US & GLOBAL
• Bursa saham Wall Street mengalami kinerja terburuk sejak Agustus 2010 menyusul aksi ambil untung pelaku pasar terdorong gejolak politik di negara
eksportir minyak Libya. Indeks S&P500 turun 2,05%, tercatat sebagai performa harian terburuk sejak 11 Agustus 2010 silam. Mayoritas analis telah
mengantisipasi koreksi di pasar setelah bursa saham mencatat kenaikan melebihi level tertinggi sejak 2‐1/2 tahun silam. Namun demikian, optimisme
mengenai pemulihan ekonomi AS kembali diperkuat oleh rilis laporan yang menunjukkan kepercayaan konsumen naik pada bulan Februari ke level tertinggi
dalam 3‐tahun terakhir. Indeks Dow Jones <.DJI> turun 178,46 poin atau 1,44% ke 12,212.79, indeks S&P500 <.SPX> turun 27,57 poin atau 2,05% ke
1,315.44 dan Nasdaq <. IXIC> turun 77,53 poin atau 2,74% ke 2,756.42.
• Swiss franc dan yen berhasil menguat terhadap mata uang utama dunia lainnya terdorong naiknya permintaan investor pada aset safe‐haven menyusul
kerusuhan di Libya. Kedua mata uang tersebut potensial masih akan menguat seiring kekhawatiran meningkatnya kerusuhan di Timur Tengah dan Afrika
akan memicu permintaan lebih lanjut pada dua mata uang tersebut. Swiss franc menguat sekitar 1% terhadap baik euro maupun dolar AS. Namun
demikian, euro yang cenderung melemah ketika risk aversion ditengah investor meningkat, hanya mengalami penurunan tipis terhadap dollar AS menyusul
adanya komentar dari pejabat ECB yang menaikkan ekspektasi untuk kenaikan suku bunga zona euro. Euro turun 1% ke 1,2813 franc <EURCHF=>, setelah
sempat anjlok hingga 1,2792 franc yang merupakan level terendah sejak akhir Januari.
• Dollar AS turun 0,9% ke 0,9384 Swiss franc <CHF=> setelah sebelumnya turun ke 0,9367 yang merupakan level terendah sejak 2 Februari silam. Sementara
itu euro tercatat melemah 0.2% ke 1,3655 <EUR=>, setelah sempat naik diatas 1,3704. New Zealand dollar <NZD=> anjlok ke 0,7451, yang merupakan posisi
terendah sejak akhir Desember 2010 silam, setelah gempa kuat mengguncang Christchurch, kota terbesar kedua di negara tersebut. Kekhawatiran akan
kerusakan ekonomi New Zealand mendorong spekulasi bahwa pemerintah negara tersebut akan memangkas suku bunga. Aussie dollar turun 1.1% ke
0.9983 <AUD=>, dan terhadap yen, dollar AS turun 0,4% ke 82,74 <JPY=> menyusul naiknya minat pada aset safe haven yang mendorong penurunan imbal
hasil obligasi AS. Turunnya imbal hasil obligasi AS menurunkan minat terhadap aset berdenominasi dollar AS. Sementara itu euro turun 0,6% ke 112,99 yen
<EURJPY=>. Nilai tukar yen terhadap mata uang utama dunia lainnya cenderung masih cukup kuat, meskipun sempat ada peringatan dari Moody's Investors
Service bahwa lembaga pemeringkat itu mungkin akan memangkas peringkat kredit Jepang seiring menggelembungnya hutang negara tersebut.
• Harga emas ditutup sedikit melemah dibawah level krusial 1.400 USD per troy ounce seiring aksi ambil untung para pelaku pasar menyusul kenaikan tajam
sejak 6‐sesi berturut‐turut. Harga spot emas <XAU=> turun 0,4% ke 1,399.85 USD per troy ounce, setelah sebelumnya sempat turun ke level terendahnya di
1,392.54 USD per troy ounce.
