06 Jan
Media Quotes

COMMODITIES- Markets up, rebound from rout on US jobs data

MARKETS-COMMODITIES (UPDATE 1)
Thursday January 06, 2011 09:26:19 AM GMT
* Prices jump as US private jobs data beats forecast
* CRB back on upward climb towards 27-month high
* Rebound shows dollar’s eroding influence on commods (Recasts; updates prices, market activity)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Strong U.S. jobs data ignited a broad commodities rebound on Wednesday, a day after prices fell their most in seven weeks.
A report showing three times more hiring than forecast for U.S. private sector jobs boosted prices of oil, metals and grains at midday after all fell in early trade as the dollar strengthened and Tuesday’s profit-taking retreat carried over.
Analysts said optimism that the U.S. economy was recovering more quickly than thought boosted the demand outlook for commodities, which finished 2010 as the top asset class.
“What’s happening now is the global economic recovery story has become just as important as the dollar story, if not more,” said Adam Sarhan at Sarhan Capital in New York. “That’s the shift we’re starting to see now.”
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, was up 0.7 percent by 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT), moving toward the 27-month high hit early this week.
Gains in soybeans, sugar, crude oil and copper led the index higher a day after the CRB fell 2 percent, its biggest daily decline since mid-November.
The rebound came despite continued strength in the dollar, whose influence on commodities has eroded because investors are focused on fundamentals and the outlook for growth in 2011.
ADP Employer Services reported growth of nearly 300,000 private sector jobs in December, triple the forecast for 100,000 new jobs. Other data showed The U.S. services sector grew last month at its quickest pace since mid-2006.
Investors will watch government data due on Friday for confirmation of the improving jobs picture.
The data put the dollar on pace for its biggest one-day gain against the yen in more than three months and its biggest increase against the euro in more than two weeks.
The dollar has traditionally had an inverse relationship with commodities as its strength raises the cost of raw materials. Gold is often the one commodity that bucks the trend as investors see it more as a hedge against inflation.
But even gold prices bounced up off their lows as the precious metal traded more in sync with the broader market than as a stand-alone safe haven.
While economic data dominated the day, fundamental factors also supported various markets. Floods in Australis hurt the wheat crop, boosting grains. The U.S. government reported that crude inventories fell more than forecast in the final week of 2010, which lifted oil prices. Dry weather in Argentina cast doubt on the soybean and corn harvests, boosting prices.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybeans surged about 2 percent to a session high of $13.87 a bushel, pulling corn and wheat higher too.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil rose over 1 percent to return above the key $90 per barrel mark.
Also on NYMEX, copper climbed 1 percent to a session peak above $4.41 per lb. (Additional reporting by Nick Trevethan in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio)

