Analytics, News, and Forecasts for CFD Markets: currency news — 07-02-2012.

European stocks declined for a second straight day as Greek talks on measures needed to get a second bailout continued and China said industrial-output growth is likely to slow.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is convening the nation’s political leaders to seek consensus on the cuts required for another European Union-led bailout. Officials are working on the final draft of the document listing the budget and structural measures required to receive international funding, a government official said.

BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, slid 2.7 percent to 68.82 euros, snapping a five-day advance, and Renault SA retreated 1.3 percent to 36.58 euros.

Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest mining company, fell 2.3 percent to 3,854 pence and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. dropped 3 percent to 700 pence.

Automakers and mining companies were the two worst performing group of 19 industries in the Stoxx 600 today.

Swatch declined 4.2 percent to 397.40 Swiss francs after reporting 2011 operating profit of 1.61 billion francs ($1.75 billion), missing the average projection in a survey of 1.67 billion francs.

U.S. stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average above its highest closing level since May 2008, as Greece made progress on measures to secure aid.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos will issue a statement tonight at the conclusion of a meeting with the three leaders of political parties on measures and policies Greece has agreed in return for a second financing package, a spokeswoman at the premier’s office in Athens said. The spokeswoman said the Cabinet would meet tomorrow at around midday to approve the accord and that a meeting of euro area finance ministers was likely to be held Feb. 9 on the bailout agreement.

Dow 12,885.58     +40.45 +0.31%, Nasdaq      2,908.52       +6.53   +0.23%, S&P 500   1,347.84       +3.51         +0.26%

Coca-Cola added 1.2 percent to $68.83. Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent is expanding sales of beverages in Asia with global marketing campaigns and products such as its Minute Maid Pulpy juice drink. Fourth-quarter sales volume climbed 5 percent in Japan and 10 percent in China.

Yum rallied 2.5 percent to $64.75. The company, with about 18,800 restaurants outside the U.S., said fourth-quarter sales at stores open at least 12 months grew 21 percent in China. Yum said it opened a record 656 stores last year in the Asian nation, where it gets more than 40 percent of its revenue.

Walgreen erased 1.8 percent to $33.66 after being cut to ‘‘sell’’ from ‘‘neutral’’ at Citigroup.

Becton Dickinson slid 3.7 percent to $77.53. The company cut its forecast for 2012 to no more than $5.70 a share, below an earlier projection of as much as $5.85 and the average analyst estimate of $5.80.

Oil rose as the dollar weakened after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that the jobs market is far from healthy. The dollar fell to the lowest level against the euro since Dec. 12 after Bernanke said the U.S. has a long way to go before the jobs market operates “normally,” in testimony prepared for the Senate Budget Committee.

West Texas Intermediate crude gained at a faster pace than North Sea Brent in London, reducing the European benchmark’s premium over New York oil for the first time in nine days. The dollar fell on Bernanke’s comments and signs that Greece is near a debt agreement.

Oil fell as much as 1.1 percent earlier as U.S. crude inventories climbed to the highest level in more than four months in a survey before an Energy Department report tomorrow.

Oil for March delivery rose to $99.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling to $95.84. Prices have slipped 23 cents this year.

Brent oil for March settlement gained 73 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $116.66 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

EUR/USD $1.3000, $1.3150, $1.3170, $1.3200, $1.3250, $1.3300

USD/JPY Y76.00, Y76.40, Y76.75, Y76.85, Y77.00

AUD/USD $1.0800, $1.0700, $1.0650

EUR/CHF Chf1.2050

GBP/USD $1.5850, $1.5750, $1.5650, $1.5625

AUD/NZD NZ$1.2800

EUR/JPY

Offers Y102.45/50, Y101.40/45

Bids Y100.05/00, Y99.90/85, Y99.60

EUR/USD 

Offers $1.3300, $1.3260/80, $1.3250, $1.3200/20, $1.3180

Bids $1.3060/50, $1.3020, $1.3010/995

Resistance 2 : $1.5890 (area of Nov 18 and Feb 1 high) Resistance 2 : $1.5860 (Feb 2-3 high) Resistance 1 : $1.5840 (session high, Feb 6 high) Current price: $1.5812 Support 1 : $1.5790 (session low) Support 2 : $1.5730 (Feb 6 low) Support 3 : $1.5700 (Feb 1 low)

