CFD Markets News and Forecasts — 26-11-2012

The euro fell for the first time in six days against the yen as European Union finance ministers gathered for a third meeting this month to try to reach agreement on aid for Greece.

Finance chiefs from the single-currency bloc started their meeting at 12:30 p.m. in Brussels, less than a week after an all-night gathering failed to yield agreement and days after a European Union summit broke up without a proposed seven-year budget. At stake is the continuation of a three-year mission to return Greece to financial health.

The yen rose against all of its 16 major counterparts as a decline in global stocks boosted demand for safer assets and after a technical indicator signaled its recent slide was excessive. The 14-day relative strength index for the yen against the dollar touched 30 today after dropping to 25 at the end of last week. The level of 30 is considered a sign an asset’s decline has been too rapid. Japan’s currency had slumped 3.5 percent versus the dollar during the previous two weeks.

Canada’s dollar weakened after Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney was named to lead the Bank of England, spurring speculation over who will replace him in Ottawa. Carney, Bank of Canada’s top official since 2008, was unexpectedly appointed to succeed Mervyn King at the Bank of England. Carney is also head of the Group of 20’s Financial Stability Board.

European stocks declined, following the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s biggest weekly rally this year, as euro-area finance ministers met for a third time this month on Greece’s finances.

Euro-area finance ministers meet in Brussels to try to clear the next installment of Greek aid and discuss ways to keep the country a solvent member of the currency bloc. They failed to reach agreement in two previous meetings this month.

Pro-independence parties in the Spanish region of Catalonia won a vote, strengthening a drive for a referendum on secession in defiance of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Catalan President Artur Mas, who called early elections to force a debate on independence, lost a fifth of the seats his Convergencia i Unio party held previously. Mas’s losses showed he will have to depend on anti-austerity separatists to govern Spain’s largest regional economy.

National benchmark indexes fell in 16 of the 18 western European markets. France’s CAC slid 0.8 percent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 lost 0.6 percent.

Barclays fell 5.4 percent to 240.5 pence, the sharpest decrease since June 28. Qatar Holding LLC sold the last of the Barclays warrants it acquired during the financial crisis, triggering a 771 million-pound ($1.24 billion) stock offering by the banks that arranged the transaction. Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sold as many as 303.3 million shares in the British bank to money managers for 244 pence apiece, the bottom of the 244 pence to 248 pence range used to canvas investor interest in the stock.

ThyssenKrupp, Germany’s largest steelmaker, dropped 5.1 percent to 15.93 euros, the biggest slump since March 6. The sale of its Americas unit has been delayed until September 2013, Financial Times Deutschland reported, following a similar report by Sueddeutsche Zeitung last week. Separately, the stock was downgraded to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse. An outperform rating is similar to a buy recommendation.

Lafarge SA, the world’s biggest cement maker, lost 2.4 percent to 43.61 euros amid political instability in Egypt. The company gets almost a fourth of its revenue from the Middle East and Africa.

Straumann added 2.3 percent to 107.90 Swiss francs, rallying for a seventh day. Singapore’s GIC bought a 10 percent stake in the company from Vice Chairman Thomas Straumann, becoming the second-largest shareholder.

Oil dropped as euro-area finance ministers met to negotiate a bailout payment for Greece and as American leaders prepared to wrestle with a budget agreement.

Futures fell as much as 1.1 percent as officials gathered in Brussels to discuss Greek aid less than a week after a meeting failed to yield an agreement. Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. need to find a budget compromise to avoid triggering $607 billion in tax gains and spending cuts in January that the Congressional Budget Office said could lead to a recession.

Crude oil for January delivery declined to $87.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down 11 percent this year.

Brent oil for January settlement fell 54 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $110.84 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Gold becomes cheaper due to profit taking after rising to one-month high on Friday.

On Friday, the price rose to $ 1.754,10 per ounce - the highest since Oct. 12. From the beginning, gold prices rose by 11 percent, mainly due to expectations of loose monetary policy in the U.S..

This week, market participants will be watching the negotiations between the White House and Congress on how to avoid the "budget cliff" - tax increases and spending cuts that will take effect in January, and as investors fear could push the world's largest economy into recession .

Although the recession would increase the appeal of gold as a safe asset, he will have to overcome several key resistance levels to return to the September 2011 time high $ 1,920.

"Prices have risen significantly, and I think that investors are cautious, as many problems remain unsolved. Today, the U.S. will be a meeting on the budget, to try to prevent" fiscal cliff. "This is one of the problems along with the problems of the eurozone. Gold meet resistance at $ 1,755 and should not rise above $ 1,760 this week, "- said the managing director GoldSilver Central Pte Ltd Brian Lang.

Euro on Monday rose to a maximum of seven months against the yen and is close to monthly peak against the dollar due to the hope of providing new loans to Greece in the near future. The higher rate of the euro, the more attractive the price of gold in dollars to investors outside the U.S., but more cautious players are waiting indicator of consumer sentiment in the U.S. in November, to be released Tuesday.

