Precious metals eased up on Monday on the weaker US Dollar and mixed equities. Moreover, the commodity group gained a spree as Fed is still undecided on whether to embark on the next round of quantitative easing. However, the easing measures are not highly likely taken the steady recovery of the US economy. Gold was the driver for the group
Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index tumbled on Tuesday as BHP Billiton's announcement about slowing China's demand for resources weighed down on South Pacific index. S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.37% or 15.80 points and finished at 4,275.00 driven down by resource stocks. BHP Billiton lost 0.6%, Rio Tinto edged down 0.4% and Fortescue Metals Group slipped 1%. On the upside the index
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell on Tuesday after mining company BHP Billiton claimed Chinese demand was declining indicating economic slowdown. Hang Seng index tumbled 1.08% or 227.05 points and settled at 20,888.24. Resource stocks posted the biggest losses in Hong Kong: Jiangxi Copper slipped 2.4% and China Petroleum & Chemical lost 3.9%. Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 2.4% on
British FTSE 100 index extended losses on Tuesday after BHP Billiton announced the demand for iron ore from China was falling. Resource stocks weighed heavily on the index with BHP Billiton tumbling 3.4% and Fresnillo slipping 4.4%. Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys lost 3.7% and 2.8% respectively. Banking shares declined after data showed UK inflation climbed 3.4% and remained above BoE
Dow Jones Industrial Average index traded close to flat on Monday as trading volumes were low and investors paused after recent rally. Blue chip index added 0.05% or 6.51 points and closed at 13,239.13 with energy and financial stocks marking the most notable gains. 17 of 30 Dow stocks ended up in green area. On the upside American Express surged
S&P 500 index strengthened to an almost four record high on news Apple Inc prepares to pay dividends and buy back its stock. US benchmark advanced 0.4% or 5.58 points and finished at 1,409.75. Apple surged 2.7% and UPS jumped 3.4% on announcement the company increased its bid for TNT Express NV by 5.6%. Morgan Stanley added 2.7% after lender
Canadian Dollar appreciated close to the strongest value since September as US shares lifted S&P 500 index to four-year record high. Canadian currency, which is highly dependent on global economic expansion and demand for resources, gained 0.5% versus greenback to CAD 0.9869 on Monday. Currently USD/CAD is trading at CAD 0.9878.
Royal Bank of Scotland has decided instead of selling shut some of its divisions in Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia. RBS, the biggest British State-owned bank will start reforms today with closing equity capital markets, corporate finance units and cash equities in South Korea. RBS has eliminated in total 30 000 working places since its rescue.
US shares advanced on Monday lifted by Apple Inc's decision to issue dividends amid improved home builder sentiment. S&P 500 index gained 0.4% or 5.58 points and finished at 1,409.75, Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 0.05% or 6.51 points and closed at 13,239.13 while Nasdaq Composite surged 0.76% or 23.06 and settled at 3,078.32.
The China's government is moving towards allowing to trade country's currency more freely, said Wen Jiabao, China's PM. He also stressed that the Yuan free trade will be allowed ‘at the right time'. The additional reforms and financial regulations are necessary for internationalization of the Yuan, he added.
China and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have reported that they plan to set up a fund worth 1 billion US Dollars aimed at developing markets of Latin America. The fund will provide financial backup for private and public sector projects as well as it will invest in equity markets. The Export-Import Bank of China and IDB will provide 150
Canada's wholesale sales decreased in January after soaring in the preceding month, reported Statistics Canada. The wholesale sales posted a 1.0% decline in January while experts expected a 0.4% increase. The major sector contributing to a fall was motor vehicles and car parts industry. On an annual basis, the wholesale sales advanced by 4.0% in January, following a 6.7% gain
Gold futures were lower during the Asian session on Tuesday after rallying on the increased gold buying of the central banks. The yellow metal was pressured as Fed official announced there would not be any additional easing measures in the US. COMEX gold April contract traded at 1,662.85 US Dollars per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, falling by
New industrial orders in Italy declined essentially in January after preceding month's gains, reported STAT. The new industrial orders in Italy decreased by 7.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis while analysts expected only a 3.8% fall. Considering yearly changes, the orders declined by 5.6% in January, confronting the projections of a 2.9% decrease.
Crude oil futures faced strong downward pressure after Federal Reserve official reported that the US economic recovery still faces challenges. However, escalated geopolitical tensions limited the losses. Light, sweet crude oil futures for May delivery traded at 108.21 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, tumbling by 0.23%.
The Australian Senate has passed the regulation that implies imposing 30% tax on coal and iron ore mining businesses. The new tax will generate 10.6 billion Australian Dollars in the next three years from the largest companies like Rio Tinto, Xtrata and BHP Billiton. The tax revenue will be directed to other industries of the country. The new regulation comes
European stock markets paused on Monday after a rally to eight month record high in previous week. Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.12% to 272.07, German DAX slipped 0.05% to 7,154.22 and French CAC 40 index tumbled 0.47% at 3,577.88. UK FTSE 100 index gave up 0.08% and closed at 5,961.11 while Athens General index bucked the negative overall movement and rallied 1.57%
Australian currency fell on Tuesday amid investor speculations Chinese economic expansion is likely to slow, hampering demand for Australia's exports. Aussie slipped 0.4% versus greenback to USD 1.0567 in Sydney trade and gave up 0.3% against Yen to JPY 88.18. Meanwhile Kiwi dropped 0.3% against US Dollar to USD 0.8238 and edged lower also 0.2% versus Japanese currency to JPY
The greenback ascended versus most of its counterparts on news China's steel manufacturing is slowing, curbing demand for currencies dependent on Asian growth. US dollar climbed 0.3% versus Aussie to USD 1.0576 and advanced to against Japanese currency to JPY 83.43. Greenback traded USD 1.3236 per Euro. Currently EUR/USD is trading at USD 1.3236 and USD/JPY is trading at JPY 83.40.
The current account surplus of the Euro Zone widened more than initially expected in January, reported the ECB. The Euro Zone's current account surplus widened to 4.5 billion Euros on a seasonally adjusted basis in January as compared to 3.4 billion Euros in December. Experts predicted the indicator to approach 4.3 billion Euros in January.
China, the second largest oil consumer in the world after US raised diesel and gasoline prices, second time in less than two months as crude rallied in February. Prices will be increased by CNY 600 (USD 95) per metric ton from today. Refiners are going to charge 7.8% more for diesel and 7% more for gasoline. Oil provider shares declined
German DAX index retreated from last week gains and traded lower on Monday as investors made a pause. Car makers created the biggest losses for the index. BMW AG tumbled 2% after Goldman Sachs confirmed the buy rating on the share but discarded it from its conviction-buy list. Daimler AG fell 0.9% and Volkswagen AG lost 1.9%. On the upside
British FTSE 100 index declined on Monday as dropping commodity prices negatively affected the value of resource shares. Financials also provided substantial downward contribution. National Grid fell 1.9% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock from buy to neutral citing valuation grounds. On the upside Vodafone Group advanced 0.8% after Sunday Times reported the firm may save GBP
Rural commodities were mixed on Friday on the depreciating greenback and expectation of the strong US export demand. Wheat price advanced due to growing interest in the US wheat. Meanwhile, global wheat stocks are ample but adverse winter weather in the EU may increase demand for the commodity. Corn also rallied over the day drawing strength from high soybean prices