UK stocks declined from the highest level in five months, led by utilities, amid concern that Greece may not reach an agreement with its creditors. SSE Plc and Centrica Plc lost more than 2%, while utilities shares set the biggest drop in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, and the FTSE 100 Index fell 0.2% to 6,857.05.
European stocks fell from the strongest level in seven weeks, along with rising Greek shares and declining commodity producers, before the release of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting's minutes. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slumped almost 0.1% to 339.15, together with miners fell heading for the biggest drop amid 19 industry groups.
Europe's car-sales rose last month, while economic-growth prospects and price cuts enhanced consumers to turn to new car models such as Golf Volkswagen AG and Renault SA. Registrations climbed 6.2% in January compared with the 1.03 million vehicles previous year, the ACEA announced today.
The yellow metal and silver declined amid speculation that Chinese demand may fall right before the nation starts its Lunar New Year holiday. Bullion for immediate settlement dropped 1% to $1.220.46 an ounce and traded at $1,222.44 as of 10:19 a.m. London time, while silver lost 2.7%, the biggest decline in more than a week, being last down 2.3% at
New Zealand's manufacturing activity plunged to a minimum in two years in January because of a sharp decrease in production for the first time in almost three years. The manufacturing index slipped to 50.9 in January, compared to 57.1 in the preceding month. The new orders reached their three-year low of 50.1, while deliveries slid to 53.4.
Norway's GDP growth unexpectedly accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2014, as exports increased by 3.4%. Gross domestic product rose 0.5% in the fourth quarter after a 0.4% increase a quarter earlier. Total increase in output equals 0.9%, compared with a forecast of 0.6% growth. At the same time, consumer spending added 1%.
Small aircraft sales expanded by 13% compared to the 2013 year, posting the first gain in a seven-year period. Surging demand for private jets reaffirms strong growth of the US economy, which rose 2.4% in 2014 and is estimated to grow 3.2% this year. Meanwhile, sales of large-cabin aircraft, which is mostly used by large companies, dropped by seven airplanes
The Group of Twenty financial chiefs pledged not to turn to devaluation as a means to prop up economic activity, while the Dollar is strengthening and the Euro together with the Yen is losing value. The G-20 finance executives and bankers said they will promote fair competition and will not change the rules by which the currency exchange markets operate.
Worldwide investors injected around 70.7 billion pounds into UK commercial real property in 2014 in attempt to find higher returns than the bonds can offer. According to the CoStar Group Inc, the total amount of investments advanced 32% compared to the flows in 2013. A previous peak was observed in 2006, when the investments totalled 67 billion pounds.
US investors prefer to short the biggest six Canadian lenders, such as Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, due to weak oil prices and a strong plunge in bond yields. Canadian bank's shares are facing their worst performance early in the year: the TSX Commercial Banks Index dropped 9.9% to a 15-year low.
Asian stocks declined on low trading volume, since concerns regarding corporate income erased optimism that Greece might reach a compromise with its creditors. CSL Ltd. slumped 7.8%, Suncorp Group Ltd. tumbled 2.9%, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 3.9% and the MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index surged 0.3% to 476.74 at 4:04 p.m. in Hong Kong.
China Everbright Bank Co Ltd decreased the deposit rates from the highest permitted level, as the People's Bank of China keeps injecting liquidity against the background of gloomy growth prospects. The deposit rate was cut to 3.16% compared to the previous level of 3.3%. Following the decision the stock price of Everbright Bank slipped 1.2% to trade at 4.07 yuan
Kuwait, Iran and Iraq supported Saudi Arabia in cutting oil prices for March sales to Asia, reinforcing a view that the battle for the share of OPEC's biggest market is increasing. Iraq's Basrah Light will sell crude at $4.10 a barrel below Middle East benchmarks, National Iranian Oil Co. stated a discount will be $2.10 a barrel and Kuwait Petroleum
Gold rebounded from its weakest level in three week prior to Greece emergency meeting with its creditors. Bullion advanced 4.2% this year on the Greek crisis outlook and new stimulus programme in Europe and Asia. The yellow metal for immediate settlement stayed almost the same at $1,233.57 an ounce as of 10:48 a.m. London time.
European stocks fell straight ahead Yanis Varoufakis, Greek Finance Minister, meeting with his Euro zone counterparts in Brussels. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.3% to 371.98 as of 11:02 a.m. London time after German Finance Minister dispelled hopes for a compromise, saying there is no plan to talk over a new agreement during today's emergency meeting at 5:30 p.m.
Russia, where the largest part of state revenue consists of energy production, is preparing to face a battle against oil producers on the taxation of the nation's most vital industry. There were 6.75 trillion rubles of taxes from crude and petroleum products last year. However, the Economy Ministry works on an average crude price of $50 per barrel, as Russia
The Yen entered a bearish territory versus the Dollar, reaching the weakest level in February due to inflation slowdown in China that might provoke policy makers for additional stimulus. The Yen declined 0.1% to 118.71 per dollar.
The Spanish property market posted a positive tendency in home sales for the first time in five years, reaffirming speculations that the real-estate market started to recover from a strong recession. The amount of property deals rose 2.2% compared to the previous year to 319,389 houses sold. However, the data still did not outperform the 2006's peak of 955,186 units.
The Sterling posted a strong increase against other major currencies after the release of the UK retail sales and manufacturing activity that advanced more than expected, pushing the Bank of England toward raising interest rates. The manufacturing output expanded 0.1% in December, following a 0.8% advancement a month earlier. Meanwhile, the Pound added 0.4% to 74.10 pence versus the Euro,
China's consumer inflation increased at its slowest pace during the last five years, adding to concerns over weakening domestic demand and stimulating policymakers for more monetary easing. The consumer price index climbed 0.8% from a year ago, below a forecast of 1% gain, while the producer price index slipped to 4.3%.
European natural gas rose to a six-week high, when the European Union's largest producer, the Netherlands, announced further output caps. Natural gas for delivery in March in the United Kingdom advanced 2.5% to 51.25 pence a therm, reaching its strongest levels since December 29.
Stock-index futures in US climbed, adding to signs the equities are recovering from a two-day drop on speculation Greece may reach an agreement with the creditors. The S&P 500 Index contracts that expire in March added 0.6% to 2,054.5 as of 7:44 a.m. New York time, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rallied 0.6%, or 108 points, to 17,789.
The current account surplus of the largest Euro zone country hit a record high in 2014. The figure came in at 215.3 billion euros for 2014 compared to 189.2 billion euros in 2013, according to the Federal Statistics Office. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 217 billion euros in 2014.
Industrial output in Germany climbed for a four straight month in December, bolstering the view that the nation's economic recovery is gaining momentum. Output rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.1%, after it was revised to a 0.1% advance in November. Meanwhile, manufacturing output climbed 0.5% in December.