Industrial metals were mixed on Wednesday amid soft greenback and upbeat US numbers. US core durable goods orders jumped 1.9% in January, while pending home sales surged 4.5% last month, compared to a forecast of a 1.5% gain. At the same time, rising global supply glut weighed on base metals. Aluminum dived amid elevated LME stockpiles. Inventories at the LME remained
Precious metals plunged on Wednesday amid profit taking after Tuesday's rally. On Tuesday, precious metals were lifted by dovish comments of the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Meanwhile, broadly weaker US Dollar despite positive US data limited losses of the commodity complex in Wednesday's session. Gold dropped on signs of weakening investment demand. Holdings in ETPs backed by the yellow metal declined
The Wall Street was green on Wednesday, as better-than-forecast data on U.S. housing bolstered bullish sentiment in stocks and European stocks edged higher, as Italian bond auction reached its maximum target. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1.3%, or 175.24 points, to 14,077.85, its highest in five years. All ten groups inched up. JPMorgan Chase & Co led gains in
U.S. stocks extended their gains for a second straight day on Wednesday after Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of Federal Reserve, assured his strong support for growth-boosting activities and U.S. housing and durables goods data added to positive sentiment. The S&P 500 Index advanced 1.4%, or 20.92 points, to 1,517.86. All sectors in the gauge rallied at least 0.8%. Dollar Tree
According to the National Association of Realtors, U.S pending home sales surged 4.5% to 105.9 in January from recorded 101.2 in December, and 9.5% from January 2012 when it dropped to 96.7. Sales were low due to insufficient supply of available homes. As the trend is expected to progress in the forthcoming months, economist's expected a gain of 1.9%."Favorable affordability
Most U.K. blue chips rose on Wednesday after the Italian debt sales achieved the maximum target and U.S. durable goods data topped the analysts' estimates. The FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.4%, or 23.33 points, at 16:52 p.m. in London. All but one sector edged higher. Weir Group Plc. was the top performer, as it climbed 6% to pace gains in
Demand for U.S hard goods that exclude transportation gear increased by 1.9% in January, the most within a year, pointing out that business investment is gaining momentum. Total orders plummeted 5.2%, well ahead of expectations, demonstrating the biggest drop of defense bookings per decade. Standard & Poor`s 500 Index rose 0.1% to 1,493.5 at 8:56 a.m. in New York. "We
The Hong Kong market was green on Wednesday, rebounding from its two-month low on the previous day, as AIA Group shares rallied, offsetting the declining stocks of Esprit Holdings. In addition, Hong Kong's economic growth picked up in the three months starting from December compared to the last year, indicating that the nation's economy is starting recover. The Hang Seng
Japanese equities dropped, heading the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to post the biggest two-day decline since November 2011, as the Yen appreciated prior to Italy's bond sale after unconvincing elections fueled concerns over a new debt turmoil in Europe. The Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.3% to 11,253.97. All groups in the index inched lower. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings slumped 4.5%
The Euro advanced for the first time this week versus the U.S. Dollar on Italy started to sale bonds and on news consumer confidence in the Eurozone grew from 89.5 to 91.1 in January. The Euro appreciated 0.2% against the U.S. Dollar to $1.3087, following decline to $1.3018 yesterday, the weakest level since January 7. The Euro depreciated 0.1% versus
Gold dropped in London for the first time in 5 sessions on increasing confidence that the world economy is recovering declined demand for gold as alternative saving. Immediate delivery gold depreciated 0.3% to $1,609.77 an ounce after gaining yesterday 4.2% from $1,555.55, the lowest in 7 months, set on February 21, to $1,620.37, the highest in one week. The contract
The Pound depreciated versus the Euro as the U.K. data showed the country's economic growth slowed down in the last quarter of 2012. According to the report, the U.K. economy contracted 0.3% during the last quarter, after growing 0.9% in the previous quarter. Sterling dropped 0.3% against the Euro to 86.62 pence per Euro, following decline to 88.15 pence per
