Gold extends gains on physical demand, bargain hunting

Investing.com - Gold prices carried Thursday's gains into Friday on reports of rising physical demand in Asia, while bottom fishers snapped up nicely priced positions after the commodity suffered its worst loss in 2013 in three decades.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,236.60 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, up 0.93%. Gold prices traded in a range between USD1,221.40 a troy ounce and USD1,239.60 a troy ounce.

Futures were likely to find near-term support at USD1,181.90 a troy ounce, the low from Dec. 31, and resistance at USD1,251.40, the high from Dec. 16. The February contract settled 1.90% higher on Thursday to end at USD1,225.20 a troy ounce.

Reports of rising demand for gold bars and jewelry in Asia sent prices spiking on Friday, which brought in bargain hunters who viewed the yellow metal as an attractive buy.

Gold prices fell about 29% in 2013 amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will taper its bond purchases in 2014 and possibly end the program later this year.

Earlier Friday, outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said any decision to trim the U.S. central bank's USD75 billion in asset purchases this year shouldn't be interpreted as a sign that tighter monetary policy is around the corner.

"It is important to recognize that the potential signaling aspect of asset purchases depends on the broader economic and policy context. In particular, the [Fed's] decision to modestly reduce the pace of asset purchases at its December meeting did not indicate any diminution of its commitment to maintain a highly accommodative monetary policy for as long as needed," Bernanke said in prepared remarks of a speech he gave earlier Friday.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery were down 0.12% and trading at USD20.103 a pound, while copper for March delivery was down 0.91% at 3.351.

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U.S. stocks end mixed on earnings uncertainty, Bernanke; Dow up 0.17%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks ended Friday mixed as investors applauding a cautiously optimistic speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offset those jumping to the sidelines to await fourth-quarter earnings and gross domestic product figures.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.17%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.03%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.27%.

Outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said earlier that the country continues to recover, which boosted stocks on expectations for the fundamental economy to improve while the Federal Reserve continues to keep policy loose.

"The combination of financial healing, greater balance in the housing market, less fiscal restraint, and, of course, continued monetary policy accommodation bodes well for U.S. economic growth in coming quarters. But, of course, if the experience of the past few years teaches us anything, it is that we should be cautious in our forecasts," Bernanke said, adding any decision to scale down the Fed's USD75 billion in monthly asset purchases shouldn't be interpreted as a sign tighter policy is down the road.

Stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD75 billion in monthly asset purchases spur recovery by driving down interest rates, boosting stock prices in the process.

"It is important to recognize that the potential signaling aspect of asset purchases depends on the broader economic and policy context. In particular, the [Fed's] decision to modestly reduce the pace of asset purchases at its December meeting did not indicate any diminution of its commitment to maintain a highly accommodative monetary policy for as long as needed," Bernanke said in prepared remarks of a speech he gave earlier Friday.

Still, fourth-quarter earnings will begin publishing next week, which sent investors jumping to the sidelines ahead of time.

Many were eager to see how fourth-quarter GDP rates come in as well as the December jobs report, and the uncertainty ahead of time watered down stock prices by steering investors to safe-haven dollar positions on the sidelines.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Johnson & Johnson, up 0.90%, JPMorgan Chase, up 0.76%, and UnitedHealth, up 0.71%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Verizon, down 1.18%, Microsoft, down 0.65%, and Coca-Cola, down 0.49%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.47%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.48%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.37%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.19%.

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Natural gas shoots up as powerful winter storm blasts U.S.

Investing.com - Natural gas prices surged on Thursday as a powerful winter storm trekked eastward over a large, heavily-populated swath of the U.S., which should hike demand for heating at the country's thermal power plants.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in February traded at USD4.316 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, up 2.02%.

The commodity hit a session high of 4.332 and a low of 4.215, with support seen at 4.215, the earlier low, and resistance seen at 4.471, Monday's high.

The February contract settled down 4.45% lower on Tuesday to end at USD4.230 per million British thermal units.

