Takeover Announcements Boost US Indices, Oil Prices Continue to Fall
November 18, 2014 7:56 am
Asian stocks sagged on Tuesday amid profit taking in Hong Kong and Chinese markets, while Tokyo shares rebounded on expectations that Japan will opt for a snap election that may lead to fresh stimulus measures. The Nikkei gained 2.2%, erasing much of Monday’s 3% fall suffered when shock data showed Japan had slipped into recession. The S&P 500 edged up to close at a record high on Monday as deal activity worth $100 billion offset concerns about overseas growth after Japan’s economy slipped into recession. Shares of Baker Hughes, up 8.9% and Allergan, up 5.3%, gave the S&P 500 its biggest boost after Halliburton said it would buy Baker Hughes and Allergan agreed to be bought by Actavis. The Dow rose 13 points to close at 17,647 and the S&P500 gained 1.5 points to march on to another record closing high of 2,041.
The Euro was down 0.2% at $1.2473, pulling further away from a 2 1/2-week high of $1.2580 hit the previous day. The Dollar traded little changed at 116.605 Yen, near a seven-year high of 117.06 struck in the wake of Monday’s shocking GDP data. The Australian Dollar gained slightly on the back of expectations that it will benefit from investors turning away from the Euro zone and Japan in search of higher yields; AUD rose 0.1% to $0.8719
Oil prices sagged as recession in Japan, the world’s fourth largest crude importer, added to oversupply worries; prices managed to hover above four-year lows as Russia and Venezuela appeared to be coordinating a price defence plan. U.S. crude futures were down 44 cents at $75.20 per barrel but off Friday’s four-year low of $73.25. Meanwhile, gold lost momentum on the Dollar’s strength, trading at $1,188.20, off a 2 1/2-week high of $1,193.95 hit on Monday.
Within the equity space, insurance claims processor Quindell has ousted founder and chairman Rob Terry from its board “in a dramatic attempt to restore investor confidence”. The company is expected to announce the news this morning, citing people familiar with the situation. After the stock falling 23% yesterday it’s down by another 6% this morning, trading at 51p per share.
Today sees a raft of macroeconomic data hit the markets with the UK CPI, PPI and Retail price numbers arriving at 9.30am, ZEW Business confidence survey figures at 10:00am and US PPI results at 13:30.
Asian stocks sagged on Tuesday amid profit taking in Hong Kong and Chinese markets, while Tokyo shares rebounded on expectations that Japan will opt for a snap election that may lead to fresh stimulus measures. The Nikkei gained 2.2%, erasing much of Monday’s 3% fall suffered when shock data showed Japan had slipped into recession. The S&P 500 edged up to close at a record high on Monday as deal activity worth $100 billion offset concerns about overseas growth after Japan’s economy slipped into recession. Shares of Baker Hughes, up 8.9% and Allergan, up 5.3%, gave the S&P 500 its biggest boost after Halliburton said it would buy Baker Hughes and Allergan agreed to be bought by Actavis. The Dow rose 13 points to close at 17,647 and the S&P500 gained 1.5 points to march on to another record closing high of 2,041.
The Euro was down 0.2% at $1.2473, pulling further away from a 2 1/2-week high of $1.2580 hit the previous day. The Dollar traded little changed at 116.605 Yen, near a seven-year high of 117.06 struck in the wake of Monday’s shocking GDP data. The Australian Dollar gained slightly on the back of expectations that it will benefit from investors turning away from the Euro zone and Japan in search of higher yields; AUD rose 0.1% to $0.8719
Oil prices sagged as recession in Japan, the world’s fourth largest crude importer, added to oversupply worries; prices managed to hover above four-year lows as Russia and Venezuela appeared to be coordinating a price defence plan. U.S. crude futures were down 44 cents at $75.20 per barrel but off Friday’s four-year low of $73.25. Meanwhile, gold lost momentum on the Dollar’s strength, trading at $1,188.20, off a 2 1/2-week high of $1,193.95 hit on Monday.
Within the equity space, insurance claims processor Quindell has ousted founder and chairman Rob Terry from its board “in a dramatic attempt to restore investor confidence”. The company is expected to announce the news this morning, citing people familiar with the situation. After the stock falling 23% yesterday it’s down by another 6% this morning, trading at 51p per share.
Today sees a raft of macroeconomic data hit the markets with the UK CPI, PPI and Retail price numbers arriving at 9.30am, ZEW Business confidence survey figures at 10:00am and US PPI results at 13:30.
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