By Yium Tavarolit
The Movements of Global Stocks, Finance and Energy
Global stocks were buoyed from Monday to Wednesday by a report on better-than-expected U.S. data and a two-day BoJ meeting with an unanimous vote to keep its monetary policy unchanged, as the country attempts to tackle years of deflation. The global stocks reversed their uptrend in the rest of the week as investors took profits after the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) on Wednesday said it might start tapering off its massive stimulus measures, and China released weaker-than-expected economic data on Thursday.
On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei closed at 14,612.45. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell to 4,983.50, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended lower at 22,635.66, the Shanghai Composite in mainland Chinasettled at 2,395.17, and South Korea’s Kospi Composite was down to 1,973.45. Markets inMalaysia, Singapore and Thailand were closed for a holiday on Friday.
In Europe, The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.2% to 303.35 on Friday, closing out the week 1.7% lower and breaking a four-week winning streak. Germany’s DAX 30 index dropped 0.6% to 8,305.32, after snapping a 12-day winning streak on Thursday. The French CAC 40 index shaved off 0.3% to 3,956.79, ending the week 1.1% lower while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index lost 0.6% to 6,654.34.
The latest unclear message from the Fed weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close lower at 15,303.10 compared with its closure on Monday. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index declined to 1,649.60, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell to 3,459.14.
The dollar weakened against the major currencies, i.e. the euro, the Swiss franc, the yen, and the Chinese yuan after the Fed’s minutes on Wednesday showed that some policymakers were considering rolling back stimulus as early as June, while Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bond-buying program may be reduced “in the next few meetings.” The euro was at $1.2925, the dollar was at Y101.38 against the yen, and at CNY6.1311 against the Chinese yuan on Friday inNew York.
Crude oil futures were also weighed down by weak sentiment on global stocks and investors’ confidence as investors feared that oil demand in the near future, especially in the U.S. andChina, might decline. This concern led light, sweet crude oil for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled lower at $94.15 a barrel, the lowest price since 2 May, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Rubber Markets
The rubber market as a whole was still weighed down by weak rubber market sentiment and investors’ pessimism about the currently unstable global economy. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments on Wednesday about a plan to taper off its $85 billion a month bond buying program in the next few meetings and a report on the unexpected fall of China’s flash HSBC PMI to the lowest level in seven months of 49.6 in May from its final HSBC PMI at 50.4 in April, together with the strengthening of the yen on Thursday and Friday, were the latest negative factors that dragged down natural rubber (NR) prices on rubber futures in the region on Thursday.
|
Description |
24-May-13 |
17-May-13 |
Change |
Unit |
|
IRCo’s DCP |
261.70 |
265.18 |
-3.48 |
US cents/kg |
|
TOCOM/RSS3 * |
|
|
|
|
|
– May |
260.80 |
272.70 |
-11.90 |
Yen/kg |
|
– Oct. |
270.80 |
287.80 |
-17.00 |
Yen/kg |
|
– Volume |
11,738 |
6,514 |
5,224 |
Lots |
|
SHFE/RSS3 ** |
19,445 |
20,265 |
-820 |
Yuan/ton |
|
AFET/RSS3 |
|
|
|
|
|
– Jun. |
Closed |
90.00 |
– |
THB/kg |
|
– Dec. |
Closed |
85.00 |
– |
THB/kg |
|
– Volume |
Closed |
325 |
– |
Lots |
|
SMR20 *** |
Closed |
261.00 |
– |
US cents/kg |
|
SIR20 *** |
Closed |
254.00 |
– |
US cents/kg |
|
RRIT |
|
|
|
|
|
– RSS3 |
Closed |
89.10 |
– |
THB/kg |
|
– STR20 |
Closed |
75.30 |
– |
THB/kg |
|
– USS3 |
Closed |
83.11 |
– |
THB/kg |
|
– Conc. Latex |
Closed |
62.00 |
– |
THB/kg |
|
– Field Latex |
Closed |
81.00 |
– |
THB/kg |
|
Notes: * the day sessions ** the most active month is Sep. *** offers, fob prices for Jun./Jul. deliveries Closed: as a public holiday |
||||
IRCo’s technical MACD fell into negative territory on Friday while its Signal Line stayed at the zero line. IRCo’s technical RSI also fell from 61.10% on an earlier Friday to 48.30% on Friday. As mentioned a week earlier that the rubber market was very volatile, and market fundamentals could not outweigh market sentiment and influence of speculators on rubber futures.
The facts have shown that the RSS3 price for the front month on Tokyo rubber futures has been much lower than usual since 12 March 2013 compared with the physical RSS3 price, fob,Bangkok. At the same time, the RSS3 price for the benchmark month on Tokyo rubber futures has been lower than the physical RSS3 price, fob, Bangkok since 12 March as well. These situations are abnormal for the rubber market that encourage NR producing countries, especially the ITRC member countries and their national rubber Associations, to counter a further fall of NR prices on physical rubber markets in the region.
Source: IRCo
