September 11, 2012 Financial Market Summary

At 0500 BST today, FTSE 100 futures are trading 2.2 points lower.

At 0500 BST today, German DAX Xetra 30 futures are trading 14.4 points down, while French CAC-40 futures are trading 5.0 points lower.

At 0500 BST today, DJIA futures are trading 38.0 points down.

Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.8% lower, at 8,797.0.

In Asia, crude oil for October delivery is trading 0.3% or $0.24 lower at $96.30 per barrel.

At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.1% higher against the USD at $1.6012, flat against the EUR at €1.2531, and 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥125.22.

US Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, DJIA futures are trading 38.0 points down.

Yesterday, DJIA edged down 0.4% to settle at 13,254.3. NASDAQ shed 1.0% to end at 3,104.0. S&P 500 slipped 0.6% to close at 1,429.1.

US stocks retreated yesterday, amid concerns about the progress of talks between Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the officials from troika over Greece’s planned bailout.

AIG declined 2.0%, after the Treasury Department decided to sell its majority stake in the insurer. Boeing dropped 2.5%, on fresh fears over defence spending cuts.

Intel lost 3.8%, as Morgan Stanley cut its earnings forecasts and Nomura Holdings issued a warning over its next years’ profit. Packaging stocks, KapStone Paper & Packaging, Packaging Corp. of America, International Paper and Rock-Tenn dropped between 2.2% and 4.8%, as Deutsche Bank slashed its rating on the sector from “Buy” to “Hold”.

Transocean declined 3.5%, as it mulled to dispose 38 of its shallow-water rigs to Shelf Drilling International.

After the closing bell, Shuffle Master declined 6.8%, as its Q3 earnings missed market expectations. Navidea Biopharmaceuticals tumbled 35.3%, after the US FDA rejected its radioactive tracing agent Lymphoseek.

Asian Market Snapshot

Asian stock markets are trading lower this morning, as investors remained cautious, ahead of the German court ruling over the constitutional validity of the ESM fund and the US Fed-meeting this week.

In Japan, Panasonic slipped after Moody’s cut its credit-rating on the company citing weak earnings and higher debt.

In Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings slid as it mulled to dispose its Pakistan business to JS Bank, while China Construction Bank, Citric Securities and China Pacific declined, after a slew of secondary offerings were done at discounts in the last week.

In South Korea, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering lost values amid bleak trading outlook.

Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.8% lower, at 8,797.0. Hang Seng index is trading 0.6% down, at 19,716.8, while the Kospi index is trading 0.2% lower, at 1,921.8.

UK Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, FTSE 100 futures are trading 2.2 points lower.

BP is set to sell its oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico to Plains Exploration and Production for about $5.5 billion in order to raise cash to cover the costs of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

GlaxoSmithKline announced that it had purchased 1,800,000 of its Ordinary Shares of 25 pence each. The price range paid for the shares was between 1,392.5p to 1,415.5p.

European Market Snapshot

At 0500 BST today, German DAX Xetra 30 futures are trading 14.4 points down, while French CAC-40 futures are trading 5.0 points lower.

According to a report by JP Morgan, Siemens is required to save around €4.0 billion and increase productivity in the next two years, in order to remain competitive in the market.

Klépierre announced that it had successfully sold 7-years bond issue worth €500 million with a coupon of 2.75%. The issue was oversubscribed by nearly six times and placed with investors mostly from Europe.

Commodities

In Asia, crude oil for October delivery is trading 0.3% or $0.24 lower at $96.30 per barrel.

Yesterday, crude oil for October delivery added 0.1% or $0.12 to $96.54 per barrel, on increasing optimism that the US Federal Reserve would introduce a third round of quantitative easing to support the economic growth and amid renewed worries over escalating violence in Syria and lingering tensions between Iran and the West.

However, oil prices fell earlier in the session, after Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi stated that supply and demand fundamentals do not justify the current high price of oil. Fears over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in China’s economy also weighed on oil prices.

Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.1% higher today, at $1,730.75 per ounce.

Gold for December delivery settled down 0.5% or $8.70 at $1,731.80 per ounce yesterday, amid profit booking following sharp gains in last week and as investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting due later in the week.

Yesterday, copper 3-month futures rose 2.5% or $195.0, to close at $8,050.50 /MT. Aluminium 3-month futures gained 2.4% or $45.0, to close at $1,905.00 /MT.

Currencies

At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.1% higher against the USD at $1.6012, flat against the EUR at €1.2531, and 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥125.22. The GBP is trading higher against the USD, after RICS reported that UK house price balance rose more-than-expected in August.

The EUR is trading 0.1% higher against the USD at $1.2779 and 0.1% higher against the JPY at ¥99.94, amid increasing optimism that the region’s leaders are taking efforts to contain the debt crisis. However, investors await a German court order on the nation’s participation in Europe’s permanent bailout fund.

The AUD and NZD is trading lower against the USD, amid concerns that slowing Chinese economy would dampen the outlook for Australian and New Zealand commodity exports. The AUD also fell, after a private report revealed that business confidence in Australia declined in August, fueling speculations that the Reserve Bank of Australia might resume interest-rate cuts to support economic growth.

Yesterday, the USD ended higher against the EUR and other major currencies, as investors shifted their focus on a Germany’s constitutional court decision regarding challenges to the country’s participation in the ESM and the US Federal Reserve meeting due later in the week. Adding to the negative sentiment for the EUR, Greece acknowledged that it was having trouble persuading foreign lenders to accept a plan to save nearly €12 billion over two years.

The AUD ended lower against the USD, reversing Friday’s sharp gains, after Australia's biggest export market China reported dismal trade data for August.

Macroeconomic Snapshot

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that, the house price balance index in the UK rose to a reading of -19.0 in August, compared to an upwardly revised reading of -23.0 posted in July.

On a monthly basis, manufacturing output in France rose 0.9% in July, compared to a flat reading recorded in June.

The Sentix investor confidence index in the eurozone rose to a reading of -23.2 in September, from -30.3 in August.

Consumer credit in the US fell by $3.28 billion in July, following an upwardly revised increase of $11.82 billion recorded in June.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the consumer confidence index in Japan rose to a reading of 40.5 in August, compared to a reading of 39.7 recorded in the previous month.

Japanese Eco watchers survey indicated that outlook decreased to a reading of 43.6 in August, from a reading of 44.9 recorded in July.

 

Source: www.etxcapital.com