According to the U.S. National Weather Service and private weather forecasters, parts of southern New England into New York State, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana may experience periods of heavy snow with blustery winds through early Friday.

The NWS predicted as much as eight inches of snow will fall in New York City, while Boston is expected to see up to 14 inches. Wind gusts could reach speeds of 45 miles per hour, and many areas will see temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below normal.

Colder-than-average winter temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to heat homes and businesses, boosting demand for natural gas. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.

U.S. supply levels also remained in focus. Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.071 trillion cubic feet as of last week, approximately 16% below last year's unusually high level and nearly 9% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Early withdrawal estimates for this Friday's storage data range from 110 billion cubic feet to 150 billion cubic feet, compared to a drop of 126 billion cubic feet during the same week a year earlier. The five-year average change for the week is a decline of 121 billion cubic feet.

Nymex natural gas prices have been well-supported in recent weeks, as chilly early winter weather helped drive prices to a two-and-a-half year high of USD4.578 on December 23. Nymex gas prices ended 2013 with a gain of nearly 22%, the biggest annual increase since 2005.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in February were down 2.55% and trading at USD95.91 a barrel, while heating oil for February delivery were down 2.05% and trading at USD3.0025 per gallon.

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Gold jumps on Aisan physical demand, Fed concerns weigh

Investing.com - Gold prices shot up on Thursday on the coattails of increased physical demand in Asia, though concerns the Federal Reserve will continue winding down stimulus measures in 2014 capped gains.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,225.60 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, up 1.94%. Gold prices traded in a range between USD1,202.80 a troy ounce and USD1,230.20 a troy ounce.

Futures were likely to find near-term support at USD1,181.90 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,251.40, the high from Dec. 16. The February contract settled 0.12% lower on Tuesday to end at USD1,202.30 a troy ounce.

Reports of rising demand for gold bars and jewelry in Asia sent prices spiking on Wednesday.
Investors expected gains to be short lived, as data released earlier kept expectations strong the Federal Reserve will continue to taper its USD75 billion in monthly asset purchases as the year progresses.

The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending Dec. 28 declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000.

Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 7,000 to 334,000 last week from the previous week's revised total of 341,000, though investors still applauded the decrease.

Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its purchasing managers' index dipped to 57.0 last month from 57.3 in November, in line with expectations.

The Fed has said it will pay close attention to data when deciding on the fate of monetary stimulus programs.

Past and present rounds of asset purchases rolled out since the 2008 financial crisis of bolstered gold ever since.

Gold prices fell about 29% in 2013 amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will taper its bond purchases in 2014 and possibly end the program later this year.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery rose 3.37% to trade at USD20.023 a pound, while copper for March delivery was down 0.29% at 3.387.

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Plan F Grand Finale: Relooking at principles of investing

Jan 01, 2014, 08.58 PM IST

Over the last nine weeks, the show tracked the financial fitness of people to make sure one is on the road to a strong Plan F. This episode relooks at core principles of investing.

Tags  DSP Blackrock Mutual Fund, CNBC-TV18, Plan F

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Plan F Grand Finale: Relooking at principles of investing

Over the last nine weeks, the show tracked the financial fitness of people to make sure one is on the road to a strong Plan F. This episode relooks at core principles of investing.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Plan F Grand Finale: Relooking at principles of investing

Over the last nine weeks, the show tracked the financial fitness of people to make sure one is on the road to a strong Plan F. This episode relooks at core principles of investing.

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Over the last nine weeks, the show tracked the financial fitness of people to make sure one is on the road to a strong Plan F. This episode relooks at core principles of investing.

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Bullion association to join UCX-led bid for MCX

After news that a group led by Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX) was keen to pick up stake in Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) , it has emerged that the Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) will also be part of the consortium.

Ketan Sheth, Chairman of UCX said that the chairman of the BBA had approached UCX requesting to be part of the consortium and that he was open to the idea. It is, however, not clear whether an association that trades on an exchange could be allowed to own stake in it.

