Gold Slides Most Since July as Stock Rebound Erodes Haven Demand

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Gold, the year’s best-performing commodity, dropped the most in almost seven months as rebounding global equities cut demand for a haven.

The metal slid as much as 2.5 percent in London on Monday. European stocks headed for the biggest two-day gain in more than four years as People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan expressed faith in the economy, while a stronger dollar eroded the bullion’s appeal as an alternative investment.

Gold surged to a one-year high last week and investors have been hoarding metal through bullion-backed funds as a gauge of world stocks entered a bear market and the Federal Reserve signaled it may delay further monetary tightening. Low borrowing costs boost gold’s appeal because it doesn’t pay interest like some other assets.

Gold for immediate delivery slid 2.3 percent to $1,209.30 an ounce in New York, a back-to-back daily decline for the first time in a month, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Prices are still up 14 percent this year, the best performance in the Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials.

Chinese trading resumed after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, while U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

Source: Bloomberg

Oil Advances for a Second Day After Bullish Bets Increase

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Oil advanced a second day, rising briefly above $30 a barrel in New York for the first time in almost a week.

West Texas Intermediate futures rose 1.1 percent in electronic trading in New York after surging 12 percent on Friday. Speculators’ long positions in WTI through Feb. 9 rose to the highest since June, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Iran loaded its first cargo to Europe since international sanctions ended, while Chinese crude imports eased from a record.

Oil in New York is down about 20 percent this year. While the outlook for increased Iranian exports threatens to further boost record oil stockpiles, major companies including Chevron Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. are curbing spending on exploration and development of new resources. Crude surged the most in seven years on Feb. 12 after the United Arab Emirates repeated OPEC’s readiness to engage with other producers.

WTI for March delivery gained as much as 71 cents to $30.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $29.76 as electronic trading ended at 1 p.m. The New York Mercantile Exchange floor was closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday, and trades will be booked Tuesday. The contract gained $3.23, or 12 percent, to close at $29.44 on Friday after dropping 19 percent the previous six sessions. WTI prices lost 4.7 percent last week.

Brent for April settlement rose 3 cents to settle at $33.39 a barrel after reaching $33.97 in intraday trading on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark was at a premium of $1.51 to April WTI at 1:42 p.m. in New York.

Source: Bloomberg

Hong Kong Shares Jump Over 3 Pct on Global Market Bounce (Review)

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Hong Kong stocks posted their best performance in five months on Monday with a jump of over 3 percent, inspired by a surge in Japanese shares and Friday gains in U.S. and European markets following last week's global equity sell-off.

Unexpectedly light losses in mainland China stock markets, which reopened after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, also encourage some buying interest.

The benchmark Hang Seng index, which sank to 3-1/2-year lows on Friday, jumped 3.3 percent, to 18,918.14 points. The China Enterprises Index rallied 4.8 percent, to 7,863.84 points, after sliding nearly 7 percent last week.

Both indexes posted their biggest one-day gain since Sept. 9.

Shares rose across the board, with energy and financial shares among the biggest gainers. Global banking giant HSBC surged 4.3 percent after it decided to keep its headquarters in Britain.

Source : Reuters

European stocks rally for second day on stimulus hopes

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Europe’s benchmark stock index rallied the most in three weeks on Monday, as investors latched on to hopes central banks will launch more stimulus soon.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped 3% to close at 321.76, its largest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 22.

Shares of Unipol Gruppo Finanziario SpA jumped 7.7%, Banco Popolare climbed 7.3%, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA rose 9.2%, and Banca Popolare di Milano Scarl gained 5.7%.

Other banks also jumped, with shares of Eurobank Ergasias SA up 30% in Athens and Credit Suisse Group AG rising 2.7%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 banks index rose 3.5%, trimming its year-to-date slump to 22%.

Trading volume was lighter than usual, as normal U.S. trading is closed for the President’s Day holiday.

Other movers: Shares of H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB advanced 3.5% after the Swedish clothing retailer said total sales rose 7% in January.

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC rallied 6.8% after the consumer-goods company beat its 2015 target and raised its dividend 12%.

HSBC Holdings PLC moved 1.4% higher after the global bank decided to keep its headquarters in London.

Precious-metals miners topped the list of decliners in Europe, tracking a slide in gold and silver prices. Gold scored its biggest weekly gain since the 2008 financial crisis last week as investors flocked to safe haven investments on the back of a brutal week for equities and oil.

Shares of Fresnillo PLC gave up 2.6%, and Randgold Resources Ltd fell 2%.

Electricite de France SA lost 1.3% after French newspaper Le Figaro said the utility company on Tuesday will report a slump in net profit.

Source: Marketwatch

Dow Futures Rally More Than 200 Points as Analysts Call Market Bottom

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U.S. stock futures moved sharply higher on Monday, mirroring solid gains in Asia where weak data spurred hopes that central banks will launch more easing measures.

Investors were also speculating whether a bottom has been reached after the recent selloff, with some analysts arguing the market is oversold in the short term.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 211 points, or 1.3% to 16,123, while those for the S&P 500 index gained 25.70 points, or 1.4%, to 1,884. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 70.50 points, or 1.8%, to 4,076.50.

Normal trading in the U.S. is closed for the Presidents Day holiday and futures will close for trade at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and open again at 6 p.m. Eastern. Trading in metals and energy futures also ends at 1 p.m.

Source : Marketwatch