While you were sleeping.. Fresh conflict in Ukraine jolted global markets Friday, igniting selling in stocks and another round of investor flight to haven government bonds. U.S. stocks took a brief tumble and European stocks fell, after Ukraine said that its artillery destroyed a large part of a column of armoured vehicles that had been seen entering the country from Russia, reviving geopolitical worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 50.67 points at 16663. The S&P 500 shed 0.12 point to 1955.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 11.93 points to 4464.93. The Stoxx Europe 600 closed down one point to 330. The FTSE 100 closed up four points to 6689. The CAC closed down 37 points to 4174 and the DAX ended trading down 133 points to 9093. Economists raise 3rd-quarter US growth forecasts -Philly Fed survey. U.S. manufacturing output rose broadly in July and automobile production recorded its largest increase in five years, boosting the economy at the start of the third quarter. Data showed producer prices rose 0.1% in July from June. Excluding the more volatile categories of food and energy, producer prices rose 0.2%. Auto production surged 10.1 percent. Economists had expected a 0.2% increase last month and a similar 0.2% rise excluding food and energy. Separately, New York manufacturing conditions softened in August, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The Empire States business conditions index fell to 14.69 in August from 25.60 in July, missing expectations of a decline to 20. In other economic news, data showed industrial production rose 0.4% in July, above the rise of 0.2% expected. A gauge of consumer confidence for August missed expectations. Economists raised their forecasts for U.S. economic growth in the third quarter but trimmed their estimates for the balance of 2014, though the outlook for both job growth and lower unemployment was strengthened. Analysts see the economy growing at an annual rate of 3.0 per cent in the current quarter, up from a previous estimate of 2.9 percent. UK economy grows at fastest annual pace in over 6 years in Q2.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 23:23:26 +0000