German shares slid on Wednesday on rising uncertainty over fresh austerity measures in Spain. On Tuesday, thousands of protestors opposed government spending cuts and tax hikes stipulated in the next year budget. Adding to the losses of the German blue chips index, Asian stock indexed finished Wednesday's session in red territory. The DAX Index lost 1.92% to trade at 7,284.08.
UK stocks plunged on Wednesday amid mounting concerns over instability in Spain. Spanish 10-yer bond yields jumped above 6% after thousands of protestors gathered in Madrid to oppose fresh austerity measures. Pessimistic comments from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President, Charles Plosser also send the UK equities lower. Charles Plosser said on Tuesday that QE3 may fail to boost
Hong Kong equities fell on Wednesday as market participants booked profits ahead of the end of Q3. Weak Asian and US stocks and persistent worries over Eurozone added pressure on the China's blue chips. Sending the Hong Kong shares lower, the POBC stopped speculation over further easing measures, reiterating that it will stick to the prudent monetary policy. The Hang
Japanese shares plunged on Wednesday as the majority of stocks were traded ex-dividend. Depressing the Japan's stocks further, global growth concerns escalated on protests in Spain over fresh austerity measures and disappointing comments from the Fed official. Moreover, analysts expect the BoJ Tankan report to indicate that business confidence deteriorated for the fourth quarter in a row in Q3. The
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index tumbled 0.75% to close at 13,457.55 on Tuesday. The US blue chips came under heavy pressure after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President, Charles Plosser, dented risk-sentiment, stating that the QE3 will fail to boost faltering economy and may impact credibility of the US central bank. Capping the downward move of the US
US stocks dropped despite upbeat national data. US home prices rose more-than-expected in July while consumer confidence surged to seven-month high in September. Pushing the US stocks lower, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President, Charles Plosser, warned that QE3 may prove to be insufficient in boosting growth in the country and may undermine credibility of the Fed. The S&P
New home sales in the U.S. dropped surprisingly last month, but remained near two-year high, while prices soared to the highest level since 2007, a report by the Census Bureau showed Wednesday. Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. fell to 373,000 last month, down from 374,000 in July. The average sales prices rocketed 11.2% to $256,900, posting the single biggest monthly increase ever
Germany failed to raise 5 billion euros of debt in an auction on Wednesday, as investors were reluctant to buy bonds at a record-low yield of 1.5%. Germany sold just €3.951 billion directly to investors, pushing yields on 10-year bonds up to 1.52% from 1.42%. Demand was weak, with bids exceeding supply only 0.79 times, compared to 1.57 at the last auction.
British retail sales rose slightly in September, a sign consumers are showing more willingness to buy, the Confederation of British Industry reported on Wednesday. CBI realized trades rose to 6 in this month, up from -3 in the previous month. A reading above 0 indicates higher sales volume, while any reading below signals lower volume of sales.
On Wednesday, Mariano Rajoy, Spanish Prime Minister, announced that he was ready for bailout package, but only in case his country witnesses too high borrowing costs for too long. Previously, Rajoy had said that a decrease of yields, caused by ECB's bond-buying plan announcement, may possibly allow not to seek for further support.
Sweden's merchandise trade surplus declined from last year in August, Statistics Sweden reported preliminary data on Wednesday. The trade surplus tumbled to SEK3.3 billion from SEK5.2 billion in August 2011, exceeding economists' estimates of a SEK3 billion reading. Exports of goods fell 5% on year to SEK93 billion, while imports slid 3% to SEK89.7 billion.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Dollar declined versus the Japanese Yen during European trading hours. USD/JPY was traded at 77.72 at 7.:34 a.m. London time, which was a 0.10% decline for the session. The pair's support was likely to be found at 77.66, a Tuesday's low, while the resistance was prone to be at 78.37, a Friday's high.
Bloomberg News survey estimates that the Japanese business confidence will decline to minus 4 in a report on October 1 by the Bank of Japan. This pessimistic prediction is based on China's slowdown and European crisis, which pulled Japanese exports down, making the central bank to announce quantitative easing this month.
Swedish economic confidence tumbled more than estimated in September, National Institute of Economic Research said on Wednesday. The index dropped to 95.8, compared to 96.9 in August and below economists forecast of 96.5. Consumer sentiment slipped to 2, compared to 5.4 in the preceding month, while economists estimated a reading of 5.
Four biggest Australian banks split in their predictions about whether the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates in October, which are the highest in major developed nations. Westpac Banking Corp. and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group expect that the rates will be cut by quarter, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank predict that they will remain at 3.5%
On Wednesday, the British Pound depreciated versus the U.S. Dollar in the European trading session. GBP/USD was traded at 1.6167 at 6:50 a.m. London time, which was a 0.13% decline for the session. The pair's support was likely to be found at 1.6150, a day low, while resistance was prone to be a 1.6310, a Friday's high.
French consumer sentiment weakened modestly to 85 in September, compared to 86 in the preceding month, the Insee reported on Wednesday. Analysts expected the index to stagnate. Overall past economic situation was at -77 on year from -73 in August, while future economic situation tumbled to -56, compared to -51.
On Wednesday, treasuries were higher for the seventh consecutive day, which was the longest rally since December 2008, amid speculations that quantitative easing will take time to boost the economy and inflation will be kept under control. Yields on benchmark 10-year notes were little changed from the yesterday's 1.67% at 6:46 a.m. London time.
On Wednesday, prices for gold declined in Asian trading hours amid disappointing housing data from the U.S. On the NYMEX, December delivery futures for gold were traded at $1,764.65 per troy once, which was 0.10% decrease for the session. Earlier, prices for gold contracts hit a session high of $1,764.95 and a session low of $1,761.55 a troy once.
On Wednesday, futures for crude were declining in Asian trading hours, as profit takers were selling the commodity, sending prices down. On the NYMEX, November delivery futures for light sweet crude were traded at $90.94 per barrel, which was a 0.47% decline for the trading session. Earlier, prices hit a session high of $90.97.
Rural commodities were mixed on Tuesday, with sugar and coffee climbing and grains retreating. Broadly stronger US Dollar and Eurozone's woes continued to weight on potential demand for agricultural commodities. Wheat slumped the most in a week on speculation that Russia, the world's third largest exporter, will not impose export restrictions despite lower crops after drought. Corn closed lower on
The Aussie dropped and government bonds gained as European leaders' disgreements over resolving the debt-crisis cut demand for riskier assets. The Aussie slid 0.4% to $1.0352, after touching $1.0345, the least since Sept. 11. It lost 0.5% to 80.47 Yen, after reaching 80.41 Yen, the weakest since Sept. 6. The 10-year note yield traded at 3.05%, the least since Sept.
Energy commodities except for crude oil climbed on Tuesday amid positive economic releases from the US and encouraging POBC comments. On Tuesday, the POBC injected about USD46 billion into economy through repos and announced that further fine-tuning is possible. However, comments of Fed official that the Fed policies may prove to be inefficient in boosting US economy restricted gains of
Industrial metals rallied on Tuesday amid positive headlines from the US. Supporting the metals, the POBC stated that it will adjust its monetary policy to stimulate slowing economy. Limiting the upswing, Charles Plosser, Fed member, warned that current measures of the Fed may not stimulate US growth and may even jeopardize the bank's credibility. Aluminum added 1.2% on encouraging comments from