Many Asian stocks were able to pick up after large sales in U.S. equities. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index did not show significant changes as Chinese share benchmark rebounded 1.7% from its lowest in two months. In contrast, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.8%. The Hang Seng China Index increased after having fallen for nine of out ten last days;
Janet Yellen, the Chair of the Federal Reserve urged investors to be ready for the possibility of the Fed raising the interest rates before the currently projected timeline; however her words remain rather unnoticed. Volatility is close to all time lows, signalling that investors are rather self-satisfied with Fed's plans, yet this lenient behaviour may be premature and cause a sudden jump in volatility, putting an end to Yellen's intentions.
The yellow metal managed to keep its gains on Wednesday due to the slide in Asian shares; however, investors remain reserved in gold purchases as the Dollar is still strong. In addition, the U.S. manufacturing data, which was better than expected, has pushed prices to their lowest since January. Sport gold was at $1,223.40 per ounce, adding 0.7% the session
Along the lines of the release of China's PMI, Euro zone's Purchasing Managers Index failed to bring about a better economic outlook. The Index slid from 53.1 in August to 52.8 in September, adding fuel to the concerns over the European economies nearing serious doldrums. In addition, the economic growth has come to a halt in the three largest economies of the common
Brent crude prices were one of the many commodities and indices that managed to increase on the account of the improved China's PMI, which increased by 0.3 to 50.5 for the month of August surpassing the projections of 50. Brent for November delivery added 48 U.S. cents to $97.45 per barrel, reversing Monday's slide of more than a Dollar. U.S.
The president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi announced yesterday that the ECB remains determined in its plans to reach its goal of 2% inflation. He remarked that more active management of ECB's balance sheet is necessary, as unemployment is still high and credit growth is weak, hindering the upturn of the economies. Draghi's planned asset-purchase program is set
After sliding 2.1% in the last month due to the weakening Chinese economy and the stubbornness of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Aussie gained and pulled up from its lowest in seven months time. This was due to the positive PMI data from China, Australia's biggest trade partner. The Australian Dollar increased by 0.5% to 88.16 U.S. cents early
Data regarding China's manufacturing activity have revealed a better-than-expected turnout, reversing losses from August. The HSBC account of the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) crossed the threshold of 50.2, its level in August, and came to 50.5. Generally, any reading above 50 is seen as a sign of an expansion. Despite this positive data, China's property price have been on the decline due to
In the line with the gains of the Pound, the Swiss Franc also showed some improvement. The Swiss National Bank decided to keep its floor of 1.20 francs a euro and gave word to defend the currency from any threats that may result in deflation. The SNB also kept its target for the interest rate range as the bank gathered
The Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda is not fazed by recent slides in the Yen. He stated that exchange rates reflect the changes in basic economic indicators, and that they are not static. What is unfavourable is the rate movement not in accordance with these economic fundamentals. Kuroda did not comment on his view on the severity
Gold managed to add a little on Friday, yet the outcomes of the Fed meeting kept the yellow metal grounded at its lowest in near nine months time. The Fed chosen semantics 'considerable time' as regards the interest rate hike didn't allow gold to gain its support as an alternative investment. Spot gold was able to increase to $1,227.80 per
The Pound gained the most in almost two years time as the Scottish attempt to claim independence in the vote failed. The Pound was stronger versus its 16 biggest trading peers, increasing by 0.6% to $1.6491 by midday in Tokyo, totalling to a two day climb of 1.3%. Versus the Euro, it added 0.5% to €1.2757, reaching the highest level
As the polls closed on late Thursday, the overall sentiment was proven right Friday morning; Scotland will remain a part of the U.K. with 55% of voters ticking the 'no' in the ballot. This means that Bank of England can receive some reprieve after weeks of uncertainty and volatility. The BoE can now focus on more pressing matters, like wage increases and the inflation
The Euro zone inflation rate fared better than expected, clocking in at 0.4%, overstepping Eurostat's forecast of 0.3%, which expected a drop from July's rate of 0.4%. This is definitely good news for Mario Draghi who has set out to keep the inflation around 2%, after announcing that ECB would carry out the purchase of asset backed securities while steering
The newest data released by the International Labour Organization revealed that the unemployment rate in the U.K. has fallen to 6.2%, dropping from 6.4%, surpassing the economists' forecasts of 6.3%. While this points towards the strengthening of the British economy, the wages are trailing behind, with just 0.7% pay raise. BoE's governor Mark Carney predicted that the wages are set to improve with the continued growth of the economy.
As China announced its 500 billion yuan stimulus for its five biggest banks, metals increased for the second day in a row. Nickel picked up by 1.5%, its highest in almost two week, and sold at $18,377 per ton. Copper edged up 1%, and copper for December delivery added 0.4% to $6,930.50 per metric ton early morning in Tokyo, however,
The Pound increased as the Bank of England is set to release its Monetary Policy Meeting minutes on Wednesday. The August minutes revealed that two members of the committee voted in favour of increasing borrowing costs, the first split in option under Carney's governance. The Pound inched up 0.1% to 79.53 pence per euro early morning in London, adding to
Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting may shed light on the increase of interest rates, although the Fed's current plans do not foresee a significant change in the policy until the mid-2015. The FOMC, which sets the policy, may change the timeline for near-zero interest rates, which would be a momentous development after six years of deadlock. Nevertheless, the climb in unemployment rate to 6.1% in
The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, decided to add to liquidity in midst of the dormant growth by flooding 500 billion yuan, or $81 billion into the largest banks of the country. The central bank is concerned with the timid growth, thus enacting a quantitative-easing- like policy. The money is to be divided amongst the five biggest banks,
Brent crude fluctuated around the $98 mark on Tuesday, extending its gains after receiving some reprieve from its lowest in two years. The dormant manufacturing performance in the U.S. and China has discouraged from growth in demand, not allowing Brent prices to break though. Brent for November delivery was up by 3 U.S. cents to $97.91 per barrel, while October
Many European stocks lost, sliding to their lowest in two weeks time, as investors hold off to await the results of the latest FOMC meeting. Orange SA lost 1.3% and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell back 0.3% to 342.98 early morning in London. In addition, investors are expecting the ZEW report on investor confidence. It seems that the sentiment
On Tuesday, gold increased its small gains as investors weighed in on the Federal Reserve policy meeting, yet they remained very tentative in their bets, waiting for more than speculations. If the Fed makes a move for a interest rate hike, the demand for gold as an alternative investment would only fall. Spot gold edged up 0.3% to $1,236.14 per ounce early morning, touching at
The Australian Dollar might be headed for the 85 U.S. cent mark, thus not releasing Australia from its reliance on resource industries. The currency could drop to 85 U.S. cents in the next six months. The Aussie was on the market for 90.44 U.S. cents midday, with the total decline of 3.2% this month. The RBA's benchmark interest rate of
As the Federal Reserve is gearing up for its policy meeting this week, Asian shares slid to their lowest in 10 weeks time. The MSCI index for shares outside of Japan lost 0.6% and slid to its lowest in three months. Japan's Nikkei broke its winning streak of five sessions and closed down 0.2%. The speculations on U.S. interest rate