Fed on Hold, Global Markets Higher

Bikram Pandey
25 Apr, 2012
New York City

The U.S. indexes advanced and the Nasdaq gained more than 2%. Fed left its asset purchase program unrevised and left rates near zero. Apple Inc said it has more than $100 billion and iPad rollout has been the fastest in the history of the company.

[R]4:00 PM New York – The U.S. indexes advanced and the Nasdaq gained more than 2%. Fed left its asset purchase program unrevised and left rates near zero. Apple Inc said it has more than $100 billion and iPad rollout has been the fastest in the history of the company.[/R]

U.S. indexes edged higher and the Nasdaq index soared 2% after Apple earnings crushed market expectations. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke repeated the familiar rhetoric of Fed’s readiness to provide new stimulus after the two day meeting but stopped short of announcing the specifics.

In economic news, new orders for U.S. durable goods fell in March and UK slipped into a double-dip recession as construction sector faltered.

On the earnings front, Apple second quarter net surged 94% on strong sales of iPhones and iPad and sales in China tripled from a year ago. Caterpillar first quarter net soared 29% and raised profit outlook. Boeing first quarter net soared 58% to $923 million and lifted 2012 view. Coca-Cola planed stock split of 2-for-1. Amgen agreed to acquire Turkey-based Mustafa Nevzat for $700 million.

The European indexes gained on strong corporate earnings. The euro area loan demand fell and the UK economy slid into a recession in the first quarter. Siemens cut fiscal year outlook after quarterly earnings plunged.

The UK’s economy slipped back into second recession in less than five years after the economy shrank in the first quarter on sharp decline in construction and a weakness in the service sector. Polish retail sales increased 10.7% and unemployment declined to 13.3%.

The Nikkei index in Tokyo gained after a 4-day slide after better than expected earnings in Japan and in U.S. contributed to positive market sentiment. Daiki Aluminum soared 5% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial said it plans to acquire 24% stake in China based wealth manager China Post & Capital.

Commodities, Bonds and Currencies

The yields on 10-year U.S. bond increased to 1.98% and 30-year U.S. bond edged higher to 3.14%.

The U.S. dollar edged lower to $1.3218 to one euro and inched higher against the Japanese yen to 81.40 yen.

Immediate delivery futures of Texas crude oil increased 56 cents to $104.12 a barrel and Brent crude futures rose 94 cents to $119.1.

In New York trading, futures of natural gas increased 0.09 cents to $2.06 per mbtu and gasoline price fell 0.66 cents to 315.26 cents a gallon.

In metals trading, copper gained 2.5 cents to $3.70 per pound, gold fell $4.50 to $1,639.30 per ounce and silver decreased 28 cents to $30.51.