US Market Reports |
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Stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Thursday, as traders weigh a drop in weekly jobless claims against an interest rate hike in Europe. The choppy trading extends a recent trend, which has come amid well below average trading activity.
While the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing a bigger than expected drop in jobless claims in the week ended April 2nd, any buying interest generated by the report has been offset by news of an interest rate hike by theEuropean Central Bank.
The Labor Department report showed that initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 382,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 392,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 385,000 from the 388,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, said, "Bottom line, the labor market continues to improve but with the pace never fast enough."
At the same time, traders are also digesting news of an interest rate hike in Europe, with the European Central Bank raising rates by a quarter point to 1.25 percent. The rate hike, which was widely expected, marks the first increase in rates since July of 2008.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a statement that the rate hike was warranted in the light of upside risks to price stability.
In other news out of Europe, Portugal finally had to seek a financial bailout from the European Union after funding costs skyrocketed in recent bond auctions. In response, the EU promised to swiftly process the loan request.
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, although moderate strength has emerged among gold, health insurance, and brokerage stocks. On the other hand, real estate and utilities stocks are seeing early weakness.
Among individual stocks, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) are moving sharply higher after the retailer reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.12 per share on sales of $2.51 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.97 per share on sales of $2.39 billion.
Drugstore chain operator Rite Aid (RAD) is also seeing early strength after it reported a slightly narrower fourth quarter loss compared to the same period a year ago. The company also forecast stronger than expected revenues for fiscal 2012.
The major averages have ticked to the upside in the past few minutes, with the Nasdaqmoving firmly into positive territory. The Nasdaq is up 10.42 points or 0.4 percent at 2,810.24, while the Dow is up 0.79 points or less than 0.1 percent at 12,427.54 and theS&P 500 is up 2.09 points or 0.2 percent at 1,337.63. |
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European Market Reports |
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| FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |
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European Markets Mostly Lower Ahead Of ECB Decision
The European markets are mostly lower in afternoon trading Thursday, ahead of interest rate decision from the European Central Bank. Cautious U.S. futures and markets that had a mixed outing in Asia/Pacific impacted sentiment. Miners and automakers are lower, while banks are gaining on news that Portugal will seek aid from European Union.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro zone blue chippers is adding 0.27 percent, while theStoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is rising 0.61 percent.
The German DAX is losing 0.04 percent, and the UK's FTSE 100 index is falling 0.15 percent. The French CAC 40 is slipping 0.01 percent and Switzerland's SMI is rising 0.74 percent.
Market analyst Frank Geilfuss told dpa-AFX that everyone is waiting to see what the European Central Bank does. Economists expect the ECB to deliver a 25 basis point hike to 1.25 percent, which would be the first hike since July 2008.
Commerzbank is leading the decliners by falling 6.1 percent. Nomura reportedly reduced its rating on the stock to "Reduce" from "Neutral." The company Wednesday revealed plans to repay its government aid. Deutsche Bank is adding 1.8 percent.
WestLB lowered Commerzbank's rating to "Sell" from "Reduce." and lowered the price target to 4.90 euros from 5.75 euros. Analyst Neil Smith said the planned repayment of Silent Bank Rescue Funds came earlier than expected.
Truck manufacturer MAN is declining 1.2 percent and BMW is down about 1 percent.Volkswagen and Daimler are moderately lower. BMW was lowered to "Underweight" from "Overweight" by Morgan Stanley, dpa-AFX said.
In Paris, builders Vinci and Bouygues are moderately lower. Carmaker Peugeot is down 0.55 percent and Renault is losing 0.2 percent.
Banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale and Natixis are gaining between 2.8 percent and 0.7 percent.
Vedanta Resources is losing 3 percent in London and Cairn Energy is down 1.75 percent on concerns about a deal between the two companies.
Xstrata, Anglo American, Eurasian Natural Resources, Antofagasta and BHP Billiton are notably lower.
Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC Holdings, Lloyds Banking Group andStandard Chartered are gaining between 1.5 percent and 1 percent.
Portuguese PSI 20 index is rising 1.4 percent. Banco Espirito Santo and Banco BPIare each surging 4.7 percent.
In economic news, German industrial output rose 1.6 percent on month in February, data released by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said. That was better than a 0.5 percent increase economists had expected following January's revised 2 percent rise.
