DJIA chart reading : correction range bound little downside biased.
Hang Seng chart reading : pullback correction downside biased.
Asian Stocks Set for Weekly Gain (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks rose, setting the region’s key index on course for its first weekly advance in eight, as tumbling oil prices buoyed economic growth hopes and concern eased that Europe’s debt crisis will spread. Sony Corp. (6758), Japan’s largest exporter of consumer electronics, and Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co., both of which get at least 20 percent of sales from Europe, advanced after European Union leaders vowed to rescue Greece from default. Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN), Australia’s biggest airline, climbed 2.8 percent after oil prices slid 4.6 percent in New York yesterday. Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL) sank 0.7 percent in Sydney.
Jobless Claims Rise, Confidence Falls (Source: Bloomberg)
More Americans than forecast filed first-time jobless claims last week and consumer confidence fell, highlighting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s concern that the slowdown in the economy may persist. Applications for unemployment benefits increased 9,000 in the week ended June 18 to 429,000, Labor Department figures showed today. The level of claims exceeded the highest estimate in a Bloomberg News survey in which the median projection called for 415,000 filings. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 44.9 last week from minus 44.
Sales of New U.S. Homes Decreased in May for First Time in Three Months (Source: Bloomberg)
Purchases of new U.S. houses fell in May for the first time in three months, showing the industry is struggling to gain momentum. Sales dropped 2.1 percent to a 319,000 annual pace last month, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists called for sales at a 310,000 rate. The median price of new homes sold dropped from a year earlier.
U.S. Consumer Confidence Falls First Time in Month, Bloomberg Index Shows (Source: Bloomberg)
Consumer confidence fell for the first time in five weeks as Americans grew more concerned about the economy. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 44.9 in the period to June 19, from the prior week’s minus 44. The decline, within the survey’s margin of error of 3 percentage points, left the gauge close to its average for the year.
Bernanke Leaves Door Open to More Stimulus Should Economy Fail to Rebound (Source: Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke left the door open to a fresh shot of monetary stimulus should the economic rebound he’s predicting fail to materialize. The Fed would be “prepared to take additional action, obviously, if conditions warranted,” including the purchase of more Treasury securities, Bernanke said yesterday after U.S. central bankers met in Washington. The economy will probably overcome constraints from elevated energy prices and Japan- related disruptions to manufacturing, he said. Still, declining home prices, high unemployment and weaknesses in the financial system may restrain the recovery in the longer term, he said.
Fed cuts growth forecast; no hint of more support
WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its forecasts for U.S. economic growth, but offered no hint of further monetary support, saying the recovery should gradually pick up heading into 2012.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said factors weighing on the economy, such as high commodity prices, should be fleeting but warned some of the weakness could linger.
Fed, euro zone crisis depress demand for risk
LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Investors reacted with caution on Thursday to a relatively downbeat outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve, sending world stocks lower and boosting the dollar in a search for safety.
Europe's debt crisis added to the mood, with a summit of European leaders beginning later in the day due to focus on the Greek bailout.
China factory growth at 11-mth low, close to stalling-PMI
BEIJING, June 23 (Reuters) - China's factory-sector growth was close to stalling in June even as price pressures eased, a purchasing managers' survey showed on Thursday, reflecting the impact of tightening in monetary policy and slack global demand.
The flash HSBC PMI, the earliest available indicator of China's industrial activity, eased to 50.1 in June, the lowest since July 2010. A sub-index for new orders also dropped to its lowest since July 2010.
China Inflation Will Be ‘Under Control’: Wen (Source: Bloomberg)
Premier Wen Jiabao said that China’s efforts to stem inflation have worked and that the pace of consumer-price increases will slow, an assessment that contrasts with some economists advocating further steps. “There is concern as to whether China can rein in inflation and sustain its rapid development -- my answer is an emphatic yes,” Wen wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times newspaper. “China has made capping price rises the priority of macroeconomic regulation and introduced a host of targeted policies. These have worked. The overall price level is within a controllable range and is expected to drop steadily.”
Off-Balance-Sheet Loans Double, Boosting Bank Default Risk: China Credit (Source: Bloomberg)
Chinese banks helped arrange 320 billion yuan ($49.5 billion) of loans between companies in the first quarter that weren’t recorded in the lenders’ balance sheets, raising the risk on their bonds to a nine-month high. While global financial regulators are requiring more transparency and the People’s Bank of China restricts credit to cool inflation, lenders have increased the off-balance sheet loans by 110 percent, central bank data show. Credit-default swaps on Bank of China Ltd. are on course for their biggest monthly rise in a year and are the most expensive since September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Japan Stocks Rise on EU Pledge to Rescue Greece From Default; Sony Gains (Source: Bloomberg)
Japanese stocks rose for the fourth time this week after European Union leaders vowed to rescue Greece, easing concern the region’s debt crisis will spread and cause damage to Japan’s export markets.
EU Vows to Rescue Greece in Exchange for Cuts (Source: Bloomberg)
European Union leaders pledged to stabilize the euro-area economy, vowing to stave off a Greek default as long as Prime Minister George Papandreou pushes through a package of budget cuts next week. “This is not only a green light but also a positive sign for the future of Greece,” Papandreou told reporters after the first session of an EU summit in Brussels late yesterday.
Euro Set for Third Weekly Drop Versus Dollar as EU Discusses Greece Rescue (Source: Bloomberg)
The euro was set for a third weekly decline against the dollar, the longest streak in four months, before European Union leaders conclude a summit in Brussels today on financing needs for debt-saddled Greece.
German Business Confidence Probably Declined in June on Worsening Crisis (Source: Bloomberg)
German business confidence probably declined to the lowest level in eight months in June as Europe’s worsening sovereign-debt crisis and a faltering global recovery clouded the economic outlook.
Aussie Dollar Rebounds From One-Month Low on Bets Greece Will Pass Cuts (Source: Bloomberg)
The Australian dollar climbed from a one-month low against the U.S. currency on optimism Greece will pass budget cuts next week needed to receive additional aid, boosting demand for higher-yielding assets.
FOREX-Dollar bullish after Fed comments; euro zone PMI weighs
LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - The dollar climbed on Thursday and looked poised to rise further as investors unwound bullish bets in higher-yielding currencies after the U.S. Federal Reserve downgraded economic growth forecasts.
The Fed cut its GDP growth forecasts lower and upwardly revised inflation expectations, while holding off from signalling a third round of quantitative easing, saying the U.S. recovery should gradually pick up heading into 2012.
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