US Financial Market News
A surprise drop in US retail sales and unexpected rise in initial jobless claims dented sentiment on Wall Street this afternoon.
Investors fretted about the report from the Commerce Department, which showed American retail sales falling 0.1% in July, worse than Bloomberg’s median economist estimate from an originally reported increase of 0.6% in June (the [...]
Positive Financial Announcements in US and UK Markets
Despite a mixed morning of trading in London, US stocks opened positively today as investors grew in confidence among a flurry of economic news, and ahead of the imminent Federal Reserve interest-rate announcement.
At home, after a jittery opening, the FTSE 100 continued its bounce back this afternoon as traders and investors digested a series [...]
UK and US Market Report
A new wave of analyst downgrades and renewed bankruptcy fears surrounding embattled commercial lender CIT Group knocked US equity markets lower this afternoon.
CIT Group’s shares plunged nearly 23% to $1.14 this afternoon after the troubled lender warned that it may have no other choice but to file for bankruptcy protection if it fails to [...]
UK and US Trading News
The Dow and S&P 500 opened in negative territory today, after speculation of an equity market correction following a five-month rally
‘We can expect a lot of volatility’ in stocks, warned Mark Mobius of Templeton Asset Management today. ‘When you have these rapid increases, almost without correction, you will definitely have a correction at some point.’ [...]
US Jobs Numbers Boost Stock Markets
There was a considerable change in sentiment today, as an official US government report revealed that American employers made fewer redundancies than anticipated in July. Also encouraging were the quarterly results of embattled insurer AIG.
The Labor Department surprised the market today by revealing that the pace of American job losses slowed more than anticipated [...]
US Market and BoE News
The release of better-than-expected US jobless claims data and a rally across European shares helped Wall Street open in positive territory this afternoon.
A report released earlier today suggests the US labour market is beginning to heal. The number of Americans claiming first-time unemployment benefits (initial jobless claims) tumbled by 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted [...]
Jobs Data Hits US Markets
Wall Street retreated marginally in early trading today as reports showed US job-cutting exceeding economist forecasts.
News coming out of the US today is all to do with job-cutting figures reported by ADP and Challenger, Gray and Christmas. ADP reported that monthly job cuts in July exceeded Bloomberg’s economist forecasts – 371,000 instead of the [...]
Profit Taking Hits European Stocks
Profit taking in Europe and mixed US macroeconomic data put the brakes on Wall Street’s rally.
An official government report released this afternoon revealed that US personal income experienced its biggest drop since January 2005, as the effects of the one-time government stimulus cheques in May wore off.
The report showed personal incomes tumbling 1.3% in [...]
Spread Betting Update with Banks and Energy Shares Looking Strong
A surprise interim profit at HSBC and upbeat comments from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and New York University economist Nouriel Roubini helped Wall Street open in positive territory today.
In an interview last night, Alan Greenspan had said he believes the US economy will grow at a faster rate than most economists anticipate. [...]
Spread Betting USA Financial Markets Update
Friday 31 July Update.
US equity markets opened marginally lower today, despite the release of better-than-expected second-quarter US GDP figures.
Preliminary GDP figures released today revealed that the US economy shrank at an annualised pace of 1% in the second quarter, far better than Bloomberg’s median analyst estimate for a 1.5% contraction. Although encouraging, investors fretted about [...]