Dollar Declines as Post-Fed Adjustment Continues for Traders

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The dollar declined as unexpectedly weak economic data has investors adjusting their outlook in the wake of last week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

Orders for durable goods dropped in February, extending the greenback’s losses after it slid the most in more than three years last week as the Federal Open Market Committee cut projections for future rates, inflation and growth. A gauge of expected currency swings has jumped during the past month.

The dollar weakened 0.4 percent to $1.0970 per euro as of 5 p.m. in New York, and dropped 0.2 percent to 119.49 yen. The euro added 0.2 percent to 131.08 yen.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 10 major peers, slid less than 0.1 percent to 1,185.46 after tumbling 2.2 percent last week, the biggest weekly decline since October 2011.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold hits 2-1/2 Week High as German Data Lifts Euro

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Gold hit 2-1/2-week highs on Wednesday, rising for the sixth straight session as upbeat German sentiment data helped drive the euro higher against the dollar, and as expectations for an imminent U.S. interest rate rise receded.

The euro was up 0.4 percent versus the U.S. currency after a survey on German business morale fueled expectations that a euro zone economic recovery is strengthening, extending gains after U.S. durable goods data missed expectations.

Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,196.35 an ounce by 2:52 p.m. EDT (1852 GMT), having earlier touched its highest since March 6 at $1,199.70. U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled up $5.60 an ounce, or by 0.5 percent, at $1,197.

Spot silver was up 5 percent at $16.96 an ounce after rising to a five-week high at $17.11.

Source : Reuters

Nasdaq Composite Falls Most Since April as Tech Shares Tumble

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U.S. stocks fell, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index down the most in eleven months, as a selloff in semiconductors spread to the broader market.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 2.4 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, the biggest drop since April 10. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.5 percent to 2,061.18, below its average price for the past 50 days.

The S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq Composite Index this week came within 1 percent of their records amid speculation the Federal Reserve won’t rush to raise rates. Wednesday’s drop wiped out the Dow’s 2015 gains.

While the S&P 500 is among the worst-performing developed-market indexes this year, it is still headed for its ninth consecutive quarterly advance, with a 0.2 percent increase. That would be the longest winning streak since 1998. The gains pushed equity valuations to the highest in about six years.

Source : Bloomberg

Europe Stocks Post Worst Drop in Two Months After Nearing Record

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European stocks posted their worst drop in more than two months, after nearing a record on Tuesday.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 1.1 percent to 397.95 at the close of trading, as all but two of 19 industry groups slid. Technology shares posted the worst performance, extending losses as U.S. peers also fell. ARM Holdings Plc and ASML Holding NV lost more than 5.5 percent.

Europe’s benchmark gauge closed 0.7 percent away from its 2000 record on Tuesday, up 18 percent for the year amid European Central Bank stimulus. That pushed the Stoxx 600 to the highest valuation based on projected profits in at least 10 years, relative to its own history and to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, data show.

Source : Bloomberg

Nasdaq Composite Falls Most in Two Weeks as Tech Shares Tumble

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U.S. stocks fell, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index down the most in two weeks, as technology tumbled and investors sold the quarter™s biggest winners.

Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Microsoft Corp. fell the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Kraft Foods Group Inc. soared 39 percent after Warren Buffett™s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. teamed with 3G Capital to acquire the food company and merge it with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.6 percent at 12:27 p.m. in New York, its third straight slide and longest since January after climbing to within 20 points of its dot-com-era record. The Standard & Poor™s 500 Index slipped 0.9 percent to 2,073.81. The Dow declined 189.14 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,822.00.

While the S&P 500 is among the worst-performing developed-market indexes this year, it is still headed for its ninth consecutive quarterly advance, with a 0.7 percent increase. That would be the longest winning streak since 1998. The gains pushed equity valuations to the highest in about six years.

Source : Bloomberg