Asian Markets bounce back As Crude Oil breach $112 level
Most Asian markets edged higher after a tentative start, with a rebound in crude oil and gold prices helped to lift the shares of relevant companies. Meanwhile shares in Sydney bounced from a five-day losing streak on bargain buying in financials.
May crude-oil futures hit a record high at 112.48 a barrel in electronic trading before slipping back. The front-month contract was recently at $112.35 a barrel. The contract settled at $111.76 a barrel Monday, a $1.62 gain, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Nikkei 225 Average climbed 0.6% to 12,990.58, after moving in both directions in the morning trading session. The broader Topix index gained 0.8% at 1,255.97.
China's Shanghai Composite regained by 1.6% to 3,348.35, after sinking 5.6% in the previous session, while the Shenzhen All share index added 2% to 1080. The upsurge in indices gain importance as the Chinese bureau is due to release GDP figure for the first quarter by tomorrow afternoon.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong tracked Shanghai-listed shares was at the par with a marginal gain of 0.01% at 12,665.41, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.4% to 23,901.33.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.1% to 5,400.40 and South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.3% to 1,742.17, after rising as high as 1,754.30 earlier.
Elsewhere, Taiwan's weighted index rose 0.4% to 8,924.78 and Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 0.53% to 3,059.17, while New Zealand's NZX 50 index climbed 0.9% to 3,502.88.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite gained 0.8% to 2,290.91 and Malaysia's Composite added 0.9% to 1,244.61, while India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, soar up by 2.3% to 16,167.56 as trading resumed after an extended holiday weekend.
Taking cues from Asian markets the stocks in Europe edged higher, as hopes for a major discovery sent two energy exploration firms surging and AstraZeneca climbed after getting one drug maker to wait until 2014 to launch a copycat version of a key drug.
In its opening trade, the U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 0.9% to 5,883.70, the German DAX 30 index rose 0.2% to 6,568.38 and the French CAC-40 index climbed 0.4% to 4,786.59.
In currency trading the U.S. dollar remained near its all-time low against the euro amid of ongoing concerns about the depth of the U.S. economic downturn.
The euro was 0.1% higher against the dollar $1.5855. The dollar was down 0.2% against the Japanese yen at 100.92 yen and off 0.3% against the Swiss unit to 0.9961 francs. The British pound lost ground against the greenback, slipping 0.2% to $1.9716.
Meanwhile, French and Italian consumer inflation data was likely to underscore worries among European Central Bank officials over near-term price pressures.
France's March consumer price index posted its fastest rise since January 1987 on higher costs for food, energy and manufactured goods, jumping 0.8% on the month and 3.2% from March 2007, Insee reported. The jump saw annual inflation quicken from 2.8% in February and exceeded consensus expectations for a 3% rise.
Italian consumer inflation data was in line with expectations, rising 0.5% in March for a 3.3% annualized rise. Inflation in both countries remains above the ECB's medium-term cap of just below 2%.
The British Retail Consortium on Tuesday said U.K. same-store sales fell 1.6% -- the worst performance since July 2005 and the first drop in two years.
Meanwhile, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said its monthly survey showed housing-market sentiment in England and Wales declined to its lowest level in 30 years.
The report found more surveyors reported falling prices rather than rising prices. The net balance fell to negative 78.5 percentage points from a revised negative 65.7 percentage points in February, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The British pound came under renewed pressure after overnight data showed further deterioration in the housing markets and weaker retail sales. The euro was up 0.6% against the pound, with a single euro fetching 80.45 pence.
In addition to this U.Ks Consumer inflation rose 0.4% in March, posting a 2.5% annual rise. This rise in inflation is preceded by the recent rate cut by the Bank of England amid worries over tightening credit conditions.
Looking at the data release today we have retail price index from United Kingdom followed by the ZEW economic sentiment for Germany. In the evening we have Producer price index from United States followed by NAHB housing index and ABC weekly consumer confidence.
