Markets flat as Europe woes balanced by recovering US
IG Market's analyst Cameron Peacock's global market report:
IG Market’s analyst Cameron Peacock’s global market report:
Overnight, US markets finished flat to marginally higher as investors continued to balance ongoing European issues against US economic data, confirming that the world’s biggest economy is on the slow path to recovery.
Among the major averages, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat at 12415, the S&P added 0.3% to 1281, while the NASDAQ jumped 0.8% to 2669. Among the major S&P sectors, the financial and technology sectors finished higher, while materials and energy were among the day’s worst performers.
In European trade, a French debt auction of 10- to 30-year bonds saw yields edge higher, while concerns escalated about the ability of European banks to raise fresh capital after Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit, could only do so at a massive discount to its prevailing price. These issues saw the euro fall below 1.28 to its lowest level since September 2010.
Across the pond in the US, economic data once again offered investors some encouragement. The ADP private sector jobs report suggested some 325,000 private sector jobs were created in December, much higher than the 176,000 that had been forecast. Weekly jobless claims also fell by more than expected, while planned layoffs at US firms fell 1.6% in December to their lowest levels since June, according to a report from consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. These three data points boosted expectations for tonight’s non-farm payrolls report, which is currently predicting a headline jobs creation figure of 155,000.
NBR staff
Fri, 06 Jan 2012
Fri, 06 Jan 2012
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Markets flat as Europe woes balanced by recovering US
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