Global markets end lower; VIX rises 1%
The US equity markets saw marginal decline amid low volumes on Tuesday, ahead of central bankers' meet at Jackson Hole on Friday.
August 29, 2012 / 09:04 IST
By Gautam Broker, Research Analyst at CNBC-TV18
The US equity markets saw marginal decline amid low volumes on Tuesday, ahead of central bankers' meet at Jackson Hole on Friday.European Central Bank chairman Mario Draghi is not to attend meet at Jackson Hole as he is too busy ahead of ECB meet that is scheduled for September 6.US data was mixed; Consumer confidence surprised negatively, which was at 9-month low.Consumer confidence for August was down at 60.6 as against expectation of 66 and 65.4 in previous month, which is an early indicator of fall in property marketBut Case Shiller Home Price Index for June was better than expected at 0.9% as against expectation of 0.4%. Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for August was at minus 9 as against minus 17 in previous month. Spain dominated headlines in Europe:Spain's GDP stood at minus 0.4% in second quarter as against minus 0.3% in first quarter.Catalonia was in focus again, which says it needs euro 5 billion emergency credit line from the Spanish central government.Spanish PM after meeting with EU council chief says he’s yet to decide on asking for aid on sovereign.He says he needs to see the modalities, conditions before making a decision (which is expected from ECB on September 6).Spain T-bill auction was not too worrying though; yield on 3-6-month paper was at below 1% in August as against 2-2.5% in previous month.US markets at close: Dow Jones declined 0.2% to 13,103 and S&P 500 Index was down 0.1% to 1,409.3. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%.US volume was the second lightest this year. Volatility Index rose 1% to 16.5.European markets at close: DAX lost 0.6% and CAC fell 0.9% while FTSE was flat. Spain went down 0.9% and Italy slipped 0.1%CurrenciesEuro hit a high of 1.257 to the US dollar yesterday as against 1.247 levels earlier in the day.Short covering was also seen holding up Euro yesterday. Euro was down mildly on Catalonia/ Spain concerns, which is currently at 1.255 to the US dollar.Dollar Index saw 2-month low at 81.2 yesterday, but was up marginally at 81.4 now.Commodities CRB Index gained 0.3%, supported by crude.Brent crude rose 0.3% to USD 112.5 a barrel and WTI crude went up 1% to USD 96.3 a barrel.Storm Isaac hit Gulf coast yesterday, which has been progressing at a slow pace now.Gold was up 0.2% yesterday at USD 1667 an ounce, which fell 0.1% today morning.LME Copper declined 0.4% yesterday, which was down 0.2% today.Sugar rebounded with 3% gains yesterday after hitting over 2-month low on Monday.What to watch out forFrench Biz confidenceGerman CPI US Q2 GDP US Personal Consumption US Mortgage Applications US Pending Home SalesFed Beige Book Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