UCX, the sixth player in the commodity futures market, has approached the FMC proposing to buy the 26 percent stake of  Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) in MCX, and said it would merge the two exchanges.

MCX is the largest commodity exchange in the country while UCX is relatively a small player.

Also read: State-backed UCX eyes FTIL's stake in MCX

This follows the recent order of the Forward Markets Commission asking Jignesh Shah and his firm FT, which owns 26 percent in MCX, to reduce stake in the bourse as they were found to not be "fit and proper" to run any exchange.

Shah is under fire for alleged wrongdoing at the National Spot Exchange, also run by FTIL, in which a Rs 5,500-crore payments scam was uncovered in July.

Shah has contested the FMC's order in the Bombay High Court.

MCX India stock price

On January 01, 2014, Multi Commodity Exchange of India closed at Rs 492.50, up Rs 13.70, or 2.86 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1497.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 238.30.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 47.00 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 10.48. The latest book value of the company is Rs 226.82 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.17.

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Forex - Dollar mixed to higher on upbeat U.S. consumer confidence data

Investing.com - The dollar traded mixed to higher against most major currencies on Tuesday after widely-watched consumer confidence data beat expectations and cemented expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue scaling down stimulus programs in 2014.

In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was down 0.30% at 1.3759.

The Conference Board reported earlier that its index of U.S. consumer confidence improved to 78.1 in December from 72.0 in November, beating consensus forecasts for a 76.0 reading.

Also Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose at an annualized rate of 13.6% in October from a year earlier, the strongest pace since February of 2006 and above forecasts for an increase of 13.0%.

The data confirmed expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down stimulus programs such as its USD75 billion in monthly bond purchases next year and let the economy stand on its own feet.

Fed bond purchases tend to weaken the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.

Capping the dollar's gains, however, were industry data revealing that the Chicago purchasing managers' index fell to a seasonally adjusted 59.1 this month from 63.0 in November. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 61.0 in December.

The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.37% at 1.6560.

Demand for the pound was strong due to recent weeks of positive U.K. economic reports, which fueled expectations on Tuesday for the Bank of England to raise interest rates ahead of other central banks.

Optimism for BoE policy shifts overshadowed solid U.S. consumer confidence data.

The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.09% at 105.24, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.42% at 0.8914.

The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.17% at 1.0629, AUD/USD up 0.30% at 0.8932 and NZD/USD trading up 0.32% at 0.8230.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.16% at 80.30.

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Mutual Funds advance as market end flat

Equity Mutual Funds closed in green as the market closed the last session of 2013 on a flat note amid thin volumes with the Nifty holding the 6300 level on Tuesday. All the funds in the equity domain advanced registering very few decline.

The Sensex rose 27.67 points today to close at 21,170.68, and the Nifty climbed 12.90 points to 6,304, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks.

The BSE Midcap Index gained 0.7 percent and Smallcap advanced 0.3 percent as advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1485 to 1055 on the BSE.

In the fixed income space, all the funds in debt space too advanced registering with no declines. The Government bonds rallied for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, signalling a better year could be in store after investors this year plodded through the worst falls in debt prices since 2009.

 Check out all mutual fund gainers & losers

Here is the day's performance and the gainers and losers across categories.

Equity diversified: Top gainers

*  Escorts Infrastructure Fund (G) up 1.49%
*  Axis Mid Cap Fund (G) up 1.15%
*  Birla Sun Life Pure Value Fund (G) up 1.09%

Equity diversified: Top losers

*  Kotak Classic Equity (G) down 0.15%
*  Birla Sun Life Commodity Equities - Global Agri Plan - Retail Plan (G) down 0.12%
*  Sundaram Equity Plus (G) down 0.04%

Tax saving funds: Top gainers

*  L&T Tax Saver Fund (G) up 0.90%
*  Birla Sun Life Tax Plan (G) up 0.79%
*  Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96 (G) up 0.78%

