Crude oil futures to be delivered in June advanced 0.1% or USD 0.11 and reached USD 103.66 a barrel in Asian session on inventory report which showed supplies declined by 985 000 barrel last week. May heating oil climbed 0.3% or USD 0.01 to USD 3.14 per gallon whereas natural gas to be delivered in May also gained 0.3%, reaching USD 1.98
According to anonymous sources, the Bank of Japan is expected to expand its asset purchasing programme by 10 trillion yen, instead of the usual amount of 5 trillion yen. The decision should be announced on Friday (Apr 27) after BoJ policy board meeting. The national bank has come under pressure by politicians lately and is currently struggling to meet the
The UK economy unexpectedly contracted during the 1st quarter of 2012 as manufacturing output and construction activity declined. The British Gross Domestic Product fell 0.2% in the first quarter, following a 0.3% drop in the fourth quarter of 2011, Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. GDP remained unchanged from the similar period year earlier. Economists predicted the economy to grow
Asian shares mostly climbed on Wednesday as Apple posted a 94% surge in its quarterly profit while Asia's financials and developers rallied on hopes for China's monetary accommodation. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 1%, Taiwan's Taiex surged 0.9% and China's Shanghai Composite Index added 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.2%. Markets in Australia and New Zealand remained closed for a holiday.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed for the first time in 5 days as US housing market showed improvements and Apple posted a 94% gain in last quarters profit. Weaker Yen helped to support export stocks. Nikkei 225 index soared 0.98% or 92.97 points and closed at 9,561.01. Nomura Holdings added 2.4% on speculation it will post an improvement in quarterly
Dow Jones Industrial Average index appreciated on Tuesday as US consumer confidence data matched analyst estimates and new home sales improved. Blue chip index climbed 0.58% or 74.39 points to 13,001.56. AT&T rallied 3.6% and 3M gained 1.5% as their earnings beat predictions. Wal-Mart Stores shed 3% on news the company is investigating assertions that management in Mexico gave around
S&P 500 index advanced on Tuesday supported by earnings and improved investor sentiment over Europe. US index added 0.37% or 5.03 points, and finished at 1,371.97. Hershey Foods and Regions Financing rallied 6% and 5.9% as both companies outperformed Wall Street's expectations. Big Lots tumbled 24% after retailer cut its fiscal first quarter sales outlook citing weaker demand for electronics.
New Zealand and Australian Dollars weakened versus most of their counterparts after slower CPI in Australia fuelled speculation, the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates. Aussie fell 0.7% against greenback to USD 1.0247 while Kiwi traded flat at USD 0.8132 after falling 0.5%. Currently AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0318 and NZD/USD is trading at USD 0.8111.
Canadian Dollar advanced versus its US peer on Tuesday as crude and shares rallied amid speculation Bank of Canada may increase interest rates. Loonie climbed 0.4% versus greenback to CAD 0.9871. Canadian currency is heading towards a 1% gain against US Dollar in April. Currently USD/CAD is trading at CAD 0.9871.
Credit Suisse Group AG posted its first loss in quarterly profit in three years. The net income tumbled to CHF 44 million (USD 48 million) compared to CHF 1.14 billion in similar period previous year, said Credit Suisse on Wednesday. Economists questioned by Bloomberg predicted a loss of around CHF 297.9 million. Credit Suisse scaled down its investment division in 2011. Bank's
Apple Inc net income almost doubled in the first quarter this year on strong demand for the new version of iPad and robust sales of iPhone in China, offsetting the worries that pushed shares lower during last two weeks. The net profit last quarter rallied 94% reaching USD 11.6 billion or USD 12.30 per share. Sales jumped 59% to USD
US stock markets mostly ended on positive note on Tuesday, supported by earnings reports. S&P 500 index gained 0.37% or 5.03 points, finishing at 1,371.97, Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.58% or 74.39 points to 13,001.56 while Nasdaq Composite breached the upward trend in the market and slipped 0.30% or 8.85%, closing at 2,961.60.
