Nikkei slips from 3-wk highs on investor economy worry

July 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

TOKYO, July 15 (Reuters) – The Australian dollar fell on Thursday, as selling by model-based funds weighed on the currency against the yen, while it took in stride data that pointed to a mild slowdown in China, rather than a deeper one as some had feared.

The Australian dollar slid in early Asian trade after the China Securities Journal reported the economy may lose momentum more than expected later this year. [ID:nTOE66E019]

It temporarily pared losses following the release of Chinese official data but soon started to ease again on the selling by model-based funds, traders said.

“The data has attracted much attention but at the end of the day it wasn’t far from market expectations. It showed the Chinese economy is slowing down, but that’s what markets have been looking for,” said Hideaki Inoue, manager of foreign exchange at Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp.

The Australian dollar stood at $0.8772 AUD=D4, down 0.7 percent on the day. It hit a two-month high of $0.8871 on Wednesday.

It also dropped 1 percent to 77.28 yen AUDJPY=R.

The euro erased its losses to change hands at $1.2722 EUR=, not far from its two-month high of $1.2778 hit on Wednesday as traders bought back the currency. Long dogged by worries over euro zone debt problems the euro tends to benefit from rising risk appetite.

China’s economic growth slowed to 10.3 percent in the second quarter from 11.9 percent in the first quarter in response to the fading effect of government fiscal and monetary stimulus as well as a high base of comparison a year earlier. [ID:nTOE66D060]

With Chinese data out of the way, the market’s focus is likely to shift back to the strength of the U.S. economy, traders said.

Investors will look to a raft of U.S. data due later in the day, including industrial output, jobless claims and regional business activity, for clues to the health of the world’s biggest economy. [ECI/US]

“U.S. data will be a very important market-moving factor today, especially after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting fanned speculation of further policy easing,” said Hideki Hayashi, a global economist at Mizuho Securities.

Fed officials slightly revised down their outlook for economic growth in the second half of the year, while minutes from the central bank’s June 22-23 meeting said the officials would need to consider whether “further policy stimulus might become appropriate if the outlook were to worsen appreciably”. [ID:nWALEIE6D2]

The Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that U.S. retailers’ June sales declined 0.5 percent — more than twice the 0.2 percent drop forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

That sapped some of the optimism triggered by strong U.S. corporate earnings being released this week, leaving the U.S. dollar near a two-month low on a basket of currencies.

The dollar index .DXY stood at 83.344, down 0.1 percent on the day and not far from a two-month low of 83.205 hit on Wednesday.

The index is holding just above support at around 83.15, a 38.2 percent retracement of its rise from a low of 74.17 in November 2009 to a high of 88.59 on June 8.

Against the yen, the dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 88.13 yen JPY=.

Charts looked increasingly bearish for the dollar after the greenback failed the previous day to rise above 89.23 yen — a 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the dollar’s fall from its June high of 92.68 yen to a July 1 low of 86.96 yen, traders said.

The Bank of Japan said on Thursday it expected the economy to grow at its fastest pace in a decade in the year to March 2011, but said the euro zone debt crisis could pose a risk to the outlook.

The central bank kept interest rates unchanged at 0.1 percent, as widely expected. [ID:nTOE66E03G]

Sterling was little moved on the day at $1.5266 GBP=D4, staying near a 10-week high of $1.5298 hit the previous day. Better-than-expected British employment data released on Wednesday added to speculation that the Bank of England may have to start considering raising interest rates. [ID:nLDE66D0NP] (Additional reporting by Anirban Nag and FX analyst Krishna Kumar in Sydney and Hideyuki Sano and Masayuki Kitano in Tokyo; Editing by Joseph Radford)

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European shares rise in early trade; banks gain

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 9 (Reuters) – European shares rose in early trade on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, which was boosted by jobless claims falling and a handful of large retailers reporting solid sales.

At 0706 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,021.19 points, after rising 5.1 percent in the previous three sessions.