03 Jan
Media Quotes

US Stocks Rally Into New Year, Boosted By Data; DJIA Up 125

By Donna Kardos
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks started the first trading day of 2011 with a bang, rallying to fresh two-year highs as improving manufacturing conditions and rising construction spending added to investors’ hopes for the economic recovery to continue.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 125 points, or 1.1%, to 11702, marking the third time in a row the measure has risen on the first trading day of the year and putting it on track for its fourth gain in the last five sessions. The Dow reached 11711.47, its highest intraday level since August 2008.
Bank of America led the measure’s climb, jumping 5.2%. The banking giant said it expects to take a provision of about $3 billion in the fourth quarter to buy back bad loans from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that were issued by its troubled Countrywide Financial unit. Investors were relieved to see the overhang removed and the size of the hit from the bad-loan repurchases quantified.
Alcoa and Boeing were also strong, boosted by upgrades from analysts. Alcoa climbed 4.4% after Deutsche Bank raised its investment rating on the aluminum giant’s stock to buy from hold, citing “growing optimism” on the likelihood for higher aluminum prices and a belief that “Alcoa has turned the corner from an operational point of view.” Boeing climbed 1.8% after J.P. Morgan upgraded its investment rating on the stock to overweight from neutral, citing an improving outlook for core commercial aircraft.
However, Intel fell 0.5%. Piper Jaffray cut its investment rating on the stock to neutral from overweight, saying Intel is missing the wave of “ultramobile devices,” and it expects PC unit growth to decline.
The Nasdaq Composite added 1.8% to 2702 and reached a three-year intraday high at 2704.86. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 1.4% to 1275 after hitting a two-year intraday high at 1276.35.
Crude-oil futures also reached a two-year high, climbing above $92 a barrel.
Boosting sentiment, a reading on manufacturing from the Institute for Supply Management rose. Investors were especially encouraged to see the ISM’s new orders index jumped back to 60.9 from 56.6.
“That’s a strong positive going forward for the manufacturing sector,” said Nino Jimenez, senior vice president at Brinson Patrick Securities.
In addition, U.S. construction spending rose for a third consecutive month during November, a sign the industry is recovering despite high unemployment and difficulty getting financing.
The data helped bolster investors’ expectations for a host of other economic updates due this week, including retailers’ December sales and the government’s monthly nonfarm payrolls, to also point to a continuing recovery.
“Today’s just a continuation of what we’ve been seeing for the past four months,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital. He pointed to four primary drivers for the gains: the improving economic recovery, easing worries over euro-zone debt, the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program, and optimism for U.S. companies’ fourth-quarter earnings reports.
“If we do have a strong Q4 earnings season, it’s going to bode well for equity markets in the near future,” Sarhan said. He noted Deutsche Bank’s upgrade of Alcoa comes a week before the company is set to kick off the earnings season.
A positive start to the year tends to bode well for the rest of the year; since 1945, when the S&P 500 has risen on the first day of the year, it has averaged a gain of 10.6% for that year, according to Birinyi Associates.
The gains in U.S. stocks on Monday followed rallies overseas in Asia and Europe, with Europe’s markets bolstered by euro-zone manufacturing data that showed the sector’s expansion accelerated more than expected in December.
The U.S. Dollar Index, tracking the U.S. currency against a basket of six others, edged up 0.1%. Demand for Treasurys fell, lifting the yield on the 10-year note up to 3.35%. Gold futures slipped.
Among stocks in focus, Barnes & Noble climbed 5.9% after the bookseller said its preliminary holiday same-store sales surged 9.7%, partly thanks to strong sales of its Nook e-reader device. The company said last week that the Nook had become the best-selling product in its nearly 40-year history.
Full Story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-rally-into-new-year-boosted-by-data-djia-up-125-2011-01-03