Tax saving funds: Top losers

*  No Losers

Sector funds: Top gainers

*  Birla Sun Life MNC Fund (G) up 1.24%
*  Reliance Media & Entertainment Fund (G) up 1.19%
*  Birla Sun Life Buy India Fund (G) up 1.06%

Sector funds: Top losers

*  ICICI Prudential Technology Fund (G) down 0.10%
*  UTI Transportation and Logistics Fund (G) down 0.02%
*  SBI IT Fund (G) down 0.02%

Balanced funds: Top gainers

*  DSP BlackRock Balanced Fund (G) up 0.49%
*  L&T Prudence Fund (G) up 0.42%
*  L&T Equity and Gold Fund (G) up 0.42%

Balanced funds: Top losers

*  No Losers

Debt funds: Top gainers

*  ICICI Prudential Gilt - Treasury Plan - PF Option (G) up 0.51%
*  Birla Sun Life Gilt Plus (PF Plan) (G) up 0.38%
*  DWS Gilt Fund - Regular Plan (G) down 0.36%

Debt funds: Top losers

*  No Losers

For more Mutual Fund News click here

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Gold ignores soft U.S. housing data, falls on fears Fed support ending

Investing.com - Gold prices dropped on Monday after investors shrugged off soft U.S. housing figures and sold on concerns years of support from the Federal Reserve via monetary stimulus tools will be winding down in 2014.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,201.80 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, down 1.00%. Gold prices traded in a range between USD1,200.30 a troy ounce and USD1,215.80 a troy ounce.

Futures were likely to find near-term support at USD1,195.70 a troy ounce, the low from Dec. 24 and resistance at USD1,218.30, the high from Dec. 27. The February contract settled 0.14% higher on Friday to end at USD1,214.00 a troy ounce.

The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that its pending home sales index increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in November, far shy of market expectations for a 1.0% gain. Pending home sales for October were revised to a 1.2% decline from a previously reported drop of 0.6%.

The disappointing data sent the greenback falling, wiping out gains locked in when the Federal Reserve announced it would trim USD10 billion from its USD85 billion in monthly bond-buying purchases beginning in January.

The Fed has said it may taper the program even more should data show that economic recovery is gaining steam while adding soft patches could prompt the U.S. central bank to hike up monthly bond purchases to ensure price and labor-market stability.

Still, gold futures suffered on sentiments that Fed bond purchases, which support gold by bolstering its image as a hedge to a weaker dollar, will scale back sooner rather than later, ending a multi-year rally fueled by monetary support.

Trading volumes were thin as many investors already closed books before the end of the year, reducing liquidity in the market and increasing volatility, which helped exaggerate market moves.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery dipped 2.16% to trade at USD19.615 a pound, while copper for March delivery was down 0.06% at 3.383.

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U.S. stocks mixed on housing data in listless trading; Dow up 0.16%

Investing.com - Stock prices finished Monday mixed to higher in quiet trading as investors shrugged off weaker-than-expected housing data and looked head to early 2014 to see how fourth-quarter earnings and economic growth rates perform.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.02%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.06%.

The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that its pending home sales index increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in November, far shy of market expectations for a 1.0% gain. Pending home sales for October were revised to a 1.2% decline from a previously reported drop of 0.6%.

Investors took the data in stride as overall, stocks are poised to post their strongest year since 1997 due to a more robust U.S. economy and also due to Federal Reserve monetary support.

The Federal Reserve announced recently it would trim USD10 billion from its USD85 billion in monthly bond-buying purchases beginning in January.

While Fed bond purchases tend to bolster stocks by suppressing borrowing costs, a decision to taper the stimulus program signifies a more robust economy lies just down the road, which is also bullish for equities.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Walt Disney, up 2.53%, Cisco, up 1.07%, and Coca-Cola, up 1.06%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Exxon Mobil, down 1.13%, Chevron, down 0.73%, and Boeing, down 0.72%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.19%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.05%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.39%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.29%.

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