German equities increased on Monday trading session following drops recorded last week as companies reported favourable earnings reports with Bayer AG rallying by the most in a fifteen-month period. The benchmark stock index DAX jumped as much as 0.4% to 9,442.67 as of 3:44 p.m. Frankfurt time after falling by 0.1% last week.
Consumer sentiment in Italy surprisingly increased in April rising by much more than economists originally expected, the latest report released by the statistical office Istat showed on Monday. According to the report, the country's consumer confidence gained from March's level of 101.9 points to 105.4 points in the following month, while it was initially seen to be recording a drop
Foreign trade balance in Sweden came in a surplus on an annual basis in March, the Statistics Sweden showed in a preliminary report on Monday. According to the report, the country's foreign trade surplus recorded 2.6 billion Swedish Krona, the smallest figure in a three-month period, while in February the surplus posted 6.1 billion.
Retail sales in Ireland increased on a sequential basis in March following a drop in the prior month, the latest data unveiled by the Central Statistics Office revealed on Monday. According to the report, the country's retail sales volume rose monthly by 1.7% in March reversing previous month's slide of 1.2%, whereas retail sales value gained 1.4% in March.
House price balance in the United Kingdom increased on a monthly basis in April remaining unchanged from the month before, the latest data revealed by the property website Hometrack showed on Monday. According to the data, the U.K. average asking house price was up 0.6% in April, the same level recorded in March, while year-on-year, house prices gained 6.0% on
Gross domestic product in the United Kingdom continued to increase in April and economists predict even stronger advance for the second quarter of this year, the Confederation of British Industry showed in a survey today. According to the survey, the think tank's indicator shows an advance in growth expectations from +19% to +25%.
Import prices in Germany declined on a yearly basis in March falling towards the weakest level since August 2013 as energy prices fell sharply on the month, a data unveiled by the statistical office Destatis showed on Monday. Germany's import prices slipped 3.3% on an annual basis in March compared to a 2.8% drop originally forecast.
The Europe's largest economy is likely to expand at a slower rate in the Q2 as it increased firmly in the first three months of 2014, the latest monthly report unveiled by the Bundesbank showed on Monday. According to the report, the German GDP may slow as it increased strongly mainly due to a mild weather and a notable gain
Exports in the city state of Hong Kong advanced on an annual basis in the month of March despite expectations of drop, the latest report released by the Census and Statistics Department revealed on Monday. According to the report, the country's exports gained 3.4% year-on-year in March following a 1.3% fall in the prior month.
The British Sterling increased on Monday trading session rising towards the strongest level in more than four years against the U.S. Dollar after a report showed that merger and acquisition activity in pharmaceutical sector improved. One of the biggest pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed its bid to AstraZeneca, the British second largest drugmaker.
The Euro-are currency strengthened on Monday rising towards the highest level in a two-week period versus its U.S. counterpart amid speculation that the Eurozone's inflation report this week may show that prices rose slightly faster last month. The Euro advanced as much as 0.3% to $1.3880 and it traded 0.4% higher at 141.95 yen.
Global shares remained flat on Monday trading session with the benchmark world-share index swinging between gains and losses traded near the weakest level in ten days as investors stayed patient as the Ukraine tension continues. The MSCI global equity gauge measuring performance of stocks world-wide was flat following a drop by 0.7% on Friday session.
Wall Street inched higher on Monday trading session rebounding from drops recorded last week as acquisition and merger activity increased among pharmaceutical companies. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.44% to 1,871.52, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.57% to 16,455.29 and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.51% to 4,096.34.
According to the IMF research, major Asian economies need more structural reforms and changes in order to keep growing faster than the rest of the world in the long-term. Moreover, the necessity of reforms increases due to decreasing stimulus in the U.S., as well as advance in volatility and interest rates on world markets, while liquidity tightens amid growth in
U.S. Treasuries declined on Monday, trimming the increase, which pushed 30-year bond yields to the minimum in nine months. Today they are trading at 3.45%. Yields on 10-year bonds rose to 2.68%. This week investors are waiting for GDP and employment data, which may show slowdown amid cold weather. Moreover, on April 30 the Fed will decide on further stimilus
Stocks of major European companies rally on Monday, opening the new trading week in the green zone, after gauges has already showed five out of six consecutive weeks of increase. AstraZeneca climbed 15%, as Prizer announced its willingness to buy the British drugmaker for $99 billion. The main European index Stoxx 600 advanced 0.5% to 335.14 points by 8 a.m.
Japanese retail sales climbed in March of this year, showeing the fastest pace of increase in 17 years, while customers tried to make more purchases ahead of surge in sales tax in April. The total volume of sales added 11% on the annual basis. As expected, the advance in retail sales may also increase inflation level. The country raised the
Precious metals mostly dropped on Friday trading session with the silver futures heading towards their second weekly fall, while platinum fell amid strikes in South Africa. Silver future slipped as much as 0.5% to $19.857 an ounce, platinum slid from $1,413.69 to $1,412.75 an ounce and palladium added 39 cents from yesterday to $801.79 an ounce.
Gold futures were little changed on Friday staying above a level of 10-week low as demand for safer assets increased on rising geopolitical tension between the Russian Federation and Ukraine and as purchases from Chine advanced. Gold for settlement in April was last seen at $1,292.16 an ounce by 11:09 a.m. Singapore time following a gain to $1,293.36 recorded yesterday.
West Texas Intermediate crude fluctuated on Friday session heading towards a weekly decrease with the WTI-Brent spread widening after an industry report showed that inventories in the world's largest oil consumer, U.S., gained to the highest level since 1931. WTI for settlement in June added as much as 3 cents to $101.97 per barrel on the NYMEX as of 12:14
The Chinese currency weakened on Friday trading session falling for the sixth successive day and trading near the lowest level since December 2012 after a report showed that the country's growth eased last month and as current-account surplus narrowed in the Q1. The Yuan slipped 0.11% to 6.2557 a U.S. Dollar in Shanghai following a fall to 6.2565, the least
Chinese shares declined on Friday with the region's benchmark stock index falling towards a weekly fall as tension between the Russian Federation and Ukraine escalated after shooting when Ukraine's forces killed up to five pro-Russia separatists. The Hang Seng index lost 1.4% as of 2:42 p.m. Tokyo time, while the Shanghai Composite index remained unchanged on the session.
The majority of Japanese shares advanced on Friday afternoon session rising together with the nation's currency as companies from Honda Motor Co. to Hitachi Construction Machinery showed quarterly results. The benchmark stock index Topix grew as much as 0.4% to a level of 1,169.63 by 12:59 p.m. Tokyo time following an earlier drop of 0.4%.
The Japanese currency increased on Friday trading session rising against its U.S. counterpart in a week as demand for safer assets advanced amid rising geopolitical tension in Ukraine. The Yen swung between gains and losses and was last seen at 102.34 a U.S. Dollar by 1:33 p.m. Tokyo time following an advance by 0.2% to 102.09, the most since April