23 Dec
Media Quotes

Media Quote: COMMODITIES-Oil pierces $90; grains rally on thin volume

Thursday December 23, 2010 08:44:19 AM GMT
MARKETS-COMMODITIES
Oil at 2-year high after sharp drop in US stockpiles
* Grains at multi-month peak; copper off from record
* Trading volumes stay thin as holidays get nearer
* Coming up: US jobless claims data on Thursday
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Oil broke $90 a barrel, grains hit multi-month highs and metals retreated slightly as supply woes and other positive fundamentals kept investor sentiment in commodities intact on Wednesday despite thin trading volumes.
The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index extended Tuesday’s 26-month highs, even as combined volumes in energy, metals and agriculture were 60 percent below the 30-day average by 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT).
Oil hit two-year highs. Copper fell marginally after record peaks in the previous session. Wheat rose almost 2 percent and corn hit 28-month highs to lead agricultural markets higher.
Aside from the sharp drop in U.S. crude stockpiles that boosted oil, investor sentiment in commodities was supported somewhat by higher global equity markets, and data showing the U.S. economy growing a touch higher than expected in the third quarter.
Even so, some of the price action in commodities this week has surprised some investors, traders and analysts expecting at most a little turbulence from book squaring activity ahead of the holiday season, which begins with Friday’s pre-Christmas holiday.
Volumes are expected to be thinner on Thursday, even as investors face a flurry of economic data that includes weekly U.S. jobless claims.
“Call it the Santa Claus rally, the end of the year rally or whatever you want, but you’re definitely seeing markets being bid higher, though on very light volume,” said Adam Sarhan at New York-based financial advisory Sarhan Capital.
“The bulls are definitely in control and until we see some technical or structural damage setting in, we have to err on the side of being positive.”
The CRB index has had an eventful year, poised to finish up 15 percent, after dropping 10 percent in the first six months and rising 25 percent in the second half of the year.
(Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/kew48n)
Besides copper, cotton and gold are other markets that are about 3 percent or less away from testing new record highs. Sugar is near 30-year peaks while arabica coffee hovers around 13-1/2 year tops.
Although global recovery from the financial crisis had not reached desired levels, economists have broadly raised expectations for 2011, with a Reuters poll showing a relatively bullish mood compared to the start of this year.
“With two days to go until Christmas Eve risk markets have ignited the afterburner, reinforcing one more time the all-pervasive mantra throughout 2010, “What crisis?”, said a research note from Wall Street bank JPMorgan.
Crude oil’s benchmark front-month contract in New York rose to $90.80, its highest since Oct. 2008, after U.S. government data showed a 5.33 million barrel decline in crude stocks.
Oil prices are up 13 percent year-to-date, with more than two-thirds of the gains coming in the last two months after better supply-demand conditions and positive sentiment related to a $600 billion U.S. economic stimulus package.
In copper, the benchmark three-month futures contract in London closed down $15 at $9,350 a tonne, after reaching an all-time high $9,392 on Tuesday. New York’s most-actively traded copper contract, March, settled a touch lower at $4.2750 a lb.
Copper prices have risen 27 percent on the year, falling in the first six months before surging as the dollar weakened in the third quarter and the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its multi-billion dollar economic stimulus.
Analysts said although current economic readings were not entirely bullish for copper, the metal used in construction and power was seeing strong support from a steady drop in stockpiles this year and export problems faced in the near-term by No. 3 copper miner Collahuasi.
U.S. corn futures rose for a sixth straight session, touching 28-month highs above $6.05 a bushel.
Wheat jumped 2 percent to a 4-1/2 month high above $7.85 a bushel on technical buying. Soybeans hit a 5-1/2 week peak above $13.30 a bushel on strong Chinese demand prospects and concerns that bad weather would cut Argentine crops.

