Stocks Moving Mostly Higher On Optimism About Europe
8/21/2012 10:58 AM ET
Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of morning trading on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen in recent weeks. The major averages have climbed firmly into positive territory, with the S&P 500 reaching a four-year high.
The strength on Wall Street is partly due to optimism about the financial situation in Europe amid reports that the European Central Bank is considering buying bonds from troubled eurozone countries such as Italy and Spain in order to reduce borrowing costs.
Optimism about potential progress on addressing the Greek debt crisis has also generated buying interest, with Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker due to meet with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Wednesday.
Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca gold Bugs Index up by 3.4 percent to a two-month high. The strength among gold stocks comes as gold for December delivery is climbing $17 to $1,640 an ounce.
Significant strength has also emerged among airline stocks, which are adding to yesterday's strong gains. The NYSE Arca Airline Index has risen by 2.3 percent after ending Monday's trading up by 2.9 percent.
Financial, steel, electronic storage and networking stocks are also posting notable gains, moving higher along with most of the major sectors.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session in recent trading but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 50.62 points or 0.4 percent at 13,322.26, the Nasdaq is up 18.94 points or 0.6 percent at 3,095.15 and the S&P 500 is up 7.52 points or 0.5 percent at 1,425.65.
| Canadian Market Report |  | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | TSX Up On Commodities, Euro Zone Optimism - Canadian Commentary
8/21/2012 11:20 AM ET
Canadian stocks were moving higher Tuesday morning amid smart buying in mining stocks on speculation that the European Central Bank would opt for further policy measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis. Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker is due to meet with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Wednesday, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are due to meet in Berlin on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Spain saw a steep decline in borrowing costs at an auction on Tuesday amid speculation that the European Central Bank would resume its purchase of peripheral bonds.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 117.27 points or 0.97 percent to 12,193.30, a day after snapping its four-session winning streak.
The Diversified Materials Index rose nearly 4 percent, with Inmet Mining jumping over 6 percent. First Quantum Minerals and Teck Resources gained around 3 percent each.
The price of Crude oil was moving higher Tuesday morning amid speculation that the European Central Bank would opt for further policy measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis. Crude for October delivery added $1.28 to $97.25 a barrel.
In the oil patch, Baytex Energy Corp. and Cenovus Energy rose around 2 percent each.
Contract drilling company Major Drilling Group International Inc. (MDI. TO) surged over 8 percent.
Gold stocks were trading higher amid a surge in bullion prices. The price of gold was moving higher Tuesday morning as the U.S. dollar was paring its recent gains versus a basket of currencies. gold for December gained $17.60 to $1,640.60 an ounce.
Among gold plays, New gold (NGD.TO) and Kirkland Lake gold (KGI.TO) surged over 6 percent each. Goldcorp. , Allied Nevada gold and Yamana gold gathered around 4 percent each.
Silver producers, Silver Wheaton and First Majestic Silver (FR.TO) gained over 5 percent each.
Solar photovoltaic products maker Trina Solar Limited (TSL) slipped into the red in second quarter, reporting net loss of $92.10 million compared to profit of $11.76 million last year. Loss per ADS was $1.30 compared to profit of $0.17 prior year. Analysts expected the company to report a loss of $0.79 per share this quarter. The stock gained 5 percent.
Meanwhile, oil and gas industry services provider Bowood Energy Inc. (BWD.V) dived 8 percent after announcing that it has completed its previously announced rights offering of a total of 10.64 million pre-consolidation common shares at a price of $0.05 per share.
8/21/2012 11:20 AM ET
In economic news, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales edged down 0.1 percent to $49.9 billion in June, after four consecutive monthly increases. In volume terms, wholesale sales were down 0.5 percent. Sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies sub-sector rose by 1.3 percent in June, a third consecutive gain. Overall, three of the four industries in the sub-sector reported higher sales.