Across Asia/Pacific, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.22 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.07 percent. However, Australia's All Ordinaries slipped 0.12 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a cautious open on Wall Street. In the previous session, theDow closed up 0.3 percent, the Nasdaq rose 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 edged up 0.2 percent.
Among commodities, crude for May delivery is adding $0.01 to $108.84 per barrel and June gold is rising $1.6 to $1460.1. |
Asia Market Reports |
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| Nikkei 225 | Hang Seng | Bse Sensex | S&P/ASX 20 |
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Asian Markets End Cautious Awaiting ECB Decision
Asian markets witnessed mixed trading for the third consecutive session on Thursday ahead of the interest rate decision from the European Central Bank later. While the markets in Australia, HongKong, India and South Korea ended in negative territory with minor losses, the markets in China, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Taiwan ended in the green with modest gains. Volumes were relatively thin as the traders exercised caution ahead of the ECB's rate decision
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 Index slipped 4.80 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 4,908.10 points, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended at 5,005.50 points, representing a minor loss of 5.90 points, or 0.12 percent from previous close..
On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statisticsrevealed that the unemployment rate in the country was 4.9 percent in March, being forecasts for 5.0 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous close. The report further noted that as much as 37,800 new jobs were added during the month, well above the expectations for 24,000 new jobs following the surprise loss of 10,100 jobs in February. The participation rate inched higher to 65.8 percent from 65.7 percent in the previous month.
A report released by the Australian Industry Group revealed that an index measuring construction activity in the country declined sharply in Mar h, coming in at 39.4. Down 5.2 points from 44.6 in the previous month, the index declined for the 10th consecutive month All four industry sub-sectors were down, led by a 15.7 percent plunge in apartment construction to 30.4 points.
Light sweet crude oil futures for May delivery was trading at $108.57 in electronic trading, down $0.26 per barrel from previous close at $108.83 in New York on Wednesday.
Mixed trading was witnessed among the bank stocks. While the shares of ANZ Bankslipped 0.14 percent, National Australia Bank declined 0.31 percent and Westpac Banking Corp was down 0.12 percent, shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australiabucked the trend and ended in the gren with a gian of 0.48 percent. Investment banking company Macquarie Group ended in the red with a loss of 1.69 percent.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 6.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to 9,590.93, while the broader Topix Index of first section issues was up 1.49 points, or 0.18 percent, to 841.10.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan left its key rate at near zero and introduced a 1 trillion yen loan package for financial institutions in the earthquake hit areas. The Policy Board decided to maintain the uncollateralized overnight call rate at around 0 to 0.1 percent by a unanimous vote on Thursday. At the Monetary Policy Meeting, the board also judged it necessary to provide longer-term funds to financial institutions in disaster areas so as to support restoration and rebuilding works. Accordingly, it will offer maximum 1 trillion yen loans at a rate of 0.1 percent per annum. Loans will be given for a period of one year against pooled collateral.
Shares of electric power companies and gas companies advanced slightly, Among the electric companies, Chubu Electric Power Co., climbed 5.94 percent, Kansai Electric Power Co., and the Tokyo Elecric Power Co. or TEPCO remained unchanged from previous close on huge volumes.
Among the gas companies, the Osaka Gas Co. was higher by 0.96 percent, whileTokyo Gas Co. was higher by 0.27 percent.
Export related stocks ended in the positive territory on weaker local currency against theUS dollar.
In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended in positive territory with a gain of 6.71 points, or 0.22 percent, at 3,008.57..
In Hong Kong, the benchmark HangSeng Index ended at 24,281.80, down 3.25 points, or 0.01 percent from previous close.
In Indonesia, the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index ended in positive territory with a minor gain of 2.79 points, or 0.07 percent, at 3,730.58.
In Singapore, the Strait Times Index ended flat with a minor gain of 1.32 points, or 0.04 percent, at 3,171.65.
In India, the benchmark BSE index ended in the negative territory with a loss of 21.12 points at 19,591.18, while the broader Nifty index ended at 5,885.70, down 6.05 points from previous close.
In South Korea, the benchmark KOSPI Index ended at 2,122.14, registering a modest loss of 4.57 points, or 0.21 percent from previous close.
In Taiwan, the benchmark Taiwan Weighted Index ended at 8,901.72, registering a gain of 49.74 points, or 0.56 percent, from previous close.
