US stock markets finished lower on Wednesday pushed down by disappointing US hiring data amid all time high unemployment rate in Euro Zone. S&P 500 index fell 0.25% or 3.51 points and closed at 1,402.31. Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.08% or 10.75 points and finished at 13,268.57. Nasdaq Composite, however managed to gain 0.31% or 9.41 points and settled at 3,059.85.
Average property prices in 100 largest China's cities decreased by 0.71% yer-to-year in April, indicating the first annual fall since June 2011. Considering monthly moves, auto sales tumbled by 0.34%, signaling the eighth decline in a row, reported the China Real Estate Index System. The data indicated further slowdown in China's property market amid continuous restrictive measures of the government.
New auto sales in Australia soared by 7.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, according to official data. Sales of cars approached 79,097 vehicles in April, reported the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Meanwhile, passenger cars sales dropped by 2.5% last month whereas sport utilities sales soared by 27.9%.
Crude oil futures increased slightly during Asian trading hours on Thursday after recent fall after dismal US labour and EU manufacturing data that pressured crude oil price. Lower crude oil price created bargain buying opportunities for traders. Light, sweet crude oil futures for June delivery traded at 105.27 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining 0.05%
Rio Tinto PLC expects the demand for its minerals and metals to remain strong in long-run while the demand for cooper is likely to surpass the world's supply in the next few years. However, coal production became more challenging in Australia as capital costs surged and investors demand more return on capital, Ton Abanese, the CEO of Rio Tinto said.
Average house prices in the UK declined by 0.2% last month, after falling by 0.1% in March. The property prices in the country have declined for the fourth consecutive month in April, signaling that recent stamp duty holiday appeared to create a short-lived stimulus for the real estate sector. The property prices are likely to continue falling taken fiscal problems
Dow Jones Industrial Average index slipped on Wednesday pushed by disappointing hiring data amid all time high unemployment rate in Euro Zone. Blue chip index shed 0.08% or 10.75 points and finished at 13,268.57. Financial stocks followed their European peers and contributed most to the decline for the Dow. Bank of America fell 1.8% and JP Morgan Chase dropped 1.4%.
S&P 500 index declined on Wednesday as jobs report showed US companies added less jobs than expected. US benchmark index fell 0.25% or 3.51 points and closed at 1,402.31. TripAdvisor rallied 17% after company reported profit for the 1st quarter and sales that beat analysts' predictions. Chesapeake fell 15%, a record drop since 2008. The firm lowered its yearly operating
Australian service sector contracted at the fastest pace in the last three years in April, being driven by essential slump in sales and new orders. The PSI in Australia tumbled by 7.4 points, attaining 39.6 in April. None of the sub-sectors faced expansion in April while the most severe decrease was posted by finance and insurance, healthcare and recreation sectors.
Gold slumped in the Asian morning trade on Thursday, adding to the previous losses in the US and European sessions. The yellow metal came under pressure because of weak fundamentals and even speculation about monetary easing in the EU failed to support the metal. COMEX gold June contract traded at 1,652.65 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York
Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary, said that China has to alter its polices tied to exports and focus on stimulating domestic consumption. Such change is vital for sustaining China's economic expansion. Currently, China is exploring the ways for new economic reforms as the country recognized the risks of overreliance on exports, Timothy Geithner added.
US crude oil stockpiles soared by 2.8 million barrels last week, reported the EIA. The inventories of crude oil approached 375.9 million barrels, being near the upper level of average range in this year period. At the same time, total gasoline inventories dropped by 2.0 million barrels, approaching the middle level of average range.
Jobless rate in New Zealand increased unexpectedly in Q1 of 2012, reported Statistics New Zealand. The unemployment rate in the country advanced to 6.7% in Q1 as compared to 6.3% in the previous quarter. Experts predicted the jobless rate to stay unchanged at 6.3% in Q1. After the release of data, New Zealand Dollar posted losses against its US counterpart
Final reading of the Euro Zone's PMI indicated that Markit Euro zone Manufacturing PMI contracted to 45.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis in April as compared to March figure of 47.7. The earlier flash PMI estimate indicated a decline to 46.0. Manufacturing weakness has spread to the strongest Euro zone's economies as German manufacturing activity fell to 33-month low while
US non-farm employment change increased less that initially expected in April, reported ADP. Non-farm payrolls edged up to 119K as compared to 209K in March. Experts projected non-farm payrolls to advance to 177K in April. After the data release, the greenback added to the previous gains as Euro Zone's risk concerns continued to weight on the Euro. EUR/USD currently approached
Rural commodities balanced between favorable weather conditions in the US planting regions and expected frosts in Brazil.Wheat decreased for the first time in four sessions after US government reported that farmers accelerated planting due to warm and wet weather. Corn faced some gains despite expectation that US farmers will plant the most acres since 1937.Sugar approached one-year low as amount
Energy commodities were mixed amid inspiring manufacturing data from the US and China and increasing US oil stockpiles.Crude oil gained more than 1% as positive PMI data lifted hopes for better demand prospects. Brent oil tumbled after Nigeria reported it aims to increase its oil output to four million barrels per day by 2020. Falling imports of the Iranian oil
Industry metals followed upward trend along with positive PMI releases from the US and China. China's HSBC PMI advanced from 48.3 to 49.3 in April but remained below the level of 50 that divides contraction from expansion.Aluminum found support on the strengthening demand from Aero-space sector; however, expectation for 11% decrease in China's demand this year continued to weight down
Standard and Poor's has upgraded Greek credit rating from "selective default" to "CCC" after Greece has finished its debt restructuring. The credit agency reported that the fiscal pressure is likely to ease in the near term; however, the amount of debt still remains high. Greece has received the bailout package twice and currently the country depends on favorable economic conditions to meet its obligations, the
Precious metals opened higher on Tuesday but did not manage to sustain the rally as positive manufacturing data from the US revived the greenback. US ISM index indicated factory activity expanded to 54.8 in April sending the US Dollar index higher by 0.11%.Gold ended the day marginally lower amid stronger global equities and diminishing ETF buying interest. The yellow metal
FTSE 100 index traded lower on Wednesday as record high unemployment level and weaker manufacturing activity in Euro Zone weighed on investor sentiment. Another report from U.S. showed companies added less new jobs than expected in April. Standard Chartered tumbled 3.5%, Lloyds Banking Group lost 3.1%, while Barclays PLC shed 4.1%. On the upside Next rallied 2.1% on news its
German DAX index pared morning gains after data showed nation's unemployment level unexpectedly increased by 19 000 people in April, marking the first increase in six months. Moreover other report showed Euro Zone jobless rate jumped to all time record 10.9% in March while manufacturing declined. Financials led the decline with Commerzbank dropping 2.4% and Deutsche Bank falling 2%. At
Euro Zone jobless rate jumped to the highest level in nearly 15 years whereas region's production fell for a ninth straight month, signalling the Euro Area economy keeps weakening. The unemployment rate in 17-nation region climbed from 10.8 in February to 10.9% in March, EU statistics office said today. Region's manufacturing index dropped from 47.7 in the third month of the
German jobless rate unexpectedly climbed first time in last six months as debt turmoil curbed economic growth. The number of unemployed people increased by 19 000, reaching 2.87 million, compared to an expected drop by 10 000 people. The adjusted unemployment rate was 6.8%.