U.S. SUMMARY: Stocks, oil plunge

Index Change Percent change

*DJIA 10854.17 -161.52 -1.47

*Nasdaq 2153.33 -25.65 -1.18

*S&P 500 1188.22 -18.87 -1.56

Nymex crude $106.61 -$2.76

10 yr US

treasury -3.82 percent

*Tuesday’s close

STOCKS: Financial markets extended their declines Tuesday as investors worried that lawmakers were beginning to doubt the necessity of a broad government bailout for financial institutions as a way to revive ailing credit markets.

Top economic officials updating Congress about efforts to work out a $700 billion financial rescue plan faced a greater degree of second-guessing from lawmakers than some investors had expected.

FOREX: The dollar traded mixed Tuesday, gaining back some ground against the euro as details and timing of the proposed financial bailout remained unclear. The 15-nation euro fell to $1.4721 from $1.4804 Monday.

BONDS: U.S. Treasury debt prices rose, as worries over the cost and effectiveness of the government’s proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street intensified safety bids for bonds.

Traders were glued to testimonies by top officials including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who urged lawmakers for a speedy passage of the historic rescue of the financial industry The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, fell to 3.82 percent from 3.85 percent late Monday.

OIL: Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $2.76 to settle at $106.61 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

METALS: Gold for December delivery fell $17.80 to settle at $891.20 an ounce on the Nymex.

ASIA SUMMARY: Shares mixed, gold fell

Index Change Percent change

Nikkei 225 12048.18 -42.41 -0.35 (0425 GMT)

S&P/ASX 200 4929.20 -91.30 -1.80 (0425 GMT)

Hang Seng 19053.23 +180.38 +0.96 (0413 GMT)

Seoul Composite 1493.58 + 12.21 +0.82 (0428 GMT)

BSE Sensex 13721.42 -273.54 -1.95 (0430 GMT)

STOCKS: Asian stocks were mostly easier on Wednesday as fears that U.S. lawmakers will stall a proposed $700 billion bailout of the battered financial sector haunted investors and a firmer yen hurt Japanese exporters.

But Australian bank shares gained and U.S. Treasury yields rose after Warren Buffet surprised the market with a $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs.

FOREX: The dollar inched down against the euro and trimmed gains versus the yen on uncertainty about the effectiveness of the U.S. government’s proposed $700 billion bailout plan to tackle the financial crisis.

OIL: Oil edged up towards $107 a barrel on Wednesday, pausing from its 2.5 percent decline a day earlier, as forecast of a drop in U.S. crude stocks more than offset doubts about the U.S. government’s financial

rescue plan.

METALS: Gold slipped more than 1 percent on Wednesday, with speculators keen to book profits after a recent rally, but fears of a delay to a $700 billion U.S. rescue plan kept the metal’s safe-haven appeal intact.

Gold was trading at $880.10 an ounce, down $10.60 an ounce or 1.2 percent from New York’s notional close.

But record holdings in the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Trust, showed investors were moving back into bullion.

EUROPE SUMMARY: Stocks, oil fall

Index Change Percent change

*FTSE 5136.12 0.00 0.00

*DAX 6068.53 -39.22 -0.64

*CAC 4139.82 -83.69 -1.98

*Tuesday’s close

STOCKS: European shares ended sharply lower for the second straight day on Tuesday as investors fretted about the fate of a $700 billion financial sector rescue plan which the United States is trying to push through Congress.

FOREX: The dollar attempted to consolidate on Tuesday, after a hefty fell against the euro the session before, despite jitters over the U.S. government’s bailout plan aimed at restoring its battered financial sector.

At 1127 GMT, the euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.4770 after hitting session lows below $1.47.

BONDS: Euro zone government bond yields fell with U.S. Treasuries as investors worried about the viability of Washington’s $700 billion bailout plan for financial markets.

OIL: Oil dropped $3 a barrel, weighed by doubts about the U.S. bailout plan and as investors booked profits after an historic one-day rise in the previous session.

METALS: Gold fell 1 percent in Europe as the dollar recovered some lost ground versus the euro and investors took profits after Tuesday’s gains.

But with concerns remaining about the impact of the U.S. government’s proposed $700 bailout of the financial system, gold may be poised to trend higher.

Spot gold was at $889.90/891.90 an ounce by 0856 GMT.

Source: http://www.afxnews.com

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