Asia And Europe Await Bernanke’s Statement

Asian stock market closed mixed last night as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the Fed’s meeting which later today. This market uncertainty is affecting the traders, as they are not comfortable about placing any big bets without knowing how the Federal Reserve will tackle their $85 billion a month bond purchase program.

The Hang Seng Index was the worst performing index during the session, closing with a loss of -1.13%. The index is still down nearly 10.18% so far this month. The Shanghai index was the second worst performer and closed with a loss of -0.75%. However, the Nikkei 225 index managed to close in positive territory on the back of better than expected economic data, with a gain of 1.83%.

Kawasaki Kaisha Ltd and the shares of JFE Holdings Inc both gained nearly 9.5% and 6.4% respectively. The Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group also soared by almost 5.2%. Canon and Nikon both added 2.4% and 1.4% after the Nikkei Newspaper reported that they are on track for recovery.

Back in Europe, the markets have given up their gains and are trading lower during the early hours of trading. The IBEX index is the worst performing index during the session, and is down by nearly -0.54%. The FTSE MIB, the FTSE 100 both are also trading lower with a loss of -0.05%, -0.16 respectively. The DAX and the CAC 40 are trading lower with a loss of -0.01% and -0.33% respectively.

Shares of Nordea bank plunged by nearly -3.8% after the Swedish government announced that it is reducing its stake in the bank. Aggreko PLC also came under pressure and is trading lower by -3.3% after its credit rating was reduced by UBS from buy to neutral.

DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER:
The above is for informational purposes only and NOT to be construed as specific trading advice. responsibility for trade decisions is solely with the reader.

by Naeem Aslam