ADVFN III World Daily Markets Bulletin ( December 5th, 2012 ).

ADVFN III	World Daily Markets Bulletin
Daily world financial news

US Market

Stocks Turning In A Mixed Performance In Early Trading Stocks are turning in a mixed performance in early trading on Wednesday after ending the previous session modestly lower. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq has slid into negative territory, the Dow and the S&P 500 have moved modestly higher. The major averages currently remain stuck on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq is down 10.94 points or 0.4 percent at 2,985.75, the Dow is up 41.40 points or 0.3 percent at 12,993.18 and the S&P 500 is up 0.53 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 1,407.58. The mixed performance on Wall Street comes on the heels of the release of a report from Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) showing that Superstorm Sandy contributed to weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of November. The report said the private sector added 118,000 jobs in November compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 125,000 jobs. However, ADP estimated that the impact of the storm cut about 86,000 jobs from payrolls. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said, "Abstracting from the storm, the job market turned in a good performance during the month. This is especially impressive given the uncertainty created by the Presidential election and the fast-approaching fiscal cliff." Traders are also digesting news out of China, as new Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping indicated that the nation would focus on urbanization and domestic demand to sustain economic growth. While early strength is visible among electronic storage, steel, and banking stocks, gold and housing stocks have shown notable moves to the downside. In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved to the upside during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up by 2.2 percent. The major European markets are also seeing modest strength on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are up by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength, adding the gains seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, has dipped 1.2 basis points to 1.596 percent. Canadian Market CADUSD Oil Gold Allbanc Please click on the images to view our interactive charts TSX Up At Open Wednesday Bay Street stocks opened higher Wednesday amid buying in energy and base-metals stocks, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index adding 30.57 points or 0.25 percent to 12,167.75. The Diversified Materials Index added about 1 percent, with Teck Resources gaining nearly 2 percent, First Quantum Minerals and Inmet Mining were up marginally. In the oil patch, Nexen Inc. moved up about 2 percent. Suncor Energy and Niko Resources gained about 0.50 percent each. Canadian Pacific Railway surged 3 percent after announcing plans to cut about 4,500 jobs by 2016. Meanwhile, gold stocks were extending losses, with Eldorado Gold shedding over 3 percent. Goldcorp. and Barrick Gold were down around 1 percent each. In the financial space, Laurentian Bank of Canada lost about 2 percent even after reporting improved fourth-quarter profit. Crude for January gained $0.20 to $88.70 a barrel. The price of gold was recovering from its one-month low Wednesday morning even as the U.S. dollar was steady versus a basket of currencies amid the release of private sector employment report. Gold for February added $5.50 to $1,701.30 an ounce. Mobile networks infrastructure software solutions provider Redknee Solutions reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.9 million or $0.03 per share up from $663.1 million or $0.01 per share in the same period last year. Analysts expected the company to earn $0.02 per share for the quarter. Separately, the company said it would acquire Nokia Siemens Networks' Business Support Systems for about 15 million euros In economic news from the U.S., payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) said the private sector added 118,000 jobs in November following a downwardly revised increase of 157,000 jobs in October. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 125,000 jobs compared to the addition of 158,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. From across the Atlantic, euro zone retail sales decreased for the third consecutive month in October, Eurostat said. Retail sales were down 1.2 percent in October from a month ago, when it dropped 0.6 percent. Sales were forecast to fall just 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, survey results released by Markit Economics revealed that the euro area private sector contracted less than estimated in November. The composite output index, which measures the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors, rose to 46.5 in November from 45.7 in October, final data showed. The flash reading was 45.8. European Market FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40 Please click on the images to view our interactive charts European Markets Mostly Higher, Banks Gain The European markets are mostly higher on Wednesday, following firm cues from Asia where markets ended higher after Chinese shares soared amid signals of an accommodative economic policy. Yet, some of the gains were cut after eurozone retail sales data showed a more-than-expected fall. Banks advanced after Citigroup raised European banks to ''Overweight.'' In an interview with Bloomberg Tuesday, President Barack Obama indicated that any deal will have to include higher tax rates on wealthy Americans. Analysts have suggested that lawmakers will likely continue to wrangle over how to avoid the fiscal cliff until