Gold up 2 percent as dollar drops, physical demand rises

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Gold rose around 2 percent on Tuesday as the dollar fell and the previous session's two-percent slide triggered physical buying interest among Asian investors, though prices remain under pressure from all-time highs in the U.S. equity markets.

Physical buying gathered pace in Europe and China on Tuesday, traders said, supporting prices after dollar strength had knocked them lower.

In addition, sales of gold and silver investment coins and bars have also surged after bullion slid to a 4-1/2-year low at $1,131.85 an ounce last week. The yellow metal is currently down about 3 percent this year.

Spot gold was up 1.7 percent at $1,169.95 an ounce by 2:41 p.m. EST (1941 GMT).

U.S. COMEX gold futures for December delivery settled up $3.20 an ounce at $1,163, with trading volume about 20 percent above its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data shows.

A 0.4 percent drop in the dollar index helped underpin gold. The greenback retreated after rallying to a 7-year peak earlier.

Analysts said gold's safe-haven appeal could decline after the Dow and S&P 500 on Monday extended their streak of record closes to a fourth day.

U.S. stocks hit an intraday record high at the open on Tuesday. They later eased 0.1 percent.

Source : Reuters

Yen Drops to Weakest in 7 Years on Early Election Speculation

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The yen fell to a seven-year low versus the dollar on speculation Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering postponing a planned sales-tax increase and preparing to call early elections next month.

Russias ruble fell as nations threaten to tighten sanctions, while the Swiss franc touched the strongest level versus the euro in two years. Brazils real fell for the first time in three days as re-elected President Dilma Rousseff considered the composition of her economic team. Swedens krona advanced after consumer prices fell less in October than economists forecast.

The yen depreciated 0.4 percent to 115.32 per dollar as of 3:09 p.m. New York time and touched 116.10, the weakest level since October 2007. Japans currency slid 0.9 percent to 143.91 per euro. The 18-nation common currency gained 0.5 percent to $1.2480.

Source : Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Extend All-Time High With Fifth Day of Gains

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U.S. stocks were little changed, with benchmark indexes extending all-time highs, as gains in homebuilder shares helped offset losses among industrial companies.

The Standard & Poors 500 Index (SPX) rose 0.1 percent to 2,039.75 at 4 p.m. in New York for a fifth straight gain, the longest rally since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.06 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to a record 17,615.80. It has gained six sessions in a row. U.S. Treasury markets are closed for the Veterans Day holiday.

The S&P 500 has rebounded 9.5 percent from a six-month low in October amid better-than-estimated corporate results and signs the economy is weathering a global slowdown and the end of the Federal Reserves bond-buying program.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility index has lost 15 percent in the past four days. The drop has brought the gauge of S&P 500 options, known as the VIX, down 52 percent since a two-year high on Oct. 15. It gained 3.8 percent today.

Source : Bloomberg

Wall Street little changed after Dow, S&P hit intraday records

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U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday after the Dow and S&P 500 managed to touch fresh intraday records for a fifth straight session in early trading.

On Monday, the benchmark S&P index had set its 39th new closing high for the year, versus 45 in 2013. The last time the index closed at a record high in four consecutive days was in June, while its last five-day streak was in May 2013.

The benchmark has rallied more than 9 percent from a six-month low in October, buoyed by supportive economic data and solid corporate earnings reports. For the year, the index is up over 10 percent.

Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning showed that of 449 companies in the S&P 500 to report earnings, 74.6 percent beat expectations, above the 63 percent beat rate since 1994 and 67 percent for the past four quarters. Earnings overall are expected to grow 10 percent over the year-ago period.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.2 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,608.54, the S&P 500 lost 0.61 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,037.65 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.50 points, or 0.03 percent, to 4,650.12.

Source : Reuters

Europe Stocks Extend Five-Week High as Vodafone Gains on Results

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European stocks rose, extending their highest level in more than five weeks, as companies from Vodafone Group Plc to Henkel AG rallied on better-than-estimated financial results and improving forecasts.

Vodafone advanced the most in 14 months after saying services revenue fell slower than analysts estimated. That pushed a gauge of telecommunications companies to the highest level since March 2008. Henkel gained 4.6 percent after also raising its full-year margin projection.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.4 percent to 338.93 at the close of trading, after briefly paring gains as the U.S. equity markets opened. The measure has rebounded 9.3 percent from this years low on Oct. 16 as the Bank of Japan unexpectedly boosted its stimulus and most lenders in Europe passed tests of their capital strength.

Earnings have driven investor sentiment yesterday and today in the absence of major economic reports. Analysts expect earnings of the gauges companies to grow 7.5 percent this year, up from their October projection of 7.2 percent.

Source : Bloomberg