“We’ve had better information this week, such as German exports, offsetting some of the worries about China slowing down. China will slow down, but it’s not going to stop,” said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management. In a broad rally, the heavyweight banking sector was among the gainers, with the STOXX Europe 600 banking index .SX7P up 0.7 percent. The index is up more than 9 percent this week, on optimism that banks will pass stress tests, and after State Street (STT.N) said its earnings would beat forecasts.

Gainers included BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), BBVA (BBVA.MC) and Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), up between 1 and 1.4 percent. (Reporting by Brian Gorman)

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TREASURIES-Fall in Asia, eyes on economic data

June 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 14 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasuries fell in Asia on Monday giving up some of the gains they made late last week, as regional stocks rose, curbing the safe-haven appeal of debt.

Bonds

* But losses were limited with many investors looking to this week’s economic data, including producer and consumer price numbers, for more clues on the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.

* Treasuries climbed on Friday after a surprise drop in May retail sales raised doubts about the vigour of the recovery and revived the safety bid for government bonds.

* “Given recent remarks from Bernanke on the jobless rate, the market feels that the chance of a Fed rate hike in the coming months is very slim,” said Yoshio Takahashi, a fixed-income strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.

“Compared to March, the market has become more sensitive to factors that would push yields lower.”

* Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week the U.S. economy was on a solid footing but cautioned it could be years before jobs lost during the deep recession of 2008-2009 are restored. His emphasis on the struggles of the U.S. jobs market suggested the central bank was in no rush to raise interest rates. [ID:nN09158380]

* Economists forecast the May Producer Price Index numbers due on Wednesday and the May Consumer Price Index figures on Thursday to show little inflationary pressure. [ECI/US] Subdued price pressures would reinforce market view for a delayed Fed rate increase.

* Other key data to watch this week includes housing starts, industrial production and capacity utilization on Wednesday, as well as jobless claims on Thursday.

* If they reassure investors that the economy is not on the verge of a double-dip recession, that would work to the advantage of the stock market and to the disadvantage of bonds, other analysts said.

* T-note futures fell 11.5/32 to 120-9.5/32 TYv1. Benchmark 10-year notes dropped 6/32 in price to yield 3.266 percent US10YT=RR, up 2 basis points from New York trade on Friday. But the 10-year yield has stood around the middle of a 3.00 to 3.50 percent trading range since late May when fear of Europe’s debt crisis spurred safety demand for Treasuries.

* Two-year notes edged down 1/32 in price to yield 0.767 percent US2YT=RR, up 3 basis points. Thirty-year bonds dipped 7/32 in price to yield 4.170 percent US30YT=RR, up about a basis points.

* St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks on “The Global Recovery and Monetary Policy” and participates in a panel discussion hosted by the Institute of Regulation and Risk North Asia from 0915 GMT in Tokyo. (Editing by Joseph Radford)

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U.S. jobless claims fell 10,000 last week

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 3 (Reuters) – The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell as expected last week, government data showed on Thursday, but the number of people still receiving benefits unexpectedly rose to its highest level in nearly two months.

Global Markets

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 453,000 in the week ended May 29, the Labor Department said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected claims to fall to 450,000 from the previously reported 460,000, which was slightly revised up to 463,000 in Thursday’s report.

The four-week moving average of new claims, considered a better measure of underlying labor market trends, rose 1,750 to 459,000.

A Labor Department official said there were no special factors affecting the report. The claims data has no impact on the government’s closely watched employment report for May due on Friday as it falls outside the survey period.

Nonfarm payrolls probably increased 513,000 last month, buoyed by hiring for the decennial census, after a 290,000 increase in April, according to a Reuters survey. That would mark five straight months of job gains.

Although the economy has now grown for three straight quarters following the worst downturn since the 1930s and the recovery is broadening, stubbornly high unemployment is eroding President Barack Obama’s popularity.

It threatens to damage the Democrats at the midterm congressional elections in November.

While other indicators support views the labor market recovery is firming, claims for jobless benefits remain above levels usually associated with sustainable employment growth.

