Dow Jones Industrial Average index faced its worst day in three months giving up more than 200 points on Tuesday. Blue chip index plunged 1.57% or 203.66 points and closed at 12,759.15 with 29 of 30 stocks posting losses. Industry sector overall declined 2.7% as aluminium giant Alcoa and construction and mining-equipment producer Caterpillar fell 4% and 3.8% respectively. Merck
S&P 500 index experienced the biggest decline in 2012 on renewed concerns about the outcome of Greek deal. Moreover data showed European GDP contracted in 4th quarter. US index tumbled 1.54% or 20.97 points and finished at 1,343.36 pushed down by banks and industrials. Morgan Stanley fell 5.3% and Goldman Sachs dropped 4.2%. Apple Inc. lost 0.5%, prolonging its two
Indonesia will oblige overseas investors to cut stakes in coal and mineral mining to 49% of ownership, announced the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. The Ministry requires foreign owners to sell about 20% during first six years of mining to the local investors. After the seventh year about 30% should belong to the local investors, after eight year their stake
Australian construction industry contracted by 21st consecutive month in February. Australian PCI declined by 4.2 points approaching 35.6 in February on a seasonally adjusted basis. The index below 50 indicates contraction. The slowdown of the building activity signaled that the recent cut of the interest rates have not provided sufficient spree for the industry.
Swiss unemployment rate was stable in February for the third month in line, reported the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. The jobless rate remained at 3.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, being in compliance with expectations. However, the number of individuals without job increased slightly by 1,163, approaching 133,154.
China will cut taxes on various consumer goods this year, said Wei Jianguo, a former deputy commerce minister. The move will enable stimulating domestic consumption that is the primary aim of the government, he added. The tax reductions are likely to be done in two rounds and will cover wide range of luxury and consumer goods. However, Ministry of Finance
US equities experienced a worst day in last three months on returning fears about Greece's default and the impact of China's slowdown on global economy. S&P 500 index fell 1.54% or 20.97 points and finished at 1,343.36 while Dow Jones Industrial Average index plunged 1.57% or 203.66 points and closed at 12,759.15. Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.36% or 40.16 points to
Canadian Dollar weakened against greenback on Tuesday as investor worries about global growth curbed demand for higher yielding assets including shares and commodities. Canada's currency lost 0.7% against US Dollar dropping to CAD 1.0019. Currently USD/CAD is trading at CAD 0.9997.
European stocks extended losses on Tuesday as investor worries about global economic outlook and Greece debt swap outcome returned. Stoxx Europe 600 lost 2.7%, UK FTSE 100 tumbled 1.9% and German DAX plunged 3.4%. French CAC 40 index fell 3.6% while Italian FTSE MIB index gave up 3.4%.
Crude oil futures advanced on Wednesday Asian trade on slightly weaker US Dollar and improving stock index futures. Light crude futures to be delivered in April gained 0.3% or USD 0.27. ICE Dollar index slipped 0.15% pushing commodity prices higher. April gasoline futures rallied 0.5% or USD 3.24 per gallon.
Gold futures recovered and traded higher on Wednesday, returning to $1,670.00 an ounce reading as investors regained interest in precious metal after a rapid price drop of 1.9% on Tuesday session. Gold to be delivered in April advanced USD 6.10 attaining USD 1,678.20 during electronic trade at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Republican Mitt Romney, ex-governor of Massachusetts won the primary presidential election in Ohio. Romney gained 38% of votes, followed by former Senator of Pennsylvania Rick Santorum with 37%, Speaker of US house Newt Gingrich with 15% and US Representative Ron Paul with 9% support.
Australian currency dropped versus 14 out of 16 main counterparts on the government report showing country's GDP expanded two times less than expected. Aussie fell against Greenback to USD 1.0509 and slipped 0.3% versus Yen to JPY 85.16. In contrast Kiwi jumped 0.5% against its US peer to USD 0.8165 and gained 0.3% versus Yen to JPY 65.91. Currently AUD/USD
Japanese Yen kept appreciating versus its main counterparts on Wednesday as weaker Asian stock markets and investor lack of confidence about Greece's ability to finalize debt swap agreement bolstered demand for safer currency. The Yen strengthened against the Euro to JPY 106.01 in Asian trade and added 0.3% versus US Dollar to JPY 80.67. Currently EUR/JPY is trading at JPY 106.22 and USD/JPY is trading
Australian gross domestic product grew 0.4% in the last quarter of 2011 or half the pace analysts had predicted. The slowdown in Australia's housing market curbed consumption and reduced sovereign bond yields amid weakening Aussie. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a 0.8% gain in nation's growth. In the 4th quarter European debt crisis harmed Asian consumption of commodities and forced
Spain and Italy faced an increase in bond yields after news that Greek default is expected to force these countries to look for further financial aid. 10-year yields on Spanish debt jumped from 4.95% to 5.05% on Monday while Italy's 10-year debt yields added 10 basis points approaching 4.97%. Meanwhile, yields on the two-year Span's debt eased up to 2.31%
British FTSE 100 index kept following a downward path on Tuesday as China's reduced growth forecast kept weighing on financial and resource shares. Aviva PLC fell 3.7% after Exane BNP Paribas lowered stock's rating from neutral to underperform, citing weaker outlook for cash flows and earnings. BP PLC dropped 1.6% and Kazakhmys PLC gave up 1.8%. Polymetal International PLC plunged
Australian sugar output is likely to increase by 33 million tons attaining 4.63 million tons in 2012, indicating 18% gain on an annual basis, reported Rabo bank. Promising export opportunities for Australian cane sugar stimulated the government to provide incentives for farmers to expand sugar growing area. The area for planting sugar cane is projected to expand by 10% this
Goldman Sachs posted a 103 million US Dollars loss in Asia in 2011 as compared to a 2.1 billion US Dollars income in the preceding year. This is the first loss in the last two years. Experts attributed the loss to weaker China's equity market. The company was strongly impacted by fall in value of its stake in ICBC that
Cotton futures eased rally on Tuesday, falling from three-week high as India's Farm Minister asked to cancel cotton export ban that was the main stimulating factor for a 4.5% jump on Monday. Cotton futures for delivery in May traded at 0.9239 US Dollars per pound at the European afternoon trade, on the ICE Futures US Exchange, edging up 0.21%.
Central banks' gold buying is likely to fall by more than 30% this year, according to RBS report. The RBS expects the worldwide banks' gold demand to decrease to 300 tonnes as compared to 439.7 tonnes in 2011. In fact, last year's gold purchases soared by about 470% hitting 48-year high. The largest gold importers were Russia, India and China
Brazilian economy expanded less than initially expected in 2011. The GDP of the country grew by 2.7% in 2011 while analysts projected the figure to top 2.8%. Brazil faced economic boom due to high energy and high food prices. The country may become sixth biggest economy outperforming the UK as Brazilian output was worth 2.09 trillion US Dollars as compared
Energy commodities apart from natural gas were little changed on Monday as market balanced between supply and demand concerns. From the supply side, IAEA reported that Iran increased its production of higher-grade enriched uranium three times thus escalating worries over military strike between Iran and Israeli. Moreover, Barack Obama met Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation in the region. Further,
Industry metals posted losses on Monday following downgrade of China's this year growth forecast and disappointing economic data from the EU and US. Weak equities also contributed to the downswing of the metals pack. Moreover, poor China's demand and stockpiling at the Shanghai Futures Exchange weighted down on metals' prices. Alumnium is likely to face further fall in price despite