15 Nov
Media Quotes

Latest Media Quote: US Stocks Climb As Retail Sales Top Expectations

Nov. 15, 2010, 10:32 a.m. EST

By Donna Kardos

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rose Monday following better-than-expected retail sales, although the gains were limited by disappointing manufacturing data and a rise in inventories that investors fear might have been too big.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 49 points, or 0.4% to 11241, in early trading. Caterpillar was among the measure’s best performers with a 1.1% increase after the heavy-equipment giant said it will buy mining company Bucyrus International for about $7.6 billion. Under the agreement, Caterpillar will pay $92 for each Bucyrus share, a 32% premium to Friday’s closing price. Shares of Bucyrus, which is not a Dow stock, surged 29% to $89.74.
The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2% to 2523. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 0.4% to 1203.
The advance came as data showed U.S. retail sales surged in October, topping expectations on robust car sales and solid spending for a broad array of merchandise going into the holiday shopping season. Retail sales rose 1.2% last month, the biggest rise since March and larger than the 0.8% increase that was expected.
However, excluding autos, all other retail sales rose 0.4%, just shy of the 0.5% gain that was expected.
Also keeping Monday’s climb in check, the November reading of New York-area manufacturing activity from the New York Fed came in at negative 11.14, down from 15.73 in October and below economists’ expectations for a reading of 13.00. Measures of new orders, employment and prices received all fell.
Together, the data reflect that “growth is anemic,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital. “In general the economy’s still recovering but it’s limping along. It’s not a robust recovery.”
The anemic growth had investors fretting that a bigger-than-expected rise in inventories at U.S. businesses in September could leave companies holding too much inventory if the holiday-shopping season disappoints. Inventories increased 0.9% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted $1.403 trillion, above the 0.6% increase economists had expected. August inventories also rose 0.9%, revised up from a 0.6% increase.
Overseas, worries persisted over the debt situation in euro zone countries including Ireland and Greece. Europe’s debt crisis has entered a critical new phase as Ireland resisted pressure from the European Central Bank and national governments to seek a bailout amid growing concern that the currency bloc could unravel.
Ireland fiercely denied that it was in bailout talks, and European officials publicly insisted Dublin was under no pressure to seek help. Meanwhile, the Greek government vowed to press ahead with tough fiscal reforms despite an upward revision in its 2009 deficit by the European Union’s statistics agency, Eurostat.
“The bigger concerns are still looming,” Sarhan said, noting that investors’ key concerns remain “the health of the global recovery, the debt concerns out of Europe, and what the dollar is doing in relation to the currency wars.”
Following criticism from Germany and China last week, the Federal Reserve’s latest attempt to boost the U.S. economy is now coming under fire from Republican economists and politicians. A group of prominent Republican-leaning economists, coordinating with Republican lawmakers and political strategists, is launching a campaign this week calling on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to drop his plan to buy $600 billion in additional U.S. Treasury bonds.
The dollar climbed even as stocks rose, deviating from their usual inverse relationship. The U.S. Dollar Index, tracking the U.S. currency against a basket of six others, climbed 0.5%.
Treasurys fell slightly, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 2.84%. Crude-oil futures rose above $85 a barrel while gold futures edged higher.
Among stocks in focus, BHP Billiton abandoned its US$39 billion bid for Canadian fertilizer company Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, raising questions about the growth prospects of the world’s biggest miner amid increasing resistance from governments and global regulators to major takeovers. BHP rose 1.1% while Potash fell 1.4%.
Lowe’s said its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 17% as revenue and margins improved, though sales were lower than expected. Its shares climbed 1.7% even as the home-improvement retailer lowered its earnings forecast for the year.
Full Story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-climb-as-retail-sales-top-expectations-djia-up-49-2010-11-15

