Stocks Are Climbing Ahead Of Big News From The European Central Bank | ||
| | ||
European stocks are up, and we're waiting for some important news from the European Central Bank. The ECB will give an indication at 10:15 a.m. GMT about how much cheap credit banks have accessed in the latest effort to shake some life into Europe's economies. Here's the scorecard: France's CAC 40: +0.14% Germany's DAX: +0.43% UK's FTSE 100: +0.10% Spain's IBEX: +0.48% Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.49% Asian markets closed down. Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.89%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.90% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite dropped another 0.49%. US futures are up a little. The S&P 500 is currently 6.75 points higher, while the Dow is up 53 points. At 10:15 GMT we'll get the results of the ECB's second round of targeted long-term refinancing operations (TLTRO), which is the amount of cheap credit banks have accessed from the European Central Bank. The ECB has agreed to provide cheap loans to banks in an attempt to get the stagnant European economy moving again. Analysts are expecting a take-up of just €130 billion. Any figure lower than that will likely be a disappointment for markets. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
10 Things You Need To Know In Markets Today | ||
| | ||
UK House Price Growth Has Now Been Slowing For Six Months. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, prices grew at their slowest pace in about 18 months in December, Bloomberg reports. Argentina's Stocks Got Hammered. Argentina's main stock index ended the day nearly 7% down, a second day of heavy losses after oil prices dropped even further. Honda And Nissan Are Recalling Half A Million Cars. Honda is recalling 400,000 cars as a precaution against potentially deadly airbags made by Takata Corp, and Nissan is recalling another 152,000 for the same reason. China Is Pushing Banks To Step Up Lending. China has told its banks to issue more loans in the final months of 2014 and has relaxed limits on their loan-to-deposit ratios to help hit a record new lending target as the government steps up efforts to lift flagging economic growth, according to a Reuters exclusive. But Mark Mobius Says China's Stock Boom Is Just Getting Started. The Templeton Emerging Markets Group chairman said that the current rapid rise in the Shanghai stock index is the beginning of a long-term bull run, according to Bloomberg. Italy's Industrial Output Is Coming. At 9 a.m. GMT, we'll get a look at how the manufacturing base of Europe's third-largest economy is holding up. Analysts are expecting a 0.3% increase in October, despite France's bleak figure yesterday. Lending Club Priced Its Shares At $15. The online loan marketplace, which is about to offer its first public shares raised its share price to $15, above the initial target range. The move values the company at around $5.4 billion (£3.44 billion) according to the Financial Times. German Inflation Got Confirmed At 0.5%. Germany's Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices is up just 0.5% in the year to November, confirmed at the second estimate. That's the lowest level since the recession that came immediately after the financial crisis. Putin Is In India. Russia's President Vladimir Putin will hold talks Thursday with India's new prime minister as his sanctions-hit country seeks to strengthen energy, defence and strategic ties in Asia. Asian Markets Are Sinking. Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.89%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently down 1.08%, and China's Shanghai Composite is down 0.66%.
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Good morning! Here are the 10 stories you need to know about in markets today.