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

Oil Resumes Drop as Iran Loads Post-Sanctions Cargo to Europe

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Oil resumed its decline below $30 a barrel as Iran loaded its first cargo to Europe since international sanctions ended.

Futures fell as much as 1.7 percent in New York after surging 12 percent on Friday, while Brent in London slid 2.1 percent. A tanker for France’s Total SA was being loaded Sunday at Kharg Island while vessels chartered for Chinese and Spanish companies were due to arrive later the same day, an Iranian oil ministry official said. U.S. drillers idled rigs for an eighth week amid brimming U.S. crude stockpiles, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc.

Oil is down about 22 percent this year amid the outlook for increased Iranian exports and BP Plc predicts the market will remain “tough and choppy” in the first half as it contends with a surplus of 1 million barrels a day. Speculators’ long positions in West Texas Intermediate through Feb. 9 climbed to the highest since June, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

WTI for March delivery slid as much as 49 cents to $28.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $29.08 at 9:19 a.m. Hong Kong time. The contract gained $3.23 to close at $29.44 on Friday after dropping 19 percent the previous six sessions. Total volume traded was about 11 percent below the 100-day average. Prices lost 4.7 percent last week.

Brent for April settlement declined as much as 69 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $32.67 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract climbed $3.30 to close at $33.36 on Friday. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $1.46 to WTI for April.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold Heads for Back-to-Back Drop on Revival in Appetite for Risk

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Gold rally faltered, with bullion set for the first back-to-back loss in a month, as rising share markets pared demand for a haven.

Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.9 percent to $1,226.68 an ounce and traded at $1,228.34 at 8:55 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal lost 0.7 percent on Friday after surging to $1,263.48 on Feb. 11, the highest level since February 2015.

Gold has been the best performer on the Bloomberg Commodity Index this year, up 16 percent, as a weakening global economy spurred demand and investors priced in reduced odds of the Federal Reserve increasing U.S. borrowing costs. Equity markets gained on Monday after a rebound in oil at the end of last week spearheaded a revival in risk appetite. China’s financial markets reopen after a week-long break.

Source : Bloomberg

China Stocks Tumble as Markets Reopen After Week-Long Holiday

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China stocks slumped as trading resumed after a week-long holiday which saw global equities enter a bear market on concern over the strength of the world economy.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.4 percent to 2,698.16 as of 9:47 a.m. local time, led by financial and industrial companies. The MSCI All-Country World Index retreated 2.6 percent since the city’s markets closed on Feb. 5, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index tumbled 6.8 percent. The yuan gained 0.9 percent in Shanghai, the biggest advance since at least 2007, after the central bank strengthened the currency’s reference rate by the most in three months.

China’s benchmark stock index has plunged 22 percent this year on concern that the economic slowdown and weakening yuan will exacerbate capital outflows. The nation’s foreign-exchange reserves shrank in January to the smallest since 2012, data released on Feb. 7 showed. Margin traders have also been unwinding bullish bets on stocks amid speculation valuations are still too high.

Trade data as well as new loan figures for January are due Monday. Exports probably declined for the seventh straight month, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. China is targeting its economy to expand in the range of 6.5 percent to 7 percent for this year, after recording 6.9 percent growth in 2015 that was the slowest in 25 years.

The Hang Seng China gauge rallied 2.8 percent after slumping to a six-year low last week. The Hang Seng Index added 2.1 percent.

Source : Bloomberg