On 09 December, 2015 – Stocks continued their retreat globally

Stocks were down despite better than anticipated data from Japan and China. Once again, commodities dragged shares lower on global growth worries.
United States
Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session Wednesday after failing to sustain early gains. This was the third consecutive negative session for US shares. The Dow Jones industrials were down 0.4 percent, the S&P declined 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled 1.5 percent.
The early strength was partly due to a rebound in oil prices, with crude for January delivery rising by nearly $1.50 a barrel. The jump in the price of crude oil came following the release of a report from the Energy Information Administration showing a steep drop in crude oil inventories in the week ended December 4th. The report said crude oil inventories tumbled by 3.6 million barrels, marking the first drop in crude oil stockpiles in nearly three months. However, the price of oil pulled back and crude for January delivery eventually ended the day down at a new six-year closing low of $37.16 a barrel. The downturn by the price of crude oil was partly attributed to the 5 million barrel jump in distillate inventories reported by the EIA.
DuPont and Dow Chemical managed to hold onto strong gains amid reports the chemical giants are in merger talks. Wynn Resorts advanced on news its CEO Stephen Wynn bought more than 1 million shares of the company’s stock on the open market. Lululemon Athletica was down after the company reported weaker than expected third quarter results and provided disappointing guidance. Costco was lower after reporting first quarter results that came in below analyst estimates. Housing stocks came under considerable selling pressure with both Meritage Homes and PulteGroup retreating. Yahoo slumped after saying it would scrap a spinoff of its big stake in Alibaba. Apple and Microsoft also declined.
Europe
Stocks retreated again on Wednesday. Traders shrugged off positive data from Japan as crude oil prices continued to crumble. The FTSE slipped 0.1 percent, the DAX lost 0.8 percent and both the CAC and SMI were 0.9 percent lower.
Market analysts’ expectations regarding the outcome of the December 3 policy session of the European Central Bank were exaggerated, leading to disappointment, according to ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny. Nowotny, who is head of Austria’s central bank, also said the ECB never gave a false signal and hence, there was no need to review the bank’s communication policy. He also asserted that markets cannot pressure the ECB to act. The euro surged on his comments.
Bayer was down on reports European and US drug safety agencies are probing a trial involving its anti-blood clotting drug Xarelto. Volkswagen surged after it announced that it no longer needs to set aside €2 billion for its emissions defeating device which it said affects far fewer vehicles than initially estimated. Chemical producer BASF declined. Deutsche Bank finished lower after Fitch Ratings downgraded the bank’s long-term issuer default rating and long-term senior debt ratings. Both RWE and E.ON climbed. In Paris, Technip and Total advanced.
In London, Ashtead rallied after the company reported a strong first-half profit. Mining stocks recovered some ground after commodity prices rebounded. Rio Tinto, Glencore, BHP Billiton and Randgold Resources gained on the day. Anglo American declined on a broker downgrade. Go-Ahead Group tumbled. The provider of passenger transport services said it is disappointed not to have been awarded the Northern franchise and the TransPennine Express franchise. Electrolux was down in Stockholm after the home appliances maker announced measures to structurally reduce costs.
Asia Pacific
Stocks in this region also retreated for a second day after oil prices took another tumble overnight. Encouraging Japanese and Chinese data weakened the case for additional stimulus, at least in the near-term. Oil prices regained some lost ground in Asian deals on a weaker dollar, helping to cap losses across the region.
The Shanghai Composite inched 0.1 percent higher after the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in November, easing concerns over domestic demand. Producer prices fell for the 45th straight month, down an annual 5.9 percent for a second consecutive month. The Hang Seng was down 0.5 percent. The yuan slipped after the People’s Bank of China set the mid-point rate for the yuan at the lowest level against the dollar in more than four years.
The Nikkei retreated 1.0 percent after the US dollar fell below the 123 yen line overnight. A bigger than anticipated jump in core machinery orders helped ease concerns about weakness in capital spending, but dimmed the chances of further policy easing in the near term. October core machinery orders jumped 10.7 percent on the month, widely beating estimates for a 1.5 percent decline. Exporters including Canon, Sony and Panasonic were lower. Dai-ichi Life Insurance and T&D Holdings were down after broker downgrades. Sharp dropped after the Nikkei business daily reported that the company is closer to spinning off its struggling LCD panel business into a separate company with support from a government-backed turnaround fund.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries were down 0.5 percent even though mining and oil stocks staged a recovery following recent steep losses. Economic reports painted a mixed picture, with home loan approval figures for October beating forecasts while a measure of consumer sentiment eased from a six-month high in December. Santos and Oil Search advanced after crude prices found some support in Asian deals. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group advanced along with Gold miner Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining.
The Kospi was virtually unchanged (down 0.8 point) as investors fretted over plunging oil prices and the impending Fed interest rate increase. The Sensex retreated 1.1 percent and the Taiex lost 1.4 percent.
Global Stock Markets

Please remember, the value of investments and the income from them can do down as well as up. Funds that invest in overseas markets may be subject to currency fluctuations. Investments in small and emerging markets can be more volatile than other overseas markets. Reference in this document to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities, but is included for the purposes of illustration only.
Looking forward*
Australia posts November labour force survey. Japan reports producer prices for November. The Swiss National Bank publishes its monetary policy assessment and the Bank of England announces its monetary policy decision. France posts November consumer prices and October industrial production. In the US, the Treasury budget is posted along with the weekly jobless claims, money supply and Fed balance sheet.
*Note — all releases are listed in local time.