Stocks Moving Modestly Higher In Early Trading
Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Thursday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, although buying interest has remained relatively subdued.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session but are holding on to modest gains. The Dow is up 36.67 points or 0.3 percent at 13,531.28, the Nasdaq is up 2.45 points or 0.1 percent at 3,137.68 and the S&P 500 is up 4.96 points or 0.3 percent at 1,455.95.
The early strength on Wall Street is partly due to a positive reaction to news that Spain raised approximately 4 billion euros in a bond auction. The auction met the top end of the target and drew stronger demand than the previous Spanish bond auction.
The successful bond auction in Spain came in spite of continued uncertainty about when the debt-plagued nation will seek a bailout.
In other news out of Europe, both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged, as was widely expected.
ECB President Mario Draghi spoke following the monetary policy meeting, saying that the risks surrounding the outlook for the European economy continue to be on the downside.
Meanwhile, Draghi said that the risks to the outlook for inflation continue to be broadly balanced over the medium term.
Traders are also digesting a report from the U.S. Labor Department showing that initial jobless claims rose by less than expected in the week ended September 29th.
The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 367,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 363,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 370,000 from the 359,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Peter Boockvar, managing director at Miller Tabak, said, "It's encouraging to see the pace of firing's moderate over the past 2 weeks but we'll see tomorrow how the recent pace of hiring's are going."
Gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside in early trading, benefiting from an increase by the price of the precious metal. With gold for December delivery climbing $8.40 to $1,788.20 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 1.7 percent.
Financial, railroad, and health insurance stocks are also seeing notable strength, while weakness has emerged among healthcare provider, networking and software stocks.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved mostly lower on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are down by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
In the bond markets, treasuries have moved modestly lower, adding to the slim losses posted in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.6 basis points to 1.639 percent. | Canadian Market |  | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | TSX Jumps At Open Thursday
Bay Street stocks moved up at open Thursday amid buying across a variety of sectors, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index adding 61.79 points or 0.50 percent to 12,421.26.
The Diversified Materials Index rose over 1 percent, with First Quantum Minerals, Inmet Mining and Teck Resources adding around 1 percent each.
Among gold plays, Allied Nevada Gold and Argonaut Gold gained close to 3 percent each. Royal Gold, Goldcorp. and Barrick Gold were up around 1 percent each.
In the oil patch, Niko Resources rose 5 percent. Enbridge Inc. Cenovus Energy and Tourmaline Oil moved up over 1 percent each.
Technology licensing company Wi-LAN Inc. edged up nearly 1 percent after it said it has initiated litigation claiming patent infringement in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against LG Electronics U.S.A. Inc. and related parties.
Air Canada gained 2 percent after reporting that system traffic for the month of September increased 3.1 percent on a system-wide capacity increase of 0.5 percent.
anada's Ivey purchasing managers index data for the month of September released at about 10:00 am ET Thursday.
After the report, the Canadian dollar ticked up against major rivals and as of now worth 0.9837 against the US dollar, 1.0050 versus the Australian dollar, 1.2774 against the euro and 79.91 versus the yen. |
| European Market | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | European Markets Advance Before ECB Decision
The European markets are slight to modestly higher in afternoon trading Thursday, ahead of the monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank. The Asian markets gained on the day and the U.S. index futures indicate a higher open.
The Bank of England maintained the size of quantitative easing at 375 billion euros and the record low interest rate unchanged as expected by economists. At the end of two-day rate setting meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Mervyn King voted to retain the asset purchase program at 375 billion pounds.
The European Central Bank's governing council meets in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The central bank is seen holding its interest rate at 0.75 percent. The ECB will announce the decision at 7.45 am ET.
Meanwhile, the European Banking Authority, or EBA, has asked banks in the European Union to hold on to more than 200 billion euros in capital buffer raised between December 2011 and June 2012, given the still challenging market environment.