• Sementara itu harga minyak ditutup mendekati level tertinggi dalam kurun 2‐1/2 tahun setelah adanya ekspektasi bahwa OPEC dan IEA akan dapat
memenuhi kekurangan pasokan minyak seiring kekhawatiran tentang gejolak politik di Libya yang mendorong lonjakan harga sebelumnya. Harga minyak
mentah Brent untuk pengiriman April <LCOc1> naik 4 sen ke 105,78 USD per barel, penutupan tertinggi sejak September 2008. Sementara harga minyak
mentah AS untuk pengiriman Maret <CLc1>, naik menjadi 93,57 USD per barel, setelah menyentuh level tertinggi sejak Oktober 2008 di 94,49 USD.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell $3.50 an ounce to $1,395.70 an ounce by 0052 GMT. It had risen to a 7-week high around $1,410 on Tuesday before slipping, partly due to declines in equities that prompted investors to sell gold to cover losses.
* A defiant Muammar Gaddafi said he was ready to die "a martyr" in Libya, vowing to crush a growing revolt which has seen eastern regions break free of his 41-year rule and brought deadly unrest to the capital.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings dropped to 1,218.243 tonnes by February 22, their lowest in nine months, from 1,223.098 tonnes by February 20.
* U.S. gold futures for April fell $4.3 to $1,396.8 an ounce.
MARKET NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei average slipped further on Wednesday after tumbling nearly 2 percent the day before as investors pull out of riskier assets, with turmoil in Libya driving crude oil prices to 30-month highs and sparking worry of slower global growth. .T
* The Swiss franc and yen held onto gains early in Asia on Wednesday after the revolt in Libya drove crude oil prices to 30-month highs, sparking worries about slower global growth.
* U.S. crude futures eased slightly on Wednesday after hitting their highest in almost 2-1/2 years as the crisis in Libya reduced production there and exacerbated worries about supply.
CAIRO | Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:41pm EST
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's key portfolios of defense interior, foreign, finance and justice were unchanged in a cabinet reshuffle, state television confirmed on Tuesday when it broadcast the swearing in ceremony for the new ministers.
The list of new ministers included changing the veteran oil minister, as well as introducing politicians who had been opposed to the rule of Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down from office on February 11 after widespread protests.
Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who leads the ruling military council and has been defense minister for about 20 years, took the new ministers' oaths of office.
But the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's biggest opposition group, said the new cabinet showed that Mubarak's "cronies" still controlled the country's politics.
"This new cabinet is an illusion," Brotherhood senior member Essam el-Erian said. "It pretends it includes real opposition but in reality this new government puts Egypt under the tutelage of the West," he added.
"The main defense, justice, interior and foreign ministries remain unchanged, signaling Egypt's politics remain in the hands of Mubarak and his cronies," Erian said.
Mubarak reshuffled his cabinet shortly after protests erupted on January 25 in a bid to assuage anger against his 30-year rule, but rage continued to build until his ouster on February 11.
The Brotherhood and youth protesters had demanded that all Mubarak's ministers must be changed in the new government sworn in ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections.
The latest reshuffle brought into the cabinet a few opposition figures including Yehia el-Gamal, deputy prime minister, the Wafd party's Mounir Abdel Nour as tourism minister and Tagammu party's Gowdat Abdel-Khaleq as minister of social solidarity and social justice.
Both Wafd and Tagammu had often been close to Mubarak's government.
The Center for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS) said the government's appointment of Ismail Ibrahim Fahmy as new labor minister showed it continued to "co-opt formal labor unions and the labor ministry," it said in a statement.
Fahmy was the treasurer of the general union for workers syndicates in Egypt. "We warn of the dire consequences of defying the will of the workers and their legitimate right to enjoy union rights," CTUWS said.
Egyptian online democracy activists called for a demonstration on Tuesday to demand the removal of the country's interim government, saying it contains too many old faces.
"The call for the million-man march on Friday would show people's anger and frustration," Erian said.
