* Oil trades near strongest levels since mid-2015* Media, retail stocks rise after positive broker recommendations* Casino stocks hit by downbeat December gambling revenue* Indexes up: Dow 0.2 pct, S&P 0.62 pct, Nasdaq 1.2 pct (Updates to early afternoon)By Sruthi ShankarJan 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major indexes were higher on the first trading session of 2018 on Tuesday, driven by gains i...Read More
• Broad-based USD weakness underpins. • Risk-off mood provides an additional boost. • Recovering US bond yields fail to cap gains. Gold was seen building on its bullish momentum further beyond the $1300 handle and rose to fresh three-month highs during the mid-European session. The precious metal began 2018 on a firmer not...Read More
By Liz HamptonHOUSTON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Weatherford International Plc fell more than 17 percent on Tuesday after the oilfield services companyabandoned a proposed joint venture with Schlumberger and instead sold its hydraulic fracturing business to Schlumberger, a bigger rival.The deal with Schlumberger, worth $430 million, gave Weatherford roughly $100 million less than originally anti...Read More
2018 has just begun. What will a new year bring for the gold market?Macroeconomic outlook will remain unpleasantThe current economic expansion is surprisingly durable, as it has already lasted more than 100 months. It worries many investors who are afraid of the upcoming recessions. Surely, there are many reasons to worry, and the recession will eventually come. But we are not at this point yet. T...Read More
SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) had a rip-roaring end to 2017, tacking on 78% in December, and touching an all-time high of $173.36 on Dec. 8. It appears the momentum might spill over into 2018, with the drug stock sending up a signal to buy short-term options right now.While SAGE stock vaulted up the charts, its short-term options prices remained in the proverbial basement. The equity's Sch...Read More
The European Union has taken over the chairmanship of the Kimberley Process for 2018, a decade after it last directed the initiative. Federica Mogherini, who is an Italian politician and the High Representative of the bloc for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will be heading the operation. Kimberley is a process started in 2003 following the United Nations General Assembly's Resolution 55/56....Read More
Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage(Kitco News) - It was a tale of two markets for gold in 2017, as prices made their biggest gains since 2010, but U.S. Mint coin sales were the weakest in a decade.The U.S. Mint said that sales of American Eagle gold and silver coins were the lowest since 2007 and American Buffalo coins had the worst year on record.The majority of analysts b...Read More
LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Yields on benchmark British gilts rose by the most in over six months on Tuesday as investors sold European government bonds after an ECB official said its bond-buying might not be extended and data showed strong economic growth in the euro zone.The yield on 10-year British gilts touched a high of 1.290 percent, their highest since Dec. 8, before closing at 1.289 percent,...Read More
* LME/ShFE arb: * LME zinc stocks down 70 percent since Sept. 2015* Cash to threes zinc backwardation highest since Nov. 30 (Adds closing prices)By Pratima DesaiLONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Zinc scaled 10-year peaks on Tuesday as the market focused on looming deficits due to falling supplies, but gains were capped as prices are at levels which are likely to encourage investment in new output.Benchmar...Read More
U.S. stocks are broadly higher halfway through the first trading day of 2018. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has pared much of its triple-digit lead, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are holding their early gains as tech and energy stocks outperform. Adding to the risk-on bias is the Markit purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI) for December, which revealed...Read More
(Updates prices)By Jemima KellyLONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Sterling kicked off the first trading day of 2018 by climbing to a three-month high close to $1.36 on Tuesday, with investors brushing off weaker-than-expected manufacturing data to focus on upcoming Brexit talks. The pound, which in 2017 recorded its best annual performance against the dollar since 2009 with an almost 10 percent rise, adde...Read More
NEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold a record $48 billion of three-month bills at an interest rate of 1.435 percent, which was not far below the highest since Sept. 2008 set the previous week, Treasury data showed.The ratio of bids to the amount of three-month T-bills offered was 3.08, the highest in a month. This gauge of overall auction demand was 2.71 at the...Read More
* U.S. stocks open higher, boosting global shares* Euro, sterling gain while dollar drops* Asia shares ex-Japan cheered by upbeat China data (Updates to U.S. trading open; changes byline, dateline, previously LONDON)By Stephanie KellyNEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Global share markets received a boost from strong gains in U.S. equities and surprisingly upbeat Chinese manufacturing data on Tuesday, th...Read More
BRASILIA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Brazil posted a record $67 billion trade surplus in 2017, a 41 percent increase from the year before, data from the trade ministry showed on Tuesday.The December trade surplus came in at $4.998 billion, higher than the $4.061 billion median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are tho...Read More
(In fifth paragraph, corrects reference to "this year" to "last year")* New rules aim to apply lessons from financial crisis* Regulators aim to spot risks, boost investor protection* S&P sees more losers than winners from profound change By Huw JonesLONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Bankers will work through the night to iron out last minute hitches before Wednesday's launch of a...Read More
Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage(Kitco News) - SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE Arca: GLD), the world’s largestgold-backed exchange-traded fund, posted a modest inflow of roughly 15 metrictons during 2017.The figure might look better than it is since the inflow camefrom a low level of overall holdings, pointed out Ryan McKay, commoditystrategist with TD Securities. However, h...Read More
* Oil trades near strongest levels since mid-2015* Casino stocks hit by downbeat Dec. gambling revenue* Walt Disney, Netflix gain after upgrade* Indexes up: Dow 0.25 pct, S&P 0.63 pct, Nasdaq 1.16 pct (Changes comment, updates prices, adds details)By Sruthi ShankarJan 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major indexes were higher on the first trading session of the year on Tuesday, driven by technology...Read More
Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) closed out 2017 with a bang, surging 22.3% year-over-year and hitting a record high of $81.48 on Friday, Dec. 29. The retail stock is continuing this momentum into the new year -- last seen trading up 0.7% at $80.80, after Citigroup raised its price target to $85 from $72 and Nomura said the company will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the GOP tax o...Read More
* Dollar pressured by doubts about Fed rate hike outlook* Euro rises as ECB seen normalizing rate policy* MiFID II introduction weighs on volumes (New throughout, updates prices, market activity, comments and table; new byline, changes dateline; previous LONDON)By Gertrude Chavez-DreyfussNEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The dollar sank on Tuesday to its lowest in more than three months, weighed down on...Read More
By Bruno FederowskiSAO PAULO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Latin American markets started 2018 on Tuesday on a strong footing as solid global economic growth data drove investors to unwind year-end hedges.China's Caixin index of Chinese industry rose to a four-month high of 51.5 in December, confounding forecasts for a decline.The reading pointed to resilience for the world's largest consumer of commodities...Read More