Gold extends loss to a second sessions in a row

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Gold futures rang up a consecutive loss on Tuesday as investors digested a spate of economic reports from a busy week of economic indicators, which culminates with the Friday jobs report.

Gold for April delivery fell by $3.80, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,204.40 an ounce on Comex, while May silver settled down 15.5 cents, or 0.9%, to $16.296 an ounce after a 0.7% loss a day earlier.

Source : MarketWatch

Dollar inches lower on strong eurozone, U.K. data

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The dollar inched lower against key rivals Tuesday after strong data out of Europe and the U.K. implied that economic growth in the rest of the world is beginning to catch up to the U.S.

The euro traded at $1.1175, compared with $1.1183 Monday evening, while the pound traded at $1.5363, compared with $1.5359.

The dollar also drifted lower against the yen, trading at ¥119.70, compared with ¥120.14.

Retail sales in Germany started the year strong, showing 5.3% annualized growth in February, up from a revised reading of 4.8% growth in January. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected 2.6% growth.

Tuesday’s retail-sales report is the latest in a string of economic reports to show surprisingly strong growth in the eurozone.

The U.K.’s Markit/CIPS U.K. Construction PMI showed the U.K.’s construction industry had another good month in February. The index printed at 60.1, its highest reading in four months. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a reading of 59, a slight decline from the index’s January reading of 59.1.

Currency market volatility plummeted in February, with the dollar trading within tight ranges against the yen, euro and pound.

Dean Popplewell, vice president of currency analysis and research at Oanda Corp., said the market will be watching Friday’s jobs report for any surprises that could force the dollar back into its ranges.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index a measure of the dollar’s strength against six of its largest trading partners, was down 0.06% on the day to 95.4090.

There was a dearth of U.S. economic data releases during Tuesday’s session. But U.S. car-sales figures, considered second-tier data by analysts, revealed a slight decline from January.

Source : MarketWatch

U.S. Stocks Fall From Records as Health-Care, Technology Slump

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U.S. stocks retreated after the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed above 5,000 for the first time in 15 years, as health-care and technology companies slid.

Health-care companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.9 percent, after reaching an all-time high Monday. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. fell to the lowest since it began trading in September.

The S&P 500 declined 0.5 percent to 2,107.80 at 4 p.m. in New York, after closing at a record Monday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6 percent.

The S&P 500 rose to fresh records four times in February, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 5.6 percent for its best month since January 2013. The index also topped its record from December for the first time in 2015.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Fall From Records Amid Slump in Autos, Health-Care

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U.S. stocks retreated after the Nasdaq Composite Index closed above 5,000 for the first time in 15 years, as auto and health-care companies slid.

Ford Motor Co. slipped 2.6 percent after a drop in February light-vehicle sales. Health-care companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 1.2 percent, led by biotechnology stocks. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. fell to the lowest since it began trading in September.

The S&P 500 declined 0.8 percent to 2,100.70 at 12:09 p.m. in New York, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 131.75 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,156.88. Both gauges closed at records Monday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9 percent. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 14 percent below the 30-day average.

The Nasdaq Composite is 1.6 percent from a record reached in 2000. It has taken two bull markets and more than 4,500 days for the Nasdaq to get close to making up all the ground lost in the dot-com collapse. The index surged 7.1 percent in February, its best month since 2012.

The S&P 500 rose to fresh records four times in February, while the Dow average climbed 5.6 percent for its best month since January 2013. The index also topped its record from December for the first time in 2015.

Source: Bloomberg

European Stocks Retreat Most in a Month as Bank Shares Decline

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European stocks fell the most in more than a month as lenders declined.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.9 percent to 387.68 at the close of trading, erasing gains of as much as 0.3 percent. Lenders were the biggest drag on the benchmark measure, with ING Groep NV and BNP Paribas SA down more than 3 percent. Barclays Plc fell 3.2 percent after setting aside an extra 750 million pounds ($1.2 billion) for the settlement of a currency-manipulation probe.

The Stoxx 600 rose last week to the highest level since July 2007. The gauge has rallied 13 percent in 2015 as Greece reached a bailout deal and the European Central Bank announced quantitative easing. ECB president Mario Draghi may present details of the plan at a Governing Council meeting in Nicosia on Thursday. Investors are also awaiting the ECB’s first growth and inflation forecasts for 2017 unveiled that day, for clues on the duration of QE.

A release on Friday may show U.S. payrolls advanced by 235,000 last month, following a 257,000 increase in February, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Source : Bloomberg