Farm commodities except for sugar jumped in holiday-thinned Monday's session despite weak risk-appetite among traders amid US fiscal concerns. Short-covering as well as drier-than-normal weather in Brazil created an upward trend for rural commodities. Wheat climbed on speculation that rains and snow in the US Great Plains will not be sufficient to boost crops that are struggling with drought. However,
Energy futures moved lower in pre-Christmas Monday trade amid growing likelihood that US lawmakers will not manage to agree on the next year's budget until January 1. Meanwhile, lower trading activity and lack of fundamentals may result in elevated volatility in the next sessions. The EIA weekly inventory report will be released on Friday instead of Wednesday due to Christmas
Industrial metals tumbled in short Monday's session as market participants shunned riskier assets amid growing uncertainty over US fiscal agreement. Strong US Dollar as well as weak global equities also added pressure on the base metals pack. However, recent positive US data restricted the downswing. Aluminum came under heavy pressure following elevated LME stockpiles. LME inventories surged to a record
Precious metals were mixed in quiet pre-holiday Monday trade amid broadly stronger US Dollar. However, rising pessimism over the US budget deal to avert so-called fiscal cliff was supportive for the commodity group. Potential recession in the US is likely to increase demand for safe-haven assets, especially for precious metals. Meanwhile, lower-than-normal activity during holidays is expected to spur volatility
UK stocks are trading higher in thin Monday's session despite weak sentiment as US lawmakers have not agreed on budget yet. Adding pressure on the UK blue chips, national home prices tumbled for the sixth month in a row in December amid soft demand for loans. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.22% to trade at 5,951.70. All but one sector
Russian shares are trading in the red area on Monday as worries over the US fiscal standoff continued to weight on global stock markets. Additionally, weak crude oil prices created heavy pressure on energy stocks, key drivers of the Russian stock index. Micex Index dropped 0.09% to trade at 1,476.15. Only two in nine industries included in the index were
Hong Kong stocks traded mostly higher on Monday after state-owned media announced more fund allocations of China's social security fund, raising hopes for more investment flow in the banking sector. Moreover, recently China's government has removed limitations on investments made by insurance firms into Chinese banks. The move spurred rally in financial stocks. However, the upswing remained capped by mounting
South Korean shares ended Monday's session on the positive note despite lack of progress in the US fiscal talks weighting on riskier assets across the globe. However, upbeat US data and results of recent South Korean presidential elections capped losses of Korean equities. The Kospi 100 Index edged up 0.10% to finish at 1,988.39. However, only two in ten sectors
US blue chips were bearish on Friday as market players shunned risky assets amid lingering concerns that US lawmakers will not agree on next year's budget timely. At the same time, upbeat readings of core durable goods orders and personal spending for November restricted the downswing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index retreated 0.91% to end the session at 13,190.84.
Rural commodities apart from sugar surged on Friday despite soft demand for riskier assets amid US fiscal uncertainty. Short-covering and signals that farm commodities entered into oversold territory pushed the commodity group higher. However, weak US exports, upgrades of Brazilian crop estimates and firm US Dollar created notable pressure on rural commodities.Wheat inched higher despite year-end liquidation and preparations for
US stocks ended pre-holiday week in the red territory as risk sentiment was dampened by mounting concerns over the US fiscal impasse. Negative figures from the Eurozone also pushed US stocks lower. However, positive US data releases limited losses of US shares. The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.94% to close at 1,430.15. All sectors within the index tumbled. The top-losers
Energy futures were bearish on weak appetite for riskier assets amid fading hopes that US officials will agree on the budget before January 1. Solid greenback also pressurized the commodity group. However, recent positive US data readings as well as lower US inventories limited the downswing.Crude oil tumbled on worries over the US budget impasse. Solid US Dollar and uncertainty
Base metals except for nickel moved higher on Friday as a recent slump in prices provoked short-covering among market players. Positive US data releases also were supportive for industrial metals. However, persistent pressure from concerns over the next year's US budget continued to weight on the commodity group. Aluminum rebounded from previous lows despite elevated LME inventories. LME stocks climbed
Precious metals were mixed on Friday amid mounting uncertainty over the US fiscal standoff. Meanwhile, technical selling as well as stronger greenback created heavy pressure on the commodity group. Recent positive data releases from the US also sent precious metals lower.Gold climbed on short-covering after the yellow metal plunged to the lowest mark since August. However, solid greenback and signs
German equities dropped from a five-week high after US House Republicans cancelled vote on a tax hike for wealthy individuals, raising concerns that US lawmakers will not manage to agree on the next year's budget. Negative data from the UK and weakness of Asian equities also weighed on German shares. The DAX Index lost 0.53% to trade at 7,627.94 at
UK stocks are trading sharply lower on Friday after the UK GDP growth for Q3 for revised down from 1% to 0.9%. Moreover, the national deficit widened to GBP17.5 billion, excluding government's aid for banks, while experts predicted the deficit to reach GBP16 billion in Q3. Adding to the negative mood of the index, UK consumer confidence retreated from 18-month
Hong Kong equities ended the week in the red territory as lack of progress in the US budget talks weighted on the risk sentiment. However, strong gains of US counterparts capped losses of Hong Kong stocks. The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.68% to close at 22,506.29. Eight out of nine sectors plunged. The only gainer was utility industry, with Power
The Australian Dollar dropped to the lowest level in more than 2 weeks as U.S. lawmakers cancelled tax vote. The Aussie Dollar weakened 0.3% to $1.0453 from yesterday, after earlier fetching $1.0438, the weakest level since December 4. Australia's Dollar is set for a 1.1% weakly decline, the biggest since 5 trading days ended October 5.
Japanese shares tumbled on Friday amid fading hopes that US officials will manage to resolve a budget dispute timely. Moreover, investors were locking in gains before a three-day Christmas weekend. Depressing Japanese equities further, BoJ announced only modest easing on Thursday. However, sharp gains of the US equities as well as upbeat US data limited the downswing. The Nikkei 225
Dow climbed, being supported by upbeat US data. US economy grew faster than initially estimated in the last quarter. Moreover, manufacturing activity as well as real estate market showed positive signals. However, market participants remained cautious as US lawmakers seem to be running out of time to agree on the fiscal policy. The Dow Jones Industrials Average Index jumped 0.45%
US stocks rose on Thursday amid better-than-expected US figures. US GDP for the last quarter was revised up to 3.1% from 2.8%, while Philadelphia-region manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in eight months in December. US housing market also showed signs of recovery. However, persistent uncertainty over the US budget agreement continued to weight on the US equities. The
Oil fell the most in two weeks on increasing concern U.S. lawmakers might fail to avert looming ‘fiscal cliff', which threatens to drag the world's largest economy into recession. Crude for February settlement was at $88.93 a barrel, down $1.20, after climbing 15 cents to %90.13 a day earlier, the highest close since October 18. Brent for February delivery slid
The U.S. Dollar and the Japanese Yen advanced on demand for haven assets as U.S. delayed budget vote, increasing concern the ‘fiscal cliff' will drag the U.S. economy into recession. The Yen rose versus all the major counterparts, gaining 0.4% to 84.03 per greenback. The Dollar climbed 0.3% to $1.3208 per Euro, snapping a weakly loss to 0.4%.
Asian stocks declined after U.S. Republicans cancelled a planned tax vote. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6% to 128.39, reversing a 0.6% advance driven by positive data that added to signs the world's largest economy is recovering. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.7% and South Korea's Kospi Index slid 1%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2% and New Zealand's