Sluggish Day Ahead Due To Lack Of Statistics, And The Celebration

On Friday, the US stock indices couldn't decide where to move. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index was closed with an increase of 0.25% and reached the level of 16458.56 points, and at the same time, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, following the results of the trading session, decreased by 0.37% and 0.49% respectively, traded on a level of 4197.58 and 1838.70 points. Today, the stock exchanges of the US are closed due to the celebration of a national holiday - Martin Luther King Day. Thus, the main attention of investors will be riveted on dynamics in Asia and Europe.

The published reports of the companies were ambiguous. The reporting of General Electric Company, (GE) and Intel Corporation, (INTC) disappointed, whereas American Express Company, (AXP), Visa Inc, (V), and Morgan Stanley, (MS) shares grew after an exit of figures. The index of consumer moods of Michigan university in January decreased to 80.4 points, which was worse than the forecast of 83.5 points. In December, the quantity of new buildings was reduced by 9.8% compared to the last month, and here the result was also worse than the forecasts.

This morning, data was presented on the condition of the Chinese and Japanese economy, which were again a little weaker than expectations, which caused a small negative at the trading session in the Asian region. Annual growth of China decreased from 7.8% to 7.7% in the fourth quarter, in quarterly expression the gain of gross domestic product decreased from 2.2% to 1.8%. Industrial production in annual expression fell from a level of 10% to 9.7%, and investments into fixed capital of China were reduced from 19.9% to 19.6%. In the industrial sector of Japan, we also observe deterioration. The latest data for January showed a decrease in industrial production by 0.1%.

The Commodity market is flat, oil prices this morning are down by 0.11% on Brent, and 0.68% on WTI, traded on a level of 106.36$ and 93.94$ per barrel accordingly. Gold is up by 0.23% on 1254.87$ per troy ounce, and silver is increasing by 0.02% on a level of 20.31$ per troy ounce.