Bout Of Market Nervousness

(Reuters) - Gold fell for a third day on Wednesday, touching a four-month low and all but wiping out its gains for the year as the escalation in the euro zone debt crisis prompted investors to favor dollars and German government bonds as safe-havens. Political disarray in Greece, a change in the French presidency and renewed concern about the resilience of the Spanish banking sector sent the euro to a 15-week low against the dollar and propelled German bond futures to record highs. Spot gold was down 1.2 percent on the day at $1,585.01 an ounce at 0940 GMT, having lost more than 3 percent so far this week in its largest weekly slide since mid-March. "It's not as though the escalation of the political risk in Europe is doing anything positive for gold prices at all and this is totally ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income ECB can't move global bonds - Global core bonds ended the session unchanged, as initial disappointment that the ECB wasn't more dovish dissipated fast. Today's payrolls are key and might decide whether the 6-week rally is over or has one more leg. Currencies: Major currency cross rates little changed ahead of the payrolls - EUR/USD gained temporarily during the ECB press conference as Draghi was less dovish than some in the market had expected. However, the move was technically insignificant as sentiment on risk remained fragile. Today, the payrolls are the key factor for (currency) trading. Investors might stay cautions on the euro to avoid this weekend's political event risk. The Sunrise Headlines - US Equities dropped for a ...

(Reuters) - The euro dipped and investors sought safety in German government bonds on Friday as a two-notch downgrade of Spain's credit rating ahead of a key Italian bond auction increased nervousness about the struggling economies in the euro zone. European shares stabilized at 1,040.70 points after three straight days of gains following the move by Standard & Poor's - it cut Spain to BBB plus - and fresh data showing Spain's jobless rate rising. The rating downgrade took the gloss off markets supported this week by the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to support growth, and shifted the focus back to the euro zone. "This downgrade shows that governments in Europe are still struggling to get their budgets in balance. We are probably going to see more downgrades from other rating ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Friday on firm U.S. data, but a two-notch downgrade of Spain's credit rating capped gains, while fresh easing measures by the Bank of Japan briefly pushed Tokyo stocks up over 1 percent and the dollar above 81 yen. European shares were likely to fall, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets would open as much as down 0.5 percent. U.S. stock futures were down 0.5 percent. Japan's central bank moved as expected to help fight deep deflation, sparking a jump in the Nikkei stock average which helped temporarily drag the broader Asian stock higher. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan last stood up 0.2 percent, set for a weekly drop of 0.1 percent. The technology sector and Korean shares outperformed, ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares pushed higher on Friday on firm U.S. data despite a two-notch downgrade of Spain's credit rating that capped gains, while fresh easing measures by the Bank of Japan supported Tokyo stocks. Japan's central bank moved as expected to help fight deep deflation, initially pushing Japanese stocks up more than 1 percent and helping drag the broader Asian stock higher. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended gains to a 0.4 percent rise, headed by the technology sector with a 1.6 percent rise. At current levels, the index was set for a 0.2 percent weekly gain. Seoul shares outperformed, rising on the back of a record $5.15 billion first-quarter profit by Samsung Electronics, which boosted its shares by more than 3 percent to an all-time ...

The South African rand gained today for the second day after yields on European bonds fell, easing nervousness about Europe’s troubles, and as US corporate profits were above forecasts. Falling yields for Spanish, Italian and Dutch bonds gave investors hope that Europe may yet emerge from its financial crisis. Apple reported that it almost doubled its profit in the second fiscal quarter as demand for iPhone grew in China. All in all, market sentiment was good today and that allowed riskier currency of South Africa to advance. USD/ZAR fell from 7.7910 to 7.7590 as of 8:49 GMT today, while the daily low of 7.7480 was the lowest since April 4.

At its last meeting the RBA put the fate of interest rates squarely on the shoulders of this week's CPI figures. The bank sated that a case could be made for more monetary easing if inflation moderates. Hence, the market will be carefully watching the consumer prices data as leading indicator of the RBA's meeting in May. The overall tone of the RBA has been more dovish of late which has led to heightened speculation in favour of a rate cut next month. Last time the bank move to ease policy the board pointed towards weaker than expected growth in the domestic economy and an economic softening in Australia's largest trading partner (China), and they also removed a common line about the mining led investment boom which has been the only real domestic bright spot in the RBA's commentary. ...

(Reuters) - Oil rose to $119 a barrel on Friday, trimming its weekly decline, as the impact of sanctions on Iranian supply countered nervousness about the euro zone debt crisis and the strength of global growth. Oil buyers in Japan and Europe are cutting purchases of Iranian crude in April, industry sources said this week, adding to signs Western sanctions are curbing sales from the major oil exporter. Brent crude gained $1.01 to $119.01 a barrel by 6:56 a.m. EDT (1056 GMT), rebounding from a low of $116.70 reached on Wednesday. U.S. crude added 79 cents to $103.06 and was heading for a weekly gain. "I think we've marked the bottom of this downward move," said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Jefferies Bache in London. Support for Brent is coming from "the impact of sanctions on Iran and ...

Sunrise Market Commentary Fixed Income: Core global bonds remain well bid, but fail to profit from weak data While the Bund set a new contract high, the price action showed little momentum. Rumours about a French rating downgrade gave core bonds a shot in the arm, but subsequent weak eco data were largely ignored, triggering some profit taking in late US session. Currencies: Break lower in EUR/GBP confirmed Also in EUR/USD rather dull session leaving the pair little changed in the close. Intra-day decline on French rating rumours was later on reversed. Upcoming IMF meeting, French presidential elections and FOMC meeting might keep investors sidelined today. The Sunrise Headlines US Equities dropped for a second straight session on Thursday. The S&P fell 0.59% as weak ...