the days leading up to the end of the year deadline. German service sector contracted at a slower pace in November, detailed results of a survey by Markit Economics revealed. The outcome was in contrast to the preliminary finding that activity declined at a sharper pace than in October. Meanwhile, the euro area private sector contracted less than estimated in November, a survey released by Markit Economics showed. The composite output index rose to 46.5 in November from 45.7 in October. The flash reading was 45.8. Separate data showed that eurozone retail sales decreased for the third consecutive month in October. Eurostat said retail sales were down 1.2 percent in October from a month ago, when it dropped 0.6 percent. Sales were forecast to fall just 0.2 percent. In the U.K., Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is set to reaffirm his commitment to bring the country's budget deficit down over the coming year, while delaying his targeted time to stop government debt from rising. Osborne will deliver the Autumn Statement to Parliament at 7.30 am ET. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is advancing 0.21 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 0.02 percent. The German DAX, the French CAC 40 and the UK's FTSE 100 are adding around 0.2 percent each, while Switzerland's SMI is losing modestly. In Frankfurt, Commerzbank is gaining 2.2 percent and Deutsche Bank is rising 1.7 percent. ThyssenKrupp is advancing 1.7 percent and Deutsche Post is adding 1.1 percent. BMW is moderately higher while Daimler and Volkswagen are in negative territory after Citigroup lifted its rating on European autos to ''Overweight.'' Sky Deutschland is climbing 1.6 percent, following a positive broker recommendation from Nomura. Commerzbank initiated PSI with a ''Buy'' rating. The stock is gaining 1.4 percent. In Paris, Builder Bouygues is advancing 4.2 percent and metal fabrication firm Vallourec is rising 2.9 percent. EADS is climbing 2.5 percent. BNP Paribas is climbing 1.2 percent. Citigroup raised the stock to ''Citi Focus List Europe.' Societe Generale and Credit Agricole are gaining 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. Lagardere is gaining 3.3 percent after a broker upgrade. On the losing side is Unibail-Rodamco, which is falling around 2 percent. In London, Kazakhmys is gaining 4.6 percent and Vedanta Resources is rising 4.2 percent. Anglo American, Eurasian Natural Resources, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are gaining between 3.4 percent and 2.4 percent. Tesco is climbing 2.6 percent after announcing the review of options for its U.S. business. Stagecoach is gaining 3.6 percent. The company reported increased profit for the first half of the year. Sage Group, which reported full-year results, is losing 1.7 percent. TUI Travel is adding 3.1 percent and Thomas Cook is climbing 7.3 percent after Citigroup raised European Travel & Leisure to ''Neutral.'' Nokia is surging 7.1 percent in Helsinki. The handset maler and China Mobile announced the launch of Lumia 920T, the first TD-SCDMA Windows Phone in China. Aker Solutions is gaining 4.2 percent in Oslo. Asia Market Asian Stocks Rise On China Optimism Asian stocks rose broadly on Wednesday, led by Chinese shares after the country's new leadership pledged to promote domestic demand and urbanization to sustain economic development. The easing of fears concerning Europe and higher commodity prices also encouraged investors to pick up stocks, leaving U.S. fiscal cliff concerns on the back burner. Commodities traded firm and the euro rose to its highest level since late April against the Japanese yen, supported by optimism that Greece would avert a default. The buyback process for Greek state bonds began officially on better terms than expected and EU members granted extension on its fiscal adjustment plan, helping ease concerns about Greece's debt burden. Tokyo stocks rose, bolstered by the yen's weakness on persisting hopes of further BOJ easing. The Nikkei average rose 0.4 percent in somewhat light trading, while the broader Topix index eased marginally. The Japanese yen edged sharply lower across the board in early Asian deals after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kiyohiko Nishimura said that the central bank is ready to pursue aggressive monetary easing "to achieve its price stability goal". Heavyweight Fast Retailing jumped 3 percent after the apparel firm posted strong monthly sales at its Uniqlo casual clothing chain for November. Export-linked shares like Tokyo Electron and Kyocera rose 1-2 percent, robotics company Fanuc gained 0.7 percent on a brokerage upgrade and construction equipment firm Komatsu also ended up 0.7 percent on hopes for a faster rebound in the Chinese economy. China's Shanghai Composite index soared 2.9 percent to end above the 2,000-point level for the first time in more than a week, after new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping set his economic agenda ahead of the party's central economic planning meeting this month. