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US markets snapped 5-day losing streak post strong eco data

The US markets snapped 5-day losing streak post strong economic data, Wal-Mart ups guidance and big M&A news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 104 points at 10406, lost nearly 40 points in last half hour of trading. The S&P 500 Index ended up 13 points at 1092 and closed above 50-DMA at 1088 (it has seen resistance around 1100). The Nasdaq Composite ended up 27 points at 2209. NYSE total shares traded were less than 1 billion for third straight session. CBOE VIX was down 7% at 24.

Asian markets opened marginally higher; Straits Times was up 0.5% and Nikkei up 0.35%. Taiwan and Kospi gained 0.3%. Shanghai and Hang Seng went up 0.1%. European markets hit 1-week high: CAC was up 1.8%, DAX up 1.57% and FTSE up 1.4%.

Argentina was up 2.8%, Athex up 2.7% and PSI General up 1.8% on strong demand for Irish and Spanish debt auctions, which allayed fears.

US economic data:

Industrial production rose 1% in July versus expected 0.7%; Factory output was up 1.1% in July. Housing starts rose 1.7% in June to annualized unit of 5.46 lakh, market expected 5.5 lakh units. US PPI was up 0.2% in July versus drop of 0.5% in June, 1st time in last 4 mths (in line with expectations). Capacity utilization rate rose to 74.8%, 5.7% higher than last year.

Global Movers & Shakers:

Wal-Mart went up 1.2% post better-than-expected results, raised full year forecast. Potash (Agriculture space) was up 26% after board rejects BHP Billion’s takeover bid. Potash’s rival: Mosaic was up 8.7% and Agrium up 4.6%. Aegon rose 7% after negotiating a deal with European commission; allayed fears of a large share issue to repay state aid. Aviva gained 5% on speculation of bid interest from French peer Axa, both firms declined.

Commodities:

Crude oil ended up 0.7% at USD 75.77/bbl, after losing continuously for last 5 days. Natural gas was up 0.8% at USD 4.27 per MMBtu. Gold ended up 0.1% at USD 1228.3/ounce after hitting USD 1230 in an intraday – highest in 2 months. Silver was up 0.7% at USD 18.59/ounce.

Data to watch:

US MBA mortgage applications
Weekly oil inventories
Earnings from Deere and Target

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 7:37 pm and is filed under US Markets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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