Wall Street ends higher led by technology stocks

In economic data, the ISM reported that the manufacturing sector continued to grow in February, even though it fell to 56.5 from 58.4 in January, as the gauge remained over 50.

Some good news on the consumer front, personal spending rose 0.5% in January, even though income gained only 0.1%. Spending on both durable and nondurable goods was strong.

The dollar rose against the euro, led by a sharp sell-off in sterling and lingering uncertainty over a bailout for debt-strapped Greece. The pound hit a 10-month low versus the dollar and was on track for its biggest one-day drop since October. The dollar index is close to the 81 mark.

Crude fell from a six-week high as the dollar advanced against the euro reducing demand for raw materials as an alternative investment.

Copper surged higher in LME session on supply concerns prompted by the massive earthquake in Chile at the weekend. For rest of the industrial metals, it has been a mixed session.

Source : http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/international-markets/wall-street-ends-higher-led-by-technology-stocks_444248.html

Sensex opens in green; realty, capital goods up

Markets opened in the positive terrain on Thursday on February series F&O expiry day. Trade is likely to be rangebound with positive bias in line with other global peers.

“Our market may open flat to positive and move in a range bound manner. On upside if it moves above 4930-4950 levels then only a further upmove may be seen in the market. On downside if it stays below 4820 levels then selling pressure may intensify. Till the time Nifty doesn’t move above 4950 or below 4750 levels, no clear direction can be seen. Market will be volatile as today we have February month F&O expiry,” said Chandan Taparia, Derivatives & Technical Analyst, Retail Research (Equity) at Anand Rathi.

At 9:05 am, Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 16278.22 up 22.25 points or 0.14 per cent and National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 4869.70, up 11.10 points or 0.23 per cent.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.28 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.34 per cent higher.

Amongst sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was up 0.66 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index moved 0.54 per cent higher. 

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/Sensex-opens-in-green-realty-capital-goods-up/articleshow/5614187.cms

Newbie Online Forex Trading Tips

Forex currency market is the biggest market in world.Because currency market is so large, people from around the world as well as beginners and experts are trying to make their money in Forex market.Another feature is that the Forex market allows for trade in 24 / 7. 

Although these features sound attractive, you must be very careful, especially if you are a beginner. This is because the vast majority of people who enter into the online Forex market lose their money because of lack of education, lack of analyzing Forex data correctly and make the wrong predictions. The best you can do is take your time, and only enter the online Forex market when you become well educated. 

Investors, speculators and traders have acquired great wealth by investing wisely in the Forex currency market, so there's no reason you can not make money even with the right training. By being well prepared, it will be much easier to avoid pitfalls and achieve your goals. 

For beginners, the Forex online trading starts to learn the history of the market and the trends that arise. By looking into the past, it will give you the ability to recognize patterns in the future. Although the currency market can rise and fall quite suddenly, educate yourself on different trade patterns will help you anticipate the market, which will either give you money or stop you from losing your money. 

The next thing is to learn as much as you can trade currencies in Forex market.Make sure you are careful and not cut corners. When you enter this market, you must remember that you invest your hard earned money, even if you are just pushing buttons to make deals through online Forex software. 

Finally, be sure to create a free practice account and use it until you are sure you are ready to invest your own money. Temptation to enter the market is large, especially if you see a quick profit in your first couple of practices sessions. Take your time and track your success over a long period, so you can be sure that it was not beginner luck. Again, it is about understanding the Forex market and guides you so that you do not lose what you have invested. 

Just to re-cap if you are a beginner Forex online trading takes some training, so you will be well prepared to take advantage of this lucrative market. Be sure to look at the past to enable you to spot future trends, learn everything you can about that market and practice until you feel you have the opportunity to make money trading currencies in Forex market.

Nifty likely to witness range of 4900-4835

The markets opened on an optimistic note and ended the session with mild gains as the bulls were unable to hold the Nifty above the 4890 pivot level. The benchmark indices gained under 0.25 % at close. The traded volumes were higher as compared to the previous session, which is a positive indicator for a bullish session. The market breadth was negative as the BSE & NSE combined advance decline ratio was 1224 : 2897. The capitalisation of the breadth was negative as the BSE & NSE combined figures were Rs 4760 crs : Rs 9055 crs. The Nifty shed Rs 10152 Crs in market capitalisation.

The indices have closed in the upper end of the intraday range as the bears covered shorts ahead of expiry at lower levels. The intraday range advocated for the Nifty between the 4900 / 4815 has held as the Nifty retraced from the 4884 levels - thereby validating our spiral wave count.

The coming session is likely to witness 4900 on advances above which the 4925 maybe tested - a lower probability event. Support is likely at the 4835 levels below which the 4800 maybe seen. The bullish pivot for the session is likely at the 4865 levels and the bearish session at the 4850 levels. Traders must watch these levels for signs of trend determination in the coming session.

