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May 31, 2006
by Elaine Frei
After another sharp fall on Tuesday, the London equities markets saw significant gains on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 added 1.3 percent to 5,723.8, getting back almost half of yesterday’s decline. The FTSE 250 was up 0.7 percent to 8,298.2. Despite the day’s gains, however, the 100 dropped 5 percent in May, while the 250 lost ...
by Elaine Frei
In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1 percent to 1,306.63. Despite the gain, the index was down 5.2 percent for the month, the largest monthly decline in over two years. The day’s advance came on gains in the telecommunications and steel sectors.
Banks were mixed on the day. Capitalia and Banca Intesa were both ...
by Elaine Frei
By midday on Wednesday the New York equities markets were higher as the utilities sector was higher on mergers and acquisitions news and lower oil prices helped investor sentiment. The middle of the session saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7 percent to 11,174.07, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.8 percent to 2,182.51 and the S&P ...
by Elaine Frei
With the United States government announcing that it is willing to conduct talks with Iran if it will suspend its uranium enrichment program, and with the UN Security Council’s five permanent members scheduled to meet today to decide on incentives to offer Iran in return for that nation’s cooperation on nuclear issues, the price of crude oil dropped significantly during ...
by Elaine Frei
New economic data from the Eurozone has made it more likely than ever that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates when it meets June 8. The new data comes from several sources and shows that inflation is up, unemployment is down, and retail sales are up. The only real negative data is that consumer spending in ...
May 30, 2006
by Elaine Frei
With foreign buyers selling more than they bought for the fourth consecutive session, Tokyo equities markets declined on Tuesday even though news from the corporate world tended toward the positive. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent to 15,859.45, while the Topix index was down 0.2 percent to 1,612.76.
The real estate sector was down on continuing worries that values are ...
by Elaine Frei
London’s equities markets came back from Monday’s holiday to major losses. The FTSE 100 declined by 2.4 percent to 5,652.0 while the FTSE 250 lost 2.9 percent to 9,235.5.
Shares in companies that depend on the US dollar for a large part of their earnings were especially vulnerable as the greenback continued to weaken. Among those losers were asset manager Amvescap, ...
by Elaine Frei
In Europe on Tuesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 declined by 2.2 percent to close at 1,293.39. Banks saw substantial losses, as did several other key sectors.
Automobile manufacturers were down on the day. DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, and Volkswagen each declined by 2.2 percent. Porsche’s losses were in consequence of a reiteration by Citigroup of its “sell” rating on the ...
by Elaine Frei
Prices for crude oil and precious metals were up on Tuesday, while base metals prices saw declines despite lower inventories in some commodities.
New data showed that oil demand in China grew at its quickest rate in two years in April as estimated consumption was up 10.8 percent year-on-year following an increase in fuel prices that had been meant ...
by Elaine Frei
Yields on government bonds were up in the US, the UK and in the Eurozone on Tuesday, while yields on Japanese government bonds fell on the day after an auction of two-year bonds.
The yield on two-year Japanese government bonds dropped 6 basis points to 0.780 percent, while ten-year bonds were down by 2.5 basis points to a yield of ...
May 29, 2006
by Elaine Frei
With markets in the UK and the US closed for holidays, European equities markets declined on very low volumes of trade on Monday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.1 percent to 1,322.45.
The decline came even though the steel sector was mostly higher amid rumors of mergers and acquisitions after Arcelor said on Friday that it will merge with Severstal of ...
by Elaine Frei
Most Asian equities markets saw gains on Monday, with Tokyo again being the exception as the Topix index was slightly higher but the Nikkei was down by 55.08 points on the day.
In South Korea, the Kospi Index added 0.5 percent to 1,329.22 as foreign buyers purchased more than they sold for the first time in 14 trading days. The ...
by Elaine Frei
In an attempt to keep overnight interest rates in check, the Bank of Japan put ¥1,500 billion ($13.5 billion) into money markets after rates again challenged the 0.1 percent ceiling set by the Bank’s current policy of keeping interest rates at zero for all practical purposes. The move, which came after the Bank put ¥500 billion into ...
May 26, 2006
by Elaine Frei
At midday on Friday the New York equities markets were up, ending a largely positive note. Despite troubles early in the week, several new data releases tended to calm investor concerns that interest rates will rise further in the short term. The only real threats to a pause in the interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve came with ...
by Elaine Frei
Despite declines during the week, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 closed out the week up by 1.2 percent to 1,322.02 thanks to strong rallies in the last two sessions of the week.
The oil sector saw strong gains during the week. OMV added 10.7 percent to €47.05 after it abandoned a merger with electric utility Verbund. Neste Oil was up 8.7 percent ...
by Elaine Frei
The Tokyo equities markets saw gains on Friday as both domestic and export-focused sectors were up on the day. The markets had seen substantial declines earlier in the week. The Nikkei 225 added 1.8 percent Friday to 15,970.76, while the Topix index was also 1.8 percent higher to 1,613.78.
Banks were up 2.5 percent as a sector. Mitsubishi ...
by Elaine Frei
In the metals markets on Friday, base metals saw prices rise while gold fell during the week.
Copper was up $150 late Friday to $8,252 per tonne, a 7 percent gain during the week. Still, copper remained 6 percent lower than its record high of $8,790 per tonne, set earlier in the month. In attempts to curb the ...
by Elaine Frei
Oil prices were mixed during the day on Friday, but prices were up for the week as the 2006 hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean neared and the Memorial Day holiday this weekend marked the start of the summer driving season in the United States.
Brent crude July contracts on the International Petroleum Exchange dropped ...
May 25, 2006
by Elaine Frei
Wall Street was showing gains at mid-day on Thursday after investors welcomed new economic data that showed gross domestic product growth up and existing home sales down. Both sets of figures should lessen the chance of another interest rate hike in June.
The GDP grew by a revised 5.3 percent in the first quarter, short of predictions but more than the ...
by Elaine Frei
Asian equities markets were down again on Thursday as investors continued to look for less risky places to put their money. The exception was the BSE 30 Index in India, which added 0.88 percent to 10,666.32 after a rally late in the day.
In Thailand the SET Index fell 1.8 percent to 701.03, it’s lowest close in five months. In ...
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After another sharp fall on Tuesday, the London equities markets saw significant gains on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 added 1.3 percent to 5,723.8, getting back almost half of yesterday’s decline. The FTSE 250 was up 0.7 percent to 8,298.2. Despite the day’s gains, however, the 100 dropped 5 percent in May, while the 250 lost ...
With foreign buyers selling more than they bought for the fourth consecutive session, Tokyo equities markets declined on Tuesday even though news from the corporate world tended toward the positive. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent to 15,859.45, while the Topix index was down 0.2 percent to 1,612.76.
The real estate sector was down on continuing worries that values are ...
