Monthly Archives: May 2011
Markets awaits economic data for direction
The Australian market is poised to open flat following no lead from Wall Street overnight as U.S. stock and bond markets were closed on Monday in observance of memorial day. However European stocks edged lower, with volumes thinned as Britain was also closed for a holiday. Read more…
US Markets end week off lows on commodity strength
US markets were led higher on Friday night by Materials and Finance stocks with Bank of America and Johnson & Johnson both managing gains of about 2% for the session, at the Bell the Dow was 38.82 points or 0.31% higher, the S&P 500 was up 5.41 points of 0.41% and the Tech heavy NASDAQ composite managed gains of 13.94 points or 0.50% to be the outperformer for the session. Read more…
US Markets relatively unchanged amid weak economic data
Overnight U.S. stocks closed slightly higher as strength in the consumer discretionary and technology sectors overshadowed weak GDP and jobless figures out last night. After dropping as much as 76 points early in the session, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 8.1 points to 12,402.76 pushed up by Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard which gained 2% and 1.5% respectively. Read more…
US Markets post modest gains as commodities push higher
The Dow ended its 2 day decline overnight closing up 38 points, albeit on low volume, boosted up by the likes of growth related companies, Caterpillar and Alcoa which increased by around 1.5% whilst defensives took some selling pressure. The rally was spurred by credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings announcing that it does not expect rating changes on German Banks in light of its exposure to Greece’s sovereign debt. Read more…
US markets end lower in choppy session
U.S. stocks registered a third straight day of losses after a mixed round of housing and manufacturing data combined with worries about Europes debt-laden countries to weigh on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 25.05 points, or 0.20%, to 12356.21, its lowest close since April 19. Read more…
Gold the only green on the screen
Gold was the only green on the screen overnight as investors dumped equities sending Wall Street lower. US Stocks suffered steep losses as investors concerns over the financial health of European governments triggered a flight to safer assets. The Dow dropped 130.78 points or 1.05 percent to 12,381.26 with all but one component, McDonalds, in the red. Read more…
US Markets end lower amid Euro debt worries
US markets followed the EUR/USD lower as it grappled with events in Europe mainly an escalating protest in Spain ahead of a regional election on Sunday, and concerns about a restructuring of the Greek bailout, not to mention the broader concerns surrounding the Greek, Ireland, and Portuguese debt issues. Tracking the EUR plunge throughout the session, by the close the Dow was lower by some 93 points or 0.74%, while the broader S&P 500 sold off 10.33 points or 0.77%, and the Tech heavy NASDAQ composite managed to outperform other indices by a very marginal amount shedding 20 points or 0.71% for the session. Read more…
US stocks advance as LinkedIn IPO doubles
US Stocks finished firmer on a mixed bag of data. On the negative side, data showed that sales of existing homes fell whilst manufacturing data revealed a fall in consumer confidence and lower manufacturing in the Philadelphia region. Boosting the market up however was better than expected employment data as jobless claims fell more than forecasted. Also pushing the market up was the floating of LinkedIn Corp, the professional networking site which saw the share price double in its first day of trading showing the buying interest in social media companies. Investors would like to see more IPOs with this level of success to encourage capital into the market. So whilst there is lack of clarity in the bigger picture of share market direction on a macro level, at least being selective in stocks in bullish trends can serve to be an investment strategy. Read more…
US stocks advance, oil pushes back above $100 a barrel
The Dow closed up 80 points on positive indications that the Federal Reserve will maintain low interest rates following the expiration QE2. Adding to the buying strength was Dell Inc’s (second largest chip maker) earnings which came in better than expected making its share price push 5% higher. It boosted confidence that corporates are investing in innovation and continuing spending. Oil pushed to close above the psychological $100.00 a barrel level after reports revealed US inventories fell unexpectedly. Oil has a bullish outlook for the week due to severe flooding in the Southern US which has slowed down refinery production. A large prairie fire in Canada in its oil producing areas also added to the buying strength. Gold closed up $6.00 an ounce just under the $1500.00. Should oil continue higher or hold above $100.00 a barrel, then we may see further strength in commodities. Overnight reports also show that there is rising Asian demand for gold and silver as investors see corrections as opportunities to enter. As the Dow has retreated from its last high of 12876 over the last couple of weeks, US economic growth is still travelling at a moderate pace as it finds some support at 12400.
Continued selling pressure pushes US Markets lower
U.S. stocks stumbled for a third day in a row as weak economic data and a negative outlook from Hewlett Packard heightened fears about a slowdown in the global economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.79 points, or 0.55%, to 12479.58, the blue-chip indexs fourth decline in five sessions. The Standard & Poor s 500 stock index shed 0.49 points, or 0.04%, to 1328.98. Read more…