The number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid unexpectedly rose 31,000 to 4.67 million in the week ended May 22, the highest since early April, the Labor Department said. The level was above market expectations for 4.60 million.

The insured unemployment rate, which measures the percentage of the insured labor force that is jobless, was unchanged at 3.6 percent for a seventh straight week. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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Irish May jobless claims rise 6,600 to 439,100

June 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 2 (Reuters) – The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Ireland rose by 6,600 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis to 439,100, data showed on Wednesday.

The Central Statistics Office said May’s estimated unemployment rate was 13.7 percent, up from 13.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the last period for which final data is available.

(Reporting by Dublin newsroom; editing by Patrick Graham)

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Asian shares rise on upbeat U.S. data, autos gain

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Asian shares rose on Friday, with South Korean stocks hitting a 21-month high, as upbeat U.S. manufacturing data and jobless claims boosted hopes for a sustainable economic recovery.

South Korea

The dollar edged up to a seven-month high against the yen above 94.06 yen.

But trade was light, with many investors in the region as well as in Europe and the United States away for the Good Friday holiday, and gains were limited by caution ahead of more U.S. job data later in the day.

Japan’s Nikkei average hit an 18-month peak for the fourth straight day, getting a boost from a rise in tech shares and automakers such as Honda Motor (7267.T) and Toyota Motor (7203.T) following a jump in U.S. auto sales in March.

Shares of Japanese exporters drew additional support from the yen’s fall this week to a seven-month low against the dollar, while expectations for stronger Japanese earnings — which kick off next week with retailers — buoyed the overall market.

But analysts said that signs of overheating could leave the market vulnerable to profit-taking should the U.S. nonfarm payroll report disappoint.

“There’s quite a bit of caution about the U.S. jobs data and given that the market’s a bit overheated, it’s really poised for profit-taking,” said Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management.

“But many recent worrying factors overseas have been cleared up, such as Greece, and markets are responding favorably.”

An index of U.S. manufacturing activity in March rose to its highest level in over 5- years, the Institute for Supply Management said on Thursday, while a U.S. Labor Department report showed initial weekly claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected.

Data later on Friday is expected to show U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew for only the second time since the economy fell into recession in late 2007.

A good payroll number would bolster hopes that the world’s largest economy has now recovered enough to grow on its own without massive government support.

The Nikkei .N225 closed up 0.4 percent at 11,286.09, an 18-month closing high, and briefly rose to 11,313.98, just above a 38.2 percent retracement of a sell-off from its 2007 peak to its 2008 trough.

Honda and Toyota each rose more than 1 percent on news that U.S. auto sales jumped to a seven-month high last month.

The MSCI’s broad measure of shares in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan edged up 0.1 percent .MIAPJ0000PUS, paring gains after hitting its highest level in nearly three months at one point.

South Korea’s KOSPI touched a high of 1,725.39, its loftiest level since late June 2008, as Hyundai Motor jumped 5.8 percent and Samsung Electronics rose 1.4 percent. The index later pared its gains to 0.3 percent.

BATTERED YEN

The yen has been hurt by market expectations that the Bank of Japan will hold off on raising interest rates for the next year or two in a bid to spur the stubbornly weak economy.

By contrast, U.S. primary dealers see a better than even chance of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates late in 2010, a factor that has helped support the dollar this year.

Also weighing on the yen was talk that Japanese investors may move funds into higher-yielding currencies abroad for returns now that the new fiscal year has started.

“A recovery in the investment environment, given strong stocks and commodity prices and overall stability in financial markets, helps expectations for Japanese investors to show appetite for overseas assets,” said Kazuyuki Kato, treasury department manager at Mizuho Trust & Banking.

The euro dipped 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.3560 and edged up 0.1 against the Swiss franc at 1.4313 francs.

On Thursday, the euro posted its biggest one-day rise against the franc in nine months amid talk of intervention by the Swiss National Bank. The Swiss central bank declined to comment on the franc’s price action.

