World stocks lower, Yellen speech in focus... Oil recovers after restless night... World Bank says South Asian cities are holding people back...
World stocks lower, Yellen speech in focus
An anxious day’s trading is predicted Thursday as markets await a speech by Fed chair Janet Yellen. Her appearance at the University of Massachusetts is not set to start until 5pm ET though so any impact will come in the next session.
Asian markets closed mixed with Shanghai finishing in positive territory while Tokyo reopened following a three-day holiday to digest poor manufacturing data, a stronger yen and a weak handover from Wall Street. The Japanese market closed almost 3 per cent lower.
European indexes are broadly lower with Germany’s DAX having been boosted earlier by a positive business sentiment poll. VW has seen a 7 per cent rise in stocks but fellow German automaker BMW is down after a magazine article suggested its emissions data may not be entirely accurate.
The TSX and Wall Street are set to open lower ahead of the Yellen speech.
Oil recovers after restless night
There has been some recovery for oil prices early Thursday following overnight losses on concern over weak demand. The US stockpile was down by a more-than-expected 1.9 million barrels last week according to EIA data; gasoline stocks increased though, beating analysts’ expectations.
World Bank says South Asian cities are holding people back
Around 2 billion people in South Asia are being prevented from joining the ranks of richer nations according to the World Bank. CNBC reports that the organization says that the region has failed to prepare its cities for urbanization. Although their population growth was an initial boost to economies, cities in countries such as Afghanistan, Indian and Sri Lanka have not progressed along the lines of those in East Asia which have fared better. Infrastructure and resources in many South Asia countries cannot keep up with population growth the World Bank said.
An anxious day’s trading is predicted Thursday as markets await a speech by Fed chair Janet Yellen. Her appearance at the University of Massachusetts is not set to start until 5pm ET though so any impact will come in the next session.
Asian markets closed mixed with Shanghai finishing in positive territory while Tokyo reopened following a three-day holiday to digest poor manufacturing data, a stronger yen and a weak handover from Wall Street. The Japanese market closed almost 3 per cent lower.
European indexes are broadly lower with Germany’s DAX having been boosted earlier by a positive business sentiment poll. VW has seen a 7 per cent rise in stocks but fellow German automaker BMW is down after a magazine article suggested its emissions data may not be entirely accurate.
The TSX and Wall Street are set to open lower ahead of the Yellen speech.
| Latest | 1 month ago | 1 year ago | |
| North America (previous session) |
|||
| US Dow Jones | 16,279.89 (-0.31 per cent) | +2.57 per cent | -5.40 per cent |
| TSX Composite | 13,383.69 (-0.80 per cent) | +2.54 per cent | -11.49 per cent |
| Europe (at 5.40am ET) |
|||
| UK FTSE | 6,019.54 (-0.21 per cent) | +2.05 per cent | -10.24 per cent |
| German DAX | 9,545.98 (-0.69 per cent) | -1.06 per cent | -1.20 per cent |
| Asia (at close) |
|||
| China CSI 300 | 3,285.00 (+0.67 per cent) | +0.29 per cent | +34.53 per cent |
| Japan Nikkei | 17,571.83 (-2.76 per cent) | -9.59 per cent | +7.66 per cent |
| Other Data (at 5.40am ET) |
|||
| Oil (Brent) | Oil (WTI) | Gold | Can. Dollar |
| 48.15 (+0.84 per cent) |
44.97 (+1.10 per cent) |
1134.10 (+0.24 per cent) |
U$0.7496 |
| Aus. Dollar |
|||
| U$0.6943 | |||
Oil recovers after restless night
There has been some recovery for oil prices early Thursday following overnight losses on concern over weak demand. The US stockpile was down by a more-than-expected 1.9 million barrels last week according to EIA data; gasoline stocks increased though, beating analysts’ expectations.
World Bank says South Asian cities are holding people back
Around 2 billion people in South Asia are being prevented from joining the ranks of richer nations according to the World Bank. CNBC reports that the organization says that the region has failed to prepare its cities for urbanization. Although their population growth was an initial boost to economies, cities in countries such as Afghanistan, Indian and Sri Lanka have not progressed along the lines of those in East Asia which have fared better. Infrastructure and resources in many South Asia countries cannot keep up with population growth the World Bank said.
