US markets see-saw
US stocks traded both sides of the gain line Tuesday before finishing the day slightly higher. Once again, positive economic data was counter balanced by sovereign debt issues emanating from Europe.
In economic news, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence index rose to 52.5 in March from 46.4 in February, beating expectations.
A strengthening US dollar also took the shine off companies which trade in commodities, as well as US companies which traded internationally.
The Dow Jones rose 11.56 points, or 0.11%, to 10907.42, the S&P 500 rose 0.05 points, or less than 0.01%, to 1,173.27 and the NASDAQ picked up 6.33 points, or 0.26%, to 2,410.69.
Among the banks, Citigroup retreated 2.2%, with just about all its banking peers also lower.
Bank of America fell 1.6% and Wells Fargo dropped 0.8%. Goldman Sachs lost 1.5%.
Among tech stocks, Apple rose 1.5% to all-time highs after the company said it was making another version of the iPhone that would be available to an expanded set of customers.
Microsoft rose 0.6%, while Google tacked on 0.8%.
Blockbuster lost 10.4% as the movie rental chain stumbles towards bankruptcy and de-listing from the NYSE.
Fast food chain McDonald’s rose 0.3% after saying it was aiming to double its presence in China within three years with the addition of 900 new outlets.
COMEX gold for May delivery fell US$6.80 to US$1,103.50 per ounce.
Exxon Mobil retreated 0.4%, while smaller rivals Chevron and ConocoPhillips eked out 0.1% and 0.2% gains respectively.
NYMEX light crude oil for May delivery rose 20c to settle at $82.37 a barrel.
European Markets
European stocks declined modestly Tuesday. The catalyst, this time, was a downgrade to Iceland’s credit rating.
The UK benchmark FTSE 100 lost 38.34, or 0.67% to 5,672.32. The French CAC40 dipped 13.25, or 0.33% to 3,987.41, while the German DAX retreated 14.40, or 0.23% to 6,142.45.
In the UK, Barclay’s slumped 2.4%, while BNP Paribas retreated 0.9%. Lloyds and HSBC gave up 3% and 2.1% respectively.
Irish bank Allied Irish sank 8.8%, bringing two-day losses to nearly 30% after saying it would need billions more in support to stay afloat.
Bucking the trend, Swiss bank UBS added 3% after the bank posted revenues ahead of expectations for the last quarter.
Among the miners, Rio Tinto retreated 0.4%, while Anglo American and BHP Billiton were virtually unchanged.
Kazakhmys shed 0.4%.
Energy stocks BP and Royal Dutch Shell lost 0.7% and 0.6% respectively.
Carphone Warehouse Group in the UK climbed 4.1%, adding to a rise of 7.3% yesterday, following an upgrade to the stock.
Japanese Markets
The Nikkei rallied to its highest close since October 2008 on the back of an increase in US consumer spending and data that revealed Japan’s jobless rate remained at its lowest level in 12 months. However, the country’s industrial production dropped a larger than expected 0.9% in February.
The Nikkei 225 climbed 110.67, or 1.01% to 11,097.14.
Canon put on 2.5% to its highest close in 18 months. Sony and NEC Corp added 2% and 2.9%, while automaker Nissan rose 2.3%.
Konica Minolta Holdings gained 3.5% after the filmmaker received a broker upgrade.
Commodities trader Mitsubishi Corp. jumped 3.9% on a rise in commodity prices.
Steelmakers Nippon Steel Corp. and JFE Holdings Inc. advanced 2.5% and 3.2% respectively.
Aluminium producer Nippon Light Metal Co. closed 5.3% dearer.
Kobe Steel rose 2.6% after tightening its loss forecast.
On the downside, Mizuho Financial Group lost 1.6%.
Hong Kong Markets
Hong Kong stocks gained ground Tuesday on general widespread optimism over the strength of the economy. Gains were driven by the consumer stocks, while banks also rallied.
The Hang Seng added 137.36, or 0.65% to 21,374.79.
Bank of China and heavyweight lender ICBC put on 1.2% and 2.3% respectively.
HSBC, which makes up around one-sixth of the Hang Seng, put on 0.2%
Li & Fung, clothes supplier to Wal-Mart, strengthened 2.1%.
European focused Esprit Holdings climbed 4.4%.
Foxconn International Holdings, the world’s largest third party mobile phone maker, gained 1.2% and shoemaker Yue Yuen was 1.9% above the line.
A severe drought in parts of China has put the spotlight on the resilience of hydro-electric power, and in turn helping coal stocks rally. China Shenhua Energy, the nation’s biggest coal producer, put on 1.6%.
Smaller rival China Coal Energy gained 1.8%.
Elsewhere, casino operator SJM Holdings spiked 7.5% to record highs after saying profit rose 14% last year.
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