For Now Global Markets Stable on China Steps, U.S. Productivity Jumps

Nichole Harper
02 Sep, 2015
New York City

Global markets stabilized after China took steps to support stocks with the help of nine large brokerage houses. Stocks on Wall Street advanced after productivity rose at a faster pace in the second quarter. Crude oil eased on rising inventories.

[R]1:05 PM New York City, New York – Global markets stabilized after China took steps to support stocks with the help of nine large brokerage houses. Stocks on Wall Street advanced after productivity rose at a faster pace in the second quarter. Crude oil eased on rising inventories.[/R]

Global markets turned higher after China took steps to revive flagging confidence in stocks.

Chinese government worked with large banks and securities brokerages and the government controlled China Securities Journal said nine brokerage firms pledged to buy more than 30 billion yuan of stocks.

The move calmed nerves and quelled worries that Chinese government may start a crackdown of brokerage firms helping global markets to stabilize.

In New York markets traded higher after the latest productivity report showed an increase and a private survey showed an increase in August payroll in the private sector.

Revised non-farm business sector labor productivity rose 3.3% annual rate during the second-quarter from a year ago period. Output grew 4.7% and hours worked rose 1.4% in the quarter, the Department of Labor said.

New orders for manufactured goods in July increased $2 billion or 0.4% to $482 billion, followed by 2.2% increase in June. Excluding transportation, new orders jumped 2.2%, the Department of Commerce reported.

On Wall Street, Tollbooth Strategy Index gained 67.07 or 0.7% to 10,114.68.

S&P 500 index rose 10.59 or 0.6% to 1,923.04 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 38.56 or 0.8% to 4,675.21.

Crude oil in New York fell $1.39 to $44.02 a barrel and gold slipped $6.20 to $1,133.60 an ounce.

U.S. Movers

Navistar International Corp ((NAV)) declined 8.8% or $1.53 to $15.83 after the military trucks and vehicles maker said revenues in the third-quarter ending in July plummeted 10.6% from a year ago to $2.54 million.

Net loss in the quarter widened to $28 million or 34 cents per diluted share compared to $2 million or 2 cents from the same quarter last year.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc ((VRX)) gained 1.3% or $2.95 to $227 after the pharmaceutical and medical device maker agreed to acquire smaller rival and precision surgical devices maker Synergetics USA, Inc. for $6.50 per share in cash.

The $165 million transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

European Markets

In the euro area industrial producer price index in July fell 0.1% and 0.2% in the wider region of EU28.

In June, prices were stable in the euro area and in the wider region of EU28, the Statistical Office of the European Communities said.

Compared to a year ago, industrial producer prices in July dropped 2.1% in euro area and 2.7% in the EU28.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index jumped 74.48 or 1.2% to 6,130.80 and in Frankfurt the DAX index gained 82.68 or 0.8% to 10,097.89.

In Paris, CAC 40 index increased 52.49 or 1.2% to 4,593.65.

Ryanair Holdings Plc gained 2.6% to €12.43 after the Ireland-based low-cost airline said its passenger numbers for August surged 10% to 10.4 million from 9.4 million in the same period a year ago and load factor increased 2 percentage points to 95% from 93% in a year ago month.

The airliner forecasted revenues for the year ending in March 2016 to jump 12% to €5.7 billion and net profit to soar 65.8% to €867 million from €523 million a year ago period.

Asian Markets

Volatile Nikkei average closed down after Chinese stocks fell again in a chaotic session. Nikkei lacked direction and the average jumped up and down in most of the session but drifted near six-month low.

Daio Paper plunged 18% after the company announced $250 million euro-yen bond offering.

Volatility returned to markets in Japan after another day of losses in Chinese stocks.

Nikkei index stayed in the positive territory in the morning session but struggled to hold gains in the afternoon after another wave of selling overwhelmed indexes.

Nikkei volatility index remained high near 37% and pension fund investors looked for opportunities if the index dropped near 17,000.

The monetary base in August surged 33.3% to 322.93 trillion yen after tumbling 32.8% in July and adjusted monetary base for the year jumped 41%, the Bank of Japan said.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 70.29 or 0.4% to 18,095.40 and the broader Topix index dropped 58.94 or 3.8% to 1,478.11.

The yen strengthened to 120.14 against a dollar.

Market indexes in Mumbai traded down in choppy session and rupee held firm near record low after volatile markets in Asia turned lower on another of decline in Shanghai.

Markets in Europe and New York dropped more than 3% in overnight trading on the growing worries that Chinese economic data may understate the economic decline.

China’s official gauge of manufacturing sector dropped to a three-year low in August and service sector also weakened according to a private survey. In addition, markets were lower today on the worries that the property sector may weaken more after the latest stock market plunge.

Rupee strengthened 3 paisa to 66.18 against one U.S. dollar.

The Sensex Index dropped 542.88 or 0.9% to close at 25,453.56. The CNX Nifty slipped 68.85 or 0.9% to 7,717.

Hero MotoCorp, the largest two-wheeler maker said sales in August declined 14% but Bajaj sales rose 2%.

Third largest scooter maker TVS Motor said sales edged up 0.7%. Largest truck maker Tata Motor said domestic sales fell 3%.