Elsewhere, the U.K. public sector net borrowing, excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions, increased in July, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Net borrowing was GBP 0.6 billion in July, which was GBP 3.4 billion higher than in July last year when PSNB was GBP 2.8 billion. |
| European Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | European Markets Rise On Optimism
8/21/2012 7:29 AM ET
The European markets are in positive territory on Tuesday, as investor sentiment shifted to hope from despair on optimism about action from policy makers to contain the debt crisis. Sentiment was also helped by a successful debt auction by Spain, amid a report that China plans new economic stimulus for the second half of the year.
Spain sold 4.51 billion euros in 12 and 18-month bills compared to its 3.5 billion to 4.5 billion euro-target. Borrowing costs eased from a previous auction on July 17.
The People's Bank of China injected 220 billion yuan into the money market through reverse repurchase operations on Tuesday, dimming hopes of another reserve requirement reduction from the central bank, reports said.
Meanwhile, the U.K. public sector net borrowing, excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions, increased in July, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Net borrowing was 0.6 billion pounds in July, which was 3.4 billion pounds higher than in July last year.
The euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.61 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is rising 0.13 percent.
The German DAX is gaining 0.48 percent and the French CAC 40 is advancing 0.64 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 is rising 0.30 percent and Switzerland's SMI is climbing 0.10 percent.
In Frankfurt, Lufthansa is advancing 2 percent and Infineon Technologies and ThyssenKrupp are rising 1.6 percent each.
Deutsche Bank is gaining 1.5 percent while Commerzbank is adding around 1 percent.
Automakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are moderately higher.
DZ Bank cut Merck to "Hold" from "Buy." The stock is down 0.3 percent.
Singulus Technologies is losing around 2 percent after DZ Bank reduced its rating on the stock.
In Paris, insurer Axa is rising 2.8 percent. Building materials maker Saint-Gobain and cement giant Lafarge are advancing 2.1 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are advancing around 1.9 percent while Credit Agricole is rising 1.4 percent.
Renault is gaining 1.4 percent and Peugeot is advancing 0.50 percent.
In London, Miners are on the rise on hopes of stimulus measures in China. Anglo American is adding 2.3 percent and Antofagasta is rising 1.8 percent.
Glencore International reported a decline in its first-half profit, reflecting a fall in commodity prices. The stock is modestly down.
Insurer Aviva is rising 1.7 percent and Resolution is climbing 1.8 percent.
Barclays is advancing 1.8 percent. The lender is in talks with its subsidiary Absa Group Ltd., to combine majority of their African operations.
8/21/2012 7:29 AM ET
Homebuilder Persimmon is losing around 2 percent after reporting a higher profit for the first half, as revenues benefited from increase in legal completions and higher selling prices.
Deutsche Bank cut ABB to "Sell"om "Hold." The stock is losing 1.2 percent in Stockholm.
Repsol was cut to "Neutral" from "Buy" at UBS. The shares are falling 2.4 percent in Madrid.
Julius Baer is gaining 2 percent in Zurich. The lender said Monday that it would limit its proposed rights offering to 500 million Swiss francs, from the previous plan of 750 million francs, as part of its capital raise to fund its acquisition of Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) non-US wealth management unit.
Across Asia/Pacific, major markets had a mixed outing. Australia's All Ordinaries rose 0.43 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.54 percent. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.02 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.12 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks closed nearly flat after a relatively light day on the corporate and economic news fronts. The Dow dipped 0.03 percent, the Nasdaq edged down 0.01 percent and the S&P 500 was unchanged.
In the commodity space, Crude for September delivery is rising $0.62 to $96.59 per barrel and December gold is gaining $2.9 to $1625.9 a troy ounce. |
| Asia Market Reports | Asian Markets Trade Higher
8/20/2012 11:47 PM ET
Despite opening on a somewhat shaky note, Asian stock markets gained in strength on Tuesday with investors picking up stocks, betting on hopes the central banks will come out with further stimulus to boost the sagging economies. Gains are just modest in some of the markets, but the overall mood is fairly positive, amid a slew of corporate news.