Disclosing the final report on its EU-wide recapitalization exercise and the data on all individual banks on Wednesday, the EBA said 27 banks with an initial shortfall that submitted capital plans have strengthened their capital position by 116 billion euros. Spain raised 3.99 billion euros in debt in an auction today, close to the upper end of its target range.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.05 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is losing 0.04 percent.
The German DAX is adding 0.05 percent and the French CAC 40 is rising 0.16 percent. The FTSE 100 is gaining 0.15 percent while Switzerland's SMI is rising 0.30 percent.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Telekom is declining 1.8 percent. Deutsche Bank raised its rating on the stock. Lanxess is losing 1.7 percent, Linde is dropping 1.3 percent and Basf is falling 1.6 percent.
Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are moderately lower. ThyssenKrupp is gaining 2.5 percent. BMW is advancing 1.8 percent while Daimler and Volkswagen are gaining moderately.
Gerresheimer is declining 2.7 percent after reporting a 25 percent drop in third-quarter profit.
In Paris, Technip is losing 2.2 percent, Saint-Gobain is falling 1.8 percent and France Telecom is retreating 1.7 percent.
EDF is falling 0.8 percent. The utility plans to recruit around 6000 people in 2013, including more than 1,700 engineers / managers to support its development and future challenges.
Societe Generale is rising 0.7 percent. Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are gaining modestly. Safran is rising 3.3 percent and Michelin is advancing 1.8 percent. Carmaker Renault is gaining 1.1 percent.
In London, Johnson Matthey is losing 2.2 percent and Evraz is dropping 2 percent. BHP Billiton is falling 1.9 percent, Antofagasta is losing 1.8 percent and Eurasian Natural Resources is losing 1.2 percent.
Tesco is declining 1.8 percent. Burberry and Sainsbury are losing. BG Group is falling 1.4 percent, Royal Dutch Shell is dropping 1.1 percent and BP is declining 1.6 percent.
Halfords Group, whose new CEO Matt Davies is assuming office today, is climbing nearly 14 percent. The automotive products retailer reported a 6.2 percent increase in second-quarter revenues, with 5.6 percent growth in like-for-like revenues.
Victrex is rising 3.9 percent after issuing a trading statement. Carnival is gaining 2.3 percent and Tate & Lyle is advancing 1.9 percent. Nobel Biocare is declining 7 percent in Zurich after the company issued a profit warning. | Asia Market | Asian Stocks Higher On US Data
Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday as investors reacted cautiously to a pair of positive U.S. economic reports. With Spain delaying a bailout request and Chinese growth concerns keeping investors on edge, the markets across the region ended a lackluster session narrowly mixed. Amid a lack of positive triggers, investors await central bank policy meetings in Europe and the all-important U.S. employment report due Friday for directional cues from current levels.
Tokyo stocks rose, as the yen's weakness spurred buying in exporter shares. The benchmark Nikkei average gained 0.9 percent. Automakers like Toyota, Honda Motor and Nissan climbed 3-5 percent on bargain hunting following recent steep losses on concerns over China-Japan confrontation, while Canon lost 2.2 percent on a brokerage downgrade.
Nikon tumbled 3.6 percent on a Nikkei report that the company's operating profit for the first half apparently dropped 43 percent from a year earlier, due to the strong yen and weak sales of chip-making devices. Shares of Renesas Electronics jumped 8.5 percent on news that the company will let go 17 percent of its global workforce through an early-retirement program as part of a business restructuring.
Trading activity on the Hong Kong Stock exchange remained sluggish amid the ongoing Golden Week holidays in China running from September 30 to October 7. The benchmark Hang Seng index edged up just about 0.1 percent, led by gains in HSBC Holdings after the lender said its Core Tier 1 ratio was above the levels set by the European Banking Authority in December 2011. Shares of the lender rose 1.8 percent.
Australian shares ended a volatile session modestly higher, as gains in banks offset losses in the mining sector amid declines in copper prices following weak economic data from China and Europe. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 hit a fresh 14-month high in late afternoon deals before paring gains to end 0.3 percent higher at 4,452. The broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.3 percent to 4,473.
