According to the Commerce Department's report, the number of order to U.S. factories unexpectedly fell in June, signalizing that demand for business equipment in the world's biggest economy contracted. After adding 0.5 per cent in May, the bookings tumbled by 0.5 per cent; while demand for durable goods increased by 1.3 per cent. At the same time, factory inventories rose by 0.1 per cent, while
On Thursday, August 2, European stock turned lower as Mario Draghi's comments failed to meet markets expectation. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index tumbled 0.8 per cent to 260.45 during today's London trading session. At the same time, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index declined by 0.6 per cent, Germany's DAX Index erased 1.4 per cent and France's CAC 40 Index fell by 1.6 per cent.
The U.S. Dollar turned higher versus the shared currency as Mario Draghi announced no new decisive action to support his last week's pledge to do whatever it takes to save the Euro. The ICE Dollar index jumped 0.10 per cent to 83.233 from 82.545 just before the press conference. Meanwhile, the Euro erased 0.22 per cent to $1.2201.
German shares rose in early European session amid hopes for easing from the ECB. However, the ECB decision to refrain from easing measures at the moment dragged German blue chips index sharply lower. German DAX Index has already lost 1.82% to trade at 6,638.30 at the time of writing. All industries in the index sank. Utilities and basic materials posted
UK stocks started the day on the positive note as the BoE announced that it will maintain its bond-purchasing program. Moreover, positive construction PMI data both bolstered UK equities. However, after the ECB stated that fresh measures to preserve the Euro will be considered only in the coming weeks, UK stock index moved sharply lower. FTSE 100 Index tumbled 0.61%
On Wednesday, August 1, European stocks edged higher amid speculations about decisive actions from central banks to support the economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index soared 0.5 per cent to 262.57. At the same time, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose by 1.4 per cent, while Germany's DAX, on the contrary, erased 0.3 per cent. Next Plc added 6.5 per cent, Arkema SA jumped 5.7
Chinese equities plunged on Thursday ahead of the ECB monetary policy decision. Hang Seng Index declined by 0.6% to close at 19,690.20. Only one sector in the index, utilities, managed to climb 0.16%. Hong Kong & China Gas and Power Assets rose 0.67% and 0.9%. At the same time, consumer services and telecommunications industries were the weakest. Sands China, China
Farm commodities, excluding coffee, dropped on Wednesday on broadly stronger US Dollar and lack of easing measures from the Fed. Long-awaited rains in US also pushed rural commodities lower. Wheat was the top-loser, falling to one-week low amid signs that US spring crop yields may rise after rains. However, reports that Russia's output is likely to fall by more than 16%
Japanese stocks erased some of the previous losses on Thursday as hopes for decisive action from the ECB bolstered Asian equities. Moreover, shares that tumbled on Wednesday on disappointing quarterly results managed to recover on Thursday. Nikkei 225 Index added 0.13% to trade at 8,653.18.Utilities and technology sectors provided strong support for Japanese stock index. Tokyo Electric Power and Osaka
Energy commodities apart from natural gas moved higher on Wednesday as market participants hoped for easing from the Eurozone. However, gains of the commodity pack were partly capped by weak PMI data and lack of monetary stimulus from the Fed. Crude oil went up after the EIA reported that US crude oil inventories declined much more than expected last week. Brent
Dow Jones Industrial Index inched down 0.29% to end Wednesday's session at 12,971.06. Investors were disappointed by the Fed decision not to embark on additional easing measures. Adding pressure on the US blue chips, ISM manufacturing PMI rose much less than expected in July. However, positive non-farm employment data restricted the downswing. Only three sectors from nine included in the
Base metals plunged on Wednesday amid weak manufacturing data releases across the globe. US manufacturing sector activity declined to 49.8 while experts predicted the PMI to approach 50.3. Meanwhile, euro-area PMI contracted to three-year low of 44 last month. Aluminum dropped on bleak PMI data from the EU and US. Additionally, high China's aluminum output weakened the light metal further. Copper tumbled
US equities edged down on Wednesday on disappointing Fed monetary policy statement. The Fed decided to stick to the current policy but pledged to hold record low interest rates till 2014. Meanwhile, mixed corporate reports also weighed on the US stocks. S&P 500 lost 0.3% to close at 1,375.32. Oil and gas industry posted the strongest gains. Exxon Mobile and
Precious metals tumbled on Wednesday as Fed meeting resulted in absence of significant changes in the current monetary policy. Moreover, strengthening US Dollar and weaker global equities weighted down on the commodity group. Gold attained one-week low after upbeat ADP non-farm employment data. However, news that the US manufacturing sector continued to contract in July provided slight support for the yellow
On Thursday, Spain sold 3.1 billion Euro of debt, but low expectations of ECB's decisive action pressured the country to pay bigger yields compared to a month ago on its 10-year notes. Demand dropped, with bid-to-cover ratio at 2.4 from 3.2 in previous month. A bond maturing July 30, 2014 sold 1.1 billion Euro at 4.774% yield. A bond due
The Markit construction PMI advanced to 50.9 in July from 48.2 in June, exceeding expectations of further drop to 48.0. New orders showed the second-biggest fall since January 2010, but the decline was smaller than in June, and the drop didn't prevent confidence about the next year climbing to at three-month high.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2% and the Euro climbed before ECB reports policy announcements after the U.S. Federal Reserve promised additional allowances for the U.S. economy. The Euro gained 0.2% to $1.2246. Copper climbed 0.4% and corn increased first time in 3 days.
German 10-year yields close to a three-week high on Mario Monti's yesterday talk about the region's bailout fund, which will get access to ECB money via a bank license. The 10-year note yield was at 1.37%, after climbing to 1.43% on July 30. Germany's 2-year bond yield rose one basis point to -0.062, meaning current bondholders will gain less than
Japan stocks advanced amid Federal Reserve's promise to provide extra support for the U.S. economy. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.5%to 8,6880.2 after the Yen slipped from the strongest in two month versus the Dollar. More explicit Topix Index advanced 0.8% to 735.45, having three stocks rising for each two that dropped.
Spain's registered unemployment decreased in July amid the seasonal boost in tourism sector, the major contributor to the economy. The number of citizens applying for jobless benefits dropped by 27,814 from June to 4.59 million, as reported by the Labor Ministry On Thursday. Last years decline was 42,059 big.
The U.S. Dollar climbed to a week-high versus the Euro after the Fed signaled more steps to support the economy. The Greenback rose 0.7% to $1.2225 per Euro, after touching $1.2218, the highest since June 26. The U.S. Dollar advanced 0.4% to 78.44 Yen, after earlier drop to 77.91, the weakest from June 1.
Canada's currency dropped versus the U.S. Dollar as Federal Reserve's promise to give additional allowance for the economy showed a sign of continuing monetary slowdown. The Loonie tumbled 0.3% to C$1.0055 per U.S. Dollar, one Canadian Dollar purchases 99.45 U.S. cents. The S&P 500 Index turned to a 0.3% drop after gaining 0.4%.
The Fed will adopt fresh stimulus as needed in order to spur economic recovery and reduce jobless rate, which has been stuck over 8% for more than 3 years. Stocks declined on disappointment Ben Bernanke rejected undertaking action even as employment grows at a slow pace, consumer spending weakens, and manufacturing cools.
The Japanese Yen fell against its major peers as the IMF stated that it is "moderately overvalued". The Yen lost 0.2% versus the common currency, falling to 96.05 per Euro. The Japan's currency was little changed at 78.73 per US Dollar. Finance Minister Jun Azumi will not rule out any possibilities to struggle with the Yen's appreciation.