The first eurozone composite Purchasing Manager’s Index reading for February came in at 52.7, falling short of the 53.1 that economists had called for. However, the services component of the index has improved by-and-large in most countries over the past few months and the latest reading (51.7 versus forecast of 51.9) is consistent with that, said Gilles Moec, European co-Chief …
Bulls Show Signs Of Life, Finally
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] U.S. equity index ETFs finally snapped their six-day losing streak to finish higher, thanks to some encouraging reads on manufacturing in the U.S., China and Europe, despite a lackluster weekly jobless claims figure and a halt in trading on the Nasdaq. The second-largest U.S. stock exchange ceased trading on all securities, remaining dormant for three hours …
One Man’s Opinion: Will Draghi Announce Any Stimulus In Next Week’s ECB Meeting?
The bond yields of Spain and Italy have come down drastically and both are well below 5 percent now, a very stable level that can tide those countries over as they continue to try to raise money at reasonable rates, observed Kathleen Brooks of Forex.com. Regarding the euro, Draghi has been incredibly clever with what he has done. They don’t …
Profit-Taking Pulls Stocks Down Despite Upbeat Data
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] Wall Street backed off record highs despite a jump in U.S. new home sales to the highest level in five years and an unexpected expansion for Eurozone manufacturing activity. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index suffered its first-two day drop in a month, as losses in utility and commodity shares more than offset gains in the …