10 Oct
Media Quotes

Latest Media Quote- WSJ – Why a Bad Jobs Report May Be Good for Stocks

10.7.10

By DONNA KARDOS YESALAVICH

On Wall Street, bad may be the new good when it comes to economic data.
Investors believe a weak September jobs report Friday from the Labor Department wouldn’t necessarily be unwelcome. In a twist of logic, negative economic snapshots could lift stocks on hopes central banks might unleash additional stimulus more quickly.
The expectation is that the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and perhaps the Bank of Japan might embark on a second round of quantitative easing—dubbed by investors as “QE2″—to keep the recovery going. That means Wall Street has been viewing every negative economic report as another reason to snap up stocks.
“It’s almost a win-win situation for equities,” said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of the equity strategy group at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. “That seems like the environment we’ve been trading in for all of September and to some extent October.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 7.7% last month, marking its best September since 1939, and it has tacked on an additional 1.4% so far in October. The gains have come on mixed readings for the economy, with some better-than-expected reports boosting stocks for obvious reasons while weak numbers have driven gains on the idea of more stimulus.
That effect was evident Wednesday, when payroll giant Automatic Data Processing and consultancy Macroeconomic Advisers reported an unexpected drop in private-sector jobs for September. The Dow responded with a rise of 22.93 points, or 0.2% to close the day at 10967.65.
There are expectations that the Fed and other central banks could deploy a program to buy up to $1 trillion in corporate bonds. Such a move, which would decrease the value of the dollar amid an increase in supply, has investors shifting money out of the dollar into bonds, stocks and commodities.
Weak employment numbers from the government could exacerbate that trend.
“Any time economic data comes in that is below expectations, and let’s say that happens on Friday, that could definitely increase the perception on the part of investors that [the Fed is] going to move and do something,” Mr. Fitzpatrick said. “That to some extent may put a floor on definitely the bond market but also to some extent the equity market.”
Still, the situation is prompting some confusion among investors as they have been forced to split their evaluations of economic reports into two parts: looking at the implications for the economy differently from the takeaway for the stock market.
“Right now we’re in a situation in which investors are torn,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive at Sarhan Capital. “If the economy falters here, if we get a bad jobs report on Friday, it’s not necessarily a good thing for the economy but it could be a good thing for equities.”
Mr. Sarhan said investors need to keep in mind that what is good for stocks may not be good for the economy, and vice versa.
But with stocks ultimately expected to track the economy over the long term, the dichotomy of the two is unlikely to last. At some point, warns Jerome Heppelmann, portfolio manager at OMCAP Investors, stocks and the economy will have to realign.
“Eventually bad news will be viewed as bad” again, Mr. Heppelmann said. “The economy’s going to determine the growth rate and free-cash flows of your underlying holdings in the stock market.”
Full story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704011904575538612994308830.html?KEYWORDS=adam+sarhan

09 Aug
Media Quotes

Media Quote: Reuters- Commodities-Oil, Metals Drop on Weak Jobs Data…

Friday August 06, 2010 04:16:22 AM GMT

MARKETS-COMMODITIES

* US wheat posts biggest daily percentage loss in 14 mos
* Weak US jobs data prompts fears about oil, metal demand
* Sugar, coffee, cocoa post big weekly percentage losses
* Due next week: July CPI, retail sales on Friday.
By Carole Vaporean
NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) – U.S. commodity markets were mostly lower by week’s end, with grains, oil, sugar and cocoa posting sizable losses on Friday after a weaker-than-expected U.S. employment report for July prompted investors to unload some holdings on demand worries.
Grains, sugar, cocoa and coffee tumbled as investors grabbed profits after steep advances earlier in the week.
The RJ/CRB index of 19 commodities, a global benchmark for the sector, was down 1.066 percent, or 2.96 points, at 274.71. It was the biggest one-day percentage loss since June 29 for the index. (Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/kyv37m)
Prices of U.S. crude oil futures fell for a third straight session and copper prices closed down for a second-straight day, after disappointing employment data in the United States underscored concerns about a slowing economic recovery.
Gold hit a three-week high, gaining 1 percent, after a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased the precious metal’s appeal as a safe-haven investment.
U.S. non-farm payrolls fell for a second straight month in July as more temporary census jobs ended, causing twice as many jobs to be shed as expected. Private hiring rose, but less than expected, pointing to an anemic economic recovery.
STORY: TABLE:
Some analysts noted that the tepid July employment readings were an improvement over June’s figures and continued to show U.S. economic recovery, slow though it may be.
“It’s recovery nonetheless. And even today’s employment report doesn’t derail the global growth theme,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.
Moreover, the weak labor market report proved bearish for the dollar, helping to underpin dollar-denominated commodities by making them more attractive in overseas markets.
“The recovery theme is what’s driving commodities higher, along with the dollar, which has fallen precipitously in the last 5 or 6 weeks,” said Sarhan.
Once the dust settled, some analysts said investors who sold off commodities on Friday, may be back buying next week.
Though copper ended lower, its declines paled in comparison to the heftier declines in other markets. And while oil prices fell they still managed to finish stronger on the week.
Wheat markets tumbled their daily limit as Investors took profits a day after prices surged more than 8 percent on panic buying when Russia suspended grain shipments because of the worst drought in a century.
In the the biggest daily percentage loss in 14 months, Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) September wheat fell the maximum 60 cents, over 7 percent, a day after the maximum daily gain. Still, the nearby contract notched a weekly gain of nearly 10 percent.
Soft U.S. commodities, sugar, coffee, cocoa all posted large losses for the week. Cocoa crumbled more than 4 percent as investors liquidated as word spread that analyst Hans Kilian revised cocoa output estimates upward in top grower Ivory Coast.
Sugar was slightly lower at the close, but the contract was down 6.8 percent in its biggest weekly loss since May 30. Arabica coffee futures also fell in heavy volume, as investors of both commodities liquidated long positions in markets. The spot coffee contract finished the 5 percent lower, its biggest weekly loss since Jan. 31. (Reporting by Carole Vaporean; Editing by David Gregorio)