US & GLOBAL
• Harga minyak dunia melonjak ke level tertinggi dalam kurun 2‐1/2 tahun terakhir akibat reaksi pelaku pasar tentang berkembangnya
kerusuhan di Libya yang dikhawatirkan akan berprospek menaikkan tekanan inflasi dan menggoyang stabilitas negara lain di kawasan
Afrika Utara dan Timur Tengah.
• Pasar ekuitas global diperdagangkan melemah ditengah tutupnya bursa AS berkaitan dengan libur nasional. Pasar ekuitas global rata‐rata
turun 1% akibat kombinasi dari ketidakpastian atas masa depan harga minyak, meningkatnya tanda‐tanda kenaikan suku bunga serta
dibarengi tanda‐tanda earning korporasi yang suram. Poin‐poin tersebut secara bersama‐sama, menutupi rilis data ekonomi yang solid
dari Eropa.
• Sementara itu harga emas menguat ke level tertinggi dalam kurun 7‐minggu terakhir, naik di atas 1.400 USD per troy ounce, terdongkrak
oleh kekhawatiran inflasi dan antisipasi resiko para investor. Pecahnya protes di ibukota Tripoli Libya untuk pertama kali setelah
kerusuhan di kota Benghazi dan kabar mengenai beberapa unit tentara yang membelot ke oposisi menjadikan kondisi ini sebagai salah
satu pemberontakan paling berdarah yang menggoncangkan dunia Arab.
• Pasar keuangan cenderung sangat sensitif terhadap kekerasan di Libya karena negara tersebut mengekspor sekitar 1,1 juta barel minyak
mentah per hari. Harga minyak mentah Brent Crude London <LCOc1> naik 2,50 USD per barel ke level tertinggi sejak 2‐1/2 tahun terakhir.
Naiknya harga minyak berkontribusi besar pada meningkatnya tekanan inflasi, yang menjadi salah satu perhatian utama dari investor saat
ini setelah sebelumnya masih diliputi suasana "bullish" seiring harapan bahwa pemulihan ekonomi global saat ini telah berjalan secara
berkelanjutan.
• Indeks saham MSCI turun 0,3% dan FTSEurofirst 300 <. FTEU3> ditutup turun 1,3%.
• Euro melemah seiring meningkatnya ketegangan di Timur Tengah yang menurunkan minat pada aset beresiko. Namun sebelumnya euro
sempat mencapai level tertinggi dalam kurun 10‐hari terakhir terdorong komentar hawkish dari pejabat ECB yang menaikkan ekspektasi
kenaikan tingkat suku bunga tahun ini. Euro turun sekitar 0.1% terhadap dollar ke 1,3670 <EUR=> setelah sempat naik hingga 1,3727 pada
awal sesi, yang merupakan level tertinggi sejak 10 Februari. Sementara itu mata uang lain bergerak dalam kisaran tipis seiring libur
Amerika – President’s Day, dimana dollar AS naik 0.1% terhadap yen ke 83.14, dan poundsterling turun 0.1% terhadap dollar AS ke 1.6220.
TOKYO | Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:55pm EST
TOKYO (Reuters) - Brent crude oil futures rose by more than $2 to as high as $108.18 per barrel from the previous close on continued fears that violence in Libya could lead to wider supply disruptions from the OPEC country.
Brent crude for April delivery stood at $107.52 per barrel at 0110 GMT. On Monday, it hit a 2- year high for any nearby month of $108.70.
On Monday, spreading unrest in Libya shut down 6 percent of oil output in Africa's No.3 producer and prompted a number of energy firms to pull out international staff, sending Brent oil prices above $105 a barrel.
LONDON | Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:36pm EST
LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped above $1,400 an ounce on Monday for the first time in nearly seven weeks as violence flared in north Africa and the Middle East, raising interest in the precious metal as a haven from risk.
