Japan's Nikkei Stock Average index retreated from previous gains and declined on Friday as investors anticipated disappointing earnings reports. Nikkei 225 index lost 0.42% or 37.22 points and settled at 8,831.93. Yamaha tumbled 7% on weak earnings and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. gave up 2.2% after predicting fiscal year loss. On the upside Sony Corp. recovered from earlier reporting quarterly
After opening lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index managed to offset losses and finished higher on Friday, gaining 0.09% or 17.53 points and closed at 20,756.98, led by property and mining shares. Telecommunications company Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. climbed 3.3% after announcing its unit in Europe will buy Orange Austria. Agile Property Holdings Ltd. added 1.8%, while China Resources Land Ltd.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index slightly declined on Thursday as investors awaited for hiring data on the next trading session. Blue chip index slipped 0.09% or 11.05 points and closed at 12,705.41, weighted down by technology and health care shares. Pfizer declined 0.8% after recalling birth control pills. Walt Disney gave up 1% while Hewlett Packard and IBM dropped 0.9%
S&P 500 index modestly climbed on Thursday as the number for jobless claims fell to a record low since June 2008. US benchmark index gained 0.11% or 1.45 points and finished at 1,325.54. Retailer Gap advanced 10.7% after reporting a 6% increase in revenue at its Banana Republic stores. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. plunged 13.8% after the company said that
Portuguese government approved selling 40% of its share in REN Redes Energeticas SA (RENE) to State Grid International of China and Oman Oil Co. to fulfil the requirements of bailout agreement. State Grid will purchase a 25% stake while Oman Oil prepares to buy a 15% stake. The deal is valued at EUR 592 million.
Consumer electronics manufacturer Panasonic Corp. posted its all time record high losses due to the floods in Thailand amid appreciating Yen and global economy slowdown. Panasonic Corp. reported a loss valued at JPY 780 billion or USD 10 billion. In October the company predicted loss of JPY 420 billion.
US stocks experienced rather choppy session as investors awaited upcoming session's employment statistics and health care sector posted disappointing 4th reports. S&P 500 index gained 0.11% or 1.45 points and finished at 1,325.54, Dow Jones Industrial Average index slipped 0.09% or 11.05 points and closed at 12,705.41. Nasdaq Composite added 0.4% or 11.41 points and finished at 2,859.68.
European shares surged on Thursday, supported by US macroeconomic statistics and merger talks between Glencore International and Xstrata Plc. Stoxx 600 index finished 0.2% higher, FTSE 100 climbed 0.1% and French CAC 40 index gained 0.3%. German DAX jumped 0.6% but Greek Athens general index fell 0.5% to 792.44.
Japanese FM Jun Azumi distributed a warning that additional monetary intervention is likely to be necessary as Fed's decision about freezing its low interest rates stimulated speculative Japanese Yen purchasing followed by sharp appreciation in domestic currency. US Dollar is fluctuating close to post World War II record low of JPY 75.31. Stronger Yen harms Japan's exporters.
Russia is expected to stick to its current benchmark interest rate after unexpected cut in December which, stimulated consumer demand and created conditions for accelerating inflation. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict the Russian central bank will keep its refinancing rate at 8% while overnight repurchase rate may stay at 5.25% and overnight deposit rate is likely to be untouched at
Swiss National Bank's (SNB) interim executive Thomas Jordan has to deal with appreciating Swiss national currency which is perceived as safe asset amid Greek debt uncertainty. The Franc has been climbing against Euro as Greek debt swap talks endured. It touched CHF 1.2032 against Euro on February 1, the highest reading since September 19. Currently EUR/CHF is trading at CHF 1.2055.
New Zealand and Australian Dollar depreciated on Friday as Greek debt concerns renewed, curbing demand for riskier assets. Australian currency lost 0.2% to USD 1.0691 and declined to JPY 81.47. Meanwhile New Zealand Dollar also weakened 0.2% against greenback, reaching USD 0.8315 and gave up 0.3% against Japanese currency to JPY 63.36. Currently AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0696 while NZD/USD
The services activities soared in January after three month fall, reported the Australian Industry Group. Australian PSI advanced by 0.29 points to 51.6 in January on a seasonally adjusted basis. The strongest growth was registered in cafes and restaurants, finance and insurance, accommodation and recreational services.
Royal Dutch Shell announced it plans to invest more to boost production. The company reported it would invest 30 billion US Dollars into the new gas and oil projects in 2012 as compared to 24 billion US Dollars invested in 2011. The move came after the company announced the annual rise in net income by 50% to 28 billion US
China's miner, Zijin, announced it expects about 20% increase in profit for 2011 due to constantly growing gold price. The company estimated its annual profits as 5.8 billion Yuan for 2011 as compared to 4.8 billion Yuan in the preceding year. Gold price jumped more than 30% in August before declining at the end of 2011.
Burma announced it owes about 11 billion US Dollars of foreign debt that is much more than previously estimated. The foreign minister of the country reported that Burma has started negotiations with several institutions and countries. Burma owes about 6.4 billion US Dollars to Japan, the rest of the loans are owed to Germany, the World Bank and the Asian
Natural gas futures soared after IEA report indicated much larger fall in the inventories than initially projected. The natural gas stockpiles fell by 132 billion cubic feet last week after declining by 192 billion cubic feet in the preceding week. Natural gas March contract traded at USD 2.553 per million British thermal units at the late US trade on Thursday,
The economy of the UK is expected to fall into crisis in the first half of 2012 as households continued to reduce spending, said a person familiar with the matter. The government has to ease its prudent policies to boost growth, claims Niesr. The UK economy is likely to contract by 0.1% this year but expend by 2.3% in the
The employment in US probably expanded in January as nation's firms are gaining confidence in US recovery despite European debt troubles. Analysts questioned by Bloomberg predict the payrolls to climb by 140 000 compared to 200 000 increase in December. Hiring rate and wage increase are needed to provide consumer spending which make up 70% of total economy.
Rural commodities showed mixed performance on Wednesday, with grain commodities continuing to grow and coffee and corn continuing to fall. Wheat was the top gainer over the day, advancing 11.24%. Wheat was supported by the growing speculation that Russia plans to cut its exports. Moreover, unfavorable weather conditions in Ukraine that may curb crop pushed the wheat price higher. Meanwhile,
Energy commodities, excluding Brent oil, tumbled on Wednesday after the EIA report indicated higher than expected oil stockpiles in the US. However, strong PMI data releases from the US, the EU and China limited the losses. Crude oil may gain support on the fresh developments over Iranian nuclear programme as the US officials consider imposing striker sanctions against Iran's oil
Base metals rallied on Wednesday amid strong manufacturing data from the US, the EU and China. Industry metals also found additional support on the weaker Euro. However, stockpiling of aluminum at the LME warehouses limited the gains for the metal. Copper and nickel may gather momentum on the expected supply disruptions as workers of BHP Billion may continue the strike
Precious metals advanced on Wednesday amid broadly weaker US Dollar on the positive economic data from the Euro Zone. Gold jumped by 0.33, approaching two-month high of USD 1743.53 per troy ounce. The yellow metals also continued to draw support from the Fed's decision to keep low interest rates until mid-2014. Other precious metals followed the gold's suit and rallied
German DAX 30 index slightly appreciated on Thursday, lifted by Deutsche Boerse as European Union prohibited its planned USD10bn merger with NYSE Euronext, claiming the deal would violate fair rivalry principles as other exchange operators would not be able to compete. Deutsche Boerse jumped 3.7% on the announcement. On the downside Deutsche Bank plunged 2% after lender reported 76% drop