06 Aug
Media Quotes

Reuters: Gold flat as safe haven fades on Wall St Rally

By Frank Tang
NEW YORK | Mon Aug 2, 2010 4:01pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Gold was largely flat on Monday after an initial rally fizzled, as solid gains in equity markets driven by strong economic sentiment took a toll on the metal’s safe-haven appeal.
Silver and platinum group metals rose sharply on better industrial demand expectations as strong corporate earnings from European banks fueled Dow’s more than 200-point gains.
In early sessions, gold rose toward $1,200 an ounce, tracking the stronger performance of crude oil and other commodities. However, the metal later turned flat with a lack of follow-through support.
Michael Daly, gold specialist at Chicago-based futures broker PFGBest, said selling by short-term traders more than offset underlying physical demand in earlier trade. He also cited lack of trading interest ahead of Friday’s July nonfarm payroll data.
“Any type of nervousness and any type of feeling of lost momentum is prompting investors to take profits,” Daly said.
In recent weeks, gold prices were pressured as a flight to quality faded on signs that an European sovereign debt crisis would not spread. Gold lost about 5 percent in July and was among the top percentage losers in commodities.
Spot gold rose as high as $1,190.40 an ounce and was last at $1,182.25 an ounce at 3:27 p.m. EDT, against $1,181.50 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled up $1.50 at $1,185.40.
Gold failed to extend initial gains as U.S. stocks neared their best close in 10 weeks on Monday, and as crude oil rose above $80 a barrel on a weaker U.S. dollar and positive economic sentiment. .N <O/R>
Adam Sarhan, CEO of New York-based Sarhan Capital, said that gold has traced out a new downward trendline on charts, and a new technical buy signal will be triggered if gold breaks out above that important level.
(Graphic: link.reuters.com/qep82n)
Last week, gold closed just above a two-year bullish trendline after analysts said the metal was at risk of falling breaking below that critical chart support.
Simon Weeks, head of precious metals at the Bank of Nova Scotia, said gold in early sessions had risen above the 100-day moving average at $1,183 an ounce on the back of currency moves and rising oil prices.
However, he added gold remained vulnerable to losses, especially if equity markets continued to climb. “People will liquidate safe havens and put risk on,” he said.
Gold managed to arrest a slide that last week took it to a three-month low of $1,156.90 an ounce and then turn higher in its best run since late May.
Investment in gold has ebbed recently, however, as assets seen as higher risk such as stocks have firmed.
The world’s largest bullion exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, reported its biggest outflow in a year last month, with holdings down more than 38 metric tons in July to 1,282.3 metric tons. <GOL/SPDR>
DOLLAR WEAK, EURO NEARS $1.32
Despite the Wall Street rally, fears the U.S. recovery is faltering drove the dollar to a three-month low against a basket of currencies, while the euro neared $1.32 for the first time since early May. <FRX/>
Lower prices, meanwhile, encouraged higher gold demand from key bullion-consuming centers China, India and the Middle East.
The World Gold Council said the International Monetary Fund sold 17.4 metric tons of gold in June as part of a planned program of bullion sales. That leaves 120.2 metric tons of gold still to be sold under the program.
Silver was up by over 2 percent at $18.36 an ounce versus $17.96, making this its strongest one-day performance since early June, while its ratio to gold — or how many ounces of silver are needed to buy an ounce of gold — hit its lowest since mid-May at 65.0.
Platinum was at $1,595.50 an ounce against $1,566.55, while palladium was at $509.50 against $491, having hit its highest since mid-May earlier in the day.
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
Full Story: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66L3OF20100802