Bullion has risen 3.5 percent over six days of gains, its longest winning streak since August, as protests that have unseated leaders in Egypt and Tunisia spread to neighboring states, threatening the grip of long-entrenched autocratic leaders elsewhere.
Spot gold rose as high as $1,408.20 an ounce and was bid at $1,405.23 an ounce at 1900 GMT, up 1.2 percent or $16.65 an ounce and within some $25 of an all-time high. Prices have risen from an almost four-month low of $1,300 in late January.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose $18.40 an ounce to $1,407.10, with trading volume about one-third the 30-day average due to the Presidents' Day U.S. holiday.
"The unrest and the fear in these countries is increasing," said Bayram Dincer, an analyst at LGT Capital Management in Switzerland. "These uncertainties on the geopolitical risk side are driving the gold market."
"See how easily gold broke $1,390, $1,395, which were strong resistance levels, and now the $1,400 psychological level," he said. "It seems nobody is looking for lower gold prices."
Other safe-haven assets also rose, with bund futures up and the Swiss franc gaining against the dollar and the euro. Brent oil prices meanwhile surged above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2008 as the turmoil hit oil supplies while European shares slipped.
Silver jumped 4.3 percent to $33.85, hitting its highest since the Hunt Brothers surge 31 years ago and widening the gold ratio -- the number of ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold dropping -- to around 42, a near 13-year low.
VIOLENCE HITS TRIPOLI
Dozens of people were reported killed in Tripoli as anti-government protests reached the Libyan capital for the first time.
The Libyan uprising is one of a series of revolts that have spread across the Arab world since December, threatening entrenched dynasties from Bahrain to Yemen.
The protests have pushed gold higher even as interest in investment products like exchange-traded funds stayed soft.
Holdings of the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust, fell to a nine-month low on Friday at 1,223.1 tones, data from the fund showed.
"If (buying) is not through the exchange-traded funds or a clear change in the net long on Comex, it is most likely to be through the physical market -- coin and small bar buying," said Daniel Major, an analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets.
"I potentially wouldn't rule out larger purchases by high net worth individuals on the back of the unrest we're seeing."
OTHERS RISE TOO
Gold priced in euros hit its highest since January 18 at 1,029.92 euros an ounce, and sterling-priced gold its highest since January 14 at 868.06 pounds an ounce.
Platinum was at $1,846.45 an ounce against $1,833.50, while palladium peaked at $859.50 and was later at $853.88 against $848.25.
But silver led the way, jumping more than 10 percent in three days, its biggest such rally since early November.
"We expect the combination of continued strength in investment demand and a sustained industrial demand recovery will support silver... this year before easing amid improved economic conditions in 2012," said Morgan Stanley in a note.
US & GLOBAL
• Bursa saham Wall Street naik hingga level tertinggi dalam kurun 2‐1/2 tahun terakhir, ditunjang oleh earning korporasi yang memuaskan dan
meredakan kekhawatiran investor akan langkah pengetatan moneter lanjutan yang dilakukan Cina. Pemerintah Cina pada akhir pekan lalu
menaikkan rasio kecukupan modal perbankan sebesar 50 bps menjadi 19.5% untuk perbankan besar, sebuah langkah yang ditempuh untuk
menanggulangi tekanan inflasi. Indeks saham AS mencatat penguatan beruntun dalam 3‐pekan berturut‐turut, meskipun terdapat sinyal ancaman
koreksi seiring volume perdagangan yang melemah. Dow Jones <DJI.> naik 73,11 poin atau 0,59% ke 12,391.25, S&P500 <. SPX> naik 2,58 poin
atau 0,19% ke 1,343.01 dan Nasdaq <IXIC.> naik tipis 2,37 poin atau 0,08% ke 2,833.95. Dalam sepekan terakhir, Dow dan S&P500 naik 1%,
sementara Nasdaq menguat 0,9%.
