Asian share markets gained on Thursday, supported by European and US manufacturing data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Composite Index each added 2.0%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index surged 1%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.8%, while South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.3%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index surged on the first February trading session, lifted by worldwide optimism about manufacturing and US employment market. The blue chip index advanced 0.66% or 83.55 points and finished at 12,716.46, supported by industrial and financial shares. Bank of America lead the gains, climbing 3.2%, followed by Hewlett Packard, adding 2.8%. On the downside McDonalds posted
S&P 500 Index rose on Wednesday, supported by expansion in US, Chinese and European manufacturing amid progress in Greek debt talks. The index added 0.89% or 11.68 points and closed at 1,324.09 with all 10 sectors posting gains. Whirlpool jumped 13.5% after reporting better than predicted quarterly profit and claiming it expects shipments to North America increase by 3% this
Building approvals in Australia tumbled in December, reported the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The building approvals declined by 1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December while experts predicted a 2.1% rise. Considering yearly changes, the building approvals shrank by 24.4% in December.
Chinese copper imports are expected to fall in the next months amid buildup of copper's inventories and lack of arbitrage opportunities. Bloomberg survey indicated that copper inventories at the Shanghai warehouses increased by 300,000 tons over the last month. Currently, LME copper traded at USD 8,5000 per ton, reflecting almost 15% fall from its record high of USD 10,000 per
China's crude oil imports are expected to face the six year high slowdown in growth, reported China National Petroleum Corp. Over 2011, oil imports expanded by 6% as compared to a 17.5% increase in the preceding year. However, natural gas imports are likely to grow by 45%, approaching 45 billion cubic meters as gas demand may account for 5% of
Swiss reported the record high trade balance last year. The trade balance posted a surplus of CHF 23.8 billion in 2011, reflecting 22% increase since 2010. Strong chemical products' trade last year contributed to the increase, said Federal Customs Administration. Over the year, exports increased by 2.1% as compared to a 7.2% jump in 2010 while imports declined by 0.1%
China plans to increase the minimum rice purchase price this year to stimulate farmers to increase grain output. The minimum Indica rice purchase price will be raised to USD 16.01 per 50 kg, reported the National Development and Reform Commission. At the same time, the Japonica rice purchase price will be raised to USD 22.18 per 50 kg.
US equities markets surged on Wednesday, lifted by improvements in world wide manufacturing data. S&P 500 Index gained 0.89% or 11.68 points and closed at 1,324.09. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index added 0.66% or 83.55 points and finished at 12,716.46 while Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.22% or 34.43 points to 2,848.27.
China's manufacturing activity grew last month, with the PMI expanding to 50.5 as compared to 50.3 in the preceding month. The figure was above the expectations of 48, reported the National Bureau of Statistics. The increase signalled more stability in the economic development in the country and may stimulate further policy easing. The major contributors to the expansion in the PMI were
Gold futures advanced during the Asian session on Thursday as strong manufacturing data from the US, EU and China returned investors' confidence in the global economic recovery. COMEX gold futures for delivery in April traded at USD 1,757.11 per troy ounce during the electronic trade, on the New Mercantile Exchange, soaring by 0.15%.
The US manufacturing activity expanded less than initially expected in January, with the PMI growing by 1 point to 54.1 in January as compared to 53.5 in the preceding month, reported the Institute for Supply Management. Experts predicted the PMI to gain 1.4 points to 54.5 last month. However, the New Orders Index added 2.8 points achieving 57.6, posting gains
Australia faced a surplus in the trade balance of goods and services in December. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the surplus widened in December by USD 366 million from November, attaining USD 1,709 million. Meanwhile, goods and services credits increased by 2% to USD 27,792 million last month.
Deutsche Bank AG, German biggest lender posted a 76% drop in 4th quarter profit as European debt turmoil harmed trading. Net revenue declined to EUR 147 million compared to EUR 601 million in previous year. Analysts predicted the net income to be at EUR 556 million. Deutsche Bank had a EUR 422 million pretax loss.
Crude oil contracts edged down during the Asian session on Thursday, following the report on the essential increase in the US oil inventories over the last week. However, inspiring PMI data from all over the world limited the losses. Light, sweet crude oil March contract traded at USD 97.54 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, easing down 0.07%.
China's authorities plan to enhance subsidies and investment in the agricultural sector to stabilize production of grain. The country will expand fiscal budget to direct more fixed-asset investments to the agricultural technology and science. Moreover, China will provide more subsidies for farming cooperatives involved in grain production.
The Euro Zone's CPI eased in compliance with expectations on January, reported Eurostat. The CPI hit 2.7% on January on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to 2.8% in the preceding month. However, the rate still remained above the ECB target of 2%. After the data release, the Euro stayed higher against the US Dollar and the pair EUR/USD added
Tobacco firms provided investors with best volatility adjusted profits in last 10 years. MSCI World Tobacco Index delivered the largest gain out of 67 indexes over last decade. Tobacco stocks rebuffed soaring volatility both through Dot Com bubble and financial crisis because smokers did not quit when tobacco prices climbed. Analysts expect cigarettes' producers' success to prolong also over current global
Aussie and Kiwi extended two day appreciation on global stock rally. Australian currency climbed 0.1% to USD 1.0713, reaching 5-month record high after investors anticipated news the Australia's trade surplus surpassed analysts forecasts. New Zealand Dollar also added 0.1% and advanced to USD 0.8334. Currently, AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0725 and NZD/USD is trading at USD 0.8338.
American Airlines announced it would cut 15% of its payroll, or 13,000 jobs. The AMR plans to reduce staffing costs by 20% to cut spending by USD 2 billion and increase revenue by USD 1 billion per year. The company that filed to protection against bankruptcy is ready to provide all due payments to its staff. The company is going
US non-farm private payrolls advanced less than initially expected last month, reported ADP. The non-farm employment increased by 170,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, confronting the expectations of a 190,000 rise. The non-farm payrolls increased by 292,000 in the preceding month.
The light vehicles and truck sales soared in January, reaching the fastest growth since 2009. The annual turnover for cars accelerated to 14.2 million compared to 13.4 million predicted by industry analysts. The leading car maker was General Motors (GM), followed by Ford Motors and Toyota Motors. GM remained the leading seller in 2011 despite the fact that its market
Facebook Inc. filed to obtain USD 5 billion in the biggest internet IPO. Menlo Park is estimating the value of company to be between USD 75 billion to USD 100 billion. Yesterday, Facebook appointed Morgan Stanley as the main underwriter of the IPO. The social network company reported an 24 times increase in sales during last four years, reaching USD 3.7
Honda Motors posted an unexpected expansion in US markets, ending 8 months of contraction in sales. The Japanese car maker reported an 8.8% annual growth on rebounded vehicle demand. Analysts previously predicted a 1.2% decline. Other Japanese auto producers including Toyota Motors and Nissan Motors also faced growth in sales in US markets.