European stocks were steady on Thursday having bounced off the 2-month low with retailers and technology firms being the bottom performers. The FTSEurofirst index fell 0.3 to 1,430 having lost already 6% since the start of the month after the too moderate easing from ECB. Glencore advanced 8% on the news the company is planning to cut its costs and debts. The France’s utility EDF advanced 6% on its upgraded forecast of the 2015 earnings. As for chemicals, Syngenta stocks rose 5% on the rumours it may merger with Dow Chemical and DuPont. Meanwhile, chipmaker Ams AG tumbled more than 20% on the news it lost some business Apple Corp. No important macroeconomic data is expected today in EU.
Japanese Nikkei rose 0.97% to 19230.48 snapping a three-day losing streak on overnight Wall Street gains and cheaper yen. The index lost 1.4% in a week due to the falling energy shares amid slumping oil prices. The USD JPY pair increased 0.4% to 122.06 a yen. In China, the Shanghai index lost 0.7%. Experts believe the US interest rate hike will provoke the money outflow from the Asian markets.
Oil is extending losses hitting and hovering near sever-year lows on concerns about the global supply glut and weak demand. The data on the reduced US stockpiles failed to support the commodities markets. Brent crude oil prices fell 1.5% to $39.52 a barrel while WTI fell 1.1% to $36.76.
Spot gold prices slid 0.14% to $1,071.30 an ounce and continue looking down as US dollar gains ground ahead of the Fed meeting next week. As investors widely believe in interest the looming interest rates hike, the gold edges lower being the non-interest-paying asset. Moreover, slumping oil triggers some fear of deflation which is a bearish factor for gold often used to hedge against inflation. Silver lost 0.3% to $14.10 an ounce while platinum lost 0.1% to $855.95 an ounce.
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