Stock Market Update - Friday, September 17, 2010 Uptrend Outlook

Stock Market Update
Friday, September 17, 2010


Latest News Headlines:

Dow Jones..10,607....+13.02
S&P 500...........1,125....+.93
Nasdaq.........2,315....+12.36

U.S. stocks closed out a week of modest gains. Treasurys up as the latest data raise worries about deflation and the health of the economy.

Buyback activity among S&P 500 companies has soared to $77.6 billion this year. Analysts say buyback plans are near the bottom of the list of ways shareholders want companies to spend their money.

Euro falls against the dollar as fresh concerns surface over the euro zone's sovereign-debt crisis. Gold futures remain near record highs. Oil falls below $74/bbl as consumer sentiment falls to lowest level in over a year.

US Stocks Opened Up Then Down in Choppy Trading Day

Investors moved cautiously in trading Friday, buying up safe-haven assets as U.S. stocks. The cautious moves came amid another package of economic data that underscored how slow and uncertain the recovery has been. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was trading flat at 1124. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% to 2312, as technology stocks were lifted by encouraging earnings.

U.S. stocks make small gains and givebacks as a disappointing consumer confidence reading undercuts investors' recent optimism. Tech shares higher after positive earnings from Oracle and Research in Motion. Energy lags. U.S. stocks climbed early Friday morning, led by technology stocks after a pair of encouraging earnings reports boosted hopes for the economically-sensitive sector.

Energy and financial stocks lagged. Leading the declines, Massey Energy fell 7.4% after the company said it expects its 2010 operating results to be at the low end of its prior forecast. The company's chief executive said operations have struggled since April, when a deadly blast occurred at one of its mines.

J.P. Morgan Chase led financial stocks lower, falling 2.3% as the bank continued to struggle with the fallout from problems with its online banking website. Bank of America fell 1.3%, while Morgan Stanley shed 1.2%.

After the Consumer Confidence decline was announced, US Stocks fell and Treasury securities rose after the report. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.1 percent to 1,123.7 at 10:09 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.71 percent from 2.76 percent late yesterday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 39 points, or 0.4%, to 10633 in early trading. Boeing was the measure's best performer, up 0.9% after Russia said it would buy 50 of the company's jets for $3.7 billion and Boeing said it plans to boost further production of its next-generation 737 airplanes.

US Stocks and commodities rose even as investors continued to push safe-haven assets higher. Crude-oil prices rose, while gold futures also moved upwards after touching fresh highs above $1,280 an ounce.


Regulators Close Six US Banks in Four States Friday, Sept. 17, 2010

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) closed six US banks located in; Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia, and New Jersey Friday.

The banks closed by regulators include ISN Bank in Cherry Hill, N.J., Bramble Savings Bank in Milford, Ohio; the Bank of Ellijay in Ellijay, Ga.; First Commerce Community Bank in Douglasville, Ga.; and the Peoples Bank in Winder, Ga.


To see the entire bank failure list and credit unions that have been closed visit:
http://ocnww.blogspot.com/2010/09/bank-failure-list-update-september-1.html



U.S. Consumer Prices Rise

U.S. consumer prices rise in August for second consecutive month, driven by gasoline and food, but underlying inflation was flat. Seasonally-adjusted consumer price index rises by 0.3% from July.


US HOUSEHOLDS NET WORTH FALL 2.8%

Americans, anxious over a slowing economy, kept avoiding debt in 2Q, while their financial value receded as stock market wealth fell. Fed data show U.S. household debt tumbled by 2.3%, while total net worth fell 2.8% to $53.50 trillion.


OIL FUTURES: Crude Settles -91c At $73.66/Bbl

Crude oil futures prices sank for a fourth straight day Friday on continued concerns over near-term oversupply as a major crude oil pipeline from Canada resumed operations.

