Stock Market News 5th January 2012
Here is todays roundup of some of the stock market happenings for today across the various timezones where trade usually commences. Apologies for any data not reported, however we hope you find this a useful summary.
Once again in the Uk, we see that investors fearing the Eurozone and are afraid to go about their business. As a result this has once again shown that the Uk blue chip shares index closed down at 0.8% lower than yesterday. The fear is that Euro zone countries and banks will find times harder than ever before to grow and nurture their businesses.
The trouble is that every time the Euro tries to go for a rally it seems to get slapped in the face and knocked backwards again, so there have been plenty of opportunities to get yourself disappointed!
Out of all the various Blue chip companies, Vedanta became the largest loser for the day, dropping by 5.2% as a decline in Copper prices ensued.
On the flip side, the chip maker ARM holdings had a great day, managing to rise by a 2.6%, because UBS placed a short term “buy” rating. This is all due to the fact that they’ve seen good solid sales of top grade phones.
USA stock market news items
In new York, there has been a relative (yet once again, cautious) report that has shown that the jobs recovery has seen an increase in it’s pace. This report has actually surprised many analysts who actually only predicted about half of the recover would happen.
In terms of caution you also have to bear in mind that there can be some seasonal items which will affect the outcome. At this time of year it is possible for results to be tainted somewhat, or in fact over-inflated. Company bosses will tend to keep employees on their payroll for accounting requirements, and they may choose to revise their readings at a later date.
However despite this being a rather volatile period of time, it must be said that things are definitely more optimistic for the US jobs markets at the moment so we cannot discount this news outright. Despite the fact that these claims have been made, and investors have been cautious, the trend is good, backed up also by the fact that the labor department has reported a dip in jobless claims for the first time in 5 weeks, falling by 15,000.
Tech stocks have had a confident push north today thanks to new coming from leading computer hard drive company Seagate who have reported multiple good news items in relation to sales. Confirmation to follow later but second quarter sales are expected to be between $3.1 billion and $3.2 billion.
So overall, a normal day at the office – a mixed bag of news, fears and speculation. Things are not all doom and gloom and some sectors are pushing ahead. Thanks for reading.
Filed under Stock Market News by on Jan 5th, 2012. Comment. 
Stock Market News 4th January 2012
Here are a number of economic summaries in regards to the news surrounding stocks and shares for the 4th January 2012.
In the United Kingdom, there has been news released stating that the growth for construction continues to grow, which is obviously a positive step in the right direction although experts are still warning of market stagnation issues for the wider economy, and tough times ahead. Some civil engineering schemes have reported some of the most significant growth in this sector.
The crossrail scheme in London has reported the fastest growth for the month. Again good positive signals. Aiding these positive growth news items are results produced. Reports such as the Markit/CIPS (purchasing managers index) survey (for construction) signalled positive growth.
stock market news
This survey normally shows that anything over 50 signals expansion in a market. For December, it rose to 53.2 (previously recorded at 52.3 in November). Employment levels being boosted as well as new business reportings helped this growth to manifest.
Across other parts of the construction industry there has been other growth numbers recorded. These include the likes of commercial construction (growing at its slowest pace however) and also domestic housebuilding. This Uk housebuilding growth signifies 12 consecutive months of growth, but there are still warnings being issued that this makes for only 7.6% of the total UK economy.
In The USA there has been some good news in relation to economic data. The US stocks in general have seen good growth which has managed to erase t
he previous losses which came from yesterdays market results. This has come about because of strong post-holiday shopping enjoyed by US citizens and visitors.
Additionally, car sales remain healthy and have continued to do so throughout December 2011. This data has helped to fend off worries in regards to the recent debt troubles across Europe which has been the focus of many people in recent times.
Thankfully this data is s
een as a positive uplift, and is certainly helping to ease concerns of investors worldwide. In the USA the DJIA rose 13.63 points to 12,411.01. Out of all 30 components, 17 of the DJIA components saw a rise. Even the S&P500 (SPX) rose somewhat (to 1,277.30).
The Ford Motor Co. reported a 10% rise in sales for December which saw shares prices increase by 3%. This report is further boosted by the fact that retailers in the US have seen continued rises for Wednesday.
Wall Street saw some afternoon rises, which helped to clear some losses which had earlier surfaced because of the worries of the debt issues in Europe.
Other stock market news items of interest:
Oil prices close at an 8 month high, so if you’ve managed to get into buying oil stcks and shares in the past few months then you should be happy with how things are going within your portfolio. This means that the futures market has seen oil stocks settle to a comfortable $103.22 a barrel, the best it’s been since May 2010.
Gold futures have regained their “safe ha
ven” status this week because they’ve just risen to their highest position for 2 weeks. Investors have remained concerned about the euro-zone and of course Iran.
The delivery for February Gold rose $12.20 (0.8%) to an impressive $1,612.70 an ounce (via the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange), making this the highest settlement for Gold since 21st December.
So all in all, onwards and up
wards, remaining optimistic yet cautious.
Filed under Stock Market News by on Jan 5th, 2012. Comment.
