Asian markets closed lower on Monday as investors awaited for EU summit and anticipated news that Beijing will not introduce monetary easing. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.66%, South Korea's Kospi lost 1.24% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4%. Shanghai Composite Index edged down 1.47% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.19%.
New Zealand and Australian Dollar depreciated against most of their peers on Monday before EU officials meet today in Brussels to debate on debt turmoil. Aussie gave up 0.7% to $1.0588, while Kiwi slipped 0.5%, reaching $0.8209. Analysts see some pessimism returning to markets. AUD/USD currently is trading at $1.0549 and NZD/USD is trading at $0.8182.
TonenGeneral Sekiyu agreed to acquire Exxon Mobil Corp. Japanse division for $3.9bn. TonenGeneral is going to acquire 99% of Exxon Mobil Yugen Kaisha unit which manufactures and sells fuel. The deal will be financed by cash and bank loans. Analysts expect TonenGeneral to seek strategic partner to cover purchasing costs. Japanese refiners are struggling with surging operating costs as government forces them to implement technologies which
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. dropped to 10-month record low after Japanese officials prohibited competitive tendering for State orders as company overcharged for several aerospace and defence contracts. Mitsubishi Electric fell 15% on Monday and traded at ¥666, the lowest value since March 15. Government has banned Mitsubishi Electric from entering bids until the company gives back money and introduces preventive actions.
17-nation currency weakened against the greenback on Monday, breaking five-day gains before EU leaders gather in Brussels to keep struggling with debt crisis. Euro fell 0.3% against US Dollar in Asian trade, reaching $1.3178 and gave up 0.4% against Japanese Yen, dropping to ¥101.03. Currently EUR/USD is trading at $1.3169 while EUR/JPY is trading at ¥101.97.
Despite economists' forecasts China decided to postpone the reduction in lender reserve requirements, indicating caution towards monetary loosening. Barclays Capital Asia and JP Morgan Chase & Co expected the reserve ratio to be cut before the Lunar New Year. Instead the PBOC applied reserve repurchase contracts to flood money in to China's financial system. Asian shares modestly declined on Monday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index extended gains on Friday, led by telecommunication and banking shares. Hang Seng index climbed 0.31% or 62.53 points and finished at 20,501.67. HSBC Holdings PLC added 0.9% and China Mobile Ltd. surged 1.99%. Banks showed better performance on hopes that year 2012 will be more successful for equity markets. On the downside property shares retreated
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed slightly lower on Friday, pushed down by weaker than expected report from high tech manufacturer NEC Corp amid appreciating Yen. Nikkei 225 index fell 0.09% or 8.25 points to 8,841.22 with technology and financial shares posting the biggest losses. NEC Corp. plunged 7.14%, while JFE Holdings and T&D Holdings each dropped 3.8%. Japanese PM Yoshihiko
After rallying 1.8% on Thursday session, German DAX retreated and gave up 0.3% amid lingering Greek debt negotiations and weaker than expected US housing and economic growth data. Financials and industrials led the decline while utilities supported the index on the upside. Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank AG lost 0.37% and 0.16% respectively, while Deutsch Luft surged 1.7%. At the moment
After climbing 1.3% on Fed announcement yesterday, FTSE 100 index fell back 0.6% on Friday, pushed down by Greek inability to reach agreement on its debt write-off amid weaker US housing sales data. Eight out of ten sectors posted losses during the session, driven by energy and telecom shares. BP Plc. lost 2.2%, after the court said the company cannot
The growth of the European loans owed by businesses and households decreased in December amid worsening economic outlook in the region and credit tightening measures of banks. Private sector loans showed a 1% increase on an annual rate, reported the ECB. Moreover, the pace of growth in M3 money supply tumbled to 1.6% from 2%.
Swiss KOF economic barometer decreased more than expected, announced KOF Economic Research Agency. The economic barometer declined to minus 0.17 in December on a seasonally adjusted basis from 0.01 in November. Experts predicted the indicator to inch down to minus 0.06 in December.
US GDP expanded by 2.8% in Q4 of 2011 on the increase in business inventories and consumer spending. However, experts projected the US economy to expand by 3%. Consumer spending surged 2% in Q4 from 1.7% in Q3 while business inventories increased to USD 56 billion following USD 2 billion fall in Q3. Exports jumped by 4.7% while imports soared
Greece is likely to agree on a debt swap deal with private bondholders over this weekend, said Olli Rehn, the EU's Economic Commissioner. The deal is expected to be closed by EU summit due on Monday, he added. However, Greece still needs a bailout to repay its USD 19 billion worth of bonds that are due March 20.
The number of unemployed in Spain surpassed five millions in the Q4 of 2011, according to the National Statistics Institute. The total number of individuals without job attained 5.3 million in Q4 as compared to 4.9 million in the preceding quarter. The unemployment rate hit a 17-year high of 22.8% as compared to Euro Zone's average of 10.3%. Almost half
US S&P 500 Index fell on Thursday, weighted down by an unexpected drop in new home sales. US benchmark declined 0.57% or 7.62 points and closed at 1,318.43 with nine out of ten industries posting losses as home sales decelerated 2.2% in December. Main losers were energy and telecommunication shares with E Trade Financial dropping 14.6% and Range resources giving
Agricultural markets rose on Thursday with grain commodities extending previous gains and sugar and coffee finding new room for encouragement. Grain commodities were strongly supported by expected cut in exports of top grain producers because of unfavorable weather conditions. Sugar was mostly backed up by the depreciating US Dollar after Fed's decision and poor economic data from the US. Moreover,
Energy commodities were almost flat on Thursday. Crude oil inched up 0.3% on the broadly softer US Dollar. However, slowdown in the US demand restrained price jump, keeping it below USD 100 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil awaits fresh stimulus from developments across Iranian oil embargo. The oil shortage is likely to be offset by increased exports from Saudi Arabia
Industrial metals gathered momentum amid positive equities and eco-friendly data releases. However, volumes of trade are light due to China's holidays. Base metals may seek additional support on the high cancelled warrants and declining inventories at the LME warehouses, reflecting stronger spot demand for this commodity group. At the same time, US faced growing demand for durable goods thus providing
Precious metals, except for palladium, advanced on Tuesday amid softer US Dollar and expectations of further quantitative easing in the US. Gold managed to surpass USD 1,700 per ounce for the first time in the last seven weeks. Silver and platinum also followed the yellow metal's suit and rallied for second consecutive day. Precious metals' holdings of silver and gold-backed
New York crude oil futures climbed near USD 100 per barrel during the Asian trade. Crude oil contract for March added 0.1% to USD 99.77 per barrel during the electronic trade, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline futures for February delivery were steady at USD 2.855 while heating oil February contract added one cent to USD 3.06.
US stocks pared the gains on Thursday after data showed the sales of new homes unexpectedly dropped in December, putting pressure on investor sentiment. S&P 500 index lost 0.57% or 7.62 points and closed at 1,318.43, while Dow Jones Industrial Average index edged down 0.18% or 22.33 points to 12,734.63. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.46% or 13.03 points and settled at
German index on prices on import increased by 8% on an annual basis last year, reported Destatis. This was the largest increase in price in the last 11 years. The index soared 3.9% in December on monthly basis. At the same time, export prices edged up 3.7% on a yearly average basis in 2011.
Natural gas futures tumbled on Thursday despite IEA report on the essential fall in natural gas stockpiles last week. Natural gas futures for delivery in March traded at USD2.654 per million British thermal units at the US last session, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, losing 4.17%.