London Stocks End Down Amid Greece Worries

FTSE 100 closes down 0.7% at 5852.39 as worries about the possibility that Greece will default intensify, ahead of the country’s weekend parliamentary vote on austerity measures. Continue Reading…

March soybeans were trading down 9 1/2 cents late in the overnight session. China futures closed down 0.7% overnight and palm oil futures in Malaysia were down 0.5%. Asian equity markets showed some weakness in the face of evidence of slowing in their January import/export data but some markets were able to recover off ideas the PBOC might be ready to shift away from a tightening stance. Continue Reading…

March wheat traded 8 cents lower late in the overnight session. Outside market forces look bearish this morning with a surge up in the US dollar and weakness in the energy and metal markets. Continue Reading…

The coffee market has been able to overcome negative broad market sentiment to post a moderate gain this morning. However, the heavy losses that March coffee sustained late in Thursday’s session ended up giving back all of this week’s sizable gains. Continue Reading…

March natural gas prices showed a level of strength during the overnight and early morning hours, with its ability to hold gains in the face of extreme outside market weakness. The market showed impressive upside action in yesterday’s session following a weaker than expected EIA storage report. Continue Reading…

Like gold, the silver market is showing some early weakness. In fact, March silver at least temporarily saw some technical weakness this morning, as silver prices took out the prior two session’s lows. Continue Reading…

A bearish tilt to outside market forces could pressure the market early today. The market has found solid support from outside market forces in recent weeks and new news on the sugar front has been lacking. Continue Reading…

March crude oil prices trended lower throughout the overnight and early morning hours and registered a new low in the process. Prices have come under pressure as yesterdays proposed agreement on Greek austerity measures did not appear to measure up for European finance ministers. Continue Reading…

Treasury yields jumped up yesterday in the wake news of a “Greek deal” and also because of a surprise decline in initial claims. While the markets initially embraced the Greek deal, concerns from the German Finance Minister regarding Greece’s capacity to bring down its debt to GDP ratio under the new deal has returned a measure of safe haven interest to US Treasuries. Continue Reading…

Cocoa prices remain under pressure and have fallen to a new one-month low this morning. A large portion of cocoa’s recent weakness has come from outside market factors, as weak Chinese trade data and ongoing Greek debt problems have clearly dampened macro-economic sentiment. Continue Reading…