European equities rallied on Tuesday, after the Netherlands sold bonds and data from US showed new home sales remained strong in March while consumer confidence slightly declined matching analyst expectations. Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1.0%, Spanish IBEX 35 index jumped 2.2% and French CAC 40 advanced 2.3%. British FTSE 100 index surged 0.8% while German DAX index added 1%.
Canadian core retail sales surged at slower pace than expected in February whereas the total sales fell first time in 6 months, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday. Core retail sales excluding car sales, advanced by 0.5% in February compared to an expected gain of 0.6%. The total retail sales dropped by 0.2% compared to a predicted increase of 0.1%.
US consumer confidence remained little changed this month as uncertainty about the outlook offset rising optimism over the present economic situation. The confidence index measured by the Conference Board modestly declined from revised 69.5 in March to 69.2 in April, the research group reported on Tuesday. Consumers stayed cautiously optimistic, suggested Lynn Franco, Conference Board's director.
The demand for new US homes was better than expected in March as lower borrowing costs and more jobs helped to strengthened the market. The number of houses sold reached annual 328 000, from upward reviewed 353 000 in February, Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Shares slightly appreciated, lifted by home builder stocks.
Belgium business barometer, published monthly by the National Bank of Belgium, worsened for the second straight month in April. Nonetheless, the overall trend is deemed positive, given that the change was inconsiderable (-1.1 points to -10.7) and relevant only to some of the constituents of the indicator, such as manufacturing industry and business-related services.
According to Statistics Canada, retail sales declined by 0.2% in February, after a 0.2% advancement the period earlier, thus negating prior gains. At the same time core retail sales, which do not take into account car sales, grew by 0.5%, slightly below the estimate of 0.6%.
After plunging 3.4%, German DAX index traded almost flat on Tuesday as investor sentiment improved after successful Netherland bond auction, sending Dutch, Spanish and French yields lower. Deutsche Lufthansa rallied 2.7% after Credit Suisse Group lifted airline's rating from neutral to outperform. Automakers rebounded from declined and climbed with BMW AG gaining 0.5% and Volkswagen AG surging 1.4%. At the
Swiss trade excess unexpectedly declined in March, Federal Customs Administration reported on Tuesday. The trade spare declined to 1.69 billion Swiss Francs in previous month compared to a reviewed 2.61 billion Swiss Francs in February. Economists predicted an improvement to 3.0 billion Swiss Francs. Exports dropped 3.3% on annual basis to 17.5 billion Swiss Francs while imports shed annual 6% to 15.8 billion Swiss Francs.
After tumbling 1.9%, British FTSE 100 index recovered on Tuesday as Netherland successfully sold bonds. Gains were limited as UK posted bigger than expected budget deficit in March. International Consolidated Airlines rallied 3.75% after Credit Suisse upgraded its shares from neutral to outperform. Oil companies BP added 1.4% and BG Group soared 1.6% as crude prices increased. On the negative
Spanish mortgage loans plunged in February. The number of housing mortgages dropped 47.1% on yearly basis while the amount of money provided for housing fell 54.8%, National Statistics Office reported on Tuesday. On monthly basis the number of home loans sank 9.4% while capital loaned tumbled 15.4%.
Asian equities followed their European and US peers and mostly traded lower on Tuesday as Dutch PM resigned and Japanese Yen appreciated. Shanghai Composite Index traded flat, Japanese Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.8%. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.5% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also managed to gain and finished 0.3% up.
Great Britain reported a bigger than expected budget deficit in March, undermining the efforts of policy makers to reduce borrowing. Net borrowing when excluded backing for lenders climbed to GBP 18.2 billion (USD 29.4 billion) from GBP 18.0 billion a year ago. The analysts questioned by Bloomberg predicted the gap to narrow to GBP 16.0 billion. Spending increased 4.2% while tax income added