London Stocks End Lower; Miners, Oil & Gas Drag

FTSE 100 ends 0.9% lower at 5513.69. Miners and oil & gas stocks are the biggest decliners, with Fresnillo down 5% and Tullow Oil off 3.4%. Banks do OK, though, shrugging off the Moody’s downgrades; Lloyds and HSBC both +0.6%. Continue Reading…

Commodity markets suffered another bout of selling this week with heavy losses in oil leading the way. Global manufacturing continues to falter with data from China and the US both pointing towards slowing activity. Continue Reading…

July soybeans were trading 11 3/4 cents higher near 7:30 cst. China futures closed 0.2% lower overnight while Malaysia palm oil prices were down 1.6%. Continue Reading…

Like gold, the silver market overnight forged another lower low probe on the charts. However, July silver was able to recoil from that new low for the move but prices were temporarily down to the lowest level since the December 2011 spike low. Continue Reading…

It will be important for September cocoa to hold support today at 2123, or the chart pattern will sour. The current problems in the Euro zone may be tough for cocoa to overcome, as Germany and the Netherlands are two of the largest consumers of cocoa beans. Continue Reading…

After standing up against a host of negative outside market forces this week, natural gas prices might be a little vulnerable today. With the September gas contract this morning sitting just above critical consolidation support levels on the charts and the trade seemingly getting a noted lift off the storage data yesterday morning, the bull camp might have used up a lot of its available bullish ammunition. Continue Reading…

July Chicago wheat is trading 13 1/2 cents higher as of 7:30 CDT while the September contract is grinding 12 cents higher. Matif Milling Wheat for November is 1 Euro higher at 213.50 and near its session highs at 214. Continue Reading…

The cotton market saw somewhat of a recovery overnight from the sharp sell-off yesterday. Both July and December cotton had closed down the 5 cent limit (July down 6%), as the hefty supply outlook for the new crop season, a collapse in the US stock market and weakness in gold and energy markets lent pressure. Continue Reading…

Not surprisingly August Crude oil has managed a slight recovery bounce in the early US Friday trade. However, overall macro economic views have not improved. Continue Reading…

After a modest rebound yesterday, US Treasuries have started off with only a minimal directional track. However, world economic headlines continue to favor the bull camp, as the bank downgrade yesterday was joined by a softer than expected German Ifo survey reading overnight. Continue Reading…