Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rebounded on stronger US economic data and growing optimism about the successful close of Greek deal. Hang Seng index rallied 1.32% or 272.95 points and closed at 20,900.73 with all nine sectors making gains. Ping An Insurance Group jumped 5.1%, Agricultural Bank of China surged 2.5% and China Life Insurance gained 1.4%. Export-dependent Esprit Holding
Asian equities recovered after steep losses on Thursday as data showed hiring accelerated in US and investors became more optimistic over Greek debt swap. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average advanced 2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3% and China's Shanghai Composite Index added 1.1%. South Korea's Kospi index surged 0.9% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index improved 0.7%.
US markets recovered on Wednesday trade after data showed the number of payrolls climbed and investors anticipated news about possible new type of Fed's quantitative easing. S&P 500 index gained 0.69% or 9.27 points and finished at 1,352.63 with financial shares posting biggest gains, Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 0.61% or 78.18 points and settled at 12,837.33 while Nasdaq Composite
Dow Jones Industrial Average index breached its downward path and climbed higher on jobs data amid fading concerns about Greece default. Blue chip index added 0.61% or 78.18 points and settled at 12,837.33 with industrial sector gaining 1.5%. Kraft Foods dropped 1.2% after Jefferies Group downgraded the firm from buy to hold claiming the stock has little probability to outperform
S&P 500 index partly recovered from previous losses on Wednesday as data showed hiring advanced in US. The index gained 0.69% or 9.27 points and finished at 1,352.63 with financial shares posting biggest gains. Citigroup Inc rallied 3.5% and Morgan Stanley advanced 3.2%. Valero Energy jumped after its CEO Bill Klesse said company looks forward to export gasoline and diesel.
Swiss CPI rose more than initially projected in February, reported the Swiss Federal Statistics Office. The CPI accelerated by 0.3% last month, after falling by 0.2% in the preceding month. Experts predicted the CPI to gain 0.2%. Considering yearly moves, the CPI declined by 0.9% in February after tumbling by 0.8% in January. After the news, the Swiss Franc appreciated
China's zinc import grew by 47% approaching 47,933 MT on annual basis in January. Reduction in due charges for smelters and increasing value of Renminbi created fresh stimulus for imports increase. Barclays expects further tightening of zinc market due to closures of mines, fall in ore head grades and decrease in China's zinc output. The bank expects zinc price to
Toyota recalled 681,500 cars in the US due to safety concerns. The company recalled 116,000 Venza and 70,500 Camry cars as some parts may lead to starting difficulties. 495,000 Tacoma cars were also recalled because of problems with air bags. At the moment, the company is waiting for repair parts and will inform the owners when the vehicles are ready
Eurostar faced an essential increase in sales in February as the number of passengers surged by 2% attaining 9.7 million. Considering yearly changes, the sales soared by 6% approaching 803 million British Pounds in 2011. Currently passengers from emerging economies like China and Brazil account for about 9% of the total number of visitors. However, the number of business visitors
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its key interest rate steady for the eight month in line. The interest rate was kept at 2.50% this month as sustained appreciation of the New Zealand currency eliminated the need for increasing core interest rate. After the announcement, the New Zealand Dollar posted gains against the greenback and NZD/USD traded at 0.8213,
China's car sales fell by 1.4% in the period between January and March 2012 amid soaring fuel prices. However, on an annualized rate automobile sales jumped by 22.3% during January and February. Fuel prices attained a new record continuing to create a pressure on the car customers.
Crude oil futures were lower during the Asian trade on Thursday after jumping on the positive US labour market data. The looming deadline of the Greek debt swap also continued to impact the market. Light, sweet crude oil futures for April delivery traded at 105.97 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, losing 0.18%.
The manufacturing volume in New Zealand increased by 1.3%, approaching 260 million US Dollars in December, according to Statistics New Zealand. The manufacturing activity got a spree due to sharply rising output of daily products for export. The output of dairy products and meat expanded by 6.3% in December.
China's home prices are expected to fall this year but the bubble of the sector is not expected, said Li Daokui adviser to China's central bank. In January property prices dropped in 48 out of 70 main cities, reported the NBS. However, the government continued its prudent policies aimed at stabilizing housing prices. Tightening of the housing market is a
Gold futures advanced during the Asian session on Thursday as market sentiment improved on the positive US labour market data and on the belief that Greece will manage to agree with private creditors on debt restructuring. COMEX gold April contract traded at 1,685.85 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining 0.12%.
The jobless rate in Australia increased to 5.2% in February as businesses cut above 5,000 jobs. The rise in unemployment rate met the initial forecasts, reported Australian Bureau of Statistics. The deteriorating labour market may create a stimulus for further interest rate cut. On Tuesday, the RBA held the interest rate unchanged at 4.25%.
Greece has to agree with private bondholders on the debt swap deal until 20:00 GMT on Thursday otherwise the country will fail to fulfill its financial obligations and may leave the Euro Zone. Greece has to agree on the 53.5% reduction in the current debt with not less than 75% of the private investors. Moreover, creditors were asked to lower
Carlos Slim has been announced as the richest billionaire for the third consecutive year, reported Forbes magazine. Forbes estimated his assets that vary from construction to telecommunications as 69 billion US Dollars. Bill Gates took the second place with 61 billion US Dollars and Warren Buffet was the third with 44 billion US Dollars.
Japan has announced a record wide trade deficit of 5.4 billion US Dollars in January, according to the Ministry of Finance. The fall in the current account was mostly attributed to the growing energy imports coupled with uncertain economic recovery of the country. However, the GDP growth for last quarter of 2011 was revised up on Thursday. Japan's economy contracted
Natural gas price moved down, hitting the new low as market sentiment remained bearish amid soft weather forecasts in the US and elevated inventory level. Natural gas April contract traded at 2.307 US Dollars per million British thermal units at the US session, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, falling by 2.1%.
Adidas reported record high profits for 2011 ahead of Olympics due in 2012 that is expected to push the income even higher. The company announced 18% surge in net income for the last year. The total profit approached 671 million Euros mainly due to soaring sales in China and Eastern Europe in Q4. In total Adidas sales grew by 13%
More private bond holds have agreed on the Greece's debt swap. Currently about 39.3% of private lenders opt for voluntary debt exchange. However, at least 75% of all investors have to sign up to the deal to enable Greece to avoid default and stay in the Euro Zone. Creditors can agree on the debt swap only until 20:00 GMT on
Rural commodity futures declined on Tuesday on the negative global economic outlook. Stronger US Dollar also weighed on the group. Grain commodities lost spree provided by the lift in the soybean futures due to firm China's demand. Further, eased worries over South American crop conditions pushed grain prices down. Sugar lost 2.55% over the day as it came under additional
Energy markets were mostly lower on Tuesday on the firm US Dollar and demand concerns. Decline in Euro Zone's GDP, lower than expected GDP expansion in Australia and lower economic growth target in China all weighted down on the commodity group. Moreover, supply side worries that pushed oil prices to several months high vanished. Iran allowed UN nuclear agency to