British FTSE 100 index climbed on Friday supported by bank stocks. Royal Bank of Scotland Group rallied 6.3% after UBS raised RBS rating from neutral to buy citing bank's proposed strategy is likely to provide capital and sustainable funding. Lloyds Banking advanced 2.3% and Standard Chartered gained 0.8%. Tullow Oil jumped 4.9% after company said it found a very good
Asian equity markets mostly edged in negative territory on Friday as crude prices declined. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.04%, South Koreas Kospi faded 0.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 0.2%. Japanese Nikkei Stock Average gave up 0.05%. In contrast Shanghai Composite index (SHCOMP) jumped 1.3%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slightly faded on Friday but posted gains for week. The index slipped 0.17% or 35.68 points and finished at 21,317.85 pressed down by oil shares as crude price declined on Thursday New York session. China Mobile fell 1.1% after Macquarie cut stock's rating to neutral. China Overseas Land & Investment lost 4.7% after firm's chairman
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average faced a choppy trading session on Friday and finished close to flat, slipping 0.05% or 5.19 points to 10,118.09. Shipping company Nippon Yusen rallied 6% after rates of container freight for Pacific routes surged this week. Electronic equipment and machinery provider Hitachi accelerated 2.5% after company upgraded its annual net income forecast. Giant tire maker Bridgestone
Dow Jones Industrial Average index extended gains on Thursday lifted by improved investor sentiment after better than expected US jobs and manufacturing data. Blue chip index surged 0.44% or 58.66 points and closed at 13,252.76 led by heavyweight banks. Bank of America jumped 4.5% and JP Morgan advanced 26%. On the downside Cisco Systems fell 1.4% on news computer network
S&P 500 index rallied on Thursday supported by a drop in US unemployment claims and a report which showed production in New York region surged in February. US index climbed 0.60% or 8.32 points and finished at 1,402.60, surpassing 1400 points first time since 2008. Advanced Micro Devices gained 6.3%. The giant manufacturer of processors for PCs was upgraded from
US wholesale prices advanced 5-month record high in February mirroring a surge in oil prices. The PPI index jumped 0.4% after a 0.1% increase in January, said Labor Department on Thursday. Economists questioned by Bloomberg expected a 0.5% gain. Core PPI excluding energy and food climbed 0.2%.
India's economy is likely to grow by 6.9% during 2011-12 fiscal year that end this March as compared to 8.4% in the preceding fiscal year, reported Minister Pranab Mukherjee, India's Financial Minister. The minister also claimed that the country needs tight reforms to accelerate growth. He said that the government plans to reduce subsidies, boost investments and reconsider current tax
Gold prices were higher during the Asian session on Friday along with depreciating US Dollar. COMEX gold April contract traded at 1660.05 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, growing by 0.03%. Meanwhile, COMEX silver April contract traded at 32.608 US Dollars per ounce, advancing by 0.36%.
Greek unemployment rate hit a new record in Q4, approaching 20.7%. The figure indicates that country economy experiences crisis while tight austerity measures are likely to push the county into even deeper recession. The jobless rate is expected to rise further in the following months, said Platon Monokroussos, EFG Eurobank economist. Young individuals were the most severally affected by the
China's copper imports are expected to tumble in the next few months while red metal's exports from the country are likely to peak over this period. The record high copper inventories at the Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses would continue to weight down on the copper imports, said Max Layton from Goldman Sachs.
Swiss National Bank held its key interest rate at 0.0% this month and reassured that minimum exchange rate stays at 1.20 Swiss Francs per Euro. The move was expected. The SNB also reported that it is ready to purchase foreign currency in an unlimited amount to reinforce minimum exchange rate. The bank also added that despite the actual rate the
South African gold mining fell to the lowest level since 1922 in January, according to Chamber of Mines. Gold production for January tumbled by 11.3% as compared to a December's fall of 8.2%. Overall gold output for this year may approach 220 tons. The data is likely to boost gold prices due to possible supply shortage and global economics uncertainty.
Philly Fed manufacturing index that mirrors the state of manufacturing activity in Philadelphia region rose to 11-month high in March. The manufacturing index expanded by 2.3 points, attaining 12.5 this month as compared to 10.2 in February. Experts predicted the index to add 1.2 points, approaching 11.4 in March.
US markets posted gains on Thursday as Labor Department said the number of jobless claims fell to 4-year low and data showed manufacturing index surged more than expected. S&P 500 index climbed 0.6% or 8.32 points and finished at 1,402.60 while Dow Jones Industrial Average index surged 0.44% or 58.66 points and closed at 13,252.76. Nasdaq Composite added 0.51% or
Swift reported that it is set to halt all transactions with Iranian banks on Saturday as a part of sanctions imposed by Western countries against Iran's nuclear programme. The decision would severally impact oil industry of the country as well as citizens who live outside Iran but send money to their relatives in the country.
European shares traded mostly higher on Thursday after IMF approved the EUR 28 billion loan to Greece. Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.3%, German DAX index climbed 0.9% and French CAC 40 index surged 0.4%. Athens General index appreciated 0.8% on the news. In contrast FTSE 100 index closed 0.1% lower, pushed down by oil stocks.
The IMF agreed to back up the second Greece's bailout package by providing 28 billion Euros or for the recent debt swap deal. The move is the last part in completing the rescue package for indebted Greece. The IMF will give 1.65 billion Euros immediately. Evangelos Venizelos, Greece's PM, said that country has to survive during dismal 2012 to get
Japanese Yen moved towards a weekly decline versus most of its counterparts as positive economic signals from US and hopes for further monetary stimulus by BoJ lifted demand for riskier securities. Japanese currency traded at JPY 83.58. On weekly basis Yen has dropped 1.3% against greenback. Currently USD/JPY is trading at JPY 83.49.
Australian Dollar held gains against greenback and its New Zealand peer advanced on Friday as rally in global equity markets boosted demand for riskier assets. Australian currency traded at USD 1.0528 and New Zealand Dollar gained 0.2% against US Dollar to USD 0.8205. Currently AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0535 and NZD/USD is trading at USD 0.8207.
Crude oil futures posted gains during the Asian session on Friday amid weaker US Dollar. The US Dollar index that measures its performance against set of six main currencies declined by 0.05%. Light, sweet crude oil futures for delivery in April traded at 105.59 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining 0.46%.
Brazil's central bank announced it will stick to current borrowing rate, close to 18-months record low as policy makers expects country inflation to slow around 4.5% in 2012. Decelerating global economy indicates inflation will keep fading in Brazil, said central bank's officials. Therefore it is likely Brazil will keep its interest rates near record lows at 9.75%.
The number of applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to four-year low while consumer confidence climbed to highest level since 2008 stimulating expectations recovering labour market may encourage household spending. Jobless claims decreased by 14 000 to 351 000 through week ended March 10 said Labor Department on Thursday. Consumer confidence index surged from minus 36.7 to minus 33.7.
Agricultural commodities were mixed on Wednesday with growing sugar and wheat futures and falling corn and coffee. Rural commodes were pressured by the higher US Dollar and bleaker outlook on China's economy. Moreover, favorable weather conditions in the US also pushed the commodity group lower. Corn futures lost 0.67% on Wednesday as traders cashed out form the market due to