U.S. Stocks, Gold Rebound; Oil Weakness

123jump.com Staff
10 Dec, 2009
New York City

U.S. stocks closed higher on the hopes that stable job markets may presage economic recovery maybe taking hold. Crude oil traded below $70 a barrel but managed to close higher. AOL Inc traded lower after it was split-off from Time Warner Inc. Goldman Sachs agreed to limit bonuses in stock payment.

[R]4:30 PM New York, 9:30 PM London, 8:30 AM Sydney – U.S. stocks closed higher on the hopes that stable job markets may presage economic recovery maybe taking hold. Crude oil traded below $70 a barrel but managed to close higher. AOL Inc traded lower after it was split-off from Time Warner Inc. Goldman Sachs agreed to limit bonuses in stock payment. Gold recovers.[/R]

U.S. stocks closed higher after weekly jobless claims stabilize and trade deficit declined in October. Goldman Sachs agreed to limit bonus to its top 30 managers in stock payment only and will not give out any cash payment bowing to the pressure from the regulators. Oil futures continued their decline as investors fear the prospect of glut form the suppliers after Dubai financial crisis.

AOL Inc declined 2.5% after it was split-off from Time Warner Inc. Ciena Corp declined after its quarterly loss increased. Costco Wholesale Corp fiscal first quarter net meets analysts’ expectations. Pall Corp gains after quarterly net increases 55%. Lululemon Athletica edged lower after quarterly net jumped 50%.

Markets in Europe stabilized today but face a heightened stress from the possible fallout from Greece and Ireland. German federal deficit in 2010 is expected to increase to 6% of GDP. Inditex nine months net declines. Daimler AG and its workers reach an agreement to maintain jobs till 2013.

UK stocks edged higher after the Bank of England left its key lending rate at 0.5%. The central bank also left its plan to purchase £220 billion unrevised till the next meeting in February. DS Smith soared 13% on better outlook. Premier Farnell gained 8% on positive comments.

Machinery orders in Japan increased 3.2% in October and orders fell 4.5% excluding volatile power machinery orders. The Bank of Japan plans to offer short term lending of 800 billion yen and accept government bonds as collateral.

China took steps to control housing market speculation and imposed additional tax on property that is sold in less than five years. China extended tax rebate for the purchase of automobiles and home appliances. Automakers and electronics retailers increased in Shanghai trading.

Wholesale price index at the end of last week increased and food price index surged the most in eleven years. RBI Governor Rao does not see foreign capital flows contributing to asset bubble and the central bank permitted telecom and builders to access capital in international markets.

November unemployment rate decreased 0.1% to 5.7%. Export earnings from mineral resources in three months to September declined 2% as the Australian dollar strengthens. Santos Ltd declined 5% after it guided lower output in 2010.

North American Markets

Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 68.78 or 0.7% to a close of 10,405.83, S&P 500 Index edged higher 6.40 or 0.6% to 1,102.35, and Nasdaq Composite Index increased 7.13 or 0.3% to close at 2,190.86. Toronto TSX Composite Index increased 85.35 or 0.8% to 11,464.57.

Latin American Markets Indexes

Mexico Bolsa Index increased 246.39 or 0.8% to 31,916.60 and Brazil Bovespa Stock Index increased 716.30 or 1.1% to 68,728.29.

Europe Markets Review

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 40.48 or 0.78% to 5,244.37, in Paris CAC 40 Index increased 40.99 or 1.09% to close at 3,798.38, in Frankfurt DAX index higher 61.18 or 1.08% to close at 5,709.02. In Zurich trading SMI increased 58.93 or 0.93% to close at 6,410.64.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed lower 141.90 or 1.42% to 9,862.82, and Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased 41.72 or 0.19% to 21,700.04, and CSI 300 index in China higher 22.76 or 0.64% to 3,577.24. ASX 200 index in Australia decreased 31.20 or 0.67% to 4,606.70. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia was higher 4.14 or 0.33% to 1,259.90.

The Kospi Index in South Korea increased 18.56 or 1.14% to close at 1,652.73. JSE Index in Indonesia increased 5.14 or 0.21% to 2,486.44. The Sensex index in India increased 64.09 or 0.37% to 17,189.31. The Market in Thailand were closed today.

Commodities, Metals, and Currencies

Crude oil decreased $0.19 to $70.48 a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas edged up 39 cents to $5.29 per mBtu and gasoline decreased 2.59 cents to 183.14 cents.

Soybean future closed down 1.50 cents to $10.27 a bushel. Wheat futures closed up 1.75 cents in Chicago trading to $5.37 a bushel. Sugar closed higher 1.1 cent 23.26 cents.

Gold increased $11.10 in New York trading to close at $1,132.00 per ounce, silver closed up $0.25 to $17.42 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery decreased 1.00 cent to $3.11 per pound.

Dollar closed higher against euro to $1.4733 and edged higher against the Japanese yen to 88.18.

Yield on 10-year U.S. bonds increased to 3.48% and with 30-year maturities closed up at 4.49%.