The demand for new US homes was better than expected in March as lower borrowing costs and more jobs helped to strengthened the market. The number of houses sold reached annual 328 000, from upward reviewed 353 000 in February, Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Shares slightly appreciated, lifted by home builder stocks.
Belgium business barometer, published monthly by the National Bank of Belgium, worsened for the second straight month in April. Nonetheless, the overall trend is deemed positive, given that the change was inconsiderable (-1.1 points to -10.7) and relevant only to some of the constituents of the indicator, such as manufacturing industry and business-related services.
According to Statistics Canada, retail sales declined by 0.2% in February, after a 0.2% advancement the period earlier, thus negating prior gains. At the same time core retail sales, which do not take into account car sales, grew by 0.5%, slightly below the estimate of 0.6%.
After plunging 3.4%, German DAX index traded almost flat on Tuesday as investor sentiment improved after successful Netherland bond auction, sending Dutch, Spanish and French yields lower. Deutsche Lufthansa rallied 2.7% after Credit Suisse Group lifted airline's rating from neutral to outperform. Automakers rebounded from declined and climbed with BMW AG gaining 0.5% and Volkswagen AG surging 1.4%. At the
Swiss trade excess unexpectedly declined in March, Federal Customs Administration reported on Tuesday. The trade spare declined to 1.69 billion Swiss Francs in previous month compared to a reviewed 2.61 billion Swiss Francs in February. Economists predicted an improvement to 3.0 billion Swiss Francs. Exports dropped 3.3% on annual basis to 17.5 billion Swiss Francs while imports shed annual 6% to 15.8 billion Swiss Francs.
After tumbling 1.9%, British FTSE 100 index recovered on Tuesday as Netherland successfully sold bonds. Gains were limited as UK posted bigger than expected budget deficit in March. International Consolidated Airlines rallied 3.75% after Credit Suisse upgraded its shares from neutral to outperform. Oil companies BP added 1.4% and BG Group soared 1.6% as crude prices increased. On the negative
Spanish mortgage loans plunged in February. The number of housing mortgages dropped 47.1% on yearly basis while the amount of money provided for housing fell 54.8%, National Statistics Office reported on Tuesday. On monthly basis the number of home loans sank 9.4% while capital loaned tumbled 15.4%.
Asian equities followed their European and US peers and mostly traded lower on Tuesday as Dutch PM resigned and Japanese Yen appreciated. Shanghai Composite Index traded flat, Japanese Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.8%. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.5% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also managed to gain and finished 0.3% up.
Great Britain reported a bigger than expected budget deficit in March, undermining the efforts of policy makers to reduce borrowing. Net borrowing when excluded backing for lenders climbed to GBP 18.2 billion (USD 29.4 billion) from GBP 18.0 billion a year ago. The analysts questioned by Bloomberg predicted the gap to narrow to GBP 16.0 billion. Spending increased 4.2% while tax income added
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded slightly higher on Tuesday as investors did not show much of surprise about latest events in Europe. Hang Seng index added 0.26% or 52.77 points and closed at 20,677.16 led by property companies as investors bet on soon monetary easing taking into account weaker PMI data released yesterday. Sino Land rallied 2.4% and Sun
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average prolonged losses for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as Dutch PM Rutte resigned and Yen appreciated. Nikkei 225 index fell 0.78% or 74.13 points and closed at 9,468.04, pushed down by financials and export shares. Advantest rallied the most on the Nikkei 225, adding 4.5% after the Nikkei newspaper reported company's operating net income probably
Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell on Monday driven by weaker overseas manufacturing activity and Wal Mart bribery scandal. Blue chip index shed 0.78% or 102.09 points and finished at 12,927.17. Wal-Mart Stores tumbled 4.7%, the biggest decline of the Dow's index as company was engaged in investigation in a bribery probe in Mexico. Bank of America followed its European
S&P 500 index followed European market downward trend on Monday as investors digested news about political uncertainties in the Netherlands and France amid weak global PMI data. US benchmark fell 0.84% or 11.59 points and closed at 1,366.94. Hasbro tumbled 5.2% after reporting a 1st quarter loss on declining sales and costs linked to job cuts. Kellogg plunged 6.1% after
The winner of 1st round French presidential elections Francois Hollande claimed severe austerity measures boosted despair and fuelled popularity of anti Euro party (National Front) led by Marine Le Pen. The head of nationalist, anti-immigrant party Le Pen, gained 6.4 million votes or 17.9%, while Hollande and Sarkozy won 28.6% and 27.2% respectively.
