Gold Finish Above $1,090, But Stumbles on Rate Fears

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Gold prices finished higher in Tuesday trade but encountered late pressure from the U.S. dollar, which rallied after remarks from a Federal Reserve official pointed to a September interest-rate hike.

Lockhart becomes the second Fed official in as many days to endorse a September rate hike after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that he was in favor of a move at the Sept. 16-17 meeting.

Gold stumbled to the close, paring gains after Lockhart’s remarks, stumbling to the close of trade.

Gold for December delivery the most actively traded contract on Comex gained $1.30 cents, or less than 0.1%, at 1,090.70 an ounce, after closing at $1,089.40 an ounce Monday.

A rate hike is likely to weigh on buyers of dollar-denominated commodities like gold. Higher rates increases the return on dollar deposits, which makes it more appealing to currency traders. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index jumped higher after Lockhart’s remarks, moving from about 97.39 to 97.88.

However a strong greenback can dampen the appeal of dollar-denominated gold to buyers in other currencies.

In other metals, September silver picked up 4 cents, or 0.3%, to finish at $14.56 an ounce. October platinum lost $8.60, or nearly 1%, at $958.50 an ounce, after finishing at $967.10 an ounce in Monday trade.

September palladium is down $4.60, or about 1%, at $598.60 an ounce after finishing at $603.20 an ounce in Monday’s session.

Meanwhile, high-grade copper added a penny to settle at $2.36 a pound from $2.35 a pound in the previous session.

Source : MarketWatch

Dollar Trades Near 4-Month High as Demand Cools Before Jobs Data

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The dollar traded at almost a four-month high as demand slowed with traders reluctant to buy the currency before the Aug. 7 employment report.

The greenback fluctuated as July jobs data may help guide Federal Reserve policy makers as they determine whether the economy is expanding fast enough to merit the first interest-rate increase in almost a decade. Fed Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the central bank is close to a September rate increase.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,212.48 at 1:48 p.m. in New York, after closing Monday at the strongest level since March 17. The greenback added 0.2 percent to $1.0925 per euro and 0.1 percent to 124.16 yen.

The dollar dropped as much as 2 percent against its Australian counterpart as that nation’s central bank held interest rates unchanged and omitted any reference to further currency declines being necessary.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Slide Amid Allstate, CVS Results; Apple Extends Fall

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U.S. stocks declined for a third day, amid disappointing results from Allstate Corp. and CVS Health Corp. while Apple Inc. slipped further into a correction.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 percent to 2,093.37 at 4 p.m. in New York, slipping below its average price during the past 100 days.

The S&P 500 rose 2 percent in July, the best monthly gain since February, as earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. countered declines by energy and mining stocks. The index closed Tuesday 1.8 percent below a record set in May.

Almost three-quarters of the benchmark’s members have reported earnings this season, with 74 percent beating profit estimates and about half exceeding sales projections. Analysts now forecast a 2.8 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, shallower than calls for a 6.4 percent fall about three weeks ago.

Source: Bloomberg

Bank Shares Lead European Stock Drop as Greece Falls for 2nd Day

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European stocks snapped a five-day winning streak as declines in banks outweighed a surge in miners. Greek shares slid for a second day.

Credit Agricole SA dragged lenders to the worst performance on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, tumbling 10 percent after signaling it failed to win backing from regulators for a reorganization that may free up capital to repay investors. Total SA and Eni SpA pulled oil-and-gas companies down, as crude traded in a bear market. BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Group rose at least 1.6 percent, pushing commodity producers to the biggest gain on the equity gauge as some metal prices rebounded.

The Stoxx 600 retreated 0.2 percent to 398.75 at the close of trading, after earlier losing as much as 0.6 percent. Italy’s FTSE MIB Index and Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dropped 1 percent.

Greece’s ASE Index, which plummeted 16 percent on reopening Monday after a five-week suspension, lost 1.2 percent, for the biggest drop among western-European markets. The emergency curbs placed on trading before the resumption of activity are making routine tasks like buying and selling often impossible, according to local brokers.

Piraeus Bank SA tumbled the maximum 30 percent for a second day, to record low. National Bank of Greece SA slid 29 percent, also to a new low.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate Amid Earnings Reports; Apple Extends Fall

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U.S. stocks fluctuated, after two days of declines, amid quarterly results from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. to Allstate Corp. while Apple Inc. slipped further into a correction.

Allstate lost 11 percent as the insurer’s profit plunged on a surge in auto claims. CVS Health Corp. fell 3.3 percent after narrowing its earnings forecast. Apple sank 2.7 percent to a six-month low. Regeneron and Sprint Corp. gained more than 4.7 percent as their earnings exceeded analysts’ forecasts. Baxalta Inc. surged 17 percent after Shire Plc offered to buy the company for about $30 billion.

The Standard & Poor 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent to 2,098.22 at 12:06 p.m. in New York, near its average price during the past 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.61 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,594.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed.

The S&P 500 rose 2 percent in July, the best monthly gain since February, as earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. countered declines by energy and mining stocks. The index closed Monday 1.5 percent below a record set in May.

Source : Bloomberg