Online Stockmarket Trading Update

U.S. Markets

U.S. markets rose overnight for the seventh session in nine, led by energy and telecoms.  There is still critical data due out later this week on unemployment and manufacturing, including private-sector payrolls on Wednesday, monthly manufacturing data and monthly nonfarm payrolls on Friday. 

The gains were largely driven by telecom stocks, which surged on continued optimism about consolidation in the industry after AT&T bid for Deutsche Telekom T-Mobile USA, to create the country’s largest phone carrier.  Energy stocks were also strong as oil again edged up towards $US105 a barrel. 

Consumer discretionary stocks rallied on consumer confidence news.  The US dollar rose against major currencies overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve said policy makers may have to withdraw their quantative easing and accommodative monetary policy before the GFC is declared definitively over. 

In economic news the latest reading of the Conference Board’s consumer-confidence index showed a fall of 8.6 points to 63.4 in March – the decline was smaller than expected.

The Dow closed up 0.7% (or 81 points) at 12,279, while in the broader market the S&P 500 index was up 0.7% (or 9 points) at 1,319 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended up 0.9% (or 26 points) at 2,757.

All of the ten company groups that make up the S&P index traded higher, with out-performers including Energy up 1.2%, Materials up 1.1%, Consumer Staples up 0.9%, Industrials up 0.8%, while the Financials were up 0.2%.

European Markets

European markets finished generally higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 0.1%. 

Credit downgrades for Portugal and Greece capped gains, while the Italian market posted steep losses on weakness in the banking sector.  Italian bank UBI Banca plunged 12% as it reported a 4Q net loss and said it would increase share capital by as much as EUR1 billion, this news triggered a sell-off in the banking sector of over 4% in the session.  Sentiment was hurt late in the European session as S&P’s Ratings Services again downgraded Portuguese sovereign debt to BBB- from BBB, leaving it just one notch above junk status, with a negative outlook. It also cut the Greek rating to BB- from BB+. 

In Germany the banking sector weighed on concerns for the need of further capital raisings in the sector. 

In London the FTSE 100 index closed up 0.5% (or 27 points) at 5,932 led by mining and energy stocks, the German DAX was down -0.1% (or -4 points) at 6,934, while in France the CAC was up 0.3% (or 10 points) at 3,987.

Asian Markets

Asian markets consolidated yesterday.  However Japanese stocks fell further, hit by rising concerns over radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.  The setback in resolving the nuclear crisis came after Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said that plutonium had been detected in samples of soil from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.  Investors are also nervous over reports that the government is considering temporarily nationalising Tepco to facilitate its reconstruction. 

The Hong Kong market traded flat, while in China the Shanghai Composite Index fell but Chinese banks continued their rally (up 0.5%) in the choppy market after the bank earnings season got off to a good start last week.  Indian stocks rose for a sixth straight session as a fall in crude oil prices eased worries about inflation, though this may be reversed today as Libyan unrest escalates.

In China the SSE Composite closed down -0.9% (or -25 points) at 3,124, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index was down -0.1% (or -8 points) at 23,060 and in Japan the Nikkei 225 Index was down -0.2% (or -19 points) at 9,459.

Commodities

The Dollar Index was lower at 76.17 on a higher Euro, while the Australian Dollar last traded above parity at 102.02. Commodities were generally mixed.

For the session the Benchmark crude NYMEX for April delivery was up 0.5% (or $US0.48) to settle at $US104.46.  Copper for April delivery was down -0.1% (or -0.3 cents) at $US4.3470.  April gold was down -0.3% (or $US3.80) at $US1,419.80.

ASX Market News

ACC – Australian Agricultural Company Ltd is buying about 53,000 head of branded cattle for $26 million from the Tipperary Group (TG).

Local Corporate Reporting