South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities were spotted buying dollars to curb the won’s strength on Friday.

Japanese government bonds dipped as investors took profits following the previous day’s rally.

June 10-year JGB futures rose 0.03 to 138.72 after posting their biggest one-day gain in four months the previous day, when JGB investors began Japan’s new financial year by scooping up debt.

Ten-year U.S. Treasuries rose around 2/32 in price with a yield around 3.872 percent, down about a basis point from late U.S. trade on Thursday and staying below a nine-month high of 3.92 percent hit last week.

U.S. stock markets will be closed on Friday, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is recommending an early Treasuries market close at 1600 GMT.

(Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitno, Kaori Kaneko, Shinichi Saoshiro, Satomi Noguchi in Tokyo and Jungyoun Park in Seoul

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

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UPDATE 1-Wall St Week Ahead: Dow eyes 11,000 as jobs data looms

March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Updates column sent late Friday with ECB vice president’s comments over weekend plus S&P 500′s gain since March 2009 closing low)

Stocks

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) – The Dow industrials could hit 11,000 this week as investors bet the U.S. labor market had a significant turnaround in March, showing the economic recovery is in good shape.

The Dow and the S&P 500 are at their highest in nearly 18 months and the expected repositioning before Wednesday’s end of the quarter could provide further support. With the Dow closing at 10,850.36 on Friday, it would need to rise 1.4 percent — a tad less than 150 points — to reach 11,000.

But with benchmark U.S. Treasury yields approaching 4 percent, investors may prefer the relative safety of U.S. debt instead of continuing to throw money at a stock market that has risen steeply for more than a year.

Economists expect data on Friday to show the economy created about 190,000 jobs in March, but stock investors will have to be brave enough to bet on that confirmation ahead of the data, since the market will be closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Wednesday’s private-sector jobs data and Thursday’s jobless claims could support those willing to step out on a limb.

“Obviously, the jobs number is the most important thing” this week, said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, in New York.

“You are going to get this delayed reaction (the following) Monday, unless the claims numbers are just so terrific, that you get some pre-buying ahead of Friday.”

Stocks closed higher for a fourth straight week, around levels not seen since September 2008, as recent uncertainty stemming from fiscal problems in some European countries and the healthcare overhaul receded.

A European Union agreement on a safety net for Greece restored investor confidence, but that net could prove small if fiscal burdens bog down other EU members like Portugal, whose debt rating was cut on Wednesday by Fitch.

“Clearly, there is the potential for there to be fiscal issues with other countries in Europe, but the Europeans have now set a precedent that they intend to backstop any negative fiscal situations,” said Ken Farsalas, portfolio manager at Oberweis Asset Management in Lisle, Illinois.

Over the weekend, Lucas Papademos, the vice president of the European Central Bank, told Reuters on Saturday the EU’s latest agreement on Greece should ease concerns about a sovereign debt crisis in Europe. For details, see [ID:nN27211926]

Sentiment, nonetheless, remains downbeat. Friday’s stock market sell-off followed news that a South Korean naval ship had sunk, suggesting risk takers are ready to sell on any troublesome news — and ask questions later.

Main indexes closed flat on Friday. For details see [.N].

But for the week, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 1 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX gained 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC advanced 0.9 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 72.4 percent from its March 2009 closing low.

CURIOUS CASE OF THE RISING YIELD

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield brushed 4 percent last week, foreshadowing a possible roadblock for stock bulls.

Three government debt auctions last week had “mediocre, at best” results and rising yields “at some point, become an obstacle for equities,” said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.

Yielding 4 percent and with the relative safety of U.S. government debt, Treasuries could entice investor money that would otherwise keep pumping into stocks.

Rising yields also lead to higher borrowing costs.

“It becomes worrisome with a fragile economy that’s trying to gain traction and momentum,” Krosby said.

Investors will have plenty of data points to gauge that momentum in the coming holiday-shortened week.

