European Markets Are Mixed, Asian Markets Closed Way Up

MIKE BIRD

 OCT. 29, 2014

Food52/James Ransom

European equities indices are mixed this morning, after a strong night in Asia.

Here’s the scorecard, so far:

France’s CAC 40 is up 0.19%

Spain’s IBEX is down 0.16%

Italy’s FTSE MIB is down 1.43%

Germany’s DAX is up 0.65%

Britain’s FTSE 100 is up 0.43%

Asian markets had a good trading day and closed way up. The Nikkei finished up 1.46%. The Hang Seng closed up 1.27%.

US futures are basically flat: The S&P is up 0.25 points and the Dow is down 13 points. 

Mortgage lending figures from the Bank of England are out at 5:30 a.m. ET, which should give some indication of the health of the housing market in September. Analysts are expecting a slight dip.

From the US later, the major scheduled news is the Federal Reserve’s announcement on rates and QE at 2 p.m. ET. Most importantly, despite the volatility of recent weeks, they are expected to taper the last of the country’s quantitative easing purchases and end QE3. 

European Markets Are Climbing, Asian Markets Closed Down, US Futures Are Down

MIKE BIRD

 OCT. 21, 2014

mariachily / Flickr

It’s another rocky morning: Most of the big European stock indexes opened up, but have now climbed into positive territory. This follows news that Chinese growth has fallen to a six-year low, which came out overnight.

Here’s the scorecard, so far: 

France’s CAC 40 is up 0.44%

Spain’s IBEX is down 0.08%

Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 0.52%

Britain’s FTSE 100 is up 0.16%

Germany’s DAX is up 0.37%

The Nikkei ended down 2.03%, with no repeat of Monday’s impressive climb. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is currently down 0.30% 

US stock futures have taken a hit: Both Dow and S&P futures are down 0.43%. 

UK public borrowing figures will be released at 4:30 a.m. ET, with analysts expecting a deficit of £9.2 billion ($14.9 billion). The figures are increasingly important as Britain heads toward its 2015 general election, with public spending a major issue.

In the US, home sales figures will be released at 10 a.m. ET, giving some idea of how the housing market performed in September. Analysts are expecting 5.1 million sales. 

European Markets Are Up, Asian Markets Closed Mixed, US Futures Are Flat

MIKE BIRD

 OCT. 9, 2014

REUTERS/NASA/Carla Cioffi/Handout

European markets are bouncing back early Thursday morning, despite bad export data out of Germany. Exports fell 5.8%  in August, the biggest drop since 2009. 

Here’s the scorecard:

France’s CAC 40 is up 0.84%

Spain’s IBEX is up 0.67%

Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 0.49%%

Britain’s FTSE 100 is up 0.64%

Germany’s DAX is up 1.21%, leading the way again.

Asian markets closed mixed. The Hang Seng bounced back overnight, closing up 1.17%, while the Nikkei closed down at 0.75%. 

US futures are mostly flat. S&P futures are up 0.01% and Dow futures are down 0.02%. 

From Europe, the Bank of England’s latest decision on monetary policy is out at 7:00 a.m. ET and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi is making a speech at 12.00 p.m. ET. Analysts will be looking for any hint of further easing, as the outlook for the Eurozone seems to get grimmer by the day.

In the US, jobless claims come out 8.30 a.m. ET. Economists estimate weekly claims climbed to 294,000 from 287,000 a week ago.

We’ll also get US factory orders. Economists estimate orders fell by 9.5% in August.

10 Things You Need To Know As Asian Markets Open

PAUL COLGANJUL. 

21, 2014, 7:50 AM

REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

Good morning. The world’s still reeling from the MH17 crash and there’s widespread anger in Australia at the inability of investigators to get to the site. Let’s start the week…

1. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke to Vladimir Putin overnight and pressed for his support in repatriating the bodies of the 28 Australian citizens and the eight permanent residents who were among the passengers on MH17. Abbott said Putin “did say all the right things”, adding he would be speaking regularly to the Russian president to do my best to hold him to his word.” Abbott yesterday described the situation on the ground at the crash site as “outrageous” and has been steadily non-committal when asked about the potential exclusion of Russia from the G20 summit to be held in Australia later this year. US Secretary of State also stepped up the pressure on Putin overnight, saying it was a “very critical moment for Russia to step up publicly and join in the effort in order to make sure there is a full-fledged investigation… so no one will have doubt.” Kerry is also fuming about the situation on the ground, saying “drunken separatists” had been removing bodies from the crash site.