Farm commodities apart from sugar moved higher on Tuesday amid broadly weaker US Dollar and speculation that lower prices will attract more demand from importers. However, eased concerns over strikes in Brazil limited gains. Brazilian government agreed to meet unions to discuss unpopular port privatization plan. Wheat bounced off an eight-week low on talks that a recent decline in prices may
Energy futures ended Tuesday's session in red after the American Petroleum Institute reported an increase in the US inventories. Moreover, easing supply concerns added pressure on the commodity complex. Iran is preparing its offer to a proposal by US and other countries to remove some sanctions. Crude oil dropped after the American Petroleum Institute said US stockpiles advanced 904,000 barrels last
Industrial metals were mixed on Tuesday amid upbeat US numbers and dovish comments by Ben Bernanke. New home sales soared to the highest level since July 2008 in January, while consumer confidence rose more-than-expected this month. Adding to gains, Ben Bernanke's comments alleviated worries that the Fed may withdraw its bond-buying program. Aluminum remained in the negative territory amid global surplus
Asian shares excluding Japan rose as U.S. consumer confidence and housing data overshot expectations. Japan's stocks declined as the Yen gained before Italy's bond sale. The MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index added 0.6% to 476.05, while the broader MSCI Asia Pacific Index falling 0.3% to 133.10. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 1.3%, whereas Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped
The Chinese Yuan strengthened for a fourth straight day as the Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the bank's highly accommodative monetary policy that increases supply of U.S. Dollars, boosting demand for emerging-market assets. The currency rose 0.04% to 6.2272 per greenback at 9:56 a.m. in Shanghai. It fetched 6.2269 earlier, the highest level since February 8.
The Korean Won rose for the first time this week as the nation's current-account surplus expanded to $2.25 billion in January from $2.14 billion a month earlier and consumer confidence reached the highest level since May 2012. The Won gained 0.1% to 1,086.45 versus the U.S. Dollar at 10:24 a.m. in Seoul. One-month implied volatility fell 0.07 percentage point to
The Australian Dollar stayed lower amid concern Italy's election deadlock will worsen the Eurozone's debt crisis, sapping investors' appetite for higher-yielding assets. The Aussie fell 0.1% to $1.0216 as of 4:15 p.m. in Sydney from a day earlier, when it traded at $1.0201, the weakest level since October 10. The currency slid 0.4% to 93.71 yen.
U.S. blue chips edged higher on Tuesday after reports showed the housing and consumer confidence grew more-than-expected. New home purchases in January rallied to their highest since July 2008, boosted by stronger consumer confidence in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%, or 115.96 points, to 13,900.13. All nine groups in the index edged higher. Home Depot led gains
Wall Street was green on Tuesday, rebounding from the lowest levels since November 2012, as housing and consumer confidence data topped the estimates. The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.6% to close at 1,496.94. All sectors edged higher. PulteGroup Inc. posted biggest gains in the index, as its shares were 5.72% up at $19.05 by its close, adding to the 0.5%
Hong Kong shares dropped, erasing their earlier gains in 2013 on speculation China might reduce their monetary stimulus activity and impose more measures to cease property prices. In addition, the investors are rather cautious with risky assets due to political instability in Italy. The Hang Seng Index retreated 1.3% to close at 22,519.69, the lowest level since December 2012. Only
Japanese blue chips were bearish on Tuesday, dragging down the Nikkei 225 Index from its more than four and a half year low, as concerns hovered over the Europe's debt crisis due to on-going Italian parliamentary election. The Nikkei 225 slid 2.3% to 11,398.81, pairing the biggest decline since 2008. All but one sector in the index slumped. Toyo Seikan
Significant China's economic growth and boosting demand for commodities, push prices higher, especially copper. This December China needed 4.2 million kilometers of cooper cables, what is enough to circle the globe 100 times. The metal price has surged by 4.4% in 2012 and outperformed the world's equity index, which increased by 3.2%, and main commodities, which gained by 1.3%.