Enbridge Energy Partners said its crude oil pipeline that can carry 670,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude oil to the U.S. Midwest returned to normal operations Friday after a week-long shutdown to repair a leak. The line the has capacity to handle one-third of U.S. imports of crude from Canada, the U.S. biggest foreign supplier.

Traders said the resumption of the crude flow takes away a key support for prices that have been stuck near the middle of a $70-$80 trading range while U.S. crude oil and petroleum product inventories have climbed to their highest level since January 1983.

Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled down 91 cents, or 1.2%, at $73.66 a barrel. That is the lowest settlement price since Aug. 31. Crude prices shed 3.6% from a week earlier in the biggest decline since the week ended Aug. 13. On the ICE, North Sea Brent crude for November settled down 27 cents at $78.21 a barrel the lowest price in a week.


CORN TOPS $5 ON DOWNSIZED US CROPS

The U.S. corn crop is still likely to be among the highest on record, a series of downward revisions to its crop estimates, and a surprising frost in China hit the tight global grain supplies pushing corn above $5 per bushel.

US CONSUMER CONFIDENCE DROPS

Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly fell in September to a one-year low, a sign Americans will be less inclined to ramp up spending.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment dropped to 66.6 following a reading of 68.9 in August, the group said today. Economists forecast the measure would rise to 70, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

Flagging optimism with unemployment close to a 26-year high of 10.1 percent may increase the risk consumers will cut back on their purchases, which account for 70 percent of the economy.



US OPTION CONTRACTS EXPIRE TODAY

Friday's trading could see more volatility than usual as both single-stock and stock-index futures and options expire in a session known as "quadruple witching" and the S&P 500 undergoes a quarterly re-balance.

Consumer inflation seen flat. Consumer prices remained mostly flat in August, according a government report released Friday.

The US Labor Department said in a report Friday that the seasonally-adjusted consumer price index for August rose by 0.3% from July, in line with economists' expectations. Meanwhile, the underlying inflation rate remained unchanged, while forecasters had predicted a 0.1% rise.


US Consumer Prices Rise 0.3% in August

Consumer prices in the US rose by 0.3% in August, official figures have shown, reflecting a jump in petrol prices. Energy prices helped to push inflation up, with prices in the sector rising 2.3%. The biggest contributor was a 3.9% rise in petrol prices.

Food prices, which had fallen slightly in July, rose by 0.2% in August, the Labor Department said. "Core" inflation - a measure which strips out volatile energy and food prices - was unchanged. Data released by the Commerce Department earlier this week showed that retail sales posted a 0.4% rise in August, the strongest gain in five months.

Treasurys continued to see a rise in interest as concerns arose that Ireland may have to seek external assistance from the International Monetary Fund as it grapples with a budget deficit. Yield on the 10-year note fell to 2.70%. Traditionally, riskier stocks rise when safer assets decline.


US Commercial Real-Estate Delinquencies Up In August

Delinquencies on U.S. commercial real-estate loans, or CREL, packaged into collateralized debt obligations, or CDO, edged up in August as loan resolutions were more than offset by the impact of newly soured debt, Fitch Ratings reported Friday.

Its CREL CDO delinquency rate rose to 12.1% last month from 12% in July. Delinquencies rose in all but one of the 35 CREL CDOs Fitch rates, which encompass about 1,100 loans and 350 rated securities or assets with a balance of $23.8 billion.

August had 17 new delinquent assets reported, while 12 situations involving previously delinquent assets were resolved as lenders extended maturity dates and distressed loans were sold. Disposal of distressed assets led to about $68 million in losses during the month.

Collateral in CREL CDOs typically consists of highly leveraged subordinate debt and/or transitional whole loans. Such debt has become much more difficult to refinance and commercial landlords who have fallen behind on payments have fewer options to sell buildings to repay debt as values have plunged at a time of reduced occupancy rates and rents.


Freddie and Fannie Face High Foreclosure Real Estate Prices Head On
Two years after they were taken over by the federal government, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a new challenge: The mortgage-finance giants are becoming two of the nation's largest home sellers at a time when the housing market shows new signs of softening.