2. Almost 200 bodies from the crash site – almost certainly including some of the Australian victims – were loaded onto a refrigerated train, which was inspected by officials from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose agents have had limited access to the crash site in pro-Russian rebel-controlled territory. The Guardian reports that the train’s destination, after the OSCE officials left, was unknown.

3. An assessment of strategic situation from Deutsche Bank envisions a scenario where the Donetsk rebels prove difficult to control, even with stern intervention from Moscow. This could play a part in a deepening conflict involving possible further economic sanctions on Russia or even an annexation of eastern Ukraine by the Kremlin. In the worst-case scenario, Russia’s relationship with the EU comes into play, bringing with it the potential of gas supply disruption into Europe.

4. The black boxes have been found. Video footage showing rebels recovering what appears to be one of the flight recorders has emerged, and Alexander Borodai, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, confirmed overnight that “Jet parts resembling the black boxes were discovered at the crash site”. He said the equipment would be handed over to the International Civil Aviation Organization. Here’s the clip:

5. The markets recovered in Friday trading, as the circumstances of the MH17 tragedy started to emerge. The S&P 500 recovered most of the losses surrounding the initial news of the crash and the Israeli ground operation in Gaza, to finish up just over 1% on Friday. The Dow gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq was up almost 1.6%. The ASX duly fell and then recovered in Friday trade to finish up almost 0.2%. The futures contract is up 22 points to 5,506 as we head into the start of the week.

6. It’s a quieter data week ahead on Asian markets, although the handful of prints that are out are significant. On Wednesday, we get Australian Q2 CPI, with a Bloomberg survey of economists showing the market expects a rise of 0.5% for the quarter and 3.0% annualised – right at the top end of the RBA’s comfort zone. The quarter takes in the record-breaking warm weather of May, so we may see some seasonal effects in the underlying numbers. Just before that, on Tuesday night, we get US CPI too. Glenn Stevens speaks at the Anika Foundation lunch tomorrow. The big regional data is China flash PMI out on Thursday. More here.

7. The case for a China property crash. Westpac’s respected China watcherPhat Dragon’s latest note takes a look at property prices which were the focus of many traders in the Chinese data releases last week – with prices down more than 9% for the first half of this year. “Prices are under downward pressure across the board, with the negative impulse gaining further strength through June” Phat Dragon writes. “While a more accommodative policy stance will support the sector to a degree, with the aggregate demand-supply position closer to balance than in previous cycles, and the natural ‘buyer on dips’ in a falling market (high-net worth) presently positioned on the sell side, there is more price weakness to come.”More here.

8. Beyonce’s 50 Shades of Grey teaser. Yes, you read that right: the singer released a teaser for the trailer for 50 Shades of Grey, the movie remake of E.L. James’ smash hit book trilogy. Beyonce posted a few seconds of vision teasing the trailer set to a slowed-down rendition of her song “Crazy in Love”. Totally out of the blue. The trailer is out at the end of the week.

9. Here are 15 examples of Steve Jobs being a total jerk, including the time he monstered an old lady who was making him a smoothie.

10. Rory McIlroy is The Open champion. He won the competition by two strokes having taken a six-shot lead into the final day. And there’s a great payoff: 10 years ago, McIlroy’s dad put a 100-pound bet on at odds of 500-1 that his son would win The Open by the time he was 26. McIlroy is 25.

Asian Markets Lower; ECB Meeting Eyed

04 Sep 2012

-- Asian markets lower ahead of ECB meeting. -- Nikkei down 0.4%, Hang Seng Index down 0.3%, S&P ASX 200 slips 0.7%. -- Sharp bounces back 10.2% on deal development. (Updates market levels) By Daniel Inman Asian markets were lower Tuesday, ahead of a key European Central Bank policy meeting on Thursday. With U.S. markets closed for the Labor Day public holiday Monday, the focus was on Europe where European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that the central bank was open to buying government bonds with maturities of three years or less. The comments raised already high hopes for the ECB policy meeting on Thursday, where markets expect Mr. Draghi to provide more details on how he will bring down the funding costs of euro zone countries like Greece and Portugal. "The only question is whether or not it will print more money between now and November," said Nicholas Smith, equity strategist at CLSA in Tokyo. The euro was at $1.2615 Tuesday, adding to the two-month high that it reached overnight. The dollar gained back some ground against the yen Tuesday, at Y78.34 compared to Y78.26 late on Monday. Although the dollar pushed back during the session, the Nikkei was off 0.4%, weighed by the strength of the local currency. Index heavyweights Softbank and Kyocera were down 3.0% and 0.6% respectively, offsetting companies with a European exposure, which were helped by the stronger euro - such as Canon, which added 0.2%. Australia's S&P ASX 200 was off 0.7%, amid weakness in banking stocks that was offset by gains in the mining sector, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting later in the day. Although a cut in interest rates is not expected, the local market could get a boost if the central bank acknowledges the recent weak economic data from China. Monday, HSBC's China Purchasing Managers' Index fell to its lowest level since March 2009 in August, while China's official manufacturing PMI, released on Saturday, slumped to a nine-month low and was below 50 for the first time since November. In China, the Hang Seng Index was down 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%. South Korea's Kospi was 0.2% lower, with index heavyweight Samsung Electronics flat. Gold continued to climb in Asia, rising $2.10 to $1694.70 a troy ounce, as expectations for more quantitative easing sent investors to buy the precious metal. Oil also continued its long recovery - at $97.19 a barrel compared $88.06 at the end of July. In company news, Sharp shares bounced up 10.2% in Tokyo, after falling 19% over the last three sessions, after a media report in Taiwan said that Hon Hai Precision Industry's chairman Terry Gou said he was definitely going to get involved in the management of Sharp. Both Aluminum Corp. of China, also known as Chalco, and SouthGobi Resources moved in Hong Kong on news that the Chinese metals giant had ended its bid to acquire the Mongolia-focused coal miner. Chalco was up 1.0% and SouthGobi was down 2.3%.

