DJIA
edged down 0.1% to close at 12,496.2. NASDAQ advanced 0.4% to settle at
2,850.1. S&P 500 edged up 0.2% to end at 1,318.9.
Nikkei
225 index is trading 0.3% lower at 8,532.1.
FTSE
100 tumbled 2.5% to settle at 5,266.4
FTSEurofirst
300 index fell 2.2% to 972.0.
In
Asia, crude oil for July delivery is trading 0.7% or 59 cents higher at $90.49
per barrel.
At
0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at
$1.5687, 0.1% lower against the EUR at €1.2475, 0.1% higher against the JPY at
¥124.75.
US Market
Snapshot
US
markets closed mostly higher yesterday, recouping earlier losses, as a
better-than-expected reading on new home sales for April and optimism over
probable concrete actions by European leaders to arrest the debt crisis boosted
market sentiment. However, the gains were capped as investors remained on edge
about Greece’s possible exit from the Eurozone. Homebuilder, Toll Brothers
gained 2.7%, as it posted upbeat earnings for the second quarter, while
retailer, Guess jumped 6.5%, as its quarterly profit beat market expectations.
Ford added 2.2%, as it was raised to “Investment grade” by Moody’s Investors
Service, enabling the company to reclaim its Blue Oval insignia and other
assets it mortgaged in 2006 as collateral for a loan to fund its turnaround
plan. However, Dell plunged 17.2% and led the technology sector lower, as it
missed earnings forecasts for its first quarter.
DJIA
declined marginally by 0.1% to close at 12,496.2. NASDAQ advanced 0.4% to
settle at 2,850.1. S&P 500 edged up 0.2% to end at 1,318.9.
Asian Market
Snapshot
Asian
markets are trading mostly lower this morning, amid speculation that European
leaders might fail to decide measures to resolve the Eurozone debt crisis, and
following a survey that showed China’s manufacturing activity would contract
for a seventh month in May. In Japan, energy sector stocks, Inpex and Japan
Petroleum Exploration traded lower, tracking overnight losses in crude oil
prices. Exporters, Canon, Nissan Motor and Mazda Motor paced lower, as the yen
appreciated against the dollar yesterday. In Hong Kong, banking stocks, China
Construction Bank, HSBC Holdings and The Bank of East Asia traded lower, as
risk aversion increased among investors. In South Korea, exporters, Kia Motors,
LG Electronics and SK Hynix paced higher, reversing their earlier session
losses.
Nikkei
225 index is trading 0.3% lower at 8,532.1. Hang Seng index is trading 0.4%
lower at 18,705.0, while the Kospi index is trading 0.3% higher, at 1,813.7.
UK Market Snapshot
UK
markets dropped sharply yesterday, amid heightened concerns about Greece’s
probable exit from the Euro-bloc, ahead of an EU summit, and after UK retail
sales fell at their fastest monthly pace in more than two years in April.
Vedanta Resources, the top laggard on the FTSE 100 index, slumped 9.1%, while
other miners such as Xstrata, Glencore International, Rio Tinto, Polymetal
International and Kazakhmys tumbled between 4.8% and 7.9%, as base metal prices
lost ground on fears of slowing growth in China and Eurozone risks. Tullow Oil
declined 5.0%, tracking a slump in oil prices. Retailers, Next, Tesco and Marks
& Spencer declined between 1.5% and 1.9%, as weak UK retail sales data for
April revealed a sharper-than-expected drop in clothing sales. Barclays declined
4.5%, amid speculation that it would restructure its operations or sell some of
its branches in Italy.
FTSE
100 tumbled 2.5% to settle at 5,266.4, while FTSE 250 slumped 1.9% to 10,375.7.
European Market
Snapshot
Other
European markets closed sharply lower yesterday, led by losses in banking and
energy sector stocks, amid mounting concerns that Greece might leave the euro
bloc, and after Japan’s exports rose less-than- estimated in April on an yearly
basis. Financial sector stocks, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole and Intesa Sanpaolo,
lost between 2.1% and 6.3%, as risk appetite decreased among investors.
ThyssenKrupp sank 4.3%, after Fitch Ratings trimmed its outlook on the stocks
to “Negative” from “Stable”. Deutsche Boerse lost 3.9%, amid speculation that
it might be removed from the Euro Stoxx 50 Index next week. Energy stock,
Total, declined 1.9%, in line with a fall in crude oil prices.
FTSEurofirst
300 index fell 2.2% to 972.0. German DAX Xetra 30 lost 2.3% to 6,285.8. French
CAC-40 closed 2.6% lower, at 3,003.3.
Commodities
In
Asia, crude oil for July delivery is trading 0.7% or 59 cents higher at $90.49
per barrel. Yesterday, crude oil for July delivery fell 2.1%, or $1.95, to
settle at $89.90 per barrel, as the dollar closed higher against the euro,
decreasing the demand for alternative investments such as commodities. Crude
oil also lost value, as supply concerns eased, on hopes of a deal between Iran
and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and after US crude oil inventories
increased by 883,000 barrels to 382.5 million barrels, a 22-year high, for the
week ended 18 May.
Gold
for immediate delivery is trading 0.2% higher today, at $1561.60 per ounce.
Gold for June delivery sank 1.8% or $28.20 to $1,548.40 per ounce yesterday, as
the dollar strengthened against the euro, decreasing the demand for the
precious metal as a hedge against the inflation.
Currencies
At
0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at
$1.5687, 0.1% lower against the EUR at €1.2475, 0.1% higher against the JPY at
¥124.75.
The
EUR is trading 0.1% higher against the USD at $1.2575. The currency is trading
0.2% higher against the JPY at ¥100.01. Earlier, the currency was trading
lower, as German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, reiterated opposition to jointly
issued common Euro bonds raising concerns that the debt crisis could worsen.
The
NZD is trading higher against the USD, after New Zealand’s exports exceeded
imports by NZ$355 million, from a revised NZ$186 million in March.
Yesterday,
the EUR ended lower against the USD, amid speculation that a summit of European
Union leaders would fail to issue new measures to prevent the spread of the
European sovereign-debt crisis.
The
JPY closed higher against most of its major peers, after the Bank of Japan left
its asset-purchase fund unchanged at ¥40 trillion.
The
AUD and CAD ended lower against the USD and the JPY, as lower commodity prices
decreased the demand for the commodity linked currencies.
The GBP finished higher
against the EUR, after minutes of the Bank of England’s May monetary-policy
meeting showed that eight members voted to keep the central bank’s bond-buying
programme on hold, while just one voted in favour of more QE.
No comments:
Post a Comment