The consumer’s strength will be measured by February income and spending data on Monday and March consumer confidence, on Tuesday.

Personal income is forecast to rise 0.1 percent, mirroring the previous month’s gain, while the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index is seen rising to 50 in March from 46 in February, according to economists polled by Reuters.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home prices index for January, due on Tuesday, is expected to show house prices fell 0.7 percent year-over-year, much slower than 3.1 percent recorded in December.

Construction spending in February, due on Thursday, is seen dropping 1 percent.

On the labor market front, Friday’s widely followed non-farm payrolls report is expected to show 190,000 jobs created in March. But the U.S. unemployment rate is seen unchanged at 9.7 percent.

Payrolls data follows the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday, with economists expecting the private sector created 40,000 jobs in March, and Thursday’s data on initial jobless claims, predicted to dip to 440,000 last week from 442,000 previously.

Rounding out the week’s economic data, the Chicago PMI on Wednesday is seen at 61 in March, down from February’s 62.6.

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index, due on Thursday, is expected to show U.S. factory activity continued to expand, with a March reading of 56.8, up from 56.5 in February. March domestic car and truck sales are also expected on Thursday.

QUARTER’S END MAY SPUR MORE GAINS

Volume could also tick higher this week, which would be a welcome shift from the anemic volume dogging stocks the past few weeks.

With the quarter’s end on Wednesday, some managers will reposition portfolios by selling laggard stocks and switching to stronger names.

If stocks benefit further from this window dressing, backed by expectations of strong data points, the three major U.S. stock indexes could be on track for a fifth straight week of gains. That would be a streak not seen since the six weeks that followed the bottoming of the market just over a year ago. (The Wall St Week Ahead column appears every Sunday. Comments or questions on this one can be e-mailed to rodrigo.campos@thomsonreuters.com) (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr and Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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Yen slips on short-term bets, Citi eyed

April 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

TOKYO (Reuters) – The yen slipped against the dollar and other majors on Friday as short-term traders pushed it down, but uncertainty about economic recovery prospects left the market struggling for momentum as it also awaited results from Citigroup (C.N).

The yen had risen against the greenback and commodity currencies on Thursday after China’s 6.1 percent economic growth rate disappointed many who had bet on a faster pace.

But it failed to maintain the gains into Friday, prompting short-term speculators to push the dollar up instead, triggering dollar buy orders at higher levels and taking the likes of the Australian and New Zealand dollar up with it.

Analysts said investors remain cautious of holding positions for very long, given uncertainty about the prospects for economic recovery in the United States and other big economies, which was reinforced by mixed U.S. data on jobless claims and housing starts on Thursday. As a result day-to-day trading was choppy.

“It is speculators and intraday trading which are running the market action,” said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney.

“But if you take a step back, we are in a very wide range overall with a very modest bias toward risk appetite on a one-month timeframe.”

The dollar, which has climbed gradually against the yen since hitting a 13-year low in January, rose 0.3 percent to 99.65 yen on Friday, after breaching support from its 200-day moving average at 98.88 on Thursday but then not staying below it.

“The dollar/yen temporarily went lower than that level but failed to close below it – this one reason why the yen’s appreciation didn’t continue,” said Toru Umemoto, chief FX strategist Japan at Barclays Capital.

With trading short-term and chart-based, the Australian dollar rose 0.3 percent to 71.80 yen and edged up 0.1 percent to $0.7203 after sliding 1 percent on Thursday.

The euro firmed 0.1 percent to 131.05 yen but slipped 0.3 percent to $1.3149.

Wall Street closed higher, with better-than-expected JP Morgan (JPM.N) results adding to hopes of bank sector stabilization but the currency market was waiting to see earnings from Citigroup expected later in the day. .N

U.S. housing starts and building permits both fell in March while continued claims for jobless benefits rose to a record high in early April as the recession bit and added to the gloom.

But Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the U.S. recession should end by mid-year, with growth slowly picking up in the following months.

