U.S markets finished Friday with solid gains as the market reacted to dovish comments from FOMC members Lockhart and Evans. Lockhart commented that there is a strong likelihood that the interest rate could be hiked during the Feds meeting in June, July or September. However he also noted that he can’t be certain it will happen as changes for the economy could delay the move. He discussed that data is providing mixed signals with the inflation rate, manufacturing data and housing data missing expectations. The S&P 500 added 0.9% to 2,108.06 and posted a 2.7% gain for the week. The Dow Jones added 0.9% to 18,127.65 and posted a 2.1% gain for the week. Analysts are now making bullish predictions for stocks; economists at Credit Suisse lifted their target for the S&P by 20 points for the end of the year and Katie Stockton chief technical strategist at BTIG expects “a new all-time high in the near term” for the S&P 500.
Asian markets climbed today. The Nikkei added 0.99% to a new 15 year high despite the Dollar making little movement against the Yen. Gains were seen as Eisai posted gains of 20.7% after Barclays upgraded the stock rating to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ due to its effectiveness of its drug to treat Alzheimer’s. Other movers were SCREEN Holdings which gained 6.62%, Aeon Co which added 4.97% and Sharp Corp which added 4.62%. The Hang Seng added 0.49% following comments from the Chinese Securities regulatory Commission that recent gains for shares were caused by improving economic conditions. Sino Land Co added 4.86%, China Resources Land added 3.19% and China Overseas Land& Investment added 3.15%.
European markets are mixed today. The FTSE 100 is up 0.16% on the back of resource shares. Standard Chartered is up 7.42% as Citi raised their price target on the shares to 13 pounds due to the appointment of their new Chief Executive. Although the index is higher, Tom Elliott, international investment strategist at deVere Group, noted that investors should “not read too much into the recent new high”. The DAX is down 1.09% and the CAC 40 is down 0.9% as attention turns to Greece. The Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras will be meeting with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel with hopes of coming to an agreement over the terms of the bailout terms. In the DAX, Volkswagen is down 3.3%, Continental is down 3.11% and Daimler is down 2.94%.
March 23, 2015 – Indices News
U.S markets finished Friday with solid gains as the market reacted to dovish comments from FOMC members Lockhart and Evans. Lockhart commented that there is a strong likelihood that the interest rate could be hiked during the Feds meeting in June, July or September. However he also noted that he can’t be certain it will happen as changes for the economy could delay the move. He discussed that data is providing mixed signals with the inflation rate, manufacturing data and housing data missing expectations. The S&P 500 added 0.9% to 2,108.06 and posted a 2.7% gain for the week. The Dow Jones added 0.9% to 18,127.65 and posted a 2.1% gain for the week. Analysts are now making bullish predictions for stocks; economists at Credit Suisse lifted their target for the S&P by 20 points for the end of the year and Katie Stockton chief technical strategist at BTIG expects “a new all-time high in the near term” for the S&P 500.
Asian markets climbed today. The Nikkei added 0.99% to a new 15 year high despite the Dollar making little movement against the Yen. Gains were seen as Eisai posted gains of 20.7% after Barclays upgraded the stock rating to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ due to its effectiveness of its drug to treat Alzheimer’s. Other movers were SCREEN Holdings which gained 6.62%, Aeon Co which added 4.97% and Sharp Corp which added 4.62%. The Hang Seng added 0.49% following comments from the Chinese Securities regulatory Commission that recent gains for shares were caused by improving economic conditions. Sino Land Co added 4.86%, China Resources Land added 3.19% and China Overseas Land& Investment added 3.15%.
European markets are mixed today. The FTSE 100 is up 0.16% on the back of resource shares. Standard Chartered is up 7.42% as Citi raised their price target on the shares to 13 pounds due to the appointment of their new Chief Executive. Although the index is higher, Tom Elliott, international investment strategist at deVere Group, noted that investors should “not read too much into the recent new high”. The DAX is down 1.09% and the CAC 40 is down 0.9% as attention turns to Greece. The Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras will be meeting with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel with hopes of coming to an agreement over the terms of the bailout terms. In the DAX, Volkswagen is down 3.3%, Continental is down 3.11% and Daimler is down 2.94%.
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