Positive Employment Numbers in the U.S
20-01-2012
Asian stocks continued their rise this morning, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) up by 1.1 percent. Asian markets produced a strong showing in part due to a positive Jobless Claims report from the United States and successful European debt sales earlier this week. The USD/JPY is up this morning by 0.075% at 77.17, while the EUR/JPY is up by 0.119% at 100.12.
Unemployment rate down in the U.S.
Some very positive news for the job market in the United States yesterday, with stats showing a decrease in jobless claims by roughly 50,000 over the last month. This appears to be in line with the recent turnaround of the U.S. economy, which appears to be on a rebound course after a shaky 2011. Critics argue that the U.S. government unemployment numbers do not provide an accurate picture of the economy and that real unemployment is significantly higher.
Economic Calendar Update
The economic calendar is looking rather busy today, with the Existing Home Sales report to be released in the United States. Elsewhere, the Core CPI numbers will be available in Canada, while the HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI will be out in China. Yesterday, the Unemployment Claims report in the United States beat predictions, unlike the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, which failed to meet expectations by a considerable margin.
Positive news for Greece?
Reports coming in from Athens indicate that the Greek government is close to a restructuring deal with private sector creditors. This optimistic news resulted in an increase of 2.9% in the Athens stock exchange in late trading yesterday. An agreement between Greece and private debt holders is a prerequisite for an additional bailout package by the IMF. This March, Greece is on the hook for a 14.4 billion Euro bond redemption, which it cannot afford to pay without financial assistance.
Europe unaffected by ratings cut
It appears that the downgrade suffered by nine Euro Zone members last week has not hampered their ability to sell debt. Both France and Spain enjoyed successful bond auctions yesterday, with the Spaniards selling almost twice the amount that was originally planned at 6.61 billion Euros. France sold almost eight billion Euros.
Indices continue to rise
Indices are moving north this trading session, as investors look for more risky ventures after positive news from the markets, especially Europe. The EU Stoxx50 is showing the highest gain so far this morning, currently at 2435.04, an increase of 1.86%. The Japan NI225 is also up by 1.47%, at 8766.36. Commodities are taking a similar path to stocks, with gold up 0.15% and Silver up by 0.69%.
