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Stocks, Oil Rise as Yen Falls; Gold Climbs Above $1,400

*from www.bloomberg.com, April 19, 2013 (To view original article click here.)

Take Away #1: Most U.S. stocks rose amid better-than-estimated earnings and Group of 20 nation talks aimed at bolstering the global economy.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Stocks rose today paring the biggest weekly drop of the year for the S&P 500 Index.
  • The S&P 500 gained 0.6% at 1:33 p.m. in New York, trimming its weekly loss to 2.5%.
  • Five stocks gained in the U.S. for every two that fell.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% after IBM posted disappointing earnings.
  • IBM, which accounts for 10% of the price-weighted Dow average for its heaviest weighting, by itself took 127 points off the 30-stock gauge today.
  • IBM slid 8%, the most in eight years on a closing basis.
  • IBM posted profit that trailed projections for the first time since 2005, hurt by a hardware slump and failure to sign customer contracts.

Take Away #2: The yen weakened, gold climbed above $1,400 an ounce, and oil advanced.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Japan’s currency tumbled at least 0.5% against all 16 major peers.
  • Ten-year Treasury yields climbed two basis points to 1.70%.
  • Gold for immediate delivery rise for a fourth day.
  • The pound weakened as Britain lost its top credit grade at Fitch Ratings.

Take Away #3: Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said yesterday that his nation’s policies went unopposed at the G-20 meeting in Washington.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • This signals further weakening of the yen as the central bank pushes ahead with stimulus measures.
  • A Chinese government economist said growth will rebound.

Take Away #4: The S&P 500 retreated 3.3% from its record close on April 11 through yesterday, spurring concern over what UBS AG strategist Jonathan Golub called a “spring break” in equities.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Stocks began short-term declines in April of each of the last three years.
  • The S&P 500 surged as much as 136% from a 12-year low in 2009 as the Fed embarked on three rounds of bond purchases to stimulate the economy.

Take Away #5: General Electric Co. and McDonald’s Corp, both declined.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • General Electric Co., the largest maker of jet engines and McDonald’s Corp, the largest restaurant chain by sales, declined more than 2% after profit matched analysts estimates.

Take Away #6: The S&P 500 was boosted by earnings that beat estimates, and the Stoxx Europe 600 advanced.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Earnings beat estimates at 72% of the 103 companies in the S&P 500 that posted results so far this season.
  • Less than 50% exceeded revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.5% for the first advance in six days.
  • The gauge lost 2.5% this week, the biggest drop since November.
  • Kazakhmys Plc surged 24% and Vedanta Resources Plc rallied 6.1% as a gauge of European mining companies rebounded from a 3 ½ year low.
  • L’Oreal SA rose 4.3% after the world’s largest cosmetics maker reported an increase in first-quarter revenue.

Take Away #7: The pound weakened against 14 of 16 major peers, the yen depreciated for a fourth day against the dollar, while the euro and the South Korean won strengthened.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The pound lost more than 0.9% against the South Korean won and Brazilian real slipping 0.3% to $1.5241.
  • Fitch lowered the U.K. to AA+ from AAA on a weaker economic and fiscal outlook.
  • It cut its growth projection and forecast that debt would peak at 101% of GDP in the fiscal year 2015-2016.
  • The Yen slid 1.1% to 99.11 and declined 1.2% against the euro.
  • The euro was up 0.2% at $1.3072 after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the European Central Bank should reduce liquidity in the euro area.
  • The won rose versus 15 of 16 major counterparts climbing to the strongest level versus the yen since Oct. 2008.

Take Away #8: The MSCI Emerging markets Index climbed 1.1%, rebounding from the lowest level since November.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The gauge has fallen 4.4% this year, compared with a 5.9% increase in the MSCI World Index of developed countries.
  • Fund flows into developed-market equities beat emerging-market peers for a ninth week, Citigroup Inc. analysts wrote in a report citing EPFR data.
  • Inflows into developed equities were dominated by the U.S. and Japan, while emerging-market equities saw $964 million outflows, they wrote.

Take Away #9: The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong jumped 3.1% today.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • China’s economy may rebound in the second and third quarters of the year, Zhu Baoliang, of the State Information Center’s economic forecast dept. said.
  • Taiwan’s Taiex Index climbed 1.8% after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract maker of chips, forecast record quarterly sales.
  • China’s yuan had the biggest weekly gain in three months after the central bank signaled plans to widen a trading band that’s been limiting appreciation since October.
  • Thailand’s baht advanced to a 16-year high, reversing earlier losses, even after central bank Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said the currency started to move beyond its fundamentals.

Take Away #10: Gold for immediate delivery pared gains after climbing as much as 2.6% to $1,426.05 an ounce.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Gold fell 9.1% on April 15, the most in three decades.
  • European Union emission permits rose 2.9% after yesterday’s 12% gain.
  • The allowances dropped 42% on April 16 and 17.

Take Away #11: Europe rejects proposed change to emissions-trading law and Italian government bonds rise.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The European Parliament rejected a proposed change to the region’s emissions-trading law that would have curbed the supply of permits temporarily.
  • Italian government bonds rose as Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani turned to former Prime Minister Romano Prodi as a candidate for the Italian presidency after members of his party rejected his first choice.
  • The 10-year yield fell four basis points to 4.22.

 

*To view original article from www.bloomberg.com click here.

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