Gold increased for a third straight day, touching the highest level in a month of $1,322.70. Demand for the gold recovered following the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speeches last week. Gold futures jumped 1.64% to $1,314.20 per ounce, adding to signs the gold price remains more than 20% lower this year.
The Sterling touched the highest level in over two weeks versus the U.S. Dollar as U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron announced a growth in the economy may allow the U.K. government to reduce taxes. The Sterling was flat at $1.5288 and remained steady at 86.04 pence against the common currency, adding to signs the Sterling has increased 1.9% in the
The common currency inched up, as G-20 leaders convinced to provide precise communication when the tapering of bond-purchases starts in Japan and the U.S., while China moved towards lending rate liberalization. The 17-nation currency jumped 0.15% to $1.3154 versus the Dollar and rose 0.07% to 0.8607 versus the Pound, however it declined 0.44% to 131.58 versus the Japanese Yen.
Treasuries inched up, prolonging the largest two-week jump in 11 months, after the manager of the world's largest bond fund joined investors speculating that the Federal Reserve will keep bond-purchases to support the economy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond declined one basis point to 2.48% and the price of the 1.75% bond maturing in May 2023 rose to
U.K. shares decreased, after FTSE 100 Index advancing for four straight weeks in a row. The FTSE 100 retreated 14.9 points to 6,615.77. The FTSE All-Share Index slipped 0.2% and Ireland's ISEQ Index inched up about 0.1%. European shares remained flat, with the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index near the highest level in seven weeks.
The Australian currency advanced against most of its 16 major counterparts as expectations of tapering the Federal Reserve stimulus were curbed, boosting demand for higher-yielding bonds. The Aussie increased 0.5% to 92.19 against the U.S. currency and declined 0.1% to 92.21 versus the Yen. The New Zealand Dollar jumped 0.1% to 79.32 versus the greenback and fell 0.5% to 79.33
The Japanese Yen appreciated as Shinzo Abe's LDP party won a majority in Sunday's upper house election and handed a mandate to Mr. Abe to continue with his plan for economic growth. The Japanese currency inched up 0.61% to 99.99 against the U.S. Dollar and climbed 0.46% to 131.55 versus the Euro, and 0.49% to 150.84 against the Sterling.
Canadian Dollar depreciated after a release of inflation report that showed a 1.2% increase in CPI which is below the central bank's 2% target. The Canada's currency lost 0.6% against the New Zealand Dollar and 0.5% against the South African Rand, while it still managed to climb 0.1% versus the greenback, reaching C$1.0370 per U.S. Dollar.
Soybean and corn futures decreased amid forecasts that weather will cultivate crop conditions in the U.S. A report showed that low temperatures and rain will moisturize soil that will benefit harvest. Corn futures for December settlement decreased 1.2% to $4.945 per bushel as of 10:03 a.m. on the Chicago board of Trade. Soybeans futures for November settlement fell 0.1% to
European stocks declined slightly at the closing on Friday as major companies reported weaker-than-expected earnings in the second quarter. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.05% to 2,716.50. The French CAC 40 gauge lost 0.04% to 3,926.30, while Germany's DAX was 0.04% down at 8,333.8. The U.K. FTSE 100 dropped 0.07% to 6,629.80.
Gold prices climbed for a second consecutive day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech confirmed further stimulus. Gold futures increased 0.67% to $1,292.70 an ounce as of 2:43 p.m. GMT. Silver gained 0.26% to $19.440 an ounce. While metals rose, the greenback weakened. The U.S. Dollar Index lost 0.2% to 82.659.
Italian bonds climbed for a second consecutive day after the Interior Minister A. Alfano survived a confidence vote in the Senate, muting investor concern about the nation's ruling coalition coming apart. Yield on Italian 10-year bonds declined one basis point to 4.4% as of 2:07 p.m. in London, after hitting 4.36%, the lowest rate since July 11.
U.K. stocks dropped from a 7-week high after Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. showed worse-than-expected earnings in the second quarter. ARM Holdings Plc that designs chips for Google's software devices fell 2.7% to 896.5 pence. The company's half-year earnings will be published on July 24. The FTSE 100 gauge slipped 0.5% to 6,604.06 as of 1:55 p.m. London time.
Canadian Dollar was little affected by the country's inflation data released today. The Consumer Price Index climbed 1.2% from year ago following a 0.7% increase in May, according to Statistics Canada report. The loonie rose 0.05% to C$1.0381 versus the greenback after the report was published. Against the Euro, the Dollar declined 0.11% to C$1.3620.
The Pound appreciated versus the Greenback for a fourth straight day before a GDP report to be released next Friday, which analysts expect to show that the country's GDP grew faster than expected in the second quarter. The currency advanced 0.2% to $1.5257 as of 1:40 p.m. London time, adding to this week's gain to 1%. Against the common currency
U.S. stock-index futures decreased, indicating benchmark equities gauges may decline from records, after Microsoft Corp and Google Inc. earnings were against expectations. Microsoft fell 6.3% in early session and Google slipped 4%. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures maturing in September dropped 0.1% to 1,678.3 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures plummeted 0.2% to 15,452.
U.S. shares increased, with benchmark indexes set to records, after earnings from Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth Group Inc. overshoot expectations and jobless claims declined amid speech from the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.5% to 1,689.37 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped to a record of 15,548.54.
Hong Kong stocks dropped, led by developers and utilities, as concerns mounted that more cities will take measures to cool the overheating property market. The Hang Seng Composite gauge slid 0.1%, decreasing gains of this week to 0.3%. The Hang Seng Index jumped 0.1% to 21,362.42 after losing 0.6% earlier, while gauge's future contracts decreased 0.1% to 21,334.
Stocks in Switzerland dropped for the 3rd time in 4 days this week and was poised for the first weekly loss after 3 weeks of consecutive gains as Roche Holding AG dropped 1.3% today and 4.6% this week. The SMI slid 0.5% to 7,893.72 today and lost 1.1% of its value so far this week. The Swiss Performance Index decreased
German shares retreated from the highest level in more than two months and the benchmark DAX Index snapped five-day advance as technology stocks slipped on disappointing earnings from Google Inc. to Microsoft Corp. The benchmark DAX Index slid 0.6% to 8,289.49 as of 9:53 a.m. Frankfurt time, halting its climb to 0.9% weekly, while the HDAX Index fell 0.6% today.
U.K. government gilts were steady, with 10-year bonds set for a second weekly advance, ahead of data analysts said will indicate Britain's budget deficit decreased in June from a year earlier. Benchmark 10-year notes yielded 2.26% and the price of the 1.75% security expiring in 2022 was 95.815, and two-year bond yields were at 0.29%.
Stocks in the U.K. declined after worse-than-expected earnings from Microsoft and Google, decreasing fourth consecutive weekly gain. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.4% to 6,607.19 so far today, however, the index is still poised for a 1% rise this week. The FTSE All-Share Index and ISEQ Index lost 0.4% and 0.5% respectively.
Stocks around the world slowed on Friday, but are still heading towards a forth consecutive week of gains after better-than-expected earnings announcements and Fed's comments on its stimulus. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index dropped 0.3%, but was poised for a rise this week. The same was true for MSCI's 45-country all world index.
Moody's Investors Service improved the outlook for the U.S. credit rating to stable as there has been economic growth in the U.S. and the budget deficit has narrowed. The federal deficit is estimated to drop to 4% of U.S. GDP this year, for comparison, it was 7% previous year, according to Congressional Budget Office. The deficit has reached $509.8 billion