August 08, 2012 Financial Market Summary

At 0500 BST today, DJIA futures are trading 15.0 points lower.

Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.6% higher at 8,946.7.

At 0500 BST today, FTSE 100 futures are trading 6.5 points lower.

At 0500 BST today, German DAX Xetra 30 futures are trading 2.0 points higher, while French CAC-40 futures are trading 6.6 points lower.

In Asia, crude oil for September delivery is trading 0.4% or $0.36 lower at $93.31 per barrel.

At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at $1.5615, 0.1% lower against the EUR at €1.2596, and 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥ 122.63.

US Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, DJIA futures are trading 15.0 points lower.

Yesterday, DJIA advanced 0.4% to settle at 13,168.6. NASDAQ added 0.9% to close at 3,015.9. S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to settle at 1,401.4. Solid corporate earnings reports and hopes of stimulus from global central banks helped the US markets to close higher for the third-consecutive session yesterday. Fossil surged 31.5%, leading the gains in S&P 500 index, as the firm forecasted growth in Asia and Europe, amid higher-than-expected second quarter results. Boeing rose 2.2%, after it increased prices of commercial airplanes, while Cisco gained 2.7%, helped by positive comments from Deutsche Bank. Chesapeake Energy gained 9.4%, after the company raised its production forecast. In after-hour’s session, online-travel company, Priceline.com plunged 15.4%, as its quarterly forecast missed market expectations; while Walt Disney lost 1.4% after its quarterly revenue fell short of market expectations.

Asian Market Snapshot

Asian markets are trading sharply higher this morning, taking cues from overnight gains on Wall Street, as job openings in the US increased in June, marking its largest increase in four years. In Japan, Nikon traded higher, after media reports revealed that the firm would partner with Intel to develop a next-generation semiconductor product. Sharp paced values, as Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry appeared committed in investing in the Japanese firm. In Hong Kong, Melco Crown Entertainment is trading higher, as it posted a rise in its second-quarter profit. In South Korea, E-Mart surged, as guidelines requiring mandatory Sunday closures of large retail stores had been suspended by court orders. Halla Climate Control rebounded following bargain-hunting by investors.

Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.6% higher at 8,946.7. Hang Seng index is trading 0.2% higher at 20,114.4. Kospi index is trading 1.4% higher at 1,913.9.

UK Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, FTSE 100 futures are trading 6.5 points lower.

Brazil's Itaú Unibanco Holding has denied being in discussions with Royal Bank of Scotland to acquire its unit, Citizens Financial and further added that there is no proposal or binding agreement for Citizens.

RusPetro has announced that Nervent Limited, a company 91.4% owned by Executive Director, Alexander Chistyakov and 8.6% owned by Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Reed, has raised its stake to 13.94% after acquiring 8,439,833 shares from Makayla Investments Limited.

European Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, German DAX Xetra 30 futures are trading 2.0 points higher, while French CAC-40 futures are trading 6.6 points lower.

Freenet has reported that revenues for the first-half of 2012 stood at €1.49 billion compared to €1.55 billion in the same period last year, while EBITDA stood at €170.7 million against €162.3 million last year.

Maurel & Prom reported that consolidated sales for the half year stood at €225.9 million, up 24% compared to 2011. The company affirmed its objective to achieve output of about 24,500 bopd by the end of 2012.

Commodities

In Asia, crude oil for September delivery is trading 0.4% or $0.36 lower at $93.31 per barrel.

Yesterday, crude oil for September delivery gained 1.6% or $1.47 to $93.67 per barrel, tracking gains in equity markets and as the dollar weakened amid renewed hopes of additional stimulus by US Federal Reserve.

Oil prices also rose, as concerns over possible supply disruptions in the Middle East escalated and after the US Energy Department raised its crude-oil projection for 2012 to $93.90 per barrel from $92.83 last month.  Later in the day, the American Petroleum Institute reported that oil inventories dropped 5.35 million barrels to 364.3 million last week.

Gold for immediate delivery is trading marginally higher today, at $1,610.90 per ounce.

Gold for December delivery settled down 0.2% or $3.40 at $1,612.80 per ounce yesterday, as investors decided to book profit following two days of solid gains.

Yesterday, copper 3-month futures rose 2.0% or $150.0, to close at $7,561.00 /MT. Aluminium 3-month futures rose 2.0% or $35.0, to close at $1,780.00 /MT.

Currencies

At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at $1.5615, 0.1% lower against the EUR at €1.2596, and 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥ 122.63.

The EUR is trading 0.1% higher against the USD at $1.2396. The EUR is trading slightly higher against the JPY at ¥ 97.38. However, demand for the euro was capped, ahead of a report which is expected to show that industrial production in Germany dropped in June.

Earlier in the trading session, the JPY traded lower against the USD, as the extra yield on two-year US treasuries over Japan’s government bonds widened to the most in one month.

The AUD is trading higher against the USD, after data indicated that Australian home-loan approvals rose in June by the most this year.

Yesterday, the EUR ended higher against the JPY and flat against USD, amid rising speculation that the ECB would take appropriate measures to stem the region’s debt crisis.

The GBP closed higher against the USD, after reports revealed that UK manufacturing output and industrial production fell less-than-expected in June.

The AUD ended lower against the USD, after the Reserve Bank of Australia left its key lending rate unchanged at 3.5%.

The NZD closed lower against the USD, after Prime Minister John Key stated that there might be scope for the central bank to lower borrowing costs.

Macroeconomic Snapshot

The consumer credit in the US rose by $6.5 billion in June, its weakest growth in eight months, after a downwardly revised increase of $16.7 billion reported in May.

The job openings in the US, increased by 105,000 to 3.76 million in June, marking its largest increase in four years and compared to 3.66 million recorded in May.

Standard & Poor's Rating Services revised its outlook on the long-term ratings on Greece to “Negative”, reflecting the possibility of a downgrade if Greece fails to secure the next disbursement of the EU/IMF Program.

Overall bank lending in Japan rose 1.0% to ¥396.424 trillion in July, compared to a 0.8% expansion recorded in June.

Japan’s current account surplus rose to ¥433.3 billion in June, compared to a surplus of ¥215.1 billion recorded in May.