Market news as on February 4th, 2014

Trade analysts were surprised with the low figures after the ISM manufacturing PMI from U.S were released yesterday. It was only about 51.3 instead of 56.4 as expected by everyone.

This has been the slowest rate among all the eight months. This situation has brought a lot of speculation about the economy. It is speculated that the NFP figure to be released on Friday might disappoint people. U.S stocks went tumbling downwards after they experienced this. It has been a major loss since June. After it closed, reports suggest that Dow Jones has lost about 2.08% and S&P 500 seems to have lost about 2.28%.

In addition, the Asian stocks have also fallen down as the Nikkei finished at a low of 4.18% and Hang Seng at a 2.89% low. However, the European stocks have opened lower after following the lead from the other markets.

With the release of the negative data from ISM, WTI faced a weekly low. The price appears to be rising slightly as traders wait for the API’s inventory data later at 9.30 pm GMT. Crude Oil consumption might fall as the U.S economic data shows a slower economy. Gold has increased with about 15$ per ounce after the OMI data. All this negative data seems to have increased the demand for assets because of the downfall in the equity markets. Though the price is ranging now, one should be careful about long term buying positions.

You can follow three main events today. One would be the speech from the USD treasury Secretary Lew at 14.00 GMT. He is going to speak about a wide range of subjects to help you understand everything. The factory orders could be seen at 15.00 GMT and the Employment Change –NZD is to be seen at 21.45 GMT.