• Untuk sepekan kedepan, euro diperkirakan akan menguat terhadap dollar AS ditunjang oleh ekspektasi kenaikan suku bunga ECB dan faktor teknis
jangka pendek euro yang cukup positif. Namun penguatan euro berpotensi terhambat oleh serangkaian peristiwa politik kawasan Uni‐Eropa yang
berpotensi menaikkan ketidakpastian. Kinerja euro mendapat sokongan dari pernyataan anggota ECB ‐ Lorenzo Bini Smaghi yang mengatakan
bank sentral akan siap untuk mengetatkan kebijakan moneternya menyusul kenaikan tekanan inflasi.
• Namun demikian, proyeksi kinerja positif euro dalam sepekan kedepan dibayangi oleh beberapa peristiwa politik yang berpotensi membebani
penguatan euro, diantaranya pemilu Irlandia dan juga pemilu regional Jerman serta kemungkinan pembahasan aturan baru tentang rasio
kecukupan modal institusi keuangan di Spanyol. Kondisi tersebut diprediksi akan menaikkan kehati‐hatian pelaku pasar terutama terhadap posisi
euro. Hingga akhir pekan lalu, euro tercatat menguat 0.6% terhadap dollar AS ke 1,3685 <EUR=> setelah mencapai level tertinggi dalam sepekan
terakhir di 1,3716. Sementara untuk sepekan terakhir, euro tercatat menguat 1,3% terhadap dollar.
• Dollar yang sementara ini berposisi sebagai mata uang safe haven bersama Swiss Franc, gagal memanfaatkan momentum ketegangan geopolitik
tinggi di Timur Tengah. Pelemahan dollar AS terhadap mata uang utama dunia lainnya dipengaruhi minimnya volatilitas perdagangan diantara
aset‐aset investasi berdenominasi dollar, yang kemudian mendorong minat investor pada instrumen investasi yang lebih beresiko. Kinerja dollar
sepekan kedepan diperkirakan masih akan kuat dipengaruhi oleh pergerakan euro.
• Harga emas naik diatas 1390 USD per troy ounce, membukukan kinerja mingguan terbaik sejak Desember, didukung oleh kombinasi dari
kekhawatiran atas krisis utang Eropa, meningkatnya inflasi global dan kerusuhan yang merebak di Timur Tengah. Harga spot emas <XAU=> naik
0,3% ke 1,386.75 USD per troy ounce, setelah sebelumnya mencapai level tertinggi dalam 5‐pekan terakhir di 1,391.75 USD. Emas tercatat
menguat hampir 3% dalam sepekan terakhir.
• Harga minyak dunia mengalami penurunan dalam sesi perdagangan yang volatile menjelang libur nasional President's Day di Amerika ‐ Senin 21
Februari, meskipun sempat menguat menyusul adanya berita bahwa otoritas Mesir mengizinkan Iran untuk mengirim kapal angkatan lautnya
melalui Terusan Suez, berita yang menaikkan tensi geopolitik di wilayah tersebut. Minyak mentah AS untuk pengiriman Maret <CLc1> turun 16 sen
ke 86,15 USD per barel, tercatat menguat 62 sen dalam sepekan terakhir. Sementara ICE Brent untuk pengiriman April <LCOc1> turun 7 sen ke
102,52 USD per barel, namun tercatat menguat 1,07% dalam sepekan terakhir setelah sempat mencapai level tertinggi sejak September 2008 di
104.52 USD per barel pekan lalu.
NEW YORK | Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:40am EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors will continue to ride the speediest rally in U.S. stocks since the Great Depression despite growing concerns that the market is overbought and due for a correction.
Wall Street posted its third consecutive week of gains with the S&P 500 now up 6.8 percent for the year and more than 20 percent in just six months.
"I've never seen a market like this," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont, a market watcher for 35 years.
"I'm showing, by every technical and quantitative standard I have, this market is at extreme levels. But no matter where we start out in the morning, buyers come in."
The trend of stocks starting off lower in the morning session but ending higher by the afternoon has been ongoing for weeks as investors view the small dips as reasons to buy.