The Australian market, which started off on a flat note, is currently trading notably higher with investors indulging in some brisk buying at several front line counters amid a slew of corporate news and earnings reports.
Energy and industrial stocks are moving higher, while financial, mining, consumer discretionary, healthcare and property trusts stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is up 22.8 points or 0.5 percent at 4,387.1. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 4,414, up 22.1 points or 0.5 percent from its previous close.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank () and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are trading modestly higher and National Australia Bank is up 1.5 percent, while Westpac () is down marginally.
Top miners BHP Billiton (,) and Rio Tinto (, RIO.L) are up 1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
Monadelphous Group is gaining nearly 6 percent. Qantas Airways, Toll Holdings, Brambles, Cochlear, ASX, Spark Infrastructure and Alumina () are up 1.7 to 2.7 percent.
Oz Minerals is trading lower by over 4.5 percent. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is down with a loss of 2.6 percent. Duet Group, Amcor, Challenger, Wesfarmers, Atlas Iron and Regis Resources are trading lower by 1.5 to 2.5 percent.
Oil Search has maintained its full-year production target despite the impact of the shutdown of a loading facility in Papua New Guinea. The company posted a net profit of A$103.34 million for the six months to June 30, down six percent from A$114.5 million in the previous corresponding period. The stock is down by about 0.6 percent.
Woodside Petroleum shares are up 2.6 percent following the company confirming that it has agreed to Chevron's plan to sell its stake in the proposed Browse gas project to Royal Dutch Shell.
Mining and steel company Arrium reported a 75 percent slump in net profit to A$58 million for the year ended June 2012. The stock is currently trading more than 11 percent up.
Sonic Healthcare is down 1.6 percent. The company announced that it expects to increase its earnings by up to 10 percent after posting a record profit for the 2011-12 financial year. The company has lifted its net profit by 7.3 percent to A$316 million in the year to June 30, from A$294.5 million in 2010-11 |
| Commodities | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | RBA Minutes: Global Outlook More Subdued
8/20/2012 10:34 PM ET
The members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy board said that the uncertainty emanating from Europe suggests that the global economy will remain fragile in the near term, minutes from the bank's August 7 meeting revealed on Tuesday.
The bank further noted that the global outlook has become more subdued than a few months ago, although growth in Australia remains close to trend.
"The forecast for global growth in 2012 was close to its long-term average and growth was expected to pick up somewhat in 2013," the minutes said. "Nevertheless, the risk of significant economic and financial disruption in the euro area continued to cloud the outlook."
The bank also observed that inflation is expected to remain within targets, giving the board a free hand to keep rates on hold in an effort to boost the economy, the minutes said.
"Inflation was forecast to increase a little as the effects of the earlier exchange rate appreciation continued to wane, and it would also temporarily be pushed higher by the introduction of the carbon price," the minutes said. "Inflation was nonetheless forecast to be around the middle of the target range by late 2013 and to be consistent with the target over the medium term."
At the meeting, the RBA held its benchmark cash rate unchanged at 3.50 percent for a second consecutive rate-setting meeting, saying it is too early to see the full impact of past policy easing.
The decision was in line with forecast. The RBA reduced the cash rate by basis points in May and by a quarter-point in June.
"With inflation expected to be consistent with the target and growth close to trend, but with a more subdued international outlook than was the case a few months ago, the board judged that the stance of monetary policy remained appropriate," the minutes said.
Even after a cumulative 125 basis point reduction in cash rate since November last year, Australia has the highest borrowing costs among the developed economies. The economy has proved comparatively more resilient to global economic turbulence supported by its once-in-a-century mining boom.
Australia's gross domestic product jumped a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent quarter-over-quarter in the first three months of 2012 following a 0.6 percent increase in the previous three months. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to release the second quarter GDP data on September 5.
"Domestically, the economy was forecast to grow around trend pace over the medium term," the minutes said. "Resource investment was projected to continue to increase rapidly over the next year or so, broadly in line with earlier expectations." |
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