* Copper declines after data from China, the biggest user* Global stocks slip after six days of gainsBy Rodrigo CamposNEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Global stocks and copper
prices fell from recent highs on Thursday after weak data from
China reinforced concerns about the global economy, while the
euro dipped on lagging worries over the European debt crisis.The European Central Bank warned about the effect of
bondholder write-downs, and investor unease on the
effectiveness of current measures to prevent the spread of the
euro zone debt crisis could be seen in the rise in yields on
Italian bonds.Major stock markets had recently jumped sharply on hopes
the debt crisis was close to being resolved.Prices of U.S. Treasury debt rose as investors sought
relative safety.On Wall Street, shares of JPMorgan Chase slumped 5.5
percent to $31.39 after the bank reported a drop in quarterly
earnings. It was the first major U.S. bank to post results this
season.U.S. shares fell from three-week highs after China reported
its trade surplus narrowed for a second straight month in
September. Both imports and exports were lower than expected.The data reflected global economic weakness, which along
with the euro zone debt crisis, drove equities and commodities
to post heavy losses in the third quarter.An index of U.S. bank shares slid 4.3 percent.”JPMorgan is a good indicator of what is happening in the
banking industry and a little bit of an insight into where
consumer banking is headed.” said Kim Forrest, senior equity
research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.In afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones industrial
average dropped 51.50 points, or 0.45 percent, to
11,467.35. The S&P 500 dropped 6.80 points, or 0.56
percent, to 1,200.45. The Nasdaq Composite gained 4.05
points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,608.78.A spike in shares of chipmakers kept the tech-heavy Nasdaq
higher.The S&P 500 has run up more than 10 percent from a 2011 low
hit on Oct. 4 and had notched its largest seven-day rally since
March 2009 on growing optimism European leaders were making
progress in tackling the region’s debt problems.World stocks as measured by MSCI were down
0.5 percent after six days of gains.The soft data from China also pressured copper prices . The industrial metal, often taken as a proxy for
economic growth expectations, fell 2.5 percent. China is the
world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 40
percent of global demand.The euro pared losses but was still trading lower against
the U.S. dollar, pulling back from a one-month high, after the
ECB warned about the impact on the currency and the region’s
banks of involving bondholders in euro zone bailouts.Slovakia’s parliament backed a plan to bolster the euro
zone’s rescue fund after political parties agreed to hold an
early election, concluding the ratification process in all euro
zone countries.But even with a revamped rescue fund, European banks are
still vulnerable to a Greek default and to sovereign
downgrades. That increases the urgency for them to raise more
capital to remain financially sound, analysts said.”After such a strong rally this week based on nothing but
hope, people realize that things are not going to come as
easily as they had hoped,” said Kathy Lien, director of
currency research at GFT in New York.The single currency hit a New York session low of
$1.3683, according to Reuters data. It last traded at $1.3762,
down 0.2 percent on the day. The euro on Wednesday touched its
highest versus the greenback since Sept. 16.Italy sold 6.2 billion euros of debt, split across four
bonds. But yields remained under pressure, and the European
Central Bank stepped into the secondary market after the
auction, buying Italian debt to cap rising yields.The Italian 10-year BTP yield was up to 5.829
percent from 5.738 percent late on Wednesday.The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 13/32
point, with the yield at 2.1656 percent.Thirty-year bonds gained as much as two points
after a $30 billion auction that saw yields fall below market
forecasts. They last traded up 1-10/32 in price to yield 3.1328
percent.