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Forex Top Story |
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Euro Treads Water As Markets Yawn At ECB Rate Hike
The euro showed little direction Thursday morning, after the European Central Bank hiked its key interest rate for the first time since the global economic collapse of 2008.
In an effort to combat inflation, the ECB lifted its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, the first rate hike since July 2008.
The move came hours after Portugal finally sought financial assistance from the European Union to resolve its debt problems.
The euro weakened slightly to $1.4265 from yesterday's 15-month peak of $1.4348, as traders considered comments from ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet's press conference.
Trichet said this morning that the ECB's monetary policy remains "very accomodative," and that liquidity remains ample.
The rate hike will keep inflation expectations anchored, he added, signaling the ECB will take a wait-and-see attitude before aggressively hiking rates.
The euro wobbled against the sterling, bouncing back and forth near GBP 0.8750. Earlier this morning, British policymakers refrained from raising interest rate and also maintained the size of their asset purchase program at GBP 200 billion.
The euro edged down very slightly against the yen, slipping to Y121.70 from a yearly high of Y122.61. The euro has been surging against the yen since the G7 intervened to weaken the Japanese currency in the wake of March's devastating earthquake.
On Thursday, the Bank of Japan left its key rate at near zero and introduced a 1 trillion yen loan package for financial institutions in the earthquake hit areas.
The Policy Board decided to maintain the uncollateralized overnight call rate at around 0 to 0.1 percent by a unanimous vote on Thursday.
In economic news from the U.S., first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by a little more than expected in the week ended April 2nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with jobless claims remaining below the key 400,000 level.
The report showed that jobless claims fell to 382,000, down 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 392,000. The previous week's revised figure, however, was adjusted up from initial estimate of 388,000.
| Canadian Market Reports |
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TSX May Edge Up At Open Amid Firm Commodities
Toronto stocks may edge up at open Thursday morning amid steady commodities prices and a rate hike by the European Central Bank for the first time in nearly three years to curb inflation. Meanwhile, Canadian building permits soared month-over-month in February.
Asian markets ended mixed overnight, with the Shanghai Composite adding 0.22 percent. European stocks were trading mixed amid ECB rate hike. Yesterday,Portugal said it would request EU for bailout funding that could rise as high as $129 billion.
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher open.
On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index leveled off from its 30-month high, shedding 67.89 points or 0.48 percent to 14,202.65.
The price of crude oil was steady amid mixed inventories data. Wednesday during trading hours, the EIA revealed U.S. crude oil inventories moved up by 2.0 million barrels, while gasoline stocks dipped by 400,000 barrels in the week ended April 01. Analysts were expecting crude oil inventories to gain by 2.0 million barrels last week. Crude for May was up $0.26 to $109.09 a barrel.
The price of gold firm near its record high, with gold for June adding $1.30 to $1,459.80 an ounce
In corporate news from Canada, dollar store operator Dollarama Inc. reported a 23.6 percent rise in profit for the fourth quarter. Net earnings rose to $42 million or $0.56 per share from $34 million or $0.45 per share last year. Analysts were expecting the company to report earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter.
Airlines operator Air Canada reported a 4.2 percent rise in its March system traffic to 4.41 billion revenue passenger miles or RPMs from 4.23 billion RPMs last year. System-wide capacity for the month of March improved 7.6 percent to 5.54 billion available seat miles or ASMs from 5.15 billion ASMs in the year earlier period.
Newmont Mining Corp. announced that it has completed the acquisition of Fronteer Gold Inc. for cash consideration of about C$2.3 billion. Accordingly, shareholders of Fronteer Gold received C$14.00 in cash and 0.25 of a common share of a new company, 'Pilot Gold'.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said Municipalities issued building permits worth C$5.8 billion in February, up 9.9 percent from January. Economists expected an increase of 1.4 percent from the previous month.
From south of the border, the U.S. Labor Department said that initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 382,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 392,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 385,000 from the 388,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Earlier today, the Bank of England maintained its benchmark interest rates at 0.50 percent and held asset purchase plan at 200 billion pounds.
The European Central Bank today hiked its key interest rate for the first time in nearly three years to curb the rise in consumer prices. The central bank lifted its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, the first rate hike since July 2008. The decision was in line with economists' expectations. |
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