Oil settles higher after volatile session

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Oil futures finished higher after a volatile session on Wednesday, finding support from a weekly decline in U.S. crude production, as strong demand for gasoline pointed to a possible rise in demand for oil to make the fuel.

A bigger-than-expected weekly increase in U.S. crude supplies, however, helped limit the gains for oil prices, however. April West Texas Intermediate crude CLJ6, +1.16% added 28 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $32.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded between a low of $30.56 and a high of $32.36 during the session.

Source: Marketwatch

Gold Marks Highest Settlement in More Than a Week

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Gold futures marked their highest settlement in more than a week on Wednesday as a U.S. report on home sales fueled nervousness in financial markets, driving investors out of assets viewed as risky, like stocks, and into those perceived as safe.

April gold climbed $16.50, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,239.10 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Feb. 12. Prices, which rose 1% Tuesday, touched an intraday high of $1,254.30.

Gold extended its gains after the Commerce Department showed a 9% decline in new homes sales in January, adding to concerns about the U.S. economy.

March silver also got a bounce from a flight to haven assets, adding 5.7 cents, or 0.4%, to $15.297 an ounce.

Source: Marketwatch

Hong Kong Shares Track Global Markets Lower as Energy Stocks Weigh

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Hong Kong shares fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday, tracking global markets lower, with shares of energy companies again weighing on the benchmark index as oil prices skid.

The Hang Seng index fell 1.2 percent to 19,192.45 points, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.3 percent to 8,061.71.

Most sectors declined, as a nearly two-week-long rebound in global markets showed increasing signs of fatigue.

Energy shares tumbled 2.5 percent as oil prices fell after Saudi Arabia effectively ruled out production cuts by major producers anytime soon.

U.S. Stocks Rise as Energy, Tech Shares Pace Late-Day Turnaround

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Technology and commodity companies paced a rebound in U.S. stocks, with a turnaround in crude-oil prices sparking broader buying that erased declines of as much as 1.7 percent in benchmark indexes.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 0.9 percent to 4,542.61 at 4 p.m. in New York, boosted by gains in Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. The Russell 2000 Index surged 1 percent after an early 1.5 percent slide. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.4 percent to 1,929.64, after the gauge lost as much as 1.6 percent.

Early on, it looked as if equities were headed for another steep selloff. A recent rebound in U.S. stocks had faltered Tuesday as global-growth concerns resurfaced, after the S&P 500 had cut its 2016 declines by more than half over six sessions.

Wednesday’s gains helped the S&P 500 cut its February decline to 0.5 percent, still heading for a third straight monthly drop which would be the longest stretch in more than four years. Concern that China’s slowdown will hurt global growth, and that lenders will suffer as some energy producers struggle to stay solvent amid low oil prices, has weighed on equities this year, dragging the U.S. benchmark 9 percent below its all-time high reached last May.

Source : Bloomberg

Europe Stocks Drop Second Day as Miners Tumble Most Since August

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European stocks declined for a second day as sliding oil prices stoked investor concern about global growth.

Miners led the losses, taking their two-day decline to 9.5 percent, the most since August. BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc fell more than 2.8 percent as oil spent more of the day down after Iran dismissed a proposal by Saudi Arabia and Russia for producers to freeze output. European automakers and banks, the weakest groups this year, were also among the worst performers on Wednesday.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 2.3 percent for its biggest two-day decline since Feb. 9. The gauge resumed its losses after posting its biggest weekly rally in a year and reaching a three-week high on Monday.

A measure of stock volatility climbed for a second day, taking its increase to 49 percent for 2016. The year has been particularly brutal for European shares as a slump in lenders added to concerns over global growth and the oil rout. The Stoxx 600 hasn’t posted more than two consecutive days of gains since December.

Commodity producers sank 6.5 percent as a group on Wednesday, after they rebounded as much as 35 percent from this year’s low through Monday. Glencore Plc and Anglo American Plc slumped more than 9.5 percent, while BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group lost at least 5.7 percent.

Lenders, the most battered among European industries this year, lost 3 percent. The group slumped to a three-year low this month amid worries over bad loans at Italian firms, the impact of a low-rate environment on profits and Deutsche Bank AG’s creditworthiness. Greek and Italian banks fell the most on Wednesday, and Denmark’s Sydbank A/S tumbled 8.4 percent after reporting profit that missed estimates.

Wirecard AG plunged the most in the Stoxx 600, sinking 22 percent. An anonymous short seller published a report accusing senior management and board members at the German payments processor of money laundering and of facilitating the evasion of U.S. restrictions on Internet gambling. The company denied the allegations and called them “slanderous.” Hugo Boss AG tumbled 8.4 percent for its biggest two-day slump since 1999 as Societe Generale SA cut its rating on the German clothier to sell from hold following yesterday’s profit warning.

Fresenius SE climbed 3.4 percent after Europe’s largest health-care provider forecast that profit and sales will increase this year. Petrofac Ltd., Wolters Kluwer NV and Atos SE were among the region’s best performers, rising more than 3 percent, after reporting earnings. Rexel SA jumped 5.9 percent after Cevian Capital increased its stake in the French company.

Source: Bloomberg