September 13, 2012 Financial Market Summary

At 0500 BST today, FTSE 100 futures are trading 9.9 points lower.

At 0500 BST today, German DAX Xetra 30 futures are trading 6.5 points lower, while French CAC-40 futures are trading 2.5 points down.

At 0500 BST today, DJIA futures are trading 12.0 points down

Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.5% higher, at 9,001.4.

In Asia, crude oil for October delivery is trading 0.1% or $0.08 higher at $97.09 per barrel.

At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading slightly higher against the USD at $1.6111, 0.1% lower against the EUR at €1.2473, and marginally lower against the JPY at ¥125.31.

US Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, DJIA futures are trading 12.0 points down

Yesterday, DJIA edged up 0.1% to settle at 13,333.4. NASDAQ rose 0.2% to end at 3,114.3. S&P 500 gained 0.2% to close at 1,436.6.

US stocks ended higher yesterday, after the German constitutional court upheld the validity of the eurozone rescue fund and on continued optimism over fresh monetary easing from the Federal Reserve.

Apple gained 1.4%, as it unveiled its widely anticipated next generation iPhone 5. Abercrombie & Fitch spurred 5.4%, amid reports that it has retained Goldman Sachs as an advisor.

KB Home, Lennar and PulteGroup rallied between 4.3% and 6.0%, following upbeat comments on the housing market from Goldman Sachs.

JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs added 0.8%, 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively, as risk appetite improved amongst investors. Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel gained 1.5% and 2.0%, respectively, as they are among the carriers that would sell the iPhone 5.

After the closing bell, Apple edged up 0.2%, amid optimism about the launch of its new iPhone 5. SunPower added 0.8%, after it extended its master supply agreement with Toshiba for the next few years.

Asian Market Snapshot

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher this morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, and as investors remained optimistic about introduction of fresh monetary easing ahead of a US Federal Reserve decision later in the day.

In Japan, component suppliers to Apple, Meiko Electronic, Foster Electric, Sumida Corp and Murata Manufacturing, traded higher, amid expectations of increase in their revenues.

In Hong Kong, Sun Hung Kai Properties paced gains, on expectation that it would post an upbeat result for the fiscal year ended in June.

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics rose even after their rival Apple unveiled its new iPhone but lacked some features as expected by some analysts.

Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.5% higher, at 9,001.4. Hang Seng index is trading 0.1% up, at 20,092.1, while the Kospi index is trading marginally lower, at 1,949.5.

UK Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, FTSE 100 futures are trading 9.9 points lower.

BG Group announced that Metrogas, its Argentine natural-gas distribution unit has received court approval to proceed with its $250 million debt restructuring. BG controls Metrogas through a 55.0% stake in parent holding company GASA.

Financial Times reported that Barclays has agreed to sell 60.0% of its stake in University Partnerships Programme, which has an enterprise value of £1.4 billion, to PGGM, a Dutch Pension fund for about £1.0 billion.

European Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, German DAX Xetra 30 futures are trading 6.5 points lower, while French CAC-40 futures are trading 2.5 points down.

Talanx, cancelled plans for an IPO as investors were reluctant to pay the price the company had expected to achieve in the offering.

The trade union of Thales has decided to suspend all social contact with its CEO, Luc Vigneron, and his management board, criticizing their management methods and their strategies in an open letter.

Commodities

In Asia, crude oil for October delivery is trading 0.1% or $0.08 higher at $97.09 per barrel.

Yesterday, crude oil for October delivery fell 0.2% or $0.16 to $97.01 per barrel, after the US Energy Department reported an unexpected rise of 1.99 million barrels in US crude stockpiles in the week ended 7 September.

However, oil prices rose earlier in the session, after Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court cleared the way for the European Stability Mechanism. Escalating worries over supply disruption from the Middle East region and hopes of further quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve also helped to limit some losses in oil prices.

Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.1% lower today, at $1,731.13 per ounce.

Gold for December delivery settled down 0.1% or $1.20 at $1,733.70 per ounce yesterday, as investors decided to book profit following recent gains and after Germany’s Constitutional Court approved ratification of the euro zone bailout fund, partially easing concerns over the region’s debt crisis and decreasing the demand for the precious metal as a safe haven asset.

Yesterday, copper 3-month futures rose 0.4% or $35.5, to close at $8,115.50 /MT. Aluminium 3-month futures gained 1.3% or $25.0, to close at $1,955.00 /MT.

Currencies

At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading slightly higher against the USD at $1.6111, 0.1% lower against the EUR at €1.2473, and marginally lower against the JPY at ¥125.31, ahead of the release of BoE’s quarterly bulletin.

The EUR is trading 0.1% higher against the USD at $1.2917 and slightly higher against the JPY at ¥100.46, extending its yesterday’s gains. However, gains were capped, after Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras received renewed opposition from Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis and Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos over plans to reduce spending that are key to receiving international aid.

The USD continued to trade lower against other major currencies, amid mounting speculations of a third round of quantitative easing by US Fed and as risk appetite improved among inventors.

The NZD is trading higher against the USD, after the New Zealand’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, in line with market expectations.

Yesterday, the EUR ended higher against the USD and other major currencies, after Germany’s constitutional court stated that the country can ratify the European Stability Mechanism, a 500 billion-euro rescue fund. The court also ruled Germany’s €190 billion contribution cannot be increased without legislative approval.

The GBP ended higher against the USD, after data revealed that UK jobless claims fell sharply in August.

The AUD ended higher against the USD, as demand for the high-yielding currency increased amid rising speculations of further monetary steps by US Fed and after Premier Wen Jiabao signaled China has room to add economic stimulus.

Macroeconomic Snapshot

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the UK rose 0.1% to 101.7 in July, following a revised 0.4% fall recorded in June.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, claimant count in the UK fell by 15,000 to 1.57 million in August, following a drop of 13,600 recorded in July. At the same time, unemployment rate stood at 8.1% in the three months to July.

Germany's annual harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) rose to 2.2% in August from 1.9% in July.

French consumer price inflation rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.7%, from -0.4% in the preceding month.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, wholesale inventories in the US rose 0.7% to $485.2 billion in July, compared to a 0.2% drop recorded in June.

On a monthly basis, import price index in the US rose 0.7% in August, following a revised 0.7% drop recorded in July.

 

Source: www.etxcapital.com