December futures price of gold on COMEX today fell to 1749.40 dollars per ounce.

Apple (AAPL) was initiated a Buy at Citigroup with price target of $675
Facebook (FB) was upgraded to Outperform at Bernstein
McDonald's (MCD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Lazard

EUR/USD $1.2925, $1.2900

USD/JPY Y82.00, Y82.50, Y82.75

GBP/USD $1.5885

Data

01:00 Japan BOJ Governor Shirakawa Speaks -

08:15 Switzerland Employment Level Quarter III 4.07 4.09 4.12

09:00 Eurozone Eurogroup Meetings -

12:00 Germany Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey December 6.1 6.3 5.9

EUR/USD

Offers $1.3020/25, $1.3000

Bids $1.2950, $1.2945/35, $1.2900, $1.2870/50

Stock market indices in Europe are falling due to the upcoming meeting of the Euro Group, which will be held today, 26 November, at which euro zone finance ministers will meet for the third time in a month to decide on granting Greece a few billion of financial assistance.

To date:

FTSE 100 5,794.92 -24.22 -0.42%

CAC 40 3,506.45 -22.35 -0.63%

DAX 7,294.39 -14.74 -0.20%

Barclays Plc shares were down 3.7%, as Qatar Holding plans to sell more than 300 million shares of the British bank.

Capitalization Aberdeen Asset Management Plc increased 2.5%, following the publication of the financial statements, where revenue exceeded analysts' estimates.

The market value of ThyssenKrupp AG fell 3.2%.

EUR/USD $1.2925, $1.2900

USD/JPY Y82.00, Y82.50, Y82.75

GBP/USD $1.5885

AUD/USD $1.0400, $1.0300

Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark regional gauge heading for its longest streak of gains in two months, as a weakening yen boosted the earnings outlook for Japanese exporters and U.S. consumer spending jumped during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Nikkei 225 9,388.94 +22.14 +0.24%

S&P/ASX 200 4,424.19 +11.18 +0.25%

Shanghai Composite 2,017.46 -9.92 -0.49%

Toyota Motor Corp., Asia’s largest carmaker, advanced 1.7 percent as the yen declined to a seven-month low against the dollar.

Kangwon Land Inc. surged 13 percent in Seoul after the government approved plans for the casino and hotel operator to expand.

Samsung Electronics Co. lost 2.3 percent, after closing at a record high in Seoul on Nov. 23, as Apple Inc. sought to add infringement claims over six more Samsung products to its multi-billion-dollar patent lawsuit against the company.

The euro strengthened to its highest level in three weeks against the dollar after data showed that the index of German business confidence rose in November, boosting optimism about the fact that Europe's largest economy is starting to gain momentum.

The single currency was headed for a weekly gain in comparison with most of its 16 major counterparts on speculation that policy makers will agree to help Greece at a meeting to be held on Monday, November 26.

Analysts note that the single currency could rise to its September high against the dollar at 1.3172, but first is to overcome the level of $ 1.3021, which is the highest level since Oct. 31. Analysts Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen in Frankfurt including Ralf Umlauf wrote in a note to clients.

The yen strengthened against the dollar as the fact that the technical indicators show that the decline this week, may have been too quick.

Note that the currency of Japan continues to be headed for the second weekly decline against the dollar as the opposition leader Shinzo Abe, who is expected to become the next prime minister after the elections on 16 December, and will increase the pressure on the Bank of Japan to add stimulus measures that would tend to weaken the yen.

The pound strengthened against the U.S. dollar, registering with the first weekly rise in a month, after a report from the British Bankers' Association showed that the number of mortgage approvals rose to nine-month high in October.

Asian stocks rose, led by gains in rare-earth companies, and as Taiwan shares surged after the island’s finance minister said government-controlled funds should buy equities at lows. Japanese markets are closed today.

Nikkei 225 Closed

Hang Seng 21,857.91 +114.71 +0.53%

S&P/ASX 200 4,413 -0.07 0.00%

Shanghai Composite 2,034.04 +18.43 +0.91%

Lynas Corp., builder of the largest rare-earth refinery in Malaysia, climbed 5.5 percent in Sydney as it prepares to start production in the Southeast Asian country.

China Rare Earth Holdings Ltd. rose 4.1 percent in Hong Kong after a report the government plans to provide subsidies to the industry.

The Taiex Index jumped 2.7 percent in Taipei, leading gains among the region’s benchmark indexes.

01:00 Japan BOJ Governor Shirakawa Speaks -

01:00 Japan BOJ Governor Shirakawa Speaks -

07:00 Germany Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey December 6.3 6.3

08:15 Switzerland Employment Level Quarter III 4.07 4.09

09:00 Eurozone Eurogroup Meetings -

14:00 Eurozone ECB’s Vitor Constancio Speaks -

21:45 New Zealand Trade Balance October -791 -490