U.S stocks closed with little change once again but still pushed higher into record territory. Markets traded choppy throughout the day due to conflicting data. In early trade, traders reacted to news that Japan entered a recession after disappointing GDP data. Weak U.S. data spurred this sentiment further with the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index and Industrial production missing expectations. Later in the session, however, Draghi spoke before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. His comments lifted markets as he reaffirmed that the bank is prepared to buy bonds to increase quantitative easing to lift inflation. The S&P 500 closed at record levels for a 42nd time gaining 0.07% to 2,041.32. The Dow Jones closed 0.07% higher at 17,647.75.
Asian markets were mixed across the region. The Nikkei added 2.18% as the Dollar moved higher against the Yen, reaching ¥116.8 towards the end of the Asian session. Sentiment was also lifted as traders speculated that the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, would delay a hike in sales tax and call elections in December instead. Exporters gained as the Yen weakened; Fujitsu Ltd added 1.63%, Hitachi Ltd added 2.95%, Panasonic added 3.08%, Sony added 6.42%, Toshiba added 2.23%, Honda dded 1.27% and Toyota added 2.53%. The Hang Seng declined 1.13% on the second day of the trading link between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Markets reacted to Chinese housing data which showed a 2.6% decline. Property shares were hit.
European markets are higher today after positive data from Germany. The German ZEW Economic Sentiment came out very strong at 11.5, far above the expectation of 0.9. Currently the DAX is up 1.23% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.81% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.45%.
November 18, 2014 – Indices News
U.S stocks closed with little change once again but still pushed higher into record territory. Markets traded choppy throughout the day due to conflicting data. In early trade, traders reacted to news that Japan entered a recession after disappointing GDP data. Weak U.S. data spurred this sentiment further with the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index and Industrial production missing expectations. Later in the session, however, Draghi spoke before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. His comments lifted markets as he reaffirmed that the bank is prepared to buy bonds to increase quantitative easing to lift inflation. The S&P 500 closed at record levels for a 42nd time gaining 0.07% to 2,041.32. The Dow Jones closed 0.07% higher at 17,647.75.
Asian markets were mixed across the region. The Nikkei added 2.18% as the Dollar moved higher against the Yen, reaching ¥116.8 towards the end of the Asian session. Sentiment was also lifted as traders speculated that the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, would delay a hike in sales tax and call elections in December instead. Exporters gained as the Yen weakened; Fujitsu Ltd added 1.63%, Hitachi Ltd added 2.95%, Panasonic added 3.08%, Sony added 6.42%, Toshiba added 2.23%, Honda dded 1.27% and Toyota added 2.53%. The Hang Seng declined 1.13% on the second day of the trading link between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Markets reacted to Chinese housing data which showed a 2.6% decline. Property shares were hit.
European markets are higher today after positive data from Germany. The German ZEW Economic Sentiment came out very strong at 11.5, far above the expectation of 0.9. Currently the DAX is up 1.23% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.81% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.45%.
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