U.S. and European Indexes Diverge; Commodities Fall

Bikram Pandey
18 Nov, 2010
New York City

U.S. stocks traded sideways and European markets closed higher. Commodities and crude oil declined for the fourth day in a row. Gold and silver fell from the recent highs. The dollar declined against the yen and the euro. Europe and UK express readiness to extend financial support to Ireland.

[R]4:00 PM, November 17 - New York – U.S. stocks traded sideways and European markets closed higher. Commodities and crude oil declined for the fourth day in a row. Gold and silver fell from the recent highs. The dollar declined against the yen and the euro. Europe and UK express readiness to extend financial support to Ireland.[/R]

U.S. stocks traded mixed after housing starts fell more than expected and the consumer price index rose in October and mortgage applications dropped. GM boosted its public offering size by 31% to 478 million shares and may be the largest public offering surpassing to raise $22.7 billion. GM offering is expected to surpass $22.1 billion raised by Agriculture Bank of China Ltd and $19 billion raised by Visa Inc.

The European indexes advanced after the European Union confirmed support to Ireland and the IMF and the EU are expected to review financials of banks from tomorrow. Euro area construction output fell in September. S&P lowered Cyprus sovereign debt ratings. Spain GDP remained unchanged in the third quarter and Sweden home prices rose in October.

The UK indexes rose after jobless claims unexpectedly dropped in October. The Bank of England policy makers split three ways for second month. The UK pledged support for Ireland. Experian first-half net rises.

Commodities, Currencies and Yields

Dollar edged lower against euro to $1.352 and rose against the Japanese yen to 83.28. One UK pound fetched $1.59.

Crude oil decreased $1.93 to $80.4l a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas edged lower 19.9 cent to $4.02 per mBtu and gasoline increased 0.60 cents to 216.17 cents.

Gold decreased $4.20 in New York trading to close at $1,334.20 per ounce, silver increased $0.29 to $25.50 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery increased 0.05 cents to $3.73 per pound.

Yield on 10-year U.S. bond decreased to 2.87% and on 30-year U.S. bonds fell to 4.29%