Asian Markets Higher on China Stimulus Hopes

09 Aug 2012

-- Asian markets edge forward after economic data. -- Nikkei up 1.1%, Hang Seng Index up 1%, S&P ASX 200 down 0.1%. -- Rio Tinto climbs on above-view earnings. (Rephrases first paragraph, updates prices, adds quote, information.) Asian markets climbed on Thursday as more signs of a slowdown in China raised hopes Beijing may step up efforts to stimulate the economy while other regional central banks left interest rates untouched. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1% to 20269.47, hitting a fresh three-month high after China reported lower inflation and weaker industrial production. The Shanghai Composite was also 0.6% higher at 2174.10. "The likelihood of a [reserve requirement ratio] cut this month is rising," said Jacky Zhang, an analyst at Capital Securities. Japanese companies with a strong exposure to China ended the day higher: Factory automation company Fanuc climbed 1.8% and construction machinery manufacturer Komatsu was 0.8% higher. In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 finished 0.1% lower at 4308.30, as China's weaker-than-expected industrial production tugged the market mildly negative. The unemployment rate in Australia came out at 5.2% compared to an expected 5.3%, pushing the Australian dollar higher, to $1.0585. Earnings were also in focus in Australia as the local reporting season got underway, with Rio Tinto announcing strong first-half earnings thanks to a lower-than-expected tax rate, lifting the mining heavyweight up by 3.6%. BHP Billiton also climbed 1.6%. Australian telecoms company Telstra Corp. dropped 2.3% after releasing earnings that matched but didn't beat expectations, extending a slide in the stock that started after it reached a four-and-a-half year high earlier this month, as analysts said there was nothing in the company's outlook to suggest it would beat expectations in the year ahead. Central banks were in the spotlight, as the Bank of Korea held off from changing interest rates after a surprise cut last month. The South Korean won strengthened against the dollar after the news, to KRW1,125 per dollar compared to KRW1,128 late Wednesday. The Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday, as expected, as the central bank maintained its assessment that the Japanese economy has started picking up moderately as domestic demand remains supported by reconstruction demand. The Nikkei was up 1.1% to 8978.60, while the dollar strengthened slightly against the yen on Thursday, at Y78.53 to the greenback compared to Y78.43 late on Wednesday. "In Asia, there is still some leeway to cut some rates, because rates can still go lower. But [the central banks] are not in much of a hurry," said Claudio Cocchis, head of treasury Asia and G10 currency specialist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong. South Korea's Kospi climbed 2% to 1940.59, after foreign purchases of local stocks reached their highest level for more than a year. Steel, chemical and construction stocks all rose on hopes of greater stimulus out of China. In company news, Nikon Corp skidded 8.1% in Japan, eradicating Wednesday's 2.6% gain, after the electronics company cut its profit guidance for the year, reflecting a change in its foreign-exchange assumptions. In Hong Kong, West China Cement fell 1.5% following a research report by short-seller Glaucus Research suggesting that the company is a "blatant fraud." West China Cement said the allegations "are groundless or misstatements." In deal news, Sharp gained 1.6% in Tokyo and Hon Hai Precision Industry gained 4.2% after a Dow Jones Newswires report said Taiwan's government returned Hon Hai's application for a regulatory review of its planned purchase of a 10% stake in Sharp, saying the expected investment return "isn't reasonable enough".