But there is a perceptible level of anxiety in the market. Trading volume has been exceptionally low recently and the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, is up on the week despite the gains in stocks.
The index is usually inversely correlated to the S&P 500, and a rise in the VIX typically means a drop in the stock market.
The VIX, which ended at 16.43, up 4.7 percent on the week, is still historically low but substantially higher than in recent months. That suggests investors see more share gyrations ahead.
The driving force behind the rally is the money that poured into riskier assets like stocks in the last quarter of 2010 after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low.
"With so much momentum in the market, we are likely to see some sideways consolidation next week but nothing more than that," said Ryan Detrick, technical analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.
LOW VOLUME=SIGNS OF FATIGUE
About 7.13 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq on Friday, below last year's estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.
Stocks have been struggling to match last year's trading levels, hovering in the 7 billion range this week. On Thursday, the volume was the second-lowest of the year at 6.7 billion shares, and Monday's session was the lowest of the year with a mere 6.6 billion shares.
"This is a sign that the market is tired, and unless we see an uptick in this volume," the level of investor anxiety will not retreat, Detrick said.
U.S. markets are closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
In U.S. economic data, investors will get a sense of the state of economic growth from fourth-quarter 2010 gross domestic product data on Friday.
A batch of housing related data is due, including S&P Case-Shiller home prices on Tuesday, existing homes sales on Wednesday and new homes sales on Thursday.
Major retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Macy's Inc (M.N), are expected to report their results next week. Of the 413 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, 71 percent have exceed Wall Street estimates.
US & GLOBAL
• Bursa saham Wall Street melanjutkan penguatannya ke level tertinggi dalam kurun 2‐tahun terakhir, investor menggunakan momentum rilis data
ekonomi AS yang negatif sebagai kesempatan untuk membeli saham‐saham terkemuka. Pasar saham terus mengabaikan niat Iran untuk mengirim
kapal angkatan laut dua melalui Terusan Suez ke Mediterania yang disebut Israel sebagai sebuah "provokasi". Indeks Dow Jones <. DJI> naik 29,97
poin atau 0,24% ke 12,318.14, S&P500 <SPX.> naik 4,11 poin atau 0,31% ke 1,340.43 dan Nasdaq <. IXIC> menguat 6,02 poin atau 0,21% ke
2,831.58.
• Swiss franc sebagai mata uang berstatus safe‐haven kembali menguat pada sesi Kamis, terangkat oleh merebaknya ketegangan Timur Tengah,
sementara dollar AS turun didorong oleh penurunan imbal hasil obligasi AS dan juga tekanan dari faktor teknis. Franc, yang tradisional akan diburu
dalam periode ketegangan geopolitik, diproyeksikan akan berlanjut menguat terhadap mata uang utama dunia lainnya jika ketegangan di Timur
Tengah meningkat. Dollar AS, di sisi lain berpotensi terus melemah, karena investor mengkonsolidasikan kenaikan terhadap yen dan euro. Hingga
akhir sesi New York, euro <EURCHF=> turun 0,7% terhadap Swiss franc ke 1,2917 franc, sementara dollar turun 1,0% ke 0,9493 franc <CHF=>.
Pelaku pasar mata uang juga terus mengawasi imbal hasil obligasi AS, yang mengalami penurunan pada sesi Kamis 17 Februari seiring keprihatinan
investor akan kondisi Timur Tengah. Imbal hasil obligasi AS bertenor 2‐tahun tuurn dibawah 0,8%.
• Rilis sejumlah data ekonomi AS membebani sentimen pasar keuangan. The Fed seksi Philadelphia menyebutkan bahwa kegiatan usaha Mid‐
Atlantic meningkat tajam selama bulan Februari, sementara itu inflasi AS dan klaim mingguan untuk manfaat pengangguran naik lebih tinggi dari
yang diharapkan. Hingga akhir sesi New York, Euro naik 0,2% ke 1,3605 <EUR=>. Spanyol dan