Crude traded close to two-day low in New York as investors awaited data release which is expected to show supplies in US advanced to 11-month record high. June crude was little changed at USD 102.87 per barrel after dropping 0.7% yesterday. Brent oil to be delivered in June slipped USD 0.11 to USD 118.60 per barrel.
German bunds advanced sharply on Monday and benchmark 10- year yields dropped as a resistance against austerity measures faltered Dutch government. The borrowing costs for Dutch 10-year notes soared 11 basis points to 2.43%, record high since March 2009, while 10-year yield for German bills fell 7 basis points to 1.64%. The 5-year bund dropped to 0.601%.
Spanish economy contracted for a second straight month, Bank of Spain reported on Monday. Country's GDP dropped 0.4% in the 1st quarter and slipped 0.5% on annual basis. The official gauge will be delivered by The National Statistics Institute on April 30. Nation's government expects a 1.7% declined in the economy this year.
Dutch Premier Mark Rutte offered his minority coalition's resignation after his cabinet lost backing from Freedom Party caused by disagreements over deficit cut plans. The Freedom Party supported PM Rutte for about 18 months. Political uncertainty in the Netherlands cause boost concerns across whole Europe as the Netherlands was one of the nations than strongly favoured European Union fiscal treaty and
US major stock indices dropped sharply on Monday, following their European counterparts as investors digested news about political uncertainties in the Netherlands and France while retail giant Wal-Mart was engaged into bribery scandal in Mexico. S&P 500 fell 0.84% or 11.59 points and closed at 1,366.94, Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.78% or 102.09 points to 12,927.17 while Nasdaq Composite
Australia's core CPI climbed modestly in the first quarter of 2012, posting the slowest increase since 1998, sending the Aussie and government bills lower on investor speculation RBA will have to lower interest rate. The average measure of core prices or so called trimmed mean added 0.3% compared to previous quarter while quarterly CPI climbed only 0.1% compared to an
European equities plunged on Monday, marking a worst session in three months as investors sentiment was driven down by weaker Chinese and European PMI data amid rising political tensions in the Netherlands and France. Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 2.3%, French CAC 40 sank 2.8% and German DAX plunged 3.4%. UK FTSE 100 index slipped 1.85% and Amsterdam AEX index
China's banks reported four year record high net income for 2011, the fastest growth since 2007 as revenue from financial services and loans erased the negative effects from defaults caused by slowing economy. Chinese financial institutions earned a total net profit of CNY 1.25 trillion (USD 198 billion), a 39% improvement compared to 2010.
German DAX index fell sharply on Monday as political pressure in the Netherlands and France amid contracting manufacturing activity both in China and Euro Zone fuelled fears about deepening Euro Area crisis. All 30 shares posted losses within the German benchmark index. Among major decliners were Heidelbergcement and Commerzbank each dropping 6.5%. BMW AG sank 3.8% after its sales chief
British FTSE 100 index tumbled on Monday, weighed down by disappointing manufacturing data from China amid political worries over France and the Netherlands. Banking sector contributed significantly to the downside with Lloyds Banking Group tumbling 3.2% and Royal Bank of Scotland Group plunging 4.4%. Miners were also falling as Vedanta Resources lost 6% and Rio Tinto shed 5.2%. At the