White House Chief of Staff Quits

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel would leave his job in short order if he decided to seek the Chicago mayor's job, a senior administration official says.


US Dollar Under Pressure, Gold Rises To $1,284.40 An Ounce

U.S. Dollar's Near-Term Tipping Point
Foreign exchange markets ended abruptly this week and the reverberations will carry into next week’s trading activity.

The US Dollar is almost at a critical point, as well as the US stock market.

If the dollar has no more room to fall, then equities will fall. If equities break out, then the dollar will fall further. At this time, US trading partners are intervening in their respective currencies while the IMF is supporting the Russian Ruble and Chinese Yuan, China’s yuan posted its biggest advance this week in a little more than two-years.

A faster appreciation of the Chinese yuan by Beijing would be "appropriate," the head of the European Union delegation to the U.S. said Friday.

E.U. Ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida said there is greater potential for collaboration between the U.S. and Europe, particularly within Group of 20 nation negotiations, to press more rapid reform of China's currency to a market-based rate.

Gold rose to fresh highs Friday, in part because a fellow safe-haven asset, the yen, has grown comparatively expensive after the Bank of Japan's intervention this week.

Gold futures remain near record highs set overnight as talk continued about new easy money policies to combat sluggish economic recovery. A weaker dollar buoys gold prices.

The most-actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, was recently up $6, or 0.5%, at $1,279.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It hit a record intraday peak of $1,284.40 in electronic trading overnight.

Silver is now trading at $20.79 an ounce. Gold $1,276.50, Platinum $1,615, Copper at $3.51.



CANADA:

Toronto Stocks Up At Midday
The stock market was slightly higher at midday Friday.

Toronto Indexes, Volume; 3 PM EDT Composite Down 6.36

S&P/TSX Composite 12166.99 off 6.36 or 0.1%
S&P/TSX 60 Index 706.06 off 0.64 or 0.1%
Financials 176.62 off 0.82 or 0.5%
Materials 385.09 off 0.01 or 0.0%
Energy 275.10 off 0.62 or 0.2%
Industrials 103.37 up 0.41 or 0.4%
IT 27.16 up 0.30 or 1.1%

Volume Friday Thursday
2-3 59.2M 58.3M
9:30-3 461.1M 395.4M

Toronto Most Actives At 3:15 PM EDT

Alexis Minerals 15,480,421 0.20 up 0.05
Kinross Gold 15,243,242 18.96 off 0.10
Manulife Financial 11,325,948 12.99 off 0.14
Eastern Platinum 10,725,060 1.38 off 0.07
iShares Cdn S&P/TSX 60 9,809,211 17.78 off 0.05
Horizons NYMEX Natural Gas Bull 7,891,676 4.35 off 0.08
Bombardier Inc. B 7,285,345 4.88 unchanged
Suncor Energy 7,113,315 33.03 off 0.01
Rubicon Minerals 6,717,817 4.02 off 0.23
Research In Motion 6,669,739 48.64 up 0.96


Canada Dollar Ends Moderately Lower Friday

The Canadian dollar ended moderately lower Friday. The U.S. dollar was at C$1.0317 at 3:15 p.m. EDT (1915 GMT), from C$1.0256 at 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) and C$1.0268 late Thursday.

The U.S. dollar dipped as low as C$1.0218 in overnight trading, according to EBS via CQG, but rebounded from that level as investors retreated from riskier assets and currencies. The euro managed to trim some of its losses, but the Canadian dollar remained an under performer, burdened by the decline in crude oil futures.

Scotia's Tihanyi said the U.S. dollar's recovery also reflected market players' tendency to play the recent range in the U.S./Canadian dollar pair, buying the U.S. dollar as it approaches the C$1.0200 in expectations of an imminent rebound. On the top side, resistance in the C$1.0350 remained intact during the session, he added.