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied 2.2 percent after China's leaders said urbanization will remain the engine for China's economic growth and the China insurance Regulatory Commission abolished a rule limiting insurance companies' investments in commercial banks. On the macroeconomic front, service sector data released today painted a mixed picture of the economy's prospects. Official data showed that the performance of China's non-manufacturing sector rose to its highest level in three months in November, while the HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 52.1 in November from 53.5 in the previous month. Australian shares rose after data released early in the session showed the economy slowed only a little bit in the third quarter, easing fears of a hard landing amid declines in industrial commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 and the broader All Ordinaries index rose about 0.4 percent each, led by banks. The Australian dollar recovered from early weakness following Tuesday's interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Australia's gross domestic product gained a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said, falling below forecasts for an increase of 0.6 percent. On a yearly basis, GDP grew 3.1 percent, matching expectations following the 3.7 percent growth in the previous three months. ANZ rose 0.7 percent, Commonwealth added a percent, NAB edged up 0.3 percent and Westpac advanced 0.6 percent. Global miner Rio Tinto rose 1.6 percent and rival BHP Billiton edged up marginally, drawing support from higher copper prices on optimism the Chinese economy is set for recovery. Shares of Ten Network Holdings were in a trading halt ahead of the launch of its deeply discounted $225 million rescue capital raising. Seoul shares gained ground on foreign fund buying after Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping said the country will maintain its fine-tuning of economic policies in 2013 to ensure stable growth. The benchmark Kospi average ended up 0.6 percent at 1,947, its highest level since October 18. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics extended gains to end 1.8 percent higher at a record high. Meanwhile, South Korea is unlikely to fall into a recession as the nation's economy has more room for sustaining export growth, the Yonhap news agency quoted Goldman Sachs as saying. New Zealand shares fell for a third day, dragged down by OceanaGold after the gold miner completed a book-building process for capital raising. Shares of the company plunged 12.2 percent, while the benchmark NZX-50 index slipped 0.2 percent to a two-week closing low. Heavyweights Telecom and Fletcher Building ended down 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, while Skellerup Holdings and New Zealand Oil & Gas fell about 2 percent each. Chorus, the network company spun off from Telecom last year, snapped its two-day slump to end 0.4 percent higher, food ingredient maker Goodman Fielder added 1.2 percent, electricity and gas firm Vector rose 1.9 percent and Xero, the cloud-based accounting platform provider, rallied 2.9 percent. Elsewhere, key benchmark indexes in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan were up between 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent. Commodities USDCAD USDEUR USDGBP USDJPY Please click on the images to view our interactive charts Crude Steady On China Hopes The price of crude oil edged up Wednesday morning amid speculation that China, the commodity hungry nation, will opt more economic stimulus. China's new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping set his economic agenda ahead of the party's central economic planning meeting this month. Urbanization is indicated to remain the engine for China's economic growth. Meanwhile, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission abolished a rule that limited the investments insurers can make in commercial banks. Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for January delivery, edged up $0.13 to $88.63 a barrel. Yesterday, oil settled lower on demand concerns as investors worried over the little progress made in the U.S. budget negotiations with the fiscal cliff due in about four weeks. The U.S. fiscal cliff involves $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases set to begin in January, unless an agreement is reached between the Obama administration and the Republicans. Tuesday after the market hours, the API said crude oil inventories fell 2.2 million barrels, while gasoline stocks rose 5.7 million barrels in the weekended November 30. The price of gold was recovering from its one-month low Wednesday morning even as the U.S. dollar was steady versus a basket of currencies ahead of the release of private sector employment report. Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, recovered $8.00 to $1,703.80 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled below the $1,700-mark for the first time in four weeks on a technical sell-off amid concerns as there were no signs of any progress towards a resolution to the U.S. budget problem with the fiscal cliff due in about four weeks. The downtrend in gold prices were also in part triggered by some low volume demand in Asian markets. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved up to a fresh record high of 1,351.24 tons from 1,348.83 tons. In economic news, euro zone retail sales decreased for the third consecutive month in October, Eurostat said. Retail sales were down 1.2 percent in October from a month ago, when it dropped 0.6 percent. Sales were forecast to fall just 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, survey results released by Markit Economics revealed that the euro area private sector contracted less than estimated in November. The composite output index, which measures the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors, rose to 46.5 in November from 45.7 in October, final data showed. The flash reading was 45.8. Traders will look to the private sector employment report from the ADP, due out at 815 a.m ET. Economists expect an addition of 125,000 jobs by the sector in November following an addition of 158,000 jobs in October. Today during trading hours, the EIA will release its US crude oil inventories report for the weekended November 30. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to dip 1.25 million barrels, while gasoline stocks are seen adding 2 million barrels last week.