The market internals indicate a higher turnover due to the bear covering at lower levels. The number of trades were higher and the average ticket size per trade was higher, indicating a covering bias on declines. The capitalisation of the market was lower in divergence with an uptick session. The f&o cues show the bears ramping up shorts on advances and squaring up on declines.

Source : http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/vijay-bhambwani/nifty-likely-to-witness-range4900-4835-bhambwani_443360.html

Sensex surges above 16400 metals, IT, realty up

Indian markets surged above psychological resistance levels as positive cues from the across Asia boosted sentiments. All the sectoral indices were in the green led by gains in metals, IT and realty space. ( Watch )

“A good start to an action-packed week will at least save you the Monday blues. Asian markets are all smiling with the Nikkei 225 up nearly 3 per cent. The Railway Budget, Economic Survey and Union Budget and F&O expiry will see the bulls and bears have a slug-fest especially later this week. Besides the Q3 GDP figures later this week, the report of the 13th Finance Commission will also be closely watched.

A lot of economic reports are due from the US this week, including numbers on housing and revision in third quarter GDP.

Shree Renuka Sugars would be in action. It has entered into definitive agreements with Grupo Equipav S.A. of Brazil to buy a 50.8% stake in it for Rs15.30bn. Late last year, Shree Renuka had purchased another company in Brazil, Vale Do Ivai, for Rs11.10bn.

While the prudent strategy would be to wait till the budget before committing a large portion of your money, there is always room to enter and exit the usual suspects who spiral around budget time. Exercise extreme caution though,” said India Infoline report.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Market-News/Sensex-surges-above-16400-metals-IT-realty-up/articleshow/5601745.cms

Shares fall on Obama bank plans

The Dow Jones closed down 2%, its worst fall since October, while Japan's Nikkei was down early on Friday.

Shares in major US banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Bank of America all fell.

Mr Obama - who said he was "ready for a fight" with banks - plans to limit the size of banks and impose restrictions on risky trading.

"Never again will the American taxpayer be held hostage by banks that are too big to fail," Mr Obama said.

Limiting risk taking

"While the financial system is far stronger today than it was one year ago, it is still operating under the exact same rules that led to its near collapse," Mr Obama said.

His proposals may mean that some of the biggest US banks have to be broken up.

They also include a ban on retail banks using their own money in investments - known as proprietary trading. Instead, banks would be limited to investing their customers' funds.

If these folks want a fight, it's a fight I'm ready to have Barack Obama


That attitude brought an immediate reaction from the markets.

Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs lost more than 4% despite announcing a sharp increase in profits. Bank of America fell 6.2% and shares in JP Morgan Chase were down 6.6%.

"Banking reforms do not come bigger than those proposed by President Obama," the BBC's business editor Robert Peston said.

Fighting talk

Mr Obama's move is his first proposal since Republican Scott Brown's shock victory in Massachusetts to win a Senate seat.

The Republican victory may make it harder to get Mr Obama's proposals passed in the Senate, as they are more likely to get held up in political wrangling.

"This is a political effort because of what happened in Massachusetts," said economist Peter Morici of the University of Maryland.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8473890.stm

Yahoo continues to lose share of search engine market

It seems that Yahoo still can’t hold on to its share of the United States search engine market, even with Microsoft now handling it.

Yahoo, the former king of search engines, lost a bit more ground in December to Google and Microsoft’s Bing.  According to eWeek, comScore’s latest numbers for December, Yahoo fell from 17.5 percent in Nov. to 17.3 percent in December.

While Yahoo fell, Google rose from 65.6 percent to 65.7 percent, and Microsoft’s Bing climbed from 10.3 percent to 10.7 percent.

These numbers may not seem like that much, but when you consider the hundreds of millions of searches done each month, and the amount of ad revenue generate from each tenth of a percent, it does add up to quite a bit.  It seems the only growth left in the market is to cannibalize from the once great Yahoo, making you wonder just how much further it can fall and still stay lucrative for the company.

Source : http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2010/01/15/yahoo-continues-to-lose-share-of-search-engine-market/

Rupee seen higher as Asian shares rise

MUMBAI: Rupee is expected to rise on Thursday as gains in Asian stocks could spur foreign

fund flows into local shares. The dollar's weakness against major currencies and lower oil prices

will also underpin sentiment.

The dollar's weakness against major currencies and lower oil prices will also underpin sentiment.

The partially convertible rupee ended at 48.56/57 per dollar on Wednesday, off an early high of

48.3825 and a shade weaker than 48.53/55 on Tuesday, when it had fallen during trade to 48.90,

its lowest since May 15.

The rupee has rebounded from a record low of 52.2 in early March on foreign buying of about $8

billion worth stocks since mid-March, but a drop in shares over the past two weeks has shrunk

the inflow to around $7.5 billion.

Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were up 0.8 per cent at 0251 GMT, indicating the

domestic market would start higher. Asian stock markets were mostly higher.

The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit's performance versus majors, was down 0.15 per cent at

0300 GMT. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 48.54/64.

Sorce:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Market-News/Re-seen-higher-as-Asian-shares/articleshow/47

00021.cms