There were no significant Canadian data Friday. On Monday, wholesale trade data and international securities data for July will be released. The first important release of the week comes Tuesday, when consumer price index data for August will be reported.

Economists expect that core inflation was at 1.7% at an annual rate in August, up from 1.6% in July. Longer-term, many market watchers see strength in the Canadian dollar.

Currency exchange rates at 3:15 p.m. EDT (1915 GMT), 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), and late Thursday.

USD/CAD 1.0317 1.0256 1.0268
EUR/CAD 1.3449 1.3397 1.3437
CAD/JPY 83.23 83.56 83.56

At 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT), the S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 9.56 points, or 0.08%, at 12182.91. Advances led declines 738 to 553. Trading volume was 293.5 million shares. The S&P/TSX 60 Index was up 0.30 points, or 0.04%, to 707.00.



Toronto Most Actives At 11:15 AM EDT

Kinross Gold 10,970,817 19.18 up 0.12
Manulife Financial 7,361,349 13.15 up 0.02
Bombardier Inc. B 6,359,701 4.87 off 0.01
Eastern Platinum 6,051,242 1.47 up 0.02
Suncor Energy 5,986,889 33.28 up 0.24
Royal Bank of Canada 5,317,300 54.01 off 0.33
Rubicon Minerals 4,942,294 4.06 off 0.19
Research In Motion 4,907,871 48.92 up 1.22
Alexis Minerals 4,760,372 0.18 up 0.02
Barrick Gold 4,573,290 47.56 up 0.44




South American Markets:

BRAZIL:
Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro says increased the amount of additional shares to 20% of the offering, up from 10%, raising as much as $75 billion if the full amount of shares is sold.

China's Chery To Build $400 Mln Factory In Brazil

China's Chery Automobile Co. plans to build a $400 million auto factory in Brazil, the local Estado news agency reported Friday.

Chery will build the factory in Jacarei, about 80 kilometers from the city of Sao Paulo, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by company president Yin Tongyue, Estado reported. The plant will begin operations in 2013, with an initial capacity of 50,000 automobiles a year. Production will eventually ramp up to 150,000 autos, Estado said.

The memorandum was signed with the state of Sao Paulo's investment promotion agency. According to the agency, two more automakers plan to build factories in the state, Estado said.



Brazil Central Bank Offers To Buy US Dollars At BRL1.7165
The real was not greatly influenced by the auction, trading at BRL1.7165 to the dollar shortly before and after the announcement.

The central bank has been holding two auctions per day since Sept. 8 in what markets interpret to be a clear signal that the monetary authority wants to arrest the real's relentless gains against the dollar. The central bank doesn't reveal the volume of dollars purchased at auctions.



MEXICO:

Hurricane Karl Hits Mexico!
Hurricane Karl has made landfall on the southwestern Gulf coast of Mexico about 10 miles (15 kilometers) north of Veracruz, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reports in a 1 p.m. EDT update to its earlier advisory. Karl remains a Category 3 storm, producing winds of 115 miles per hour. A hurricane warning is in effect for the coast of Mexico from Veracruz to Cabo Rojo, and a hurricane watch is in effect north of Cabo Rojo to La Cruz.

Link to hurricane advisory:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCUAT3+shtml/171702.shtml?



Mexico Deactivates Nuclear Plant and Closes Refineries In Path Of Hurricane Karl

Mexico's only nuclear generator was deactivated as Hurricane Karl roared towards Mexico's Gulf coast, Veracruz state governor Fidel Herrera said Friday.

Mexico's main oil export ports were closed Friday as Hurricane Karl bore down on the Gulf state of Veracruz, and state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, shut down some wells along the coast.

Karl reached land as a Category 3 hurricane, prompting warnings of torrential rain and flooding in Veracruz and other states in central Mexico.

Pemex said late Thursday that it had evacuated offshore platforms along the coast where it has some oil and gas production. The precautionary measures included the shutdown of 14 wells, and also steps to secure onshore facilities.

