Markets continued to react to Wednesday’s FOMC statement and press conference. The Fed reaffirmed that the current rate of 0- 0.25% is appropriate and that any change will be reliant on future data. If the market continues to improve at a faster rate, it is likely that the rate hike will occur sooner than currently estimated. However, Yellen consistently used to word ‘patient’ making the statement more balanced. U.S markets rallied for a second day. The S&P 500 closed 2.4% higher, jumping 48.34 points to 2,061.23. The index also posted two days of gains over 2% for the first time since 2002. The Dow Jones closed 2.43% higher, jumping 421 points to 17,778.15. This was the biggest daily increase in almost 2 years with every single component gaining. Microsoft climbed 3.89%, Goldman Sachs Group climbed 3.56%, Cisco climbed 3.13%, JPMorgan Chase up 2.86% and Chevron up 2.84%.
Asian markets also rallied. The Nikkei closed 2.39% higher as the Dollar moved higher against the Yen. The Dollar was trading around 119.2 at session close compared to 118.8 at the open. The Bank of Japan also gave a press conference in which they reported that they would be making no changes to monetary policy. Kuroda mentioned that falling oil prices could benefit the economy by supporting consumer spending and manufacturing profits. The biggest gainers on the index were Ricoh Co, up 7.01%, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, up 6.09% and Tokyo Electron Ltd, up 5.94%. The Hang Seng closed 1.25% higher as traders followed the direction from other markets. The biggest gainers in the index were AIA Group, up 3.41%, Tencent Holdings up 3.4% and China Mengniu Dairy Co, up 3.4%.
European markets are mixed today. Stocks were originally higher after more positive data from Germany. The German PPI declined by 0.9%, less than the expected decline of 1.2% and the GfK German Consumer Climate came out at 9. Sentiment changed, however, and currently the DAX is down 0.57% and the CAC 40 is down 0.46%. Today’s biggest decliners on the DAX are RWE AG down 3.34%, Deutsche Lufthansa AG down 2.96% and BASF SE down 2.2%. The FTSE 100 is 0.28% higher with Tesco up 3.38% and Tullow Oil up 2.59%.
December 19, 2014 – Indices News
Markets continued to react to Wednesday’s FOMC statement and press conference. The Fed reaffirmed that the current rate of 0- 0.25% is appropriate and that any change will be reliant on future data. If the market continues to improve at a faster rate, it is likely that the rate hike will occur sooner than currently estimated. However, Yellen consistently used to word ‘patient’ making the statement more balanced. U.S markets rallied for a second day. The S&P 500 closed 2.4% higher, jumping 48.34 points to 2,061.23. The index also posted two days of gains over 2% for the first time since 2002. The Dow Jones closed 2.43% higher, jumping 421 points to 17,778.15. This was the biggest daily increase in almost 2 years with every single component gaining. Microsoft climbed 3.89%, Goldman Sachs Group climbed 3.56%, Cisco climbed 3.13%, JPMorgan Chase up 2.86% and Chevron up 2.84%.
Asian markets also rallied. The Nikkei closed 2.39% higher as the Dollar moved higher against the Yen. The Dollar was trading around 119.2 at session close compared to 118.8 at the open. The Bank of Japan also gave a press conference in which they reported that they would be making no changes to monetary policy. Kuroda mentioned that falling oil prices could benefit the economy by supporting consumer spending and manufacturing profits. The biggest gainers on the index were Ricoh Co, up 7.01%, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, up 6.09% and Tokyo Electron Ltd, up 5.94%. The Hang Seng closed 1.25% higher as traders followed the direction from other markets. The biggest gainers in the index were AIA Group, up 3.41%, Tencent Holdings up 3.4% and China Mengniu Dairy Co, up 3.4%.
European markets are mixed today. Stocks were originally higher after more positive data from Germany. The German PPI declined by 0.9%, less than the expected decline of 1.2% and the GfK German Consumer Climate came out at 9. Sentiment changed, however, and currently the DAX is down 0.57% and the CAC 40 is down 0.46%. Today’s biggest decliners on the DAX are RWE AG down 3.34%, Deutsche Lufthansa AG down 2.96% and BASF SE down 2.2%. The FTSE 100 is 0.28% higher with Tesco up 3.38% and Tullow Oil up 2.59%.
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