US markets recover despite rising oil, weak jobs data

By Varinder Bansal, Research Analyst at CNBC-TV18

The US markets recovered from day's low on Thursday in spite of rebound in crude oil & disappointing initial jobless claims. (US markets were flat on Wednesday) Greece FM warned that Greece may not be able to repay its debts on time. Five-year CDS rose 56 basis points above 1,100 bps hitting record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 14 points at 12,285, after seeing recovery of 122 points from day's low of 12,163. NASDAQ Composite fell 1 point at 2760, after seeing recovery of 27 points from day's low of 2733. S&P 500 Index ended flat at 1314, after seeing recovery of 11 points from day's low of 1303 Asian markets were mixed with downward bias; Thailand was up 0.8% and Hang Seng up 0.1%. However, Nikkei was down 0.4%. Kospi and Shanghai were down 0.2%. Taiwan fell 0.1%. SGX Nifty lost 0.76%. European markets ended lower; CAC was down 0.9%, DAX down 0.44% and FTSE down 0.78%. Other European markets: Athex Composite was down 2.8%, Ibex Spain down 1.5% and Argentina MerVal down 0.75%. Global News US initial jobless claims for the week ended April 9 went up by 27,000 to 412,000. Market expected at 385,000. US Initial claims were above 400,000 for the first time in more than a month US producer price index for March increased 0.7% while market expected increase of 1.1%. Currencies Dollar was down 11 bps versus Euro at 14491 Yen fell 32 bps versus USD at 83.61 Commodities May crude oil contract went up 0.9% at USD 108.11 per barrel May natural gas contract was up 1.4% at USD 4.20 per MMBtu May silver contract rose 3.5% at USD 41.69 per ounce June gold contract gained 1.2% at USD 1472.40 per ounce. It hit all-time highs at USD 1478. Data to watch US CPI, Empire state manufacturing survey, industrial production, consumer sentiment, G24/International Monetary Affairs meeting; Earnings from Bank of America China's Inflation data