ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil shed earlier gains, losing 6 cents to $44.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a settlement of $44.18 a barrel on Wednesday.
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MANILA, Philippines (AP) Global stocks were mostly higher Thursday, after USA stocks were lifted by an uptick in oil prices.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 344.69 points or 2.04 percent to 17,251.23, off a high of 17265.67 in early trades. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 11 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,092.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,127 as of 1:22 p.m. The Nasdaq fell 19.69 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,940.33.
Japanese stocks rose by the most in seven weeks, rebounding from a rout on Monday, as investors speculated the central bank may boost stimulus in the wake of a deadly quake and as oil gained for the first time in five days.
Oil bulls also bet that major crude producers would meet again to try to curtail output even as Moscow denied media reports that Russian Federation planned to host such a meeting.
The most recent Bank of Japan Tankan taken on the 1st April, revealed that confidence amongst Japan’s largest manufacturers had reached its lowest level in nearly three years.
Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures are set to open around 0.2 percent higher at the bell. The US dollar to Japanese yen pair had risen by 0.28% at 12:00 PM EST. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index advanced by 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rallied 3.7 percent a sharp loss on Monday.
ENERGY: U.S. crude was down 76 cents, or 1.8 per cent, at $39.63 a barrel in NY. “Asian markets felt the negative effects of the drop in oil following news of Kuwaiti oil workers ending their strike”, said Andrew Meredith, co-managing director at Tokyo’s Tyton Capital Advisors.
The Nikkei rose 0.9 percent to 17,021.03 in midmorning trade after hitting an intraday high of 17,099.36, the strongest reading since March 29.
“The concerns we had yesterday were perhaps too extreme and didn’t spread to USA markets, which is leading to a sense of relief as oil prices recovered at the bottom”, Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities in Tokyo, told Bloomberg.
Terms of the deal – which also includes United Kingdom craft brewer Meantime – were not released Tuesday, but AB InBev in February said Asahi had offered 2.55 billion euros ($2.8 billion).
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.77 percent from 1.75 late Friday. Natural gas was up 4 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $1.94 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The yen’s fall against the dollar also supported the market, brokers said.
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OIL PRICES: Crude has been at the heart of stock market moves this year and their rebound this week have been viewed as a sign that the global economic outlook has improved.
