| FTSE 100 |
6140.7, -39.8 |
Dow |
12958.4, +215 |
| FTSE 250 |
10291.5, -161.4 |
Nasdaq |
2580.8, +39.81 |
| FTSE All Share |
3135.71, -24.49 |
S&P 500 |
1428.25, +21.05 |
| Nikkei |
15153.8, -69.1 |
Hang Seng |
27441.9, +232.9 |
| Oil (Brent) |
$90.88 |
Gold |
$801.43 |
| Base Rate |
5.75% |
10 Yr Gilt |
4.65% |
| £/$ |
2.0614 |
Euro/Gbp |
0.7151 |
Markets
US stocks rose on Tuesday, reclaiming most of the day's gains at the end of a choppy afternoon in which investor enthusiasm for recently battered stocks was tried by ongoing worries about the economy. The DJIA closed 215 points higher at 12958.4. The index had been up 250 points in the early afternoon, but cut the gains to less than 85 points in the late afternoon, and then resumed the advance in the session's last half hour. The S&P500 closed 21.05 points higher at 1428.25 and the Nasdaq added 39.81 points to close at 2580.8.
Stocks briefly stumbled after the 10am release of the November Consumer Confidence report, which was weaker than expected. Confidence fell 87.3 in the month, down from 95.6 in the prior month and short of forecasts for a fall to 91.5. In the afternoon, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said that the economic growth outlook for the fourth quarter and beyond remains uncertain. Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said that cutting interest rates again could be more harmful than helpful at a time when inflationary pressures are at risk to rise. He also said that the economic outlook remains uncertain. Evans is a voting member of the Fed's 2007 policy setting committee and Plosser becomes a voting member in 2008.
Citigroup said late Monday that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will invest $7.5bn in the bank to help offset credit losses in exchange for a stake of up to 4.9 percent.
After the close, Freddie Mac said that it is cutting its quarterly dividend in half and that it is issuing $6m in stock in anticipation of more losses ahead. Freddie shares fell 1.8 percent in extended hours trading.
Treasury prices tumbled as investors took profits after Monday's big rally, pushing the corresponding yields higher.
In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and yen.
COMEX gold for December delivery fell $12.50 to close at $814 an ounce, falling along with the other dollar traded commodities.
Japanese stocks fell today as automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp slipped on lingering currency concerns with the dollar still on track to log its biggest one month fall against the yen since early 2000. Drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc provided some support to the market after it said it would buy US biotech company Agensys Inc for $387m to boost its antibody research and development for cancer treatments. The Nikkei average closed 69.1 points lower at 15153.8.
Automakers lost ground, with Toyota down 1.6 percent at Y6000 and Honda Motor losing 1.9 percent to Y3,590.
Japan's top bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 0.6 percent to Y1,024, while No 2 Mizuho Financial Group lost 0.9 percent to Y562,000 and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell 1.2 percent to Y891,000.
Some high tech firms also helped support the market, with Sony jumping 2.6 percent to Y5,900 ahead of the year end shopping season, while TDK Corp added 1.1 percent to Y7,520.
The FTSE100 closed lower on Tuesday as commodity stocks pulled the index into negative territory and despite a trading update from Barclays boosting banks. The index closed 39.8 points lower at 6140.7. Earlier in the day, global market were buoyed by news that Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was purchasing a 4.9 percent stake in Citigroup, giving the US bank fresh capital as it wrestles with the subprime mortgage crisis. Positive sentiment within the banking sector was further aided by Barclays, which said it was confident of meeting expectations for 4 percent earnings growth this year, and said diversification had provided some shield from turbulence in capital markets, £6.8bn in 2006. Barclays shares gained 5.4 percent. In other related stocks, Northern Rock added 7.8 percent. HBOS added 2.9 percent and RBS gained 2.2 percent.
Northern Rock was also boosted by news that SRM Global, the hedge fund which has called on the bank to scrap its ongoing auction, said it had increased its stake in the mortgage lender to 8.5 percent to become its biggest shareholder.
But as volatility and choppy trading continued to dog UK markets, global economic jitters and falling metal prices weighed on the mining sector, which accounted for 12 negative index points. Rio Tinto lost 1.3 percent, BHP Billiton slid 1.5 percent, Anglo American fell 3.1 percent and Vedanta Resources shed 3.9 percent.
Among other commodity news, US crude fell below $95 a barrel as investors bet that the OPEC exporter group will boost supply for a second time this year at a meeting next week to cool near record prices. BP fell 0.8 percent and Royal Dutch Shell was 1.1 percent lower.
Also on the downside, UK retailers featured heavily as traders pointed to a warning by Signet that it is likely to miss annual profit forecasts after lower third quarter profits and a weak start to the fourth quarter. Signet fell 16.9 percent. Home Retail fell 4.6 percent, Next lost 3.8 percent, Kingfisher lost 2.3 percent after a price target cut by Credit Suisse and DSG International was 1.7 percent lower. Compass was 2.8 percent ahead of its preliminary final earnings results today.
On the upside, Severn Trent gained 3.1 percent as traders and analysts cited potential M&A activity in the sector and a decent set of figures from the company. Earlier Severn Trent said the cost of dealing with summer floods caused a slight fall in first half profit.
Economics
EMU M3 (OCT) 09.00 GMT
M3 is a bit of a wild card at the moment, as many diverging factors blur the picture. Higher interest rates should, theoretically lead to lower M3 readings, but safe haven flows still have the potential to push up the number. HSBC have opted for a conservative forecast of 11.2 percent. As regards to private sector loans, in the medium term, increases in interest rates and tighter lending conditions are expected to lead to easing growth rates. But higher interest rates and tighter lending standards take time to feed into loan growth. Hence, outstanding loan growth is only expected to ease marginally. Households should again prove more sensitive to higher interest rates than corporates.
US Durable goods orders (Oct) 13.30 gmt
Boeing reported 56 aircraft orders in October, down from 132 the previous month, and the smallest total since January. This is expected to mean a decline of 2 percent in transportation orders assuming a rebound in non aircraft categories. As a result, total durable orders are seen falling 0.3 percent. Ex-transportation orders should be better, up 0.4 percent, but machinery orders may slow after rising 4.1 percent in September.
US Existing home sales (Oct) 15.00 gmt
Pending home sales were stable in September (up 0.2 percent). The declines in existing home sales have finally caught up with pending sales, with both series down about 20 percent from a year ago. This should mean a smaller decline for October existing home sales (after a drop of 8 percent in September and a decline of 5 percent in August). Existing home sales are seen slipping to 5m from 5.04m.
US Federal Reserve's Beige Book (Oct) 19.00gmt
This Beige Book (based on information through mid November) may show a deceleration in some districts relative to the previous report. We know that manufacturing output took a hit in October and this may be reflected in the comments. Consumer spending probably stayed uneven in October, but we will see if there are any indications of improvement in early November.
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