EUR/USD $1.3000, $1.3150, $1.3170, $1.3200, $1.3250, $1.3300

USD/JPY Y76.00, Y76.40, Y76.75, Y76.85, Y77.00

AUD/USD $1.0800, $1.0700, $1.0650

EUR/CHF Chf1.2050

GBP/USD $1.5850, $1.5750, $1.5650, $1.5625

AUD/NZD NZ$1.2800

The euro slid versus 12 of its 16 major counterparts before Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos hammers out details of measures to curb the nation’s debt with the leaders of three political parties. The 17-nation currency maintained a decline from yesterday on concern Greece’s leaders will fail to reach an agreement allowing the country to get a second bailout from international creditors.

Greece and its international creditors still need to detail 600 million euros ($786 million) of fiscal measures for 2012, a government official said in Athens yesterday. Papademos began a second round of negotiations today with the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund in Athens on possible spending cuts.

The prime minister will bring the leaders of the three parties supporting him back to the table later today in a bid to forge agreement on terms for a second aid package to prevent the country’s collapse.

The Australian dollar gained against all of its 16 major peers after the central bank maintained the benchmark interest rate at 4.25 percent. All but three of the 27 economists in a Bloomberg News survey had forecast a cut to 4 percent. The Australian dollar advanced 0.7 percent to $1.0797 and touched $1.0811, the strongest since Aug. 2. Leaving the cash rate at 4.25 percent was a big surprise to consensus, so it’s not surprising to see Aussie jumping. The RBA has left the door open for a rate cut going forward, but the onus is going to be on the data.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair fell.

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair weakened.

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair gain.

A fairly quiet calendar Tuesday, although much focus will continue on the Greek debt/bailout talks, as PM Papademos again meets with the leaders of the political parties. Calendar events begin at 0700GMT, when SNB Acting Chairman Thomas Jordan is slated to give a speech in Geneva. At 1100GMT, Germany December industrial output data are released. US data kicks off at 1145GMT, when the US ICSC-Goldman weekly mall sales numbers are out. At 1330GMT, Canada December Building permits are out. The Johnson Redbook weekly chain store sales data are released at 1355GMT. The big event of the day is at 1500GMT, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on the economy to the Senate Budget Committee. Also at 1500GMT, US Job Openings ,Labor Turnover Survey numbers are released. At 1630GMT. The last data release of the day is at 2000GMT, when the Consumer Credit numbers are released.

Asian stocks rose, with a regional benchmark index set to extend its longest streak of weekly advances since 2010, after U.S. unemployment unexpectedly fell, boosting the earnings outlook for Asian exporters.

Nikkei 225 8,929.2 +97.27 +1.10%

Hang Seng 20,709.94 -47.04 -0.23%

S&P/ASX 200 4,295.99 +44.81 +1.05%

Shanghai Composite 2,331.14 +0.73 +0.03%

Nikon Corp., a maker of cameras and lenses that gets more than a quarter of its revenue from North America, jumped 11 percent in Tokyo after raising its full-year operating profit forecast.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s No. 1 mining company, gained 1.6 percent in Sydney after commodity prices increased.

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s third-biggest lender by market value, dropped 1.8 percent amid concern that a worsening of Europe's crisis will hurt China’s economic growth.

European stocks dropped, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index trimming a six-month high, as Greece struggled to reach a deal with its international creditors.

Greece’s Prime Minister Lucas Papademos struck a tentative deal with the leaders of the three parties supporting his interim government to boost economic competitiveness and extend spending cuts. The politicians agreed in a five-hour meeting yesterday to make additional reductions this year equal to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product.

The policy makers meet tomorrow to work on the detail of plans for bank recapitalizations, ensuring the viability of pension funds and measures to reduce wage and non-wage costs to boost competitiveness.

The euro area’s debt crisis will cut China’s economic expansion almost in half if it worsens, a scenario that would warrant “significant” fiscal stimulus from the nation’s government, the International Monetary Fund said.

