Wall Street’s rally halts over economic fears December 13, 2012 THE S&P 500 ended its six-day winning streak yesterday, retreating as worries intensified that Washington’s “fiscal cliff” negotiations were dragging on with little progress. Anxiety about the drawn-out talks between Democrats and Republicans was enough to offset encouraging data on retail sales and jobless claims . There is concern that tax hikes and spending cuts, [...]
FTSE surges to nine-month high on hopes of further stimulus from Fed December 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed at a new nine-month high yesterday, led by an energy sector buoyed by hopes that the US Federal Reserve would continue to provide stimulus for the world’s biggest economy. Oil & Gas and basic materials, which rise and fall with optimism over the economic outlook, combined to added over 13 [...]
Wall St flat as fiscal cliff fears remain high December 12, 2012 US stocks ended nearly flat yesterday, giving up most of the day’s gains after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that monetary policy won’t be enough to offset damage from the “fiscal cliff.” His comments followed the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a new stimulus plan, which briefly pushed the S&P 500 to a seven-week high. The [...]
FTSE 100 hits a nine-month closing high after strong German figures December 11, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip index posted its highest close in nine months yesterday, supported by strong German economic data but enduring a late sell-off as it balked at technical resistance. The FTSE 100 closed up 3.34 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,924.97, edging off an intraday high of 5,937.93 on a bout of selling in the [...]
US stocks up as Apple’s shares lift the market December 11, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday, led by gains in technology companies, helping the S&P 500 end at its highest level since Election Day. A 2.2 per cent gain to $541.39 in Apple’s stock lifted the Nasdaq, as the largest US company by market value rebounded from a week in which investors took profits before a possible [...]
Investors expect end-of-year rally for FTSE despite Eurozone worries December 10, 2012 BRITAIN’S benchmark share index rose to its highest closing level in nearly nine months yesterday, with many traders betting that worries over Italy would fail to halt a traditional year-end equities rally. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.1 per cent, or 7.23 points higher, at 5,921.63 points – its highest close since finishing at 5,961.11 [...]
US markets up on McDonald’s and tech stock December 10, 2012 US stocks edged higher yesterday Monday, helped by gains in McDonald’s after the fast-food giant posted strong sales results, and a move up in technology shares. Technology stocks were the S&P 500’s best-performing sector as Hewlett-Packard climbed 2.9 per cent to $14.20 on rumours that activist investor Carl Icahn is building a stake in the [...]
Central banks inflate a new asset price bubble December 10, 2012 THE Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has warned that global asset prices are rising to levels not seen since before the 2008 crisis. This is despite the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis and the inability of the US to control its government spending and address its deficit woes. It comes at the same time as [...]
FTSE looks set to drop as global trends accelerate December 10, 2012 IT’S pretty much the same routine every December. The Christmas decorations go up, office parties are in full swing and market analysts are asked to pontificate on where they think the FTSE will finish at the end of next year. The problem is that the FTSE 100 is such a broad-based index that it can [...]
Concrete Returns? December 10, 2012 CONCRETE returns are expected from Travis Perkins when it updates shareholders tomorrow. The builders merchant recently joined forces with Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd to supply materials for 6,300 new homes. Shares are just off their five-year highs, and a positive update may encourage traders to dig in and lift prices to a level not seen since [...]
