Euro Breaks Above $1.10 as Traders Ditch Short Positions Ahead of ECB

The euro broke above $1.10 on Monday as traders trimmed bets against the euro, hoping to avoid the type of brutal short squeeze that followed the European Central Bank’s December meeting when the central bank meets again later this week. A breakdown in the historic correlation between the euro-dollar exchange rate and the spread between Treasury and German bunds suggested that the euro’s strength on Monday was largely due to shifts...

Oil Futures Top $37 to Log Highest Settlement Level of The Year

Oil futures rallied on Monday, with prices scoring their highest settlement level of the year as traders continue to bet that oil producers will freeze output. April West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.98, or 5.5%, to settle at $37.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest settlement for a most-active contract since Christmas Eve, according to FactSet Data. Source : Marketwatc...

Hong Kong shares flat despite upbeat mainland markets (Review)

Hong Kong shares ended Monday roughly flat, ignoring a rally in mainland markets and on the back of rising selling pressure after the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 10 percent over the past three weeks.Hang Seng fell 0.1 percent, to 20,159.72, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.8 percent, to 8,626.31 points.Hong Hao, managing director of research at BOCOM International, said a Hong Kong rally could resume if appetite for risky assets...

S&P 500 Closes Little Changed as Energy Rally Offsets Tech Slide

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index edged higher, tying its longest rally in more than a year, as commodity producers surged with crude oil to offset declines in technology and consumer shares while investors assessed China’s growth prospects. The S&P 500 advanced 0.1 percent to 2,001.66 at 4 p.m. in New York, with the gauge above its average price during the past 100 days after closing above that level for the first time...

Rally in Energy Stocks Lifts Wall Street Indexes

Sharp gains in energy and materials stocks lifted the main U.S. indexes, which are now on track to extend their winning streak to five straight sessions. The S&P 500 index rose 4 points, or 0.2%, to 1,995, with seven of its 10 main sectors trading higher. Apart from the energy and materials sectors, telecoms and health-cares stocks were also trading higher. Technology stocks were the biggest laggards. The benchmark index has...