BHP Billiton lost 1.3 percent, while rival Rio Tinto edged up 0.4 percent. Fortescue Metals Group fell 2.3 percent, a day after the High Court upheld an appeal by the company and its chairman Andrew Forrest against a Federal Court ruling on infrastructure deals with state-owned Chinese entities. BlueScope Steel soared 5.8 percent after the Australian Customs Service proposed levying a tariff on imported steel.
Lender ANZ added a percent after it kicked off a $1.5 billion transformation program that will see the bank refurbish branches, install Cisco video conferencing technology in regional branches and launch new mobile applications for consumers and businesses. Commonwealth gained a percent, NAB added 0.8 percent and Westpac rallied 1.6 percent.
Woolworths rose 1.2 percent amid reports the supermarket chain plans to hive off some of its portfolio into a property trust, worth around A$500 million.
In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released two sets of data today, with retail sales rising marginally in August, led by a rebound in department store sales, while building approvals increased 6.4 percent for the month.
South Korea's Kospi average slipped 0.2 percent as investors exercised caution amid ongoing concerns about the global growth outlook. Energy stocks underperformed, with S-oil and SK Innovating falling 1-2 percent after U.S. crude futures plunged 4 percent to end at a two-month low Wednesday on fears of a delayed recovery in China and a looming recession in the debt-saddled euro zone.
New Zealand shares eased slightly due to lingering uncertainty over a bailout for struggling Spain. The benchmark NZX-50 index slipped 0.2 percent, paced by Fletcher Building, Vector and Ryman Healthcare, which all fell about a percent each.
Heavyweight Telecom slid 0.6 percent and gold miner OceanaGold tumbled 3.2 percent, while lender Heartland, rural services firm PGG Wrightson and Air New Zealand, the national carrier which is overhauling its senior management team, rose about 3 percent each. Whiteware manufacturer Fisher and Paykel Appliances rallied 3.7 percent after its independent directors urged shareholders to reject Chinese appliance maker Haier's takeover bid to buy the company.
Elsewhere, India's benchmark Sensex was moving up a percent, extending a recent rally, on expectations the Union Cabinet will clear a slew of big-ticket reform bills in a Cabinet meeting slated later in the day.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was up half a percent, Malaysia's KLSE Composite gained 0.7 percent and Singapore's Straits Times index was up 0.1 percent, while the Taiwan Weighted average edged down marginally. |
| Commodities | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | Crude Edges Up From 2-month Low
The price of crude oil was recovering from its two-month low Thursday morning on demand concerns amid Middle East tension and speculation that China will introduce new stimulus measures to boost growth.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for November delivery, added $0.61 to $88.75 a barrel. Yesterday, oil settled at a two-month low mostly on concerns over global economic slowdown and oil demand growth. Oil prices slumped notwithstanding a decline in U.S. crude stockpile and a couple of upbeat macroeconomic data from the world's largest economy.
Wednesday during trading hours, the EIA revealed that U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly edged down 0.50 million barrels, while gasoline stocks moved up 0.10 million barrels in the weekended September 28. Analysts expected crude oil inventories to move up 1.5 million barrels and gasoline stocks to remain flat last week.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was slipping back toward a two-week low versus the euro and steady near its 2-week high against sterling. The buck continued to advance versus the yen, while trading flat against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, the Bank of England maintained the asset purchase programme at GBP 375 billion and the key interest rate at a historic low of 0.50 percent.
The European Central Bank's will announce its interest rate decision at 7.45 a.m ET and is seen holding its interest rate at 0.75 percent.
Traders will look to the weekly jobless claims data from the U.S. Labor Department, due out at 8.30 a.m. ET. Economists expect the claims to increase to 370,000 from 359,000 in the previous week.
Later during the session, the Commerce Department will release its report on factory goods orders for August. Economists estimate a 6 percent drop in orders for factory goods following a 2.8 percent increase in July.
The Federal Reserve is due to release the minutes of its September 12-13 meeting at 2 p.m. ET. |
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