Canadian Dollar advanced versus its US peer on Tuesday as crude and shares rallied amid speculation Bank of Canada may increase interest rates. Loonie climbed 0.4% versus greenback to CAD 0.9871. Canadian currency is heading towards a 1% gain against US Dollar in April. Currently USD/CAD is trading at CAD 0.9871.
Credit Suisse Group AG posted its first loss in quarterly profit in three years. The net income tumbled to CHF 44 million (USD 48 million) compared to CHF 1.14 billion in similar period previous year, said Credit Suisse on Wednesday. Economists questioned by Bloomberg predicted a loss of around CHF 297.9 million. Credit Suisse scaled down its investment division in 2011. Bank's
Apple Inc net income almost doubled in the first quarter this year on strong demand for the new version of iPad and robust sales of iPhone in China, offsetting the worries that pushed shares lower during last two weeks. The net profit last quarter rallied 94% reaching USD 11.6 billion or USD 12.30 per share. Sales jumped 59% to USD
US stock markets mostly ended on positive note on Tuesday, supported by earnings reports. S&P 500 index gained 0.37% or 5.03 points, finishing at 1,371.97, Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.58% or 74.39 points to 13,001.56 while Nasdaq Composite breached the upward trend in the market and slipped 0.30% or 8.85%, closing at 2,961.60.
European equities rallied on Tuesday, after the Netherlands sold bonds and data from US showed new home sales remained strong in March while consumer confidence slightly declined matching analyst expectations. Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1.0%, Spanish IBEX 35 index jumped 2.2% and French CAC 40 advanced 2.3%. British FTSE 100 index surged 0.8% while German DAX index added 1%.
Canadian core retail sales surged at slower pace than expected in February whereas the total sales fell first time in 6 months, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday. Core retail sales excluding car sales, advanced by 0.5% in February compared to an expected gain of 0.6%. The total retail sales dropped by 0.2% compared to a predicted increase of 0.1%.
US consumer confidence remained little changed this month as uncertainty about the outlook offset rising optimism over the present economic situation. The confidence index measured by the Conference Board modestly declined from revised 69.5 in March to 69.2 in April, the research group reported on Tuesday. Consumers stayed cautiously optimistic, suggested Lynn Franco, Conference Board's director.
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.