Reuters: US Dollar Report: GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, commodities rise on supportive data

Reuters: US Dollar Report Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, commodities rise on supportive data Oct 25th 2012, 14:44 Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:44am EDT * Shares rebound from recent falls after spate of data * Dollar hits 4-month high v yen, euro near break-even * Commodity markets stabilize after recent declines By Herbert Lash NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Global shares and commodity prices rose on Thursday, pulled from a recent slide by encouraging news from Britain and China and as U.S. data helped lift investors' appetite for risk assets while not flagging any big concerns. A gauge of planned U.S. business spending was flat in September, a sign that heightened uncertainty is weighing on factories, although new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods increased during the month. Other data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor market is healing after wild data fluctuations at the start of October. Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose far less than expected in September, an industry group said, but the data continued to point to an improving tone in the housing market. Wall Street opened higher, following gains in European equity markets, and the dollar gained slightly against the euro. Crude oil rose, as did gold and copper prices, on a better outlook for Chinese manufacturing and strong growth in Britain. "Generally risk appetitive is very constructive this morning and the U.S. data did not raise any red flags," Boris Schlossberg, managing director of Fx Strategy, BK Asset Management in New York. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 67.62 points, or 0.52 percent, at 13,144.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.44 points, or 0.60 percent, at 1,417.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.92 points, or 0.53 percent, at 2,997.61. European shares, which dropped 3 percent earlier in the week, were feeling the benefit of the more positive market tone, with the FTSEurofirst300 index of leading regional shares rising 0.7 percent to 1100.88 points. Britain left recession in the third quarter, as its recent hosting of the Olympics helped it post its strongest quarterly GDP growth in five years, official data showed. Also lifting the mood were comments from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology that the country's factory output should pick up toward the end of the year and a survey showed Chinese orders at their highest levels in months. Commodity prices also gained. Brent crude oil rose to around $109 per barrel, consolidating after seven days of falls, as better-than-expected data suggested the world economy was recovering. Still, analysts said the overall outlook for oil was bearish. Brent crude was up $1.05 to $108.90 a barrel, snapping its longest losing streak since July 2010. U.S. oil gained 54 cents to $86.27, after settling down for the fifth straight session. Gold rose, after a drop to seven-week lows the previous day. Spot gold prices rose $13.17 to $1,715.10 an ounce. In the U.S. Treasuries market, benchmark yields touched a five-week high ahead of the sale of seven-year notes and after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday stuck to its monetary policy, prompting some Treasury investors to book profits. The price of the the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 15/32 for a yield of 1.8453 percent. The dollar rallied to a four-month high against the yen as U.S. data and expectations the Bank of Japan will ease monetary policy next week favored the greenback. The dollar hit a high of 80.25 yen, its highest since June 25. It last traded at 80.24, up 0.6 percent on the day, according to Reuters data. The euro last traded at 104.14 yen , up 0.6 percent on the day, Against the dollar, the euro was up 0.02 percent at 1.2972. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions