Precious metals advanced on Friday as dismal US jobs data elevated hopes for new round of QE in the US.Gold rallied by more than 4% over the day as fall in global equity markets and world's economic uncertainty increased the safe-haven appeal of the yellow metal.Silver followed gold's trend as economic worries in the Euro Zone eased after Spain approved
Hong Kong's stocks fell on Monday after the China's non-manufacturing industries grew at a slower pace for a second straight month and US hiring was weaker than economists projected. Hang Seng index plunged 2.01% or 372.75 points and settled at 18,185.59. Financials and resource shares provided the most negative contribution to the index. Ping An Insurance fell 5.6%, while China
Spain's tourism sector contributed to the country's drop in the unemployment rate in 2 consecutive months. According to the Labor Ministry located in Madrid, the jobless rate declined by 0.63% from the month of April to 4.71M; however, still remains above 24%. As Mariano Rajoy, Spain's Prime Minister, challenges to persuade investors that he is capable of resolving the budget deficit, the country's borrowing expenses
As the economic situation in China deteriorates with the weakening demand in exports and declining real-estate market, JPMorgan has lowered its economic growth estimates to 7.7%. The forecasts decreased by 1.5% from the previous year's 9.2%, and have been reduced two times in a month. According to Tim Condon, ING's Financial Markets chief Asia economist, the figures emphasize that the recession is expanding to
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average prolonged its sharp downward trend on Monday as shares reacted to weak global macro-economical indicators. Japanese Yen climbed against US Dollar and Euro adding pressure on export shares. Nikkei 225 fell 1.71% or 144.62 points and finished at 8,295.63. Toyota Motors lost 3.5% after posting weaker than expected sales in US. China market dependent Construction Machinery
Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged on Friday weighed down by US payrolls data, overseas weakening in manufacturing and slump in crude prices. Blue chip index erased all gains for 2012. It lost 2.22% or 274.88 points and closed at 12,118.57, 2.7% down for the week. All shares within the index ended lower. The main loser was Hewlett Packard that posted
S&P 500 index fell sharply on Friday, facing the worst trading day in six months as disappointing manufacturing activity data from China and Europe fuelled concerns the global economy is slowing. US benchmark tumbled 2.46% or 32.29 points and finished at 1,278.04, down 3% for the week. The main gainer was Newmont Mining than added 6.7%. Energy share Duke Energy
The E.U. is focused on its full implementation of the European Stability Mechanism that will hold funds totaling at EUR 500 billion (USD 620 billion). The main purpose of the ESM is to resolve the repercussions of the recession that forced Ireland, Portugal and Greece to request a bailout. Until 90% of the anticipated funds are obtained by the ESM, the European Financial Stability Facility, holding
International banks cut their cross border lending to each other, governments and companies at the fastest pace since the crash of Lehman in 2008. The cross border assets contracted by 2.5% or USD 799 billion in the last three months of 2011, record-keeper said on Monday. The fall in lending was most widespread across Eurozone banks.
European equities plunged on Friday reflecting composite negative effect from weaker Eurozone and China manufacturing data. Disappointing US payrolls also contributed to the drop. Stoxx Europe 600 declined 1.9%, Spanish IBEX 35 gave up 0.4% and posted a 7% fall for the week. British FTSE 100 lost 1.1% and German DAX closed 3.4% down. French CAC 40 slipped 2.2%.
US stock indices tumbled on Friday as disappointing macroeconomic data both from Europe and China boosted anxiety the global economy is worsening and sent US shares lower. S&P 500 index fell 2.46% or 32.29 points and finished at 1,278.04 experiencing a worst trading day in six months. Dow Jones Industrial Average index lost 2.22% or 274.88 points and closed at 12,118.57, 2.7% down for
The Australian and New Zealand Dollar depreciated on worries the global growth has been hit by European debt crisis and expansion slowdown in US. The short selling of Aussie hit a record high as traders bet on national currency's drop versus greenback. Australian Dollar lost 0.4% against its US peer to USD 0.9666 while New Zealand Dollar declined 0.2% to USD 0.7530.
Canadian Dollar fell for a fifth straight week as concerns spurred about its biggest trading partner's growth slowdown and deepening European debt woes. Loonie dropped 1.1% versus greenback to CAD 1.0410 on Friday trade. Currently USD/CAD is trading at CAD 1.0431.
The 17 nation currency depreciated against US Dollar on Monday amid worries European leaders won't be able to find a consensus how to tackle Eurozone debt crisis. Germany continues to reject the idea of Euro bonds and direct capital injection into banking system. The Euro fell 0.3% versus greenback to USD 1.2403 in Asian trade. Currently the pair is trading at USD 1.2405.
The economic activity in production sector expanded in May though at slower pace than predicted. The PMI gauge for May equalled 53.5 a slight drop compared to April when the indicator reached 54.8. Analysts expected a smaller decline to around 54.0. US manufacturing posts expansion for the 35th straight month.
US auto sales rose in May on an annual basis but still missed forecasts amid soft economic recovery. The annual sales in May approached 13.8 million vehicles as compared to expectations of 14.5 million. Honda Motor, Nissan Motor and Ford Motor faced an increase in sales of 48%, 21% and 13%, respectively. The auto sector performance coupled with poor labour
Australian inflation rate was flat in May, indicating that further cuts of the interest rates by the Reserve Bank of Australia are possible. The inflation gauge measured by the TD Securities-Melbourne Institute remained unchanged at 131.54 in May, after surging by 0.3% in the preceding month. Considering yearly moves, the inflation gauge gained 1.8% in May, being lower than the
Gold prices declined in Asian session on Monday as traders started to cash out from the market after the yellow metal prices approached almost four-week high on Friday. COMEX gold for delivery in August traded at 1,617.85 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, depreciating by 0.26%.
Crude oil prices dropped in Asian trade on Monday amid weak China's services PMI and dismal US job market data. Light, sweet crude oil futures for July delivery traded at 82.75 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, retreating by 0.58% from the previous session's high of 83.36 US Dollars per barrel.
Chinese services sector growth decelerated last month, escalating worries about overall performance of the country's economy. Non-manufacturing PMI declined from 56.1 to 55.2 last month, following sharp fall in manufacturing activity. The data is expected to force China's government to ease monetary policy further to stimulate sluggish economic performance of the country.
As the majority of executives and analysts agree that the impact of Greek exit from Eurozone is difficult to predict, multinationals prepare for the worst to be well-equipped in case any contingency arises. Companies mostly are concerned about cash retrieval, should Greece reverts to the Drachmas, paralysis in international payments, breakup of the Euro and civil unrest in Greece.
With Greece's deepening financial crisis, Cyprus is increasingly likely to become the fourth Eurozone country to ask for financial aid, as it struggles to protect the banking system from the Greek contagion. Cyprus's second biggest bank has already sought government financial support for a recapitalization, causing Cyprus to miss the budget targets this year.
Investors are becoming more and more worried, as discouraging news are coming from all over the world, with policy makers being under pressure to undertake measures in order to spur economic growth. Asian markets tumbled further on Monday morning, whereas the strong Yen continues undermining Japanese exports, pushing Nikkei to a new 2012 intraday low. China's manufacturing last week was
10-year notes yields tumbled to 1.47% as the U.S. Labor Department reported a payrolls increase of just 69,000 in May, far below analysts' expectations. Figures for previous 2 months were revised downwards, unexpectedly pushing the unemployment rate up. Yields on 30-year notes closed at 2.54%, 5-year notes – at 0.62%.