U.S. Indexes Swings Higher; Gold Surges 1.7%

Bikram Pandey
03 Feb, 2011
New York City

World markets are increasingly worried that rising tensions in the Middle East may spread to oil producing nations. U.S. retailers same store sales rise 4.2%. Two largest steel companies in Japan agree to create second largest steelmaker in the world. Earnings bolstered trading setiment in U.S.

[R]4:00 PM New York – World markets were jittery as investors focus on rising tensions in the Middle East. Earnings from several companies in the U.S. and in Europe bolstered enthusiasm. Two largest steel companies in Japan agree to create second largest steelmaker in the world.[/R]

U.S. stocks traded sideways as crude oil climbs to a 2-year high and copper and cotton surge. Commodities markets turn jittery for the third day as popular unrest in the Middle East spread to Yemen.

Visa, News Corp, Royal Dutch Shell and Hermes earnings increased. However, net profit at Sony declined in the third quarter.

Cardinal Health second quarter revenue gained 2%. CVS Caremark fourth quarter net revenue decreased 4.1% to $24.8 billion. MasterCard fourth quarter net revenues increased 10.7% to $1.4 billion. Viacom first quarter revenue decreased 5% to $3.8 billion. YUM Brands fourth quarter revenue surged 6%.

European markets edged lower as crude oil prices rose to a 2-year high. Copper and zinc and aluminum traded higher. Royal Dutch Shell earnings miss dragged markets in Holland and in UK and Mercedes-Benz vehicles sales in January rose 23% to 82,700.

UK stocks edged lower and service industry expanded in January at a faster pace. Royal Dutch Shell fourth quarter earnings were lower than expected and Vodafone Group Plc guided higher operating earnings. GlaxoSmithKline rose after the drug maker increased dividend payout and announced share buyback.

Two largest steelmakers in Japan, Nippon Steel Corp and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd agreed to merge to form the second largest global steel maker. Rising input prices played a role in the merger. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial said nine-month net increased. Sony Corp third quarter revenues declined 1.4%.

Stocks in Mumbai surged tracking gains in international markets but elevated inflation tempered the surge. Food prices rose 17.05% and fuel prices increased 11% as demand run ahead of supplies. Ashok Leyland unit sales declined 2% in January.

Australian stocks closed higher as Cyclone Yasi makes its way inlands in North Queensland. Homes, power lines and trees are flattened as the powerful storm covers a vast area. Tabcorp earnings rose 2.9% and declared dividend of 24 cents.

Commodities, Currencies and Yields

Dollar edged up against euro to $1.368 and gained against the Japanese yen to 81.63. One UK pound fetched $1.61.

Crude oil increased $0.19 to $90.96 a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas edged lower 0.08 cents to $4.34 per mBtu and gasoline increased 0.61 cents to 250.46 cents.

Gold increased $23.60 in New York trading to at $1,355.70 per ounce, silver increased $0.64 to $28.93 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery increased 1.10 cents to $4.55 per pound.

Yield on 10-year U.S. bond increased to 3.54% and on 30-year U.S. bond yield rose to 4.66%.