(Editing by Kazunori Takada)

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G20 musters $1.1 trillion to fight global crisis

April 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

World leaders set out a $1.1 trillion package to help revive the global economy on Thursday, as a U.S. accounting standards board gave more flexibility to banks carrying the toxic assets that poisoned the international financial system.

G20 leaders meeting in London also moved to tighten rules on tax havens, hedge funds and credit rating agencies, aiming to ward off future crises, and U.S. President Barack Obama declared the summit a “turning point” for the world.

Stock markets, which had been disappointed by a smaller-than-expected interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and a sharp jump in U.S. jobless claims, surged on the news out of London promising help to struggling national economies and out of Washington offering relief to banks that have been forced to write down billions of dollars.

On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.8 percent. The index of top European shares gained nearly 5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei gained 4.4 percent. Oil rose nearly 9 percent to top $52 a barrel.

The Group of 20 leaders from the world’s biggest economies said in a communique that measures agreed in London will raise world output by 4 percent by the end of next year.

The agreements include a promise to triple the resources of the International Monetary Fund to $750 billion, with $40 billion coming from China — a significant step for the world’s third-largest economy.

A package worth $250 billion over two years will support global trade flows.

The G20 also agreed to create a financial stability board to provide early warning of systemic economic risks. It agreed to place hedge funds under supervision for the first time.

“Today’s agreement begins to crack down on the cowboys in financial markets that have brought global markets undone,” Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said.

Some economists said the new IMF funds masked the fact that there was no agreement for more fiscal stimulus actions by individual countries, something the United States, UK and Japan wanted but France and Germany strongly resisted.

In the United States, the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to give banks more flexibility in valuing toxic assets. The changes, to take effect in the second quarter, could reduce writedowns and soften blows to bank earnings.

But the news on the unemployment front continued to worsen.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose to their highest level in more than 26 years last week.

Data released in Spain showed the number of people claiming jobless benefits climbed steeply in March and at a much higher rate than larger European economies. Euro zone unemployment jumped more than expected in February to 8.5 percent.

As the ranks of the unemployed grow, so too do their debt loads.

A report by the American Bankers Association, which represents most large U.S. banks and credit card companies, said the percentage of consumer loans at least 30 days late rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.22 percent in the October-to-December period from 2.9 percent in the prior quarter.

Two key industries offered glimmers of hope.

Shares of major carmakers rallied after sales in the United States and Europe in March were better than expected, encouraging hopes that the global auto market collapse could be nearing an end. Car sales in Germany jumped 40 percent in March.

In Britain, where the property market is a key component of consumer confidence, data from home loan company Nationwide reported that house prices rose in March for the first time since October 2007, although the lender cautioned against jumping to conclusions about a housing market rebound.

In Washington, the former chief executive of American International Group — and creator of the unit that led to its downfall — came under fire from U.S. lawmakers who questioned his claim that he knew of no losses from the products initiated during his tenure.

Maurice Greenberg, forced out by AIG’s board in 2005 after refusing to cooperate with an internal investigation, denied responsibility for the firm’s near-collapse. “When I left the company, it was healthy,” he said.

The European Central Bank cut its main financing rate by half the expected 50 basis points to 1.25 percent. But investors shrugged off their disappointment, with some betting more cuts are on the way.

(Additional reporting by Marc Jones in FRANKFURT, Kevin Plumberg in HONG KONG, Poornima Gupta and Soyoung Kim in Detroit, Wayne Cole in SYDNEY and Reuters bureaux around the world)

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Wall St rises on G20 optimism

April 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

U.S. stocks rose at the open on Thursday on optimism G20 leaders meeting in London will agree on ways to temper the global economic crisis.

* FASB says new mark-to-market guidance effective in Q2

* KBW banks index rises 4.7 percent

* Jobless claims higher than expected

* The Dow Jones industrial average gained 165.43 points, or 2.13 percent, to 7,927.03. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index added 17.64 points, or 2.17 percent, to 828.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 27.14 points, or 1.75 percent, to 1,578.74.

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