The major European averages are in the red in early afternoon trading Thursday, after China said its consumer prices rose more than expected in February, triggering speculation that the country's Central bank may raise interest rates to cool off the economy. Crude for April delivery is trading up $0.11 per barrel at $82.20 and gold is down $2.1 an ounce at $1106.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the nation's unemployment rate in February was 5.3%, compared to a revised 5.2% in January, with just 400 jobs being added in the month. Economists had expected the jobless rate to edge up to 5.4% with 10,000 jobs being created in February.
In China, consumer prices increased 2.7% year-on-year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Economists had expected a 2.5% increase, after the 1.5% growth in January.
The UK's FTSE 100 opened at 5,641 and languished in negative territory for most of the session. The German DAX began trading below the flat mark at 5913. After seeing volatility early on, the index moved into positive territory, but is showing weakness now. France's CAC 40 opened at 3,921 and moved sideways for most part of the session. Barring an occasional peep into positive territory towards the end of the morning session, the index has been in the red.
The FTSE 100 is currently down 0.43% and the CAC 40 is lower by 0.41%. The DAX is sliding 0.08%.
In London, Fresnillo and peer Randgold are trading down 2.65% and 2.17%, respectively, after gold price showed a downward trend. Insurer Old Mutual is down 2.90% after reporting a fall in pre-tax profit in 2009. Miners Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Kazakhmys are trading notably lower. Among banks, Standard Chartered and HSBC Holdings are moderately down.
Thomas Cook is topping the winners on the FTSE 100 by gaining 3.16%, a day after its investor presentation. Home Retail, which said benchmark pre-tax profit for fiscal 2010 is expected to be ahead of expectations, is adding 1.86%.
On the DAX, potash producer K + S is slipping 2.19% after reporting a decline in fourth-quarter profit, followed by Bayer, which is losing 1.04%. Detergent maker Henkel is higher by 1.51%. Car makers Bayerische Motoren Werke and Volkswagen are trading notably up. Deutsche bank ad Commerzbank are seeing the upside.
A day after reporting lower profit in 2009, media company Lagardere is slumping 7.04% topping the list of losers on the CAC 40. EADS, the maker of Airbus planes, is losing 2.48% and banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are trading notably lower. Dexia and Credi Agricole are moderately down. Department stores operator PPR is gaining 2.64% and water utility Veolia Environnement is rising 1.39%.
In Asia, most major markets closed in the green, although the gains were not convincing enough to suggest positive momentum. China's Shanghai Composite closed up 0.08% and India's BSE Sensex ended the session higher by 0.41%. Japan's Nikkei 225 settled up 0.96%. However, Australia's All Ordinaries ended lower by 0.09%.
The U.S. markets are poised to open lower with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures languishing in negative territory. The major U.S. averages closed in positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a sizable gain. The Dow gained 2.95 points or 0.03%, while the Nasdaq advanced 18.27 points or 0.78% and the S&P 500 rose 5.17 points or 0.45%.
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