Markets Rally Monday Morning On Greek Optimism| February 20, 2012.
February 20, 2012 Leave a comment
EURUSD
The Australian equity market is pointed to a solid start to the trading week after more positive news out of Europe over the weekend.
The Dow finish the Friday night session up 45.79 points at 12949.87 while the S&P500 index gained 3.19 points and closed above key levels of 1361.23.
The Chinese central bank announced that the will cut the reserve requirement ratio for their banks by 50 basis points which reduces the amount of cash they must hold. Boosting their lending capacity by an estimated 350-400 billion yuan.
On the economic front, US CPI numbers climbed in January as the prices in gasoline rose, according to the US Labour Department, logging its biggest gain in four months.
The euro strengthened against the majority of its trading counterparties on Friday evening on hopes that the complex negotiations over a new debt relief package for Greece were coming together ahead of the Monday meeting of euro-zone finance ministers. The EURUSD (see above chart) has traded up from Friday evening lows of 1.3114 to recent highs of 1.3202.
WTI crude rallied from Friday evening lows of 102.52 to recent highs of 104.05 as Iran reports that they have stopped exporting to French and British companies.
The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, ended below 18.
| INDICES | |
| Last Traded | |
|
SPI 200 future |
4172 |
|
S&P500 Index |
1361.23 |
|
Dow Jones |
12949.87 |
|
FTSE 100 Index |
5881.5 |
|
COMMODITIES |
|
|
Last Traded |
|
|
Gold |
1723.38 |
|
Oil (Nymex) |
104.02 |
|
CURRENCIES |
|
|
Last Traded |
|
|
AUDUSD |
1.0777 |
|
EURUSD |
1.3201 |
|
GBPUSD |
1.5850 |
|
USDJPY |
79.75 |
Source
Bloomberg, Dow Jones News
