Saturday 3 March 2012

U.S. STOCK

The five-month stock rally has been built on a string of improving economic data that suggests U.S. corporate profit growth will remain intact, according to some analysts.



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U.S. TREASURIES


Benchmark 10-year notes traded 17/32 lower in price, and their yields rose to 2.03 percent from 1.97 percent late on Wednesday. The notes were on track for the biggest two-day rise in yields since Feb. 2-3.

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S & P

The Standard & Poor's 500 .SPX is up for eight of the last nine weeks.



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NIKKEI

The benchmark Nikkei opened 0.9 percent, it ceded much of gains to stand at 9,734.32, up 0.3 percent on the day. The broader Topix is up 0.3 percent at 834.14.



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ALUMINIUM


In other metals, aluminium closed at $2,328, from Thursday's close of $2,353 a tonne.

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ZINC


Zinc ended at $2,119 from Thursday's close of $2,105 a tonne while lead finished at $2,183 from $2,163 a tonne.

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YEN


Yen slides to 9-month low vs dollar.

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DOLLAR


The dollar gained against the euro, which was hurt by lingering concerns about the euro zone debt crisis.  the dollar climbed to 81.78 yen.

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EURO


The euro dropped to a low of $1.3185 and last traded at $1.3198, down 0.9 percent.

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U.S.COPPER


U.S. copper futures for May delivery were down 1.90 cents to $3.9125 per lb.

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SHANGHAI COPPER

The first time Shanghai copper stocks hit near-decade highs was in mid-February, before dropping about 1,000 tonnes to 216,086 tonnes last week.

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LME COPPER


Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $8,580 a tonne, down 0.60 percent from Thursday's close of $8,630 a tonne. 

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COPPER


Copper prices also fell, pressured by weakness in equities and the euro and by concerns a metal surplus in China will put pressure on the market.

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U.S. CRUDE


U.S. April crude fell $2.14 to close at $106.70 a barrel, dropping as low as $105.80 after reaching $110.55 during the previous day's surge. For the week, U.S. crude fell 2.8 percent, snapping a string of three higher weekly finishes.

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BRENT CRUDE OIL


Brent April crude fell $2.55 to settle at $123.65 a barrel, having traded as low as $123.12, and fell 2 percent for the week, upsetting five straight weekly gains.

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OIL


Oil prices were down more than 2 percent at the close, after Saudi Arabia eased investor concerns about a reported pipeline explosion that had pushed Brent to the highest level since 2008.


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SPOT SILVER


Spot silver was down 2.3 percent at $34.61 an ounce. 

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PLATINUM


Platinum was down 0.2 percent at $1,692.99 an ounce.

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U.S.GOLD


U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled down $12.40 at $1,709.80 an ounce.

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SPOT GOLD


Spot gold was down 0.3 percent on the day at $1,711.60 an ounce by 2:36 p.m. EST (1936 GMT).

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GOLD

Gold fell on Friday as the dollar rallied, notching its biggest weekly decline this year, and the metal remained vulnerable to drop further after a tumble earlier in the week shook bullion investor confidence.    



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U.S. MARKET UPDATE


The five-month stock rally has been built on a string of improving economic data that suggests U.S. corporate profit growth will remain intact, according to some analysts.


The Standard & Poor's 500 .SPX is up for eight of the last nine weeks. This week, the Dow .DJI closed above the 13,000 mark for the first time since May 2008, and the S&P 500 twice closed above 1,370, a closely watched technical resistance level. The Nasdaq .IXIC at one point crossed the 3,000 level this week and is trading at its highest since 2000.


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Thursday 1 March 2012

U.S. STOCK


U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday, snapping a four-day winning streak after comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke disappointed investors hoping for a strong signal of more stimulus.

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ASIAN STOCK


The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan fell 0.3% after rising 1.4% to a seven-month high on Wednesday, taking its cues from US stocks which were weighed down by Bernanke's comments.

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U.S. TREASURIES


Benchmark 10-year notes slipped 10/32 in price, with their yields rising to just below 1.98 percent from 1.95 percent late Tuesday. The move extended an overall push higher in yields in February, with benchmark notes on track for the first monthly increase in yields since October.

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S&P


The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 6.50 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,365.68.

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NIKKEI


The benchmark Nikkei advanced 0.4 percent to 9,757.20 by the midday trading break. The index pared gains after earlier hitting an intraday high of 9,865.75 after the previous day's rally above the key 9,800 level also proved unsustainable and the benchmark ended flat.

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EURO


The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.3338.

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DOLLAR


The dollar index rose 0.7 percent to 78.811. The greenback also shot up a full yen to 81.22, nearing a nine-month peak of 81.61 set recently.

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BRENT CRUDE


London Brent crude for April delivery was still untraded after it settled up $1.11 at $122.66.

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U.S. CRUDE


For the month, U.S. crude gained $8.59, or 8.7 percent, rebounding after two straight months of losses, and wrapping up its best performance since October.

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