Pemex's main oil producing region, the Campeche Sound, continued working as a less intense Karl brushed past the area earlier in the week after crossing the Yucatan peninsula.



ARGENTINA:

Argentina To Buy Back More Than $2 Billion of Government Debt

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez announced plans to buy back more than $2 billion of government debt whose coupon is tied to the performance of the economy as her administration faces hefty payments on the warrants owing to sizzling economic growth.

The government plans to buy 8.7 billion pesos ($2.2 billion) of the so-called GDP warrants in 2011 and ARS13.5 billion in 2012, according to the 2011 budget proposal submitted to Congress earlier this week. The warrants, which the government issued when it restructured defaulted debt with creditors in 2005 and 2010, pay a premium when Argentina's gross domestic product expands by more than 3% a year.

With the Central Bank of Argentina estimating 8.5% to 9.5% GDP growth this year, the warrants carry the highest yield among Argentine bonds at around 30%, Silver Cloud Advisors chief analyst Javier Salvucci said in a telephone interview.

The government's buyback program will probably be supportive of warrant prices, he added. Argentina's 2035 dollar-denominated GDP warrants were recently 2.4% higher at ARS47.00 in afternoon trading on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange.

The budget proposal forecasts payments of ARS9.2 billion on the warrants in 2011 and ARS10.5 billion in 2012. All told, the government faces total principal and interest payments on public sector debt of ARS148.4 billion in 2011, although much of that is in the hands of public agencies such as the state pension system Anses and will simply be rolled over.

The Fernandez administration also plans to use at least $7.5 billion of central bank reserves for debt payments next year and hopes to return to the international credit markets with the first overseas bond sale since the country's massive default during the 2001-2002 economic meltdown.

The government is looking for an interest rate of under 10% for any new bond issue, but bond yields are hovering at about a half a percentage point above that level now.

The government doesn't need to sell new bonds overseas, but wants to do so "to develop a sovereign debt yield curve to serve as a reference point for both future government bond sales and for the private sector and provinces," according to the budget proposal.

The budget assumes GDP growth of 4.3% and inflation averaging 8.9% in 2011, but those estimates are widely seen as understating both measures.

Private-sector economists expect inflation to run well above 20% next year on the back of heavy government and consumer spending. Opposition lawmakers have accused the government of submitting a lowball GDP estimate in the budget in order use the extra tax revenue generated by higher growth for discretionary spending ahead of general elections in October 2011.




European Markets:
European Factors-Shares seen rebounding, focus on commodities. Euro falls against the dollar as fresh concerns surface over the euro zone's sovereign-debt crisis. Euro hits intraday low against the the US dollar. Euro-zone inflation could experience modest upward pressure due to expectations of firm economic growth, ECB governing council member Ewald Nowotny says.

UNITED KINGDOM:

DJ London Most Actives


Volume Close Change % Change

Lloyds Banking Group 173,176,156 75.340 -0.980 -1.28
Vodafone Grp 162,532,403 160.300 +0.450 +0.28
Ryl Bk Scotland 120,895,979 47.840 -0.600 -1.24
Cable & Wire Wld 116,543,101 78.400 +0.850 +1.10
Kenmare Res. 105,704,348 19.750 -1.500 -7.06
Barclays Bank 86,979,231 304.650 -10.100 -3.21
Polo Resources 69,782,791 3.900 +0.290 +8.03
Cntrll Rand Gld 69,322,327 2.350 +0.220 +10.33
Resolution 60,849,283 247.200 -7.200 -2.83
HSBC 52,587,147 672.700 -2.700 -0.40

Prices in Pence



IRELAND:
Dublin Stocks: ISEQ Ending -2.8% At 2,703; AIB -11%

The International Monetary Fund doesn't see Ireland needing any financial assistance from the institution, a spokeswoman says, after Irish bond yields hit fresh highs on reports that Dublin was considering emergency IMF or EU funding.



RUSSIA:

Russian Ruble Rebounds

The Russian ruble rebounded Friday, propelled by central-bank support after a sharp two-day slide.

