Among The Best Performers

(Reuters) - The euro extended its rebound from last week's four-month low on Monday but investors remained concerned over financial turmoil in Greece and Spain, drawing little comfort from a broad G8 pledge to take steps to fight the euro zone's debt crisis. The common currency rose on short-covering after speculators piled up a record amount of bets against it, according to data from a U.S. financial watchdog released late last week. "We are entering a consolidation phase with regard to the euro. It will not be known for a while whether Greece will stay in the euro or not with a Greek election a few weeks away," said Minori Uchida, chief analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. "The market may show some minor reaction to Greek opinion polls... but it is hard to sell the euro in ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Friday and growth-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar were shunned after data showing shrinking factory activity in China and the euro zone heightened concerns about a slowdown in the global economy. Materials stocks such as miner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) were prominent among the losers, but crude oil steadied after tumbling overnight and copper bounced off a 2-week low. Data on Thursday showed China's manufacturing sector activity shrank in March for a fifth successive month, while German and French manufacturing suffered a sharp decline that even the most pessimistic economists failed to predict. "Fears of a Chinese hard landing are on the rise; overdone we think," said Vincent Chaigneau, strategist at Societe Generale. "Concerns over Europe ...

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, moving back to 2008 highs, after a jump in bank shares and further upbeat data on the labor market, though sharp gains in oil prices limited the advance. After losses on Wednesday, the rebound took the S&P 500 back above its 1,370 resistance level, which is seen as key to maintaining momentum in this five-month rally. Bank shares ranked among the best performers on hopes that the European Central Bank's second long-term liquidity injection would ease the region's financial crisis. .EU The S&P financial sector .GSPF gained 1.2 percent, led by a 2.9 percent gain in JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) to $40.37. The ECB news "is going to be immediately positive for the banking system and for the credit markets in Europe, and in time, will be positive for the European ...

(Reuters) - Asian stocks rose to a seven-month high while the euro and commodity currencies held their ground on Wednesday on hopes a fresh cash injection by the European Central Bank will help further temper market tension and underpin risk appetite. Copper and oil recovered from earlier losses, while a weaker dollar supported precious metals. The European Central Bank will likely inject about 500 billion euros ($670 billion) into the euro zone's financial system later on Wednesday to fight the regional debt crisis, enabling banks to tap as much of the ultra-cheap, 3-year loans as they like. It will be the second injection since December. Financial spreadbetters expected major European markets .FTSE .FCHI .GDAXI to open flat to 0.3 percent higher. .L .EU The euro was up 0.1 percent to ...

The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008 on Tuesday and the S&P 500 also hit a milestone, as buoyant U.S. consumer confidence data and a sharp drop in oil prices nudged the nearly five-month rally forward. The S&P 500 closed above 1,370, its May 2011 intraday high, a move that could invite momentum buying as money managers chase performance, though low volumes lately have raised concerns about the rally's longevity. "I don't see anything technically favoring a downturn right now," said Chris Burba, short-term market technician at Standard & Poor's in New York. "No doubt (the market) has been overbought since the beginning of February, but in a powerful uptrend, price will continue higher for some time amid overbought conditions." Technology shares ranked among the ...

(Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday, helped by a boost to bank stocks from hopes of an agreement in Greek debt swap talks and better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data. Earnings, which have so far only given mixed results, were another focus, with Infineon (IFXGn.DE) rising 5.5 percent, near the top of the leaderboard after the German chipmaker reported forecast-beating results. Banks, many of which have exposure to euro zone sovereign debt, featured among the best performers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index .SX7P up 2.4 percent. Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said talks between Greece and its private creditors were "one formal step away," with a deal needed to avoid a messy default which could have serious consequences for financial markets. "It is ...

(Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday, with some investors looking to increase their short-term bets on banks on hopes of an agreement soon in the Greek debt talks, while better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data also boosted the market. Banks, many of which have exposure to euro zone sovereign debt were among the best performers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index .SX7P up 1.9 percent. A deal is needed in the debt swap talks between Greece and its private creditors to avoid a messy default which could have serious consequences for the financial markets. Italian banks were the standout performers, with Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI) up 4.3 percent and 3.4 percent after the Bank of Italy eased rules on hybrid debt buybacks which will help them boost ...

(Reuters) - European shares were flat on Monday morning ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers to discuss terms of a Greek debt restructuring deal, with banks rallying on a report about easier capital rules. The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.03 percent at 1,043.58 points by 4:43 a.m. ET. Banks were among the best performers after traders cited a Financial Times report that France and Germany have called for a relaxation of global bank capital rules to prevent lending being choked off. More broadly, investors were cautious after private creditors said on Sunday they had come to the limit of what loss they could concede. If a deal is not reached, there could be a messy default with a possible knock-on effect on the global economy. "The market is ...

Blinking in the light and still very nervous, investors have taken tentative steps back into the world's equity markets in 2012, but it won't take much to scare them and they will be looking for encouragement from policy makers in the coming week. Euro zone finance ministers meet on Monday amid demands for faster action on fiscal integration, while the U.S. Federal Reserve's key policy making committee, the FOMC, holds its first meeting since promising to give a forecast on interest rates. But neither event should upset what has been a very good start for riskier assets like equities and commodities in 2012 as investors start to leave safe-havens like the U.S. dollar and German government bonds and put their money to work. Patrick Zweifel of Pictet Asset Management summed up the current ...