via a bank license. The 10-year note yield was at 1.37%, after climbing to 1.43% on July 30. Germany's 2-year bond yield rose one basis point to -0.062, meaning current bondholders will gain less than
Japan stocks advanced amid Federal Reserve's promise to provide extra support for the U.S. economy. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.5%to 8,6880.2 after the Yen slipped from the strongest in two month versus the Dollar. More explicit Topix Index advanced 0.8% to 735.45, having three stocks rising for each two that dropped.
Spain's registered unemployment decreased in July amid the seasonal boost in tourism sector, the major contributor to the economy. The number of citizens applying for jobless benefits dropped by 27,814 from June to 4.59 million, as reported by the Labor Ministry On Thursday. Last years decline was 42,059 big.
The U.S. Dollar climbed to a week-high versus the Euro after the Fed signaled more steps to support the economy. The Greenback rose 0.7% to $1.2225 per Euro, after touching $1.2218, the highest since June 26. The U.S. Dollar advanced 0.4% to 78.44 Yen, after earlier drop to 77.91, the weakest from June 1.
Canada's currency dropped versus the U.S. Dollar as Federal Reserve's promise to give additional allowance for the economy showed a sign of continuing monetary slowdown. The Loonie tumbled 0.3% to C$1.0055 per U.S. Dollar, one Canadian Dollar purchases 99.45 U.S. cents. The S&P 500 Index turned to a 0.3% drop after gaining 0.4%.
The Fed will adopt fresh stimulus as needed in order to spur economic recovery and reduce jobless rate, which has been stuck over 8% for more than 3 years. Stocks declined on disappointment Ben Bernanke rejected undertaking action even as employment grows at a slow pace, consumer spending weakens, and manufacturing cools.
The Japanese Yen fell against its major peers as the IMF stated that it is "moderately overvalued". The Yen lost 0.2% versus the common currency, falling to 96.05 per Euro. The Japan's currency was little changed at 78.73 per US Dollar. Finance Minister Jun Azumi will not rule out any possibilities to struggle with the Yen's appreciation.
Standard & Poor's retained a positive outlook for Germany's AAA credit rating, after Moody's Investors Service warned on July 23 that the nation's Aaa rating under threat. S&P said that Germany will be able to combat any potential economic and financial troubles, due to its highly competitive and diversified economy, strong balance sheet as well as public finances.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, Australian retail sales rose by 1% to A$21.6 billion in June, beating economists' expectations. Sales increase has been aroused by 4 interest rate cuts since 2011 as well as benefit checks and carbon rebates paid out. As a result, the Australian Dollar strengthened.
Gold futures hit one-week low on Wednesday, as the employment in the U.S. private sector improved, and amid expectations of the announcement of another quantitative easing during today's Fed meeting. October gold erased 0.33 per cent to $1, 607.15 per troy ounce. October Silver and October copper also declined, with 2.32 per cent and 0.97 per cent respectively.
The Eurozone's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index tumbled to 44 from the previous 45.1 in July, the lowest since 2009. Meanwhile, the Euope's biggest economy also contracted, with PMI Index at 43 level. Any reading below 50 signals contraction. The fall may be explained by declined orders, which led to cost cutting and as a result more job losses.
The U.S. dollar edged higher on Wednesday as U.S. manufacturing shrank last month and as Federal Reserve may announce new policy measures. The ICE dollar Index added 0.01 per cent, while more advanced WSJ dollar index rose by 0.07 per cent. The greenback strengthened versus the shared currency and was trading at $1.2304, from yesterday's $1.2314.
On Wednesday, August 1, oil futures soared, as the U.S. Energy Department reported on tumbled supplies. Stockpiles declined by 6.52 million barrels to 373.6 million barrels, six times more than it was expected. Soon after the data, crude oil for September settlement jumped 0.9 per cent, to $88.87 per barrel during today's New York trading session. The boost was also provided by the speculations about
According to the German carmaker BMW quarterly report, the profit fell sharply in the second quarter, mostly, due to increased staff costs, rise in spending on R&D and severe competition in the market. BMW reported on 1.28bn euros net profit, 28 per cent less than the previous year. Meanwhile, revenues jumped 7 per cent to 19.2bn euros. At the same time, vehicle sale increased by
Wall Street turned green in the first day of August on better-than expected labor market data in the U.S. The Dow Jones Index added 0.2 per cent, to 13,034.8, the Standard & Poor's rose by 0.13 per cent to 1,381.1, meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index reversed gains and erased 0.07 per cent to 2,937.5. The Fed is going to announce new policy decisions during today's
As reported by the Automatic Data Processing Inc., the U.S. private sector added 163,000 jobs in July, after adding 172,000 in the previous month. Small businesses added 73,000 jobs, medium businesses rose at 67,000, while large businesses added only 23,000 jobs in July. Despite the fact that less people were hired, compared with June, hiring has improved since spring, when only about 120,000 jobs were added
German stocks were almost flat on Tuesday ahead of the FOMC minutes release due later in the day. Moreover, anticipation of the ECB meeting due on Thursday adds caution in the equity market. Financial shares were mixed. Commerzbank gained 0.87% while Deutsche Bank retreated 0.74%. Basic materials producers followed bullish trend despite disappointing China manufacturing data release. Linde and HeidelbergCement
UK equities rallied on Wednesday on speculation that the ECB will loosen its monetary policy. FTSE soared 1.18% to trade at 5,690.41 at the time of writing. Telecommunications and Financials posted the strongest gains. BT Group and Vodafone surged 0.69% and 2.74% while Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.24% and 1.45%. Meanwhile, Next prolonged its rally, with shares