The ruble gained 1.2% to 35.23 against a basket of dollars and euros after hitting a seven-month low Thursday. Against the dollar, the currency was little changed, trading slightly weaker at 31.03.

Pressure on the ruble over the last few days may have come from a spike in foreign-currency demand or a large player closing positions, said Vladimir Osakovsky, an economist at Unicredit SpA. There is "room for the ruble to substantially rebound in the short term, as these kinds of technical drivers are largely one-off in nature," he said.

The currency may remain under pressure in the medium term due to Russia's dwindling trade surplus and close to $40 billion in foreign debt due for the remainder of year, he added.

Thursday's 1.2% decline against the basket was diluted somewhat by one of the central bank's "planned interventions" where it sold several hundred million dollars of currency in order to smooth out volatility in the exchange rate, traders said.

"The central bank stepped in at around 35.3 against the basket yesterday. If it hadn't been for them, things would have been much worse," said a dealer at a major foreign investment bank in Moscow.

The central bank may sell foreign currency at the level of RUB35.40 to the basket, in volumes of perhaps $200 million to $300 million a day, traders said.

Sberbank (SBER.RS), which holds about half of Russian ruble deposits, may have contributed to the ruble's slump by trading into dollars to help fund OAO Lukoil Holdings' (LKOH.RS) plans to buy back its own shares held by ConocoPhillips (COP), Prime-Tass reported Friday.



Asian Pacific Markets:

JAPAN:
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan unveiled a new Cabinet Friday, replacing his economy, trade and foreign ministers but retaining Yoshihiko Noda in the key post of finance minister, a step that ensures continuity in foreign exchange policy as Tokyo fights a strong yen that threatens the economy.

Finance Minister Noda said that Japan was ready to again intervene in the exchange market if necessary, signaling the government's resolve to defend the nation's export-led economy despite criticism from abroad.

The remarks suggest that while Tokyo still values international cooperation and will continue trying to get U.S. and European support for its campaign against the yen's strength, it will step into the market anyway if the considers the yen is rising too much or too quickly.

Prime Minister Kan also said that he plans to meet U.S. President Barack Obama at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly in September. Aside from economic issues, the two are likely to discuss the dispute over U.S. bases on the Japanese island of Okinawa, although Kan said he wanted the talks "to be broad" in nature.

Among other Cabinet appointments Friday, Kan's decision to keep Yoshito Sengoku as Chief Cabinet Secretary underscores a steady-as-she-goes course on key policies. Kan also kept Shozaburo Jimi as Financial Services Minister.


Japan's Public Pension Fund In Trouble
Japan's public pension fund is weighing the controversial idea of investing in emerging market economies, as a way to gain higher returns as it faces a tsunami of payout obligations over the next four to five years.

Bank of Japan Faces Little Opposition To Lower Yen
The Bank of Japan may be more successful in its efforts to weaken the yen than many market watchers assume, because the industry muscle to drag the currency back up is weaker than it once was.



CHINA
Hong Kong's trading day is among the shortest of global exchanges, with key European bourses trading for over eight hours and New York and nearby Singapore trading for six and a half hours.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. shopped around a plan Friday to extend its four-hour trading day in a bid to bolster its status as an international financial center.

The proposal to lengthen sessions by up to one and a half hours is aimed at better aligning trading hours in Hong Kong with those in mainland China and improving the exchange's ability to compete with rivals in the region with longer trading hours, the bourse operator said in a paper seeking market views.

Hong Kong Exchanges has proposed shifting the morning session a half hour earlier--opening at 9:30 a.m. and ending at noon. The afternoon session would start at 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m., instead of the current 2:30 p.m., while trading would still end at 4 p.m. This would shorten the lunch break by up to an hour.

The morning sessions for China's Shanghai and Shenzhen securities markets begin at 9:30 a.m. and finish at 11:30 a.m. The afternoon sessions start at 1 p.m. and finish at 3 p.m. in Shanghai and 2:57 p.m. in Shenzhen.


