Worsening Weighed On The Market

(Reuters) - The euro traded firm above recent four-month low on Monday as some investors who had bet on the currency falling booked profits, but deep-seated concerns about financial turmoil in Greece and Spain will keep it under pressure. The common currency earned respite from this month's relentless bout of selling, as speculators who had piled up a record amount of bets against it cut some of those positions. The euro was steady at $1.2781, well above Friday's four-month low of $1.2642 struck on trading platform EBS. The euro has managed to stay above its 2012 low of $1.2624, a major support, a break of which would take the single currency back down to levels not seen since August 2010. Traders cited sell-side stops above $1.2835 with plenty of offers ahead of that level, all of ...

Brent crude slipped below $112 on Monday on a worsening oil demand outlook after talks to form a new government in Greece failed, and as signs of a slowing Chinese economy outweighed the country's latest move to ease monetary conditions. Investor caution, evident from the weakness in other riskier assets as well, was heightened as Greece's radical leftist leader spurned an invitation from the president for a final round of coalition talks on Monday, pushing Athens to the brink of fresh polls. This added to the already mounting worries of a global economic slowdown triggered by last week's lackluster industrial output data from China, the world's second-largest economy and energy consumer. Brent crude slipped 86 cents to $111.40 a barrel by 03:26 a.m. EDT (0726 GMT), stretching its ...

Global stocks advanced for the first time in seven sessions on Thursday on relatively encouraging U.S. jobs data and improved investor sentiment regarding Europe's festering debt crisis. U.S. and European equity markets rose after data showed U.S. claims for unemployment benefits edged lower last week, a sign of comfort after April's weak employment growth was perceived as a harbinger of a worsening U.S. labor market. Investors also used a recent streak of declines to buy beaten-down assets, lifting the euro against the dollar for the first time in nine sessions and snapping a six-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average. "You are seeing traders and investors come into some of these very oversold sectors and buying on the dips. Then suddenly, the people who are scared ...

Dukascopy Fundamental Analysis EUR European stocks dropped for a second day, to the lowest level in almost four months, as investors awaited a resolution to the political impasse in Greece and as Spanish credit risk surged. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) lost 1.1 percent to 247.75 at 2:15 p.m. in London, the lowest since Jan. 13, as the euro weakened for an eighth day. The Stoxx 600 has tumbled 9 percent from this year’s high on March 16, trimming this year’s advance to 1.3 percent. USD U.S. stock futures retreated, indicating the Dow Jones Industrial Average will drop for a sixth straight day, as Greece’s political impasse intensified concern about a worsening of the European sovereign-debt crisis. GBP U.K. retail sales fell the most in more than a year last month as poor weather ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: new contract highs - London-traders returned and the market seemed to react with a lag to this weekend's election results. In a risk off session, both the German Bund Future and the US Note Future set new contract highs, respectively at 142.62 and 133-04. - Currencies EUR/USD testing key support - On Tuesday, sentiment on the euro remained fragile even as there was little news from the political scene in France or Greece. EUR/USD is again testing the key 1.2974/55 support area. A break below this level would be highly significant from a technical point of view. The Sunrise Headlines - US Equities dropped sharply lower yesterday, but reversed most of their losses in the final hours of trading. The S&P ended the session 0.43% lower. ...

Fundamental News Today’s highlights: · Halifax House Price Index (MoM) (GB, 08:00 GMT) · Retail Sales (MoM) (EUR, 10:00 GMT) · Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate (U.S, 13:30 GMT) · Ivey PMI (CAD, 15:00 GMT) New claims for unemployment in the U.S. fell by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 365,000 and U.S worker productivity showed a 0.5 percent decline amid jump in hours worked, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department. The ISM said its non-manufacturing index dropped to 53.5 in April from 56.0 in March, although a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in the service sector. The ECB left its key interest rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive month in May, as expected. ECB President Mario Draghi left open the option ...

(Reuters) - The euro slid for a third straight day against the dollar on Wednesday after dismal European manufacturing data added to fears about a broadening slowdown in the region ahead of a European Central Bank meeting and key elections in France and Greece. The euro came off its lows, however, on speculation the European Central Bank may provide euro zone banks with more liquidity in a third long-term refinancing operation after the euro zone data, in both indebted and core nations, confirmed a worsening economic outlook. Italy's manufacturing sector shrank more than expected, while data from Germany, Spain and France also showed factory activity falling significantly. Political uncertainty also looms large, with upcoming elections in France and Greece this weekend having the ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary U.S. Review First-Quarter GDP Growth Slows The U.S. economy grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, somewhat slower than the consensus had expected. Consumption remained the primary driver of growth as business spending slowed and the government sector continued to scale back spending. In our U.S. review section this week, we discuss the GDP report in the context of the big miss in durables and consider what it means for business spending going forward. We also look at a very small change in the Fed statement this week that reflects an improving view on the troubled housing sector. Business Spending Poised for a Slowdown? Durable goods orders for March were ugly. The 4.2 percent drop was the largest decline since the U.S. ...

With the start of a new week, the European common currency starts the week biased to the downside after the downbeat performance of the manufacturing and services sectors, where both sector contracted unexpectedly in April, indicating the euro-area region is slipping into deep recession. The business cycle continued on worsening in April, where the manufacturing and services sector contracted further on weakening global and local demand, where the escalating debt crisis in addition to the tension in the debt market spread fears and jitters Spain is following other indebted vulnerable nation into the debt-trap, which in result affected the sentiment and in result consumption and spending. Moreover, data released today showed that the euro zone governments debt-to GDP (gross domestic ...