Oil Swings Wildly as Libya Violence Continues

SamTrader1

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By, http://www.BinaryOptionStrategy.com

Equities

Most Asian markets continued to slide, as the Nikkei dropped 126 points to 10452, and the ASX 200 skidded .8%. China was a bright spot, as the Shanghai Composite rose .6%, and the Hang Seng rose .5%.

In Europe, the major indices fell moderately. The FTSE and CAC40 both ended .2% lower. The Dax was hit hard, dropping 1%, after Porsche announced that its merger with Volskwagen would be delayed due to criminal investigations.

US markets ended mixed as the Dow closed down 37 points, while the Nasdaq gained .6%. A late day rally, inspired by a steep drop in oil prices helped to push the Nasdaq into positive territory, and minimize steep losses for the Dow and S&P.

GM dropped 4.5% despite earnings that beat estimates, and Sears fell 5.5% on disappointing profit figures. On the upswing, Priceline shares jumped 8.5% and Target rose 3.5% fueled by strong earnings.

Treasuries and Commodities

Bonds rose, with 10-year notes gaining 9/32 to yield 3.45%, and 30-year notes rose 22/32 to yield 4.54%.

Oil prices swung wildly, swith US crude spiking as high as 103.41, before tumbling down to close at 96.68. An unsubstantiated rumor that Gadafi had been shot sent prices tumbling from their multi-year highs. Brent crude traded up to 119.79, and settled at 110.52.
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Oil Prices Reverse Lower After Steep Spike


Gold slipped $12 to 1402, while silver plummeted 3.8% to 32.04. Copper gained 1.4%, reversing from earlier losses.

Currencies

The dollar suffered significant losses against the major currencies. The dollar hit a new record low against the Swiss Franc, dropping down to .9234 before closing at at .9266, down .7%. The Yen and Canadian Dollar both gained .6%, while the Euro rose .4% to 1.3803.

The only loser was the Pound, which slipped .5% to 1.6142.

Economic Outlook

Surging oil prices are a major concern, and are likely to impact both GDP and inflation.

Orders for Durable Goods rose 2.7%, as expected, and weekly uneployment claims came in better than expected (391K vs. 403K). Not all the news was rosy. New Home Sales fell 12.6%, and were well below forecast.
 
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