China's Auto Market Edge
Foreign auto makers are concerned about a Beijing plan for electric-vehicle development that could force manufacturers like Ford and Toyota to share cutting-edge technology with Chinese companies in exchange for market access.


World stocks try 3rd week of gains with risk. Nikkei hits 6-week closing high.BSE Sensex posts best weekly gain in 10 months.

World Currencies:

EUR/USD	1.3060	-0.0020 (-0.15%)
USD/JPY	85.7400	-0.0400 (-0.05%)
GBP/USD	1.5627	-0.0013 (-0.08%)
CAD/USD	0.9740	+0.0002 (0.02%)
USD/HKD	7.7660	-0.0003 (0.00%)
USD/CNY	6.7236	-0.0004 (-0.01%)
AUD/USD	0.9405	+0.0050 (0.53%)

World markets Snapshot:

Shanghai	2,598.69	-3.78 (-0.15%)
Nikkei 225	9,626.09	+116.59 (1.23%)
Hang Seng Index	21,970.86	+279.41 (1.29%)
TSEC	8,158.33	+58.58 (0.72%)
FTSE 100	5,543.50	+3.36 (0.06%)
DJ EURO STOXX 50	2,774.67	-9.94 (-0.36%)
CAC 40	3,738.94	+2.64 (0.07%)
S&P TSX	12,173.35	0.00 (0.00%)
S&P/ASX 200	4,638.90	+33.60 (0.73%)
BSE Sensex	19,594.75	+177.26 (0.91%)

US Commodities Summary:

Commodities
Crude Oil	74.79	+ 0.29%
Natural Gas	4.10	+ 0.86%
Gasoline	1.94	+ 0.82%
Heating Oil	2.12	+ 1.06%
Gold	1275.85	+ 0.04%
Silver	20.85	+ 0.34%
Copper	3.53	+ 1.35%
Quotes delayed 15 min.		» Add to your site

Friday's US Economic Calendar:

8:30 a.m.
Aug Real Earnings

8:30 a.m.
Aug CPI (expected +0.3%), CPI Core (expected +0.1%), CPI Core, Unrounded (previous +0.13%), CPI Energy Index (previous +2.6%), CPI Food Index (previous -0.1%), CPI Real Average Weekly Earnings (previous +0.2%), CPI, Unrounded (previous +0.31%)

9:55 a.m.
Sep Thomson Reuters / University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - preliminary Sentiment Index Mid Month (expected 70), Expectations Index Mid Month (previous 64.1), Value (Current Period) Mid Month (previous 78.3)

11:30 a.m.
Federal Gov Tarullo participates in Brookings panel discussion

US Market Summary Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010

Stocks
U.S. stocks edged higher, though the broad Standard & Poor's 500 ended more or less flat, as investors' confidence mounted that the economy would avoid a double-dip recession. "It seems like we priced in too much of a double dip and it's not coming to pass as bad as people anticipated," said Patrick Becker, Jr., principal at Becker Capital Management.

Treasurys
Treasurys fell, hurt by selling related to new corporate and government agency debt supply and as the latest round of U.S. data eased speculation the Federal Reserve may conduct larger-scale purchases in Treasurys. Long-dated maturities extended losses made Wednesday, as Japan's first intervention in the foreign-exchange market in six years spurred many investors to shift money into short-dated notes that are believed to be Japan's favored places to park its dollar proceeds.

Forex
The euro Thursday climbed to its strongest level against the dollar in more than a month on the heels of a well-received auction of Spanish government debt and amid speculation the U.S. will initiate another round of economy-stimulating asset purchases. The dollar, meanwhile, held onto its sharp gains against the yen a day after Japan's massive intervention to strangle the recent strength in its currency. Japan's estimated Y2 trillion intervention has left currency investors cautious, with Japanese officials saying more action could be on the table to stem yen strength.