National benchmark indexes declined in 15 of the 18 western-European markets today. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.2 percent. France’s CAC 40 Index declined 0.7 percent, while Germany’s DAX Index fell less than 0.1 percent.

Copper declined on the London Metal Exchange after the IMF released its growth prediction for the world’s largest consumer of the metal. Vedanta, India’s biggest copper producer, slid 3.1 percent to 1,317 pence and Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third- largest mining company, fell 1.1 percent to 3,946 pence.

Glencore retreated 4.5 percent to 460.75 pence as the Financial Times reported that the company may offer an 8 percent premium over Xstrata’s closing share price on Feb. 1. The newspaper cited people familiar with the merger discussions. Xstrata declined 1.7 percent to 1,261.5 pence in London.

Societe Generale slid 2.9 percent to 23.55 euros, while Credit Agricole fell 2.7 percent to 5.18 euros.

U.S. stocks declined, snapping a three-day rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, amid concern about Europe’s debt crisis as Greek leaders wrestled with spending cuts to get aid and avert a default.

European leaders stepped up pressure on Greek politicians to meet the conditions of a 130 billion-euro ($171 billion) bailout, saying time was running out. French President Nicolas Sarkozy met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris today as Greece’s interim prime minister, Lucas Papademos, planned to confer with the so-called troika of international lenders in Athens. A gathering of Greek political leaders was delayed by a day until tomorrow as they struggled for a unified response.

Dow 12,845.13 -17.10 -0.13%, Nasdaq 2,901.99 -3.67 -0.13%, S&P 500 1,344.33 -0.57 -0.04%

Boeing (ВА) dropped 1.15 percent. There is no “short- term safety concern” from the fault, which was caused by an incorrect assembly in a support structure within the plane’s aft fuselage, Scott Lefeber, a spokesman, said yesterday in a statement. The new checks add to the challenges in boosting output of the twin-engine 787, which entered service in 2011 after than three years of delays.

Humana fell 5.4 percent. The company says it may add about 40,000 more Medicare Advantage members in 2012 than previously expected. The increase will help overcome an anticipated increase in demand for medical services.

Micron retreated 2.83 percent. The shares fell 3.1 percent to $7.70 in late trading Feb. 3, after having been halted at $7.95. Durcan, who joined Micron in 1984, had been scheduled to hand over his role as chief operating officer to Mark Adams in August. Adams, head of sales, was named company president.

Resistance 3 : $1.3205 (Feb 3 high)

Resistance 2 : $1.3170 (123.6% FIBO $1.3025-$1.3140)

Resistance 1 : $1.3140 (session high)

The current price: $1.3105

Support 1 : $1.3090 (session low)

Support 2 : $1.3065 (Feb 3 low)

Support 3 : $1.3025 (Feb 1 low)

Change % Change Last

Oil $97.15 +0.24 +0.25%

Gold $1,723.00 -1.90 -0.11%

Change % Change Last

Nikkei 225 8,929.2 97,27 +1,10%

Hang Seng 20,709.94 -47,04 -0,23%

S&P/ASX 200 4,295.99 44,81 +1,05%

Shanghai Composite +0,73 2,331.14 +0.03%

CAC 40 3,405.27 -22.65 -0.66%

DAX 6,764.83 -1.84 -0.03%

Dow 12,845.13 -17.10 -0.13%

Nasdaq 2,901.99 -3.67 -0.13%

S&P 500 1,344.33 -0.57 -0.04%

00:01 United Kingdom BRC Retail Sales Monitor y/y January +2.2%

03:30 Australia Announcement of the RBA decision on the discount rate 4.25% 4.00%

05:00 Japan Leading Economic Index December 93.2 93.9

05:00 Japan Coincident Index December 90.3

11:00 Germany Industrial Production s.a. (MoM) December -0.6% -0.1%

11:00 Germany Industrial Production (YoY) December +3.6%

13:05 Canada Gov Council Member Macklem Speaks

13:30 Canada Building Permits (MoM) December -3.6% +0.8%

20:00 U.S. Consumer Credit December 20.4 7.7

23:30 Australia Westpac Consumer Confidence February 2.4%

23:50 Japan Current Account Total, bln December 480 630