27 Jul
Media Quotes

Sarhan Media Quote- US Stocks Fluctuate Between Gains, Losses On Mixed Data

July 27, 2010, 10:35 a.m. EDT
By Donna Kardos
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks flitted between small gains and losses Tuesday as disappointing reports on consumer confidence and regional manufacturing activity weighed against a rise in U.S. home prices and strong earnings.
Investors have been struggling in recent weeks to evaluate a market divided by encouraging earnings and discouraging economic data. Earlier in Tuesday’s session, data showing an increase in U.S. home prices for May served as a source of relief, but cold water was thrown on the market’s excitement over the report after a measure of consumer confidence fell and slightly missed expectations, while a reading of Richmond-area manufacturing also dropped.
“We’ve seen a slew of high-profile companies beat expectations. But the concern, which has been the ongoing concern for the past two months, is whether or not this economic recovery will continue,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive at Sarhan Capital.
“Consumer confidence is an extremely important gauge to determine whether consumer spending will increase, stay the same or decrease,” Sarhan said. “When you have consumer confidence fall and fall short of expectations, it bodes poorly for the ongoing economic recovery.”
The Richmond manufacturing data is “also an indication that the ongoing global recovery might be in jeopardy or might slow down,” Sarhan added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 16 points, or 0.2%, to 10542, in recent trading. The measure was led by DuPont, which jumped 4%. The chemical giant reported a second-quarter profit that almost tripled, while revenue increased more than expected on improved volume and higher selling prices.
The Dow’s financial components were also strong following encouraging earnings from European banks. Bank of America climbed 1.3%, and J.P. Morgan Chase added 1.6%.
However, keeping the gains in check, American Express dropped 1.4%, Caterpillar fell 1.1% and Intel dropped 0.9%.
The Nasdaq Composite declined less than a point to 2296. The S&P 500 eked out a gain of 0.1% to 1116, up 0.1% for the year. The financial sector led to the upside, as sentiment toward the sector improved following better-than-expected earnings from UBS and Deutsche Bank.

