DJIA chart reading : little upside biased.
Hang Seng chart reading : correction range bound little upside biased.
PS : Some markets are closed today due to Good Friday Holiday.
Global Supply-Chain Repairs May Spur Investment Powering Economic Growth (Source: Bloomberg)
Repairing supply chains frayed by Japan’s earthquake and surging fuel prices may provide a further spur to business investment powering global economic growth.
Leading U.S. Indicators, Consumer Confidence Gain as Fuel Costs Discounted (Source: Bloomberg)
The index of U.S. leading indicators increased for a ninth month in March and Americans’ confidence rose for a fourth week, signaling the expansion may withstand higher fuel costs.
Initial Unemployment Claims in U.S. Decline Less Than Forecast to 403,000 (Source: Bloomberg)
New applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell less than forecast last week, indicating the labor market will take time to improve.
Consumer Comfort Index in U.S. Climbs for Fourth Week on Economic Outlook (Source: Bloomberg)
Consumer confidence rose for a fourth consecutive week as Americans became less pessimistic about the state of economy and their personal finances.
US existing homes sales gain raises cautious hope
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - U.S. home resales volumes bounced back in March, a hopeful sign for recovery in the housing market, but prices continued to decline.
The housing market is struggling to find its footing as a wave of foreclosed properties keeps supply up but prices down.
The housing sector led the economy into its worst recession since the 1930s in 2007-2008 and is now lagging recovery in the broader economy.
Bernanke Bond Market Signals No Change With Obama-Congress Cutting Deficit (Source: Bloomberg)
The Federal Reserve can be counted on to keep its balance sheet big and interest rates low if President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers agree on a multi-year deal to slash the $1.4 trillion budget deficit. That’s the message from the Treasury bond market, where yields on 10-year securities sank to their lowest level in almost a month this week on speculation that government budget cuts will slow the economy and encourage the Fed to hold off from raising borrowing costs, said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer of Pacific Investment Management Co.
U.S. Sends Predators to Strike Qaddafi Troops Fighting Rebels (Source: Bloomberg)
The U.S. deployed armed Predator drones for ground attack missions in Libya, as U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said that sending European military advisers to help the rebels isn’t a step toward deployment of ground troops.
Obama Says U.S. Team to Study Whether ‘Speculators’ Driving Up Pump Prices (Source: Bloomberg)
President Barack Obama said a Justice Department probe will examine the role of “traders and speculators” in oil markets and how they contribute to high gasoline prices. “The attorney general’s putting together a team whose job it is to root out any cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices, and that includes the role of traders and speculators,” Obama said today in Reno, Nevada. “We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of American consumers for their own short-term gain.”
U.S. Stocks Gain as Apple, Morgan Stanley Earnings Beat Analyst Estimates (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index near its bull-market high, as stronger-than-estimated earnings at companies from Apple Inc. (AAPL) to Morgan Stanley bolstered optimism about the economy. Technology companies rallied as Apple and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) advanced at least 2.4 percent after reporting profit and sales that topped estimates. Material stocks including Alcoa Inc. led gains as commodity prices gained for the third straight day. Morgan Stanley gained 1.7 percent as the owner of the world’s largest brokerage said trading revenue more than doubled from the fourth quarter.
Dollar May Depreciate Past $1.51 per Euro, SocGen Says: Technical Analysis (Source: Bloomberg)
The dollar’s move through resistance areas around $1.45 per euro puts the currency on course for a depreciation past $1.51, according to Societe Generale SA’s technical analysts. The dollar’s next resistance levels are around $1.47 and $1.4830, and a breach of those may propel the greenback to $1.5145, its lowest point in 2009, France’s second-largest bank said in a research note today. Should the currency depreciate below that level, it will begin setting 2 ½-year lows.
Dollar hits 3-yr low; equities up on earnings (Source: Reuters)
The U.S. dollar slid to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, while global stocks marched higher on a stream of upbeat U.S. corporate earnings. "Strong earnings reports from a lot of companies have driven risk appetite and we have seen huge moves in all dollar crosses, but it would be surprising if we didn't see some profit-taking," said Richard Falkenhall, currency strategist at SEB in Stockholm.
China Says It’s in Discussions to Invest in Spain's Savings Bank Overhaul (Source: Bloomberg)
China is in discussions to invest in the restructuring of Spain’s savings banks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, after a four-day visit by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to Asia. “Premier Wen Jiabao told the Spanish prime minister, who was attending the 2011 Boao Forum, that China will continue to buy Spanish national debt and will participate in the restructuring of Spain’s saving banks,” he told reporters in Beijing today. “China is a responsible investor in the European financial market.”
