US Indices Trading News

Shares on Wall Street flattered to deceive today; opening brightly but plunging soon after despite US GDP figures coming in better than expected. In the second quarter, April to June, US gross domestic product decreased at an annual rate of 0.7%. Analysts, in an earlier Reuters poll, had forecast a decline of 1.2%. This could [...]

US Indices Spread Betting

Wall Street fluctuated between gains and losses this afternoon following the release of mixed US macroeconomic reports. End of quarter portfolio rebalancing may have also contributed to the volatile session seen so far today. The US trading day kicked off with better-than-expected house price data, yet the upbeat morale following these figures was tempered by [...]

Mergers and Acquisitions News Push US Markets Higher

The Dow and S&P 500 opened higher today as a raft of high profile merger news provided the market with a much needed shot of adrenaline. ‘M&A can be a driver of gains for the market,’ said Benoit de Broissia of KBL Richelieu Gestion. ‘It illustrates that industrials have the cash to invest and consider [...]

US Market Trading News Update

Wall Street fluctuated between gains and losses, as investors digested a medley of macroeconomic data. The Commerce Department today unveiled a surprise 2.4% slump in orders for durable goods, after demand for aircraft plunged by 42% in August. The outcome was worse than Bloomberg’s median forecast of a 0.4% increase. Excluding transportation, bookings for goods [...]

US Financial Market and Indices Trading Update

Wall Street opened modestly higher today, as better-than-expected US labour market data encouraged investors to take advantage of yesterday’s stock market dip. The Commerce Department reported that the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment benefits (initial jobless claims) unexpectedly fell by 21,000 last week to 530,000, suggesting that the embattled US labour market is slowly [...]

European Markets Suffer After Federal Reserve News

European markets have opened up with big falls after a post-Fed reversal last night on US stock markets. The US FOMC signalled that it was not quite ready to end its monetary stimulus activities for fear of harming the fragile economic recovery. This cautious stance caused investors once again seek the safety of fixed income [...]

European Markets Perform Well Before Economic Announcements

There were solid, if unspectacular gains for US markets last night with the Dow Jones closing up by 0.5%. This morning, European markets have opened slightly higher with the FTSE 100 the standout performer with gains of 0.4% in early trading. Commodities are holding up reasonably well across the spectrum, although oil has dipped by [...]

Wall Street Index Largely Unchanged Ahead of Fed Rates Decision

Wall Street opened cautiously today, with a dip in commodities neutralising positive expectations ahead of the Fed’s announcement due out around 6.15pm (London time). Expectations are that the Fed is likely to keep interest rates unchanged, with most speculation focussing on possible comments about the wider economic outlook or changes to the government’s stimulus package. [...]

Rising Commodities Prices Boost Resource Equities

Wall Street made modest gains at the start of trading today, as rising commodity prices lifted resource shares. Mining companies were in demand, as US Dollar weakness helped boost underlying commodity prices; three-month copper futures were up by 2.3% to $6,335 a metric ton, October Gold futures were 1.4% higher at $1018.2 per ounce and [...]

US Investors Fear Recent Rallies May Have Been Overdone

US equity markets kicked off the day in negative territory as investors fear the six-month rally might have been overdone and companies are now beginning to appear over-valued in relation to their earnings prospects. ‘The market is being really fuelled here by technicals and momentum,’ said David Rosenberg, economist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates in [...]