Oil Falls as Mideast Tension Between Russia and Turkey Eases

---

Oil fell in New York for the first time this week as fears of Russian military retaliation against Turkey dissipated.

West Texas Intermediate for January delivery fell 53 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $42.51 a barrel at the 1 p.m. close of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 74 percent below the 100-day average. Floor trading was closed today because of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Brent for January settlement slid 71 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $45.46 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, the first decline in seven days. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.95 to WTI.

Source: Bloomberg

Gold Held Near Five-Year Low as U.S. Rate-Increase Bets Rise

---

Gold held near a five-year low as economic data from the U.S. shifted investors’ focus back to when the Federal Reserve will start to raise borrowing costs and away from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that had buoyed prices.

Bullion for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,071.48 an ounce by 1:52 p.m. in London after dropping to $1,064.55 on Nov. 18, the lowest level since February 2010, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Prices gained on Tuesday after Turkish forces downed a Russian fighter jet amid the conflict in Syria.

Gold is headed for a monthly loss as prospects for higher interest rates damp the metal’s allure as a store of value. Orders for business equipment in the U.S. climbed more than economists forecast in October and jobless claims slid to the lowest in a month. Still, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tracking model cut its forecast for fourth-quarter economic growth to 1.8 percent on Nov. 25, from 2.3 percent a week earlier, according to its website.

Odds of a move by the Fed in December are 72 percent, up from 50 percent at the end of October, Fed-fund futures data show. Gold has dropped 9.6 percent this year as strengthening U.S. data supported the case for higher rates, boosting the dollar.

The U.S. will release initial jobless claims on Dec. 3 and non-farm payrolls a day later.

Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products shrank for a sixth day to 1,493.52 metric tons on Wednesday to the lowest level since February 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg show. China’s net imports of the metal from Hong Kong slid for the first time in four months, according to data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.

Spot silver advanced 0.4 percent, platinum increased 0.9 percent while palladium gained 0.8 percent. U.S. financial markets will be shut Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Gold for February delivery rose 0.1 percent to $1,070.70 an ounce in electronic trading on Comex in New York.

Source : Bloomberg

Asian Stock Futures Climb Amid Metals Bounce; Euro Holds Losses

---

A rally in metals burnished the outlook for Asian stocks, with index futures foreshadowing gains from Japan to Australia ahead of data on Chinese industrial company profits.

Futures on equity gauges in the region climbed at least 0.1 percent after signs that China may act to prop up metals prices saw copper to zinc and aluminum jump to their highest levels in at least a week. U.S. index futures rallied Thursday with most other markets there closed for Thanksgiving, while oil retreated in electronic trading. The dollar held on to gains near a seven-month high versus the euro as investors mulled the outlook for American interest rates and the potential for further global monetary policy divergence.

While trading was muted given the U.S. holiday, metals led market gains Thursday, with their advance bolstering equities from Europe to Canada. Prospects China that may intervene in the domestic metals industry to stop excessive short selling underpinned price gains, with the largest copper and nickel suppliers planning to meet this week to weigh their response to the slump in prices, according to people with knowledge of the matter. With concern over China’s slowdown weighing on commodities this year, Friday’s profits data will garner particular attention, along with an update on Japanese consumer prices.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index added 0.1 percent as of 7:49 a.m. Tokyo time, rising for a second day to be headed for a 1.4 percent advance in the week.

In Japan, futures on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average were up 0.3 percent to 20,000 in Osaka, while contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.3 percent despite losses in London-traded stock of BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company. The shares fell 2.4 percent Thursday after the United Nations said waste from a deadly mine spill in Brazil was toxic and BHP, along with its partner in the project Vale SA, hadn’t taken sufficient steps to prevent harm.

Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.4 percent in most recent trading, while those on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of mainland stocks listed in the city, were up 0.5 percent. Futures on the Kospi index in Seoul gained 0.1 percent as contracts on the FTSE China A50 Index rose 0.3 percent.

The Shanghai Composite Index is headed for a second week of gains, with the measure having pared its losses since China’s shock currency devaluation in August roiled global markets.

Taiwan also issues a final reading on third-quarter gross domestic product Friday, while U.S. markets close early.

Source: Bloomberg

European stocks close at 3-month highs

---

European stocks ended at a three-month high Thursday, with a rally in Infineon Technologies AG helping to push the region’s benchmark to a second straight session of gains.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.9% to 384.37, its best finish since Aug. 18, according to FactSet data. Thursday’s win builds on Wednesday’s 1.4% rally, which came after a report that the European Central Bank is looking at expanding stimulus measures for the eurozone.

The euro EURUSD, was stuck at around seven-month lows on Thursday, buying $1.0609 compared with $1.0619 late Wednesday. The shared currency dipped below $1.06 on Wednesday after Reuters reported that ECB policy makers were thinking about widening the scope of their bond buying program or implementing a two-tier penalty charge on banks that leave cash with the central bank.

Aided by losses of the euro, German stocks climbed for a second consecutive session. The DAX 30 DAX, jumped 1.4% to 11,320.77, hitting its strongest level since mid-August. The index on Wednesday rallied 2.2%.

In Frankfurt Thursday, shares of Infineon Technologies AG charged up 12.9%, topping both the DAX and the Stoxx 600. The best session since May 2009 came after the German chip maker said quarterly profit almost doubled, helped by earnings at its recent acquisition, International Rectifier.

France’s CAC 40 PX1 rose 1.1% to 4,946.02, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.9% at 6,393.13, led by gains for miners.

Equity trading in the U.S. is closed Thursday for Thanksgiving Day.

Source: MarketWatch

European Stocks Climb for Second Day as Miners, Automakers Rise

---

Gains in commodity producers and carmakers pushed European stocks up for a second day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent at 8:11 a.m. in London. Miners advanced for the first time in five days as commodities climbed. Automakers gained, with the euro trading near its lowest level since April.

The European stock benchmark gauge rallied 1.4 percent yesterday, climbing after a two-day slump. The index is again nearing a three-month high, spurred by speculation the European Central Bank will add to stimulus measures and that the global economy is strong enough to withstand an increase in U.S. borrowing costs.

Europe’s stocks have regained more than half of their losses since a September low, with the Stoxx 600 closing yesterday 8 percent below the record reached in April. While they’re up in November for a second month, travel shares have been hurt amid terror attacks and geopolitical tensions, and miners further declined as commodities reached their lowest prices since 1999.

U.S. markets are closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December rose 0.1 percent.

BHP Billiton Ltd. lost 2 percent in London after a United Nations probe into a deadly mine spill said steps that the company took to prevent harm weren’t sufficient. Remy Cointreau SA dropped 1.5 percent as its profit fell more than analysts projected.

Infineon Technologies AG jumped 10 percent after it reported better-than-expected operating income.

Source : Bloomberg