Trading News and Views:  02  March 2010 

Indices:

European markets:

Signs emerged out saying that Greece's debt crisis could be easing, this pointed to a higher end for the European stocks. Gerold Kuehne,  LLB Asset Management AG in Vaduz, Liechtenstein said:  “The news is positive that a default from Greece will not be tolerated.  Greece has distracted from the earnings season, which overall has been better than the stock market realized.”
(source: reuters.com).

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX gained 1 percent and France's CAC 40 rose 0.6 percent.
(source: reuters.com).

US markets:

Monday saw a blooming day for US stocks. They were indications that Greece might be nearing a bailout deal, this news took US shares to a high note. John Massey, portfolio manager at SunAmerica Asset Management in Jersey City said: "A deal with Greece would remove a lot of the uncertainty about the region, and hopefully stop the spread of concern to other countries in the EU."
(source: reuters.com).

Dow Jones  closed up 0.79 percent at 10,407.34.  The S&P 500 index was 0.97 percent  better at 1,115.21. Nasdaq has added 1.41 percent at 2,269.92.
(source:sharecast.com).

Asian markets:  

Stocks in Asia rose as mining stocks advanced, after demand for resources grew post-quake in Chile, adding to that, Greece's credit crisis may be showing signs of easing.  Junichi Misawa, a senior fund manager at STB Asset Management said:  "Today's gains are a slight rebound from the weakness that we saw late last week. The market is still locked in a tight range a little above 10,000 and isn't really pointing to a specific direction."
(source: reuters.com).

The benchmark Nikkei rose 46.03 points to 10,172.06.
(source: reuters.com).

Forex/Currencies:

Commodities:

Oil Trading:

US light crude for April delivery fell $1.33 to end the session in New York at $78.33 a barrel.
(source: sharecast.com).

Gold Trading:

Gold eased yesterday as the euro recovered against the dollar while the British currency tumbled against the US dollar following political uncertainity in the region. VM Group analyst Matthew Turner said:  "The really important lesson to take from this is that when we look at the headline gold price (in dollars) and think it is low compared to December, most of that difference is due to the stronger dollar.  If you look from a global perspective, the gold price is probably near its record highs."
(source: bloomberg.com).

The April contract improved $5.00 to $1,114.20 an ounce in New York.
(source: sharecast.com).

Bonds:

(Yields move inversely to bond prices)

US Bonds:

Treasury yields were at the low level as fall in crude oil made the government debt more attractive.  Ira Jersey, an interest-rate strategist in New York at Royal Bank of Canada said: “It’s the commodity complex, with oil being down. It’s also a delayed reaction from the benign core PCE deflator. There’s no inflation out there at all.” 
(source: bloomberg.com).

European Bonds:

Ten-year bunds yield rose one basis point to 3.12%.
(source: sharecast.com).