Spreadex Market Analysis: Asian Equities Continue To Advance

AM Analysis – “Asian equities continued their advance overnight” – Lee Mumford
Asian equities continued their advance overnight, with the Nikkei 225 closing at the highest level since 2007. Export stocks led the gains following better than expected US jobless claims and as the yen touched a sixth-month low against the dollar.
 
The tech-heavy NASDAQ again finished on 13 year highs, getting its biggest boost from Apple which was up 2.4 percent to $545, the highest level since January. Hewlett-Packard shares jumped 9 percent, helping technology stocks across the board after the company reported stronger-than-expected results.
 
Volumes are likely to remain low for the rest of the week as the US pause for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. European stocks are indicating a very quiet open, with the FTSE trading unchanged since yesterdays close.
 
WTI Crude traded near the lowest price in almost six months following data from the Energy Information Administration which showed crude supplies climbed by 2.95 million barrels to 391.4 million, the highest level since June.
 
PM Analysis – “Funding for lending scheme will be scaled back” – Alex Conroy
Bank of England governor Mark Carney this morning announced that the funding for lending scheme will be scaled back declaring the housing market no longer needs government support. This comes amid raised fears of a housing bubble, with house prices in London currently higher than before the 2008 crash. Governor Carney said despite the FLS being scaled back the Financial Policy Committee does not have the power to veto the governments ‘help to buy’ scheme. Carney suggested a shift in focus for 2014 with support moving away from personal mortgages and towards small companies, who are still having difficulties borrowing, investors see the current lack of lending to small companies as a hindrance to a more sustainable recovery.
 
Migration policy has again made the headlines today, yesterday David Cameron announced his plans to help stop migrants from exploiting the UK benefits. Today home secretary Theresa May’s plan to reduce net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’ by the next general election took a hit as the latest annual figures showed a spike in net migration to 182,000. Policy has reduced the number of Asian and US immigrants over the year however continuing turbulence in the Eurozone has caused an increase in migration from countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy.
 
[The original articles by Spreadex can be found here.]
 
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