China Overnight Rate Climbs Most in Three Months on Reserve-Ratio Increase (Source: Bloomberg)
China’s overnight money-market rate jumped the most in three months as this year’s fourth increase in lenders’ reserve-requirement ratios took effect today, draining cash from the financial system. The one-day repurchase rate, which measures interbank funding availability, rose to the highest level since Feb. 9 even as the central bank reined in debt issuance. The People’s Bank of China sold the least amount of three-month bills in seven weeks at an auction today and held off from offering 91- day repurchase agreements for the first time in more than two months. “Banks are short of money after handing reserve-ratio payments to the central bank,” said Jiang Chao, a bond analyst in Shanghai at Guotai Junan Securities Co., the nation’s biggest brokerage by revenue. “The effect may be short-term because it’s not driven by speculation about more tightening measures.”
Japan’s Government Bonds Advance as Extra Budget Avoids New Bond Issuance (Source: Bloomberg)
Japan’s bond futures rose to a three-week high as Prime Minister Naoto Kan compiled a 4 trillion yen ($49 billion) extra budget without new bond issuances.
Japanese Stocks Decline First Day in Three as Yen Dims Exporter Outlook (Source: Bloomberg)
Japanese stocks fell for the first time in three days as the yen strengthened to a three-week high against the dollar, cutting the earnings outlook for exporters.
OECD slashes Japan GDP forecast on quake
TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - - Japan's economy will slow significantly this year after last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami, with the government needing to cut spending from other programmes to rebuild the country's battered northeast coast and to ensure faster growth next year, the OECD said on Thursday.
Gross domestic product will expand 0.8 percent this year, the OECD said, down sharply from the 1.7 percent growth previously forecast because of the extensive damage from the March 11 natural disaster, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report.
South Korea to Monitor Market Closer as Inflows Spur Volatility, Yoon Says (Source: Bloomberg)
The South Korean government will step up its monitoring of financial markets as global capital flows into South Korea may see more volatility with U.S. quantitative easing nearing an end, said the nation’s finance minister, Yoon Jeung Hyun. Yoon said in a speech prepared for a local forum in Seoul today that the volatility of global fund flows may increase over time as it will be hard for countries to reach an agreement on how to reform the international monetary system.
Retail Sales in U.K. Unexpectedly Advance 0.2%, Buoyed by Spending on Food (Source: Bloomberg)
U.K. retail sales unexpectedly rose in March as the biggest jump in spending on food in 10 months outweighed a decline at other shops. Sales climbed 0.2 percent from February, when they dropped 0.9 percent, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast of 20 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 0.5 percent decline. From a year earlier, sales increased by 1.3 percent.
German Business Confidence Declines for Second Month as Energy Prices Rise (Source: Bloomberg)
German business confidence fell for a second month in April after oil prices rose to the highest in 2 1/2 years, damping the global economic outlook and threatening to curb domestic consumer spending. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 110.4 from 111.1 in March. Economists expected a decline to 110.5, according to the median of 38 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The index rose to 111.3 in February, the highest since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991.
The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 110.4 from 111.1 in March. Economists expected a decline to 110.5, according to the median of 38 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The index rose to 111.3 in February, the highest since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991. (Source: Bloomberg)
The U.S. and Japan are more at risk of sovereign-debt crises than financial markets currently signal, according to Rabobank International. The bank’s sovereign vulnerability index ranks Japan as the second most vulnerable and the U.S. as fifth, while credit- default swaps rank Japan seventh and the U.S. the 11th, Shahin Kamalodin, an international economist at Rabobank, wrote in a report to clients today. Rabobank agrees with the market that Greece is the most threatened by the potential for debt turmoil.
U.K. Banks Expect ‘Subdued’ Mortgage Lending, Bank of England Report Says (Source: Bloomberg)
U.K. mortgage lending fell in March, and demand may decline further in the second quarter as the housing market weakens and consumers brace for a government spending squeeze, the Bank of England said. Gross home loans issued last month totaled 9 billion pounds ($14.9 billion), down from 9.2 billion pounds in February, the central bank said in its monthly assessment based on data from six banks. Net lending fell to 600 million pounds from 700 million pounds over the same period.
U.K. March Budget Deficit Narrows to $30.7 Billion, Within Osborne Target (Source: Bloomberg)
Britain’s budget deficit narrowed in March, remaining within Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s borrowing plans for the year. Net borrowing was 18.6 billion pounds ($30.7 billion), compared with 19.8 billion pounds a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. The median of 11 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey was for a shortfall of 20 billion pounds. The annual shortfall for the fiscal year that ended last month was 141.1 billion pounds, below a government forecast of 145.9 billion pounds.
FOREX-Dollar tumbles to 3-year low; euro, Aussie surge
LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a three-year low against a basket of currencies on Thursday as strong corporate earnings buoyed risk appetite in illiquid pre-Easter trade, threatening to drive the greenback to historic lows.
Ongoing expectations the Federal Reserve will keep U.S. interest rates low battered the dollar to a 16-month low against the euro around $1.4650, while traders said M&A-related demand also pushed the single currency higher.
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