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13 Jul
Media Quotes

Latest Media Quote: Reuters- Gold undermined by stronger dollar

Gold undermined by stronger dollar By Carole Vaporean and Amanda Cooper
NEW YORK/LONDON | Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:02pm EDT
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Gold eased on Monday, falling for the fourth time in seven sessions, as improved investor confidence boosted the dollar against the euro and diverted investment flows into the precious metals complex.
Spot gold fell to $1,198.45 an ounce by 2:35 a.m. from the previous session’s late quote at $1,211.85 an ounce. U.S. August gold futures dropped $11.10 to close at $1,198.70 an ounce on the COMEX. Gold fell in a light, short-term profit-taking sell off after Friday’s run to the top of its recent trading range that has been forming since the start of July.
Gold prices hit record highs in late June as concern over European sovereign debt levels and instability in the broader financial markets fueled a surge in safe-haven investment.
But as concerns subsided, as has investors’ appetite for gold, at least for now. Lately, prices have remained within a sideways consolidation range and should remain so as long as support and resistance levels remain intact.
“As long as gold stays between support and resistance, in this case the 50-day moving average and the upward trendline, expect the sideways action to continue,” said Adam Sarhan, CEO of New York-based Sarhan Capital LLC. Noting Monday’s high came just short of the 50-day moving average around $1,216 an ounce, Sarhan said that parameter is acting as resistance for now. On the downside, analysts defined support by the 6-week low hit on July 7 at $1,185 an ounce, which also marks a one-year upward trendline.
“If the bulls take out resistance, expect to reach the all-time highs,” said Sarhan. On the other hand, he added, a violation of the support level could lead to declines to a 200-day moving average near $1,134 an ounce.
Gold prices also fell as the euro lost ground against the dollar, pulling back from a two-month high. Investors were betting recent gains went too far, too fast as upcoming results of stress tests on European banks loom.  Allaying anxiety over some euro zone sovereign debt Greece said it almost halved its central government budget deficit in the first six months of the year. Drastic spending cuts outweighed weaker than expected tax revenues.
“The sovereign risk situation has eased,” said Peter Fertig, a consultant at Quantitative Commodity Research.
“Indications for bank stress tests are positive, which also indicates fears have been overdone,” he added.
In the meantime the world’s largest bullion exchange-traded fund, New York’s SPDR Gold Trust, reported a 1.5-tonne fall in its holdings on Friday, which reflected reduced appetite for gold. Its total holdings have fallen nearly 6 tonnes so far in July.
Physically backed ETFs found favor with investors in the financial crisis, seen as a safe haven at a time other assets classes were prone to quickly losing value. Inflows especially surged in early 2009 and the second quarter of 2010. Data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also showed non-commercial net long positions in New York gold futures and options fell 41,642 to 231,381 in the week to July 6.
Among other precious metals, spot silver slid to $17.89 an ounce by 2:32 a.m. EDT from $18.06 late in the previous session; platinum was down at $1,510.50 an ounce from $1,529 previously; and palladium gave up ground to $450.38 per ounce, down from $456.50 at the previous finish.
Full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65E5NH20100712
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London;Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid )

01 Jul
Media Quotes

Latest Media Quote: (Reuters) Early US Copper Sinks…

NEW YORK July 1 (Reuters) – U.S. copper futures lost more than 2 percent of their value Thursday morning, hit by further bouts of risk aversion after moderating manufacturing data around the world reinforced views of a slower second-half
economic recovery.
For detailed report on global copper markets, click on [MET/L]
* Copper for September delivery HGU0 down 7.10 cents, or 2.4 percent, at $2.8795 per lb by 10:33 a.m. EDT (1433 GMT) on the COMEX metals division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* Session range extended down from $2.9360 to $2.8720.
* COMEX estimated volume at 19,991 lots by 10 a.m.
* China’s official purchasing managers’ index fell to 52.1 in June from 53.9 in May, knocked by government measures to cool the property market and restrain bank lending. [ID:nLDE660018]
* Data a sign that Beijing’s tightening measures gaining traction – MF Global analyst Edward Meir.
* Euro zone manufacturing slowed in June to its weakest growth rate in four months, while UK manufacturing also slowed in June from a previous 15-year high. [ID:nSLAUHE67Q] [ID:nSLAUHE67T]
* U.S. manufacturing sector grew for an 11th straight month in June, but at a slower rate than expected, with employment component falling to 57.8 from 59.8 and new orders down at 58.5 — suggesting moderating growth. [ID:nN01107449]
* Copper’s breakdown from April peak indicated a definite slowdown in the economy, with economic data now reflecting that move – Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital.
* Separate data showed U.S. pending home sales plunged 30 percent in May, construction spending dipped 0.2 percent in May, and new jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week. [ID:nN01123845] [ID:nN01107386] [ID:nN01108492]
* London Metal Exchange copper stocks <0#LME-STOCKS> dropped 1,675 tonnes to 449,425 tonnes on Thursday.
* COMEX copper inventories <COMEX/WHSTAT> flat at 101,925 short tons on Wednesday.
* LME copper for three-months delivery CMCU3 at $6,361 per tonne, down from $6,510 at Wednesday’s close. (Reporting by Chris Kelly; Editing by Walter Bagley)
Full Story: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0138122920100701

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