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
FTSE 100 Index fluctuated between gains and losses on Thursday amid Xstrata merger rumors and Unilever's plunge. Xstrata jumped 10% and Glencore rallied 6% on news about possible merge between both commodity firms. The gains were offset by Unilever PLC which posted small increase in its profit and gave cautious forecasts for 2012. AstraZeneca PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed on Thursday along with other Asian share indices as investor sentiment was lifted by positive manufacturing statistics from US and Europe. Nikkei 225 surged 0.76% or 67.03 points and finished at 8,876.82 Car makers supported the index with Honda Motors jumping 3.3% after unexpectedly reporting gains in US market. Nomura Holdings jumped 7.1% after publishing
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied on Thursday fuelled by financial and commodity shares amid improvement in global manufacturing data. Hang Seng Index added 2% or 406.08 points and settled at 20,739.45. Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. jumped 3.8%, oil giant Cnooc Ltd. surged 4.1%, while HSBC Holdings PLC gained 3.2%. Clothing retailer Esprit Holdings partly recovered from yesterday's drop
17 nation currency slipped against US Dollar on Thursday as Greeks kept struggling over debt swap agreement and Spanish borrowing costs surged after nation's bond auction. Euro lost 0.5% against Japanese currency to JPY 99.80 and edged down 0.4% against US Dollar to USD 1.3108. Currently EUR/JPY is trading at JPY 99.76 and EUR/USD is trading at USD 1.3106.
Asian share markets gained on Thursday, supported by European and US manufacturing data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Composite Index each added 2.0%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index surged 1%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.8%, while South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.3%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index surged on the first February trading session, lifted by worldwide optimism about manufacturing and US employment market. The blue chip index advanced 0.66% or 83.55 points and finished at 12,716.46, supported by industrial and financial shares. Bank of America lead the gains, climbing 3.2%, followed by Hewlett Packard, adding 2.8%. On the downside McDonalds posted
S&P 500 Index rose on Wednesday, supported by expansion in US, Chinese and European manufacturing amid progress in Greek debt talks. The index added 0.89% or 11.68 points and closed at 1,324.09 with all 10 sectors posting gains. Whirlpool jumped 13.5% after reporting better than predicted quarterly profit and claiming it expects shipments to North America increase by 3% this
Building approvals in Australia tumbled in December, reported the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The building approvals declined by 1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December while experts predicted a 2.1% rise. Considering yearly changes, the building approvals shrank by 24.4% in December.
Chinese copper imports are expected to fall in the next months amid buildup of copper's inventories and lack of arbitrage opportunities. Bloomberg survey indicated that copper inventories at the Shanghai warehouses increased by 300,000 tons over the last month. Currently, LME copper traded at USD 8,5000 per ton, reflecting almost 15% fall from its record high of USD 10,000 per
China's crude oil imports are expected to face the six year high slowdown in growth, reported China National Petroleum Corp. Over 2011, oil imports expanded by 6% as compared to a 17.5% increase in the preceding year. However, natural gas imports are likely to grow by 45%, approaching 45 billion cubic meters as gas demand may account for 5% of
Swiss reported the record high trade balance last year. The trade balance posted a surplus of CHF 23.8 billion in 2011, reflecting 22% increase since 2010. Strong chemical products' trade last year contributed to the increase, said Federal Customs Administration. Over the year, exports increased by 2.1% as compared to a 7.2% jump in 2010 while imports declined by 0.1%
China plans to increase the minimum rice purchase price this year to stimulate farmers to increase grain output. The minimum Indica rice purchase price will be raised to USD 16.01 per 50 kg, reported the National Development and Reform Commission. At the same time, the Japonica rice purchase price will be raised to USD 22.18 per 50 kg.
US equities markets surged on Wednesday, lifted by improvements in world wide manufacturing data. S&P 500 Index gained 0.89% or 11.68 points and closed at 1,324.09. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index added 0.66% or 83.55 points and finished at 12,716.46 while Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.22% or 34.43 points to 2,848.27.
China's manufacturing activity grew last month, with the PMI expanding to 50.5 as compared to 50.3 in the preceding month. The figure was above the expectations of 48, reported the National Bureau of Statistics. The increase signalled more stability in the economic development in the country and may stimulate further policy easing. The major contributors to the expansion in the PMI were
Gold futures advanced during the Asian session on Thursday as strong manufacturing data from the US, EU and China returned investors' confidence in the global economic recovery. COMEX gold futures for delivery in April traded at USD 1,757.11 per troy ounce during the electronic trade, on the New Mercantile Exchange, soaring by 0.15%.
The US manufacturing activity expanded less than initially expected in January, with the PMI growing by 1 point to 54.1 in January as compared to 53.5 in the preceding month, reported the Institute for Supply Management. Experts predicted the PMI to gain 1.4 points to 54.5 last month. However, the New Orders Index added 2.8 points achieving 57.6, posting gains
Australia faced a surplus in the trade balance of goods and services in December. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the surplus widened in December by USD 366 million from November, attaining USD 1,709 million. Meanwhile, goods and services credits increased by 2% to USD 27,792 million last month.
Deutsche Bank AG, German biggest lender posted a 76% drop in 4th quarter profit as European debt turmoil harmed trading. Net revenue declined to EUR 147 million compared to EUR 601 million in previous year. Analysts predicted the net income to be at EUR 556 million. Deutsche Bank had a EUR 422 million pretax loss.
Crude oil contracts edged down during the Asian session on Thursday, following the report on the essential increase in the US oil inventories over the last week. However, inspiring PMI data from all over the world limited the losses. Light, sweet crude oil March contract traded at USD 97.54 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, easing down 0.07%.
China's authorities plan to enhance subsidies and investment in the agricultural sector to stabilize production of grain. The country will expand fiscal budget to direct more fixed-asset investments to the agricultural technology and science. Moreover, China will provide more subsidies for farming cooperatives involved in grain production.
The Euro Zone's CPI eased in compliance with expectations on January, reported Eurostat. The CPI hit 2.7% on January on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to 2.8% in the preceding month. However, the rate still remained above the ECB target of 2%. After the data release, the Euro stayed higher against the US Dollar and the pair EUR/USD added