The number of applications for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly fluctuated close to four-month record high last week, signalling the recovery may be slowing. Jobless claims declined by 2000 from a reviewed 388 000 to 386 000 during the week that ended April 14, Labor Department reported on Thursday. Economists questioned by Bloomberg earlier predicted a fall to 370 000.
Rural commodities continued to fall as excellent weather conditions in the key planting regions escalated worries over surplus in the market.Sugar was the top-loser after India reported it plans to allow additional one metric ton of the sweetener's exports this year to ease oversupply in the domestic market.Coffee rebounded after previous lows as concerns over record low Colombian crops provided
Energy commodities were exposed to the inventory buildup at the US warehouses and global demand worries as economic state of the Euro Zone remained uncertain.Crude oil erased previous gains after the EIA reported about 3.9 million barrel increase in the US inventories. Brent oil followed crude oil as faster than planned reversal of the Seaway pipeline in the US narrowed
Industry metals lost momentum lent by the global growth outlook improvement and slid along with weakening global equities and uncertainty over China's demand.Aluminum followed bearish trend provoking an increase in the number of short. However, spot demand started to improve as the US and Japan's economies commenced to recover.Copper was flat as risk-sentiment was dented by the Euro Zone's debt
Precious metals continued to be pressured by renewed concerns over the Euro Zone's debt crisis ahead of the key Spain's bond auction on Thursday that will define a future trend of the commodity group.Gold tumbled amid the greenback's strength against the Euro caused by escalated concerns about the Euro Zone's growth perspectives. Weak physical demand from Asia also contributed to
German DAX index traded mixed on Thursday. It climbed in the first half of session but retreated later as US jobless claims unexpectedly increased to 386 000 last week. Carmakers and financials led the losses for the index. BMW AG and Daimler AG each dropped 0.5% and 2.2% respectively while Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank slipped 1.3% and 0.8%. Beiersdorf jumped
British FTSE 100 index recovered on Thursday lifted by financial and resource stocks as commodity prices climbed. The gains were limited as Spain sold its benchmark 10-year bonds at higher yield than at previous auction. Hargreaves Lansdown rallied 3.6% on news its assets surged by GBP 2.6 billion in the 1st quarter, reaching GBP 26 billion. Engineering group IMI gained
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell on Thursday, breaching the upward trend across the region as investors awaited the results from French and Spanish debt auctions. Nikkei 225 index gave up 0.82% or 78.88 points and finished at 9,588.38. Nippon Sheet Glass tumbled 7%, the lowest since 1976 as its CEO Craig Naylor resigned after a conflict with the board about
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied on Thursday as PBOC said it will guarantee adequate liquidity in financial system through cuts in the reserve requirement ratio, signalling the lender is preparing additional easing measures. Hang Seng index surged 1.03% or 214.28 points to 20,995.01. Energy shares climbed with Cnooc adding 1.6% and China Petroleum & Chemical soaring 1.7%. European demand
Dow Jones Industrial Average index traded lower on Wednesday as Heavyweight Intel and IBM financial reports disappointed investors. Blue chip index dropped declined 0.63% or 82.79 points and settled at 13,032.75 with technology stocks posting the biggest losses. IBM tumbled 3.5% and Intel lost 1.8% after IBM reported weaker sales and Intel issued lower than expected gross margin forecasts. On
S&P 500 index declined on Wednesday as large scale IT companies issued disappointing financials results. US benchmark index shed 0.41% or 5.64 points and settled 1,385.14. Genworth Financial fell 24% after company postponed plans for a public offering of its Australian division backing home loans, citing accelerating losses in the country. Oil services firm Halliburton added, 4.6% after posting a
New Zealand's Dollar weakened, reaching a 1-week record low against its US peer as the prices of commodities declined, hampering investor interest for currencies of raw material-exporting nations. Kiwi tumbled 0.6% versus US Dollar to USD 0.8159 while Aussie slipped 0.3% to USD 1.0359. Currently NZD/USD is trading at USD 0.8162 and AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0358.
France and Spain plan to assemble EUR 13.5 billion (USD 17.6 billion) in bill auction today as Spanish PM Rajoy struggles to reduce budget deficit and presidential elections in the France drive yields up. France is issuing 2017 bills and 2018 inflation linked notes, a maximum target of EUR 11 billion while Spain is planning to raise EUR 2.5 billion in 2-year and 10-year
The trade balance of Japan dropped more than initially expected in March, reported the Ministry of Finance. Japan's deficit approached 621 million Yens as compared to deficit of 321 million Yen in February. Analysts expected Japan's trade balance to decrease to minus 430 million Yen in March.
The IMF announced that it has secured 320 billion US Dollars in drive for increasing the fund's lending capacity. Switzerland and Poland have already contributed to the fund expansion. The IMF hopes to raise about 400 billion US Dollars in commitments from countries around the world. The move followed surging borrowing costs of Italy and Spain that escalated concerns over
The CPI of New Zealand increased less than widely projected in the first quarter of 2012. New Zealand's CPI increased by 0.5% in Q1 after declining by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011, reported Statistics New Zealand. Experts predicted CPI to accelerate by 0.6% in Q1 of 2012.
Japan's car shipments surged last month, lifting the country's exports. The car shipments increased by 33.6% in March on an annualized basis while overall exports edged up by 5.9%. The figures indicate recovery of the auto sector after recent earthquake as well as strengthening demand from the US. Weaker Yen also contributed to the exports increase, said Ryoji Musha from
Switzerland's economic expectations improved this month, turning to the optimism after falling for four months in line. The economic expectations indicator, measured by the Centre for European Economic Research, gained 2.1 points, approaching 2.1 this month after steady figure in March. Experts projected the indicator to fall by 8.0 points, attaining minus 8.0 this month.
Gold futures increased at the Asian trade on Thursday, erasing previous losses caused by speculation that in case Span's debt auction proves to be unsuccessful the US Dollar will catch momentum. Moreover, weak physical demand from Asian consumers has continued to limit the upswing of the yellow metal. COMEX gold for delivery in June traded at 1,642.55 US Dollars per
Crude oil prices inched up during Asia session on Thursday, after losses caused by unexpected increase in the US crude oil stockpiles coupled with demand uncertainties from the indebted Euro Zone. Light, sweet crude oil futures for June delivery traded at 103.25 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as compared to the previous session's low of
US stock indices traded lower on Wednesday as Intel and IBM reported weaker than expected earnings. S&P 500 shed 0.41% or 5.64 points to 1,385.14 while Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 0.63% or 82.79 points to 13,032.75. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.37% or 11.37 points and closed at 3,031.45.
European stock markets closed in red on Wednesday as Spain reported a rapid surge in its non-performing loans. Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.7%, Italian FTSE MIB Index dropped 2.4% and French CAC 40 gave up 1.6%. German DAX 30 index sank 1% and UK FTSE 100 index edged down 0.4%.
The Japanese Yen weakened against most of its 16 peers as BoJ indicated it is putting efforts to depreciate the Yen and support the nation to return to export surplus. Japanese Yen dropped 0.3% versus US Dollar to JPY 81.47 on Asian trade. It slipped also 0.3% against shared currency to JPY 106.91.
Sony Corp. prepares to eliminate 326 jobs at UK music company EMI Publishing in two years after European and US regulators accept Sony's acquisition of EMI Publishing worth USD 2.2 billion. The job reductions equal to around 60% of total workforce will create annual cost reductions amounting to USD 70 million.