Daily Analysis – US Markets Rally, Portugal Credit Rating Cut Once Again

SamTrader1

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Equities

Japan’s Nikkei index mostly recovered from an early 140 point loss to end down 19 points. Shares in Tokyo Electric, the operator of the ***ushima nuclear plant, tumbled 18% on news of a potential government plan to nationalize the power company. The Kospi rose .8% and the ASX gained .5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell .9%, and in Hong Kong the Hang Seng closed down fractionally.

In Europe, the FTSE rose .5%, led higher by miners, while banks struggled as Italian UBI Banca after being forced to raise $1 billion in capital. The Dax ended down 4 points to 6934. S&P cut Portugal’s credit rating once again, as the country struggles to regain control of its finances.

US indexes rallied, led by the Nasdaq which gained 1% to 2757. The Dow rose 81 points to 12279 and the S&P climbed .7%. Market fear, which spiked following the Japanese disaster, has largely abated, as the VIX closed just above 18.

mar-30-vix_1.png

VIX Drops as Fear Subsides

Amazon shares gained more than 3% after announcing a consumer-oriented media storage service. Home Depot climbed 2.9% after announcing a $1 billion stock buyback plan.

Treasuries and Commodities

Bonds fell, with 10-year notes declining 17/32 to yield 3.49% and 30-year notes dropped 1 1/32 to yield 4.55%. A $35 billion auction of 5-year notes had a high yield of 2.26% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.79.

Oil rose .5% to 104.45, while natural gas tumbled 4.2% to 4.26. Metals slipped slightly, with gold silver and copper all down .1%.

Currencies

The yen fell .9% to 82.47 as prices broke above the 82 level hit following the G7′s currency intervention. The Euro and Pound both rose .2%, while the Swiss Franc slipped .3% to .9202. T

The Australian dollar gained .5%, settling at 1.0294, just below record high’s.

Economic Outlook

The Case Shiller Home Price Index showed prices have dropped 3.1% over the past year, slightly less than feared. Consumer Confidence dropped to 63.4 from 72, below the 65 analsysts had expected.

Wednesday’s reports will include the ADP Employment report, the Challenger Job Cut report, Farm Prices, weekly mortgage applications, and oil inventories.

By BinaryOptionStrategy.com
 
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