Tags:
GLOBAL
MARKETSChina
data
weighs
on
world
stocks
copper
32 notes
Cairo’s index rose 2.5 percent but is still down 43
percent this year and volumes until recently were near
multi-year lows.Dealers say short-term trading has become the norm given the
uncertain political backdrop and a lack of visibility for
investors.”It’s the same scenario being repeated. The market crashes
and every dip is a buy. Events are quickly reflected in the
market,” said Omar Darwish at CIBC.Market heavyweight Orascom Construction gained 5.6
percent and was also the most traded stock.Commercial International Bank and Orascom Telecom
rose by 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent.In the UAE’s capital, National Bank of Abu Dhabi
fell 1.5 percent, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank slipped
1.8 percent and Investment Bank dropped 5.9 percent.”Banks will be interesting once the numbers are out because
they will be telling us about the credit quality and loan
growth,” said a trader based in Abu Dhabi. “But it’s too risky
to be buying banks before the numbers.”The index slipped 0.4 percent to its lowest close
since August 2010.”There’s been nothing new on the table recently but we’ve
had a sentiment swing (in world markets). Until you see real
concrete proposals, the market will trade on very small
margins,” the trader added, speaking on European politicians
trying to contain the region’s banking crisis.Dubai’s share index ended little changed, up 0.06
percent with only 33.7 million shares exchanging hands, against
the 50-day average of 68.5 million shares.Drake and Scull gained 1.2 percent, accounting for
a third of all shares traded on the index.Emirates NBD , Dubai’s largest stock by market
value, rebounded as investors picked up the battered stock.Its shares rose 1.1 percent, recovering from Wednesday’s
27-week low. It had slumped after announcing it would take over
struggling Islamic lender Dubai Bank.Elsewhere, Qatar fell 0.3 percent to 8,397 points,
with investors locking in gains following a five-day rise.Qatar National Bank fell 0.5 percent, Qatar
Navigations shed 1.8 percent and Qatar Islamic Bank
slipped 0.5 percent.Bucking the trend, Industries Qatar (IQ) rose 0.9
percent after its third-quarter earnings beat
estimates.”Although the results look alright with growth primarily on
back of more capacity, quarter-on-quarter there is a decent
decline of 14 percent. This ties is with the global trend of
margins tightening,” said Ibrahim Masood, senior investment
officer at Mashreq Bank.In Oman, Bank Muscat, the largest lender by market
value, rose 0.6 percent after reporting a 15.8 percent increase
in third-quarter earnings a day earlier. The bank’s results
topped analysts’ estimates.In Kuwait, logistics firm Agility jumped 6.8
percent to its highest level since May 9.”The market still thinks they are in talks with large armies
even though Agility denied signing a deal,” said a Kuwait-based
trader on condition of anonymity.The stock hit a four-month high on Sunday on speculation
about a contract. On Tuesday, the firm denied reports that it
had won a military contract worth up to $700 million, sending
its shares lower.THURSDAY’S HIGHLIGHTSEGYPT* The index rose 2.5 percent to 4,152 points.ABU DHABI* The benchmark slipped 0.4 percent to 2,478 points.DUBAI* The index edges up 0.06 percent to 1,385 points.QATAR* The index declined 0.3 percent to 8,397 points.OMAN* The index eased 0.06 percent to 5,516 points.KUWAIT* The measure rose 0.3 percent to 5,868 points.BAHRAIN* The measure climbed 0.2 percent to 1,150 points.
Tags:
MIDEAST
STOCKSMost
Gulf
bourses
fall
Egypt
gains
on
valuations
301 notes
“We anticipate there is a high possibility of finding
deposits in the area, which is why Noble is there,” Energy
Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou said.Turkey, the only country to recognize the breakaway Turkish
Cypriot state in northern Cyprus, says the internationally
recognized Greek Cypriot government has no authority to explore
for hydrocarbons until the island’s division has been resolved.Noble started its deepwater drilling some 100 miles south of
Cyprus in September and aims to reach a depth of 4,000 metres
beneath the sea bed. By Tuesday, it was at a depth of 2,200
metres.Ankara sent a research vessel with a military escort to the
region last month, saying it too planned to launch exploratory
work unless the Greek Cypriots stopped.Antoniadou was non-committal on reports that drilling had
already shown significant signs of gas. Even if traces of gas
were detected, it did not mean a deposit had been found, she
said.”At the moment we are only halfway to meeting our drilling
target; we are now at 2,200 metres below the seabed, our target
is to reach 4,000 metres, which is where we have expectations
that there could possibly be hydrocarbon deposits,” said
Antoniadou, who is commerce, industry and tourism minister.The Phileleftheros daily reported that gas had already
emerged, and that the deposit was expected to exceed Cypriot
officials’ initial estimate of up to 10 trillion cubic feet
(tcf) of natural gas.Leviathan, an Israeli field close to the Cypriot prospect,
holds reserves estimated at 16 tcf and has been described as the
world’s biggest find of the last decade.Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded the northeast
in 1974 in reaction to a Greek-inspired coup.Turkey says the Greek Cypriots, who are a signatory to the
U.N. Convention of the Law of the Sea and are carrying out
research in a designated maritime zone in accordance with the
accord, have no jurisdiction to search for hydrocarbon reserves
as long as the island’s division remains unresolved.
Tags:
Cyprus
has
high
expectations
for
gas
findminister
89 notes
button
