Japan's stocks were steady, halting five-day plunge on Thursday. An unexpected cut of growth forecast for China's economy by Goldman Sachs Group created heavy pressure on the Japanese stocks. Dragging Japanese equities lower, support from hopes for easing in the Eurozone started to fade. The Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.01% to trade at 8,680.57. Four in ten sectors
US blue chips ended Wednesday's session with mild gains on strong US data. US non-farm productivity jumped by 2.2% in Q2 beating forecasts of a 1.8% increase. Mounting hopes that the ECB will announce easing program at the press conference due on Thursday also lifted US blue chips. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index inched up by 0.09% to close
US equities extended previous loses on Wednesday amid rising risk-aversion among market participants ahead of the key ECB meeting due on Thursday. At the same time, speculation that the Fed and PBOC will ease their monetary policies continued to support US stocks. The S&P 500 Index lost 0.11% to close at 1,403.44. Only four in ten sectors within the index
U.S. first-time jobless claims posted more-than-estimated fall in the week through September 1, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Initial unemployment claims tumbled to 365,000 on week, from 377,000 in the previous week. Economists forecast a decline to 370,000. Separate ADP report posted a wider-than-expected private sector job expansion.
The U.S. Dollar cut losses and Treasuries extended slid on Thursday as ADP reported U.S. firms created 201,000 more jobs in August, exceeding analysts forecasts. The ICE Dollar Index rose to 81.123, trading at 81.085 ahead of ADP data and 81.253 yesterday. 10-year note yields advanced 4 basis points to 1.64%.
The Euro advanced sharply versus its major counterparts after the ECB held its key interest rate unchanged at 0.75%, despite market expectations. On Thursday, the 17-nation currency traded at 99.30 versus the Yen, 1.2652 versus the U.S. Dollar, 0.7948 versus the Sterling and 1.2045 versus the Franc.
Eurozone's policy makers agreed to an unlimited bond- purchase program to regain control of interest rates in the region. The decision was made during today's press conference in Frankfurt after the ECB held its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.75 per cent. The European Central bank will target government bonds with maturities from one to three years, including longer-dated debt that has a
The Institute for Supply Management said in a report that the U.S. non-manufacturing index jumped to 53.7 in August compared to previous month's reading of 52.6. Experts had predicted the headline reading to advance 53.0 in the month. Any reading above 50 indicates nation's non-manufacturing sector is generally expanding.
European stocks pared advance on Thursday, after the ECB held its key interest rate unchanged at 0.75%. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 0.6% at 267.01. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.5% to 5,688.33. The CAC 40 Index rose 0.9% to 3,436.96. The DAX 30 Index climbed 1.2% to 7,046.14.
U.K. house prices slipped for the second consecutive month in August, Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax reported on Thursday. Property prices dropped 0.4% on month, after a 0.7% slid in July. Economists estimated a 0.2% increase. On quarterly basis, prices fell 0.9%. The government is expected to outline support to 16,500 new buyers by extending the FirstBuy scheme.
London stocks increased on Thursday, boosted by miners banks and oil firms, as investors awaited the ECB policy meeting, while the BoE held its benchmark interest rate stable. The FTSE 100, leading U.K. index, advanced 0.7% to 5,694.92. Most metal prices were up.
The Banks of England announced on Thursday that it will maintain its official bank rate at the record-low level of 0.5% for the 42nd month in a row. The amount of asset purchasing program will also be unchanged from GBP375 billion for the third consecutive month. The data is in compliance with expectations.
On Thursday, the Economy Ministry reported that German industrial orders grew by 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis, which is more than an expected 0.2% increase. Domestic bookings increased by 1.0%, while foreign ones grew by 0.1% despite a 0.6% drop in Eurozone orders. The figure for June was revised up from a 1.7% decrease to a more modest 1.6% decline.
On Thursday, futures for oil were rising for the second day in a row on weak U.S. supply data, which hit a five-month low, and optimism about today's ECB's policy meeting. On the NYMEX, October delivery futures for crude were traded at USD96.12 per barrel, which was a 0.8% increase during European morning trading hours.
The European Central Bank left benchmark interest rate unchanged today, as President Mario Draghi prepares to unveil a bond-purchase plan to save the shared currency. During today's meeting in Frankfurt, region's policy makers left the benchmark rate at a record low of 0.75 per cent, meeting analysts' expectations.
Gold futures advanced on Thursday, September 6, topping the key $1, 700 level for the first time since March, as investors looked ahead to the highly anticipated European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day. Gold futures with December contract jumped 1.02 per cent to $1,711.10. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December settlement rose 1.65 per cent, while copper for the same month
U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday, suggesting investors are confident word from the ECB policy meeting later this day will ease ongoing concerns over the fate of the region. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 13,117 points; the Standard & Poor 500 Index edged 0.47% higher, to 1,410.10, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 0.6%, to reach 2,785.
French jobless rate rose to a thirteen-year high in the second quarter, as companies reduce staff in order to cope with nation's worsening fundamentals. The unemployment rate rose to 10.2 per cent in the second quarter, up from 10 per cent in the preceding quarter, as the Eurozone's second-largest economy has posted three consecutive quarters of zero growth.
Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that the Australian unemployment rate in August decreased to 5.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared to the July's figure of 5.2%. The data defied the expectations, since analysts expected that the unemployment rate in Australia would grow to 5.3% in August.
On Thursday, Spain witnessed a decrease in its borrowing costs, while it was selling its medium-term debt as traders eyed ECB's policy meeting. Spain's Treasury sold 2-year bonds for EUR608 million, having the average yield equal to 2.798%, which is a significant decrease from the last month's figure of 4.774%. The average yield for 3-year government bonds was 3.676%, compared 5.086% in the previous month.
Eurostat reported on Thursday that the gross domestic product of Eurozone fell by 0.2% in the second quarter. The data is in compliance with expectations and did not change from the first estimate. Year on year, GDP in Eurozone shrank 0.5%, which is worse than an expected 0.4% decline. Following the release of the data, the Euro gained 0.1% versus the Greenback to trade at 1.2612.
On Thursday, France witnessed a decrease in yields as it was selling its debt on an auction, since traders eyed upcoming ECB's policy meeting. France's Treasury managed to sell government bonds worth EUR7.98 billion, while the target was between 7 and 8 billion Euros. The average yield of 10-year bonds was 2.21%, which is less than the average yield of 2.53% in August.
The Australian Dollar strengthened after report indicated the nation's unemployment fell from 5.2% in July to 5.1% in August. The so-called Aussie Dollar climbed 0.3% to $1.0227 and gained 0.3% to 80.18 Yen. The Pacific currencies gained versus most of the 16 major peers before Mario Draghi's speech at the press conference today.
The Swiss Franc declined versus the Euro to the lowest level in a month on speculation the Swiss National Bank will shift the cap to weaken the local currency. The Franc lost as much as 0.2% to 1.2058 per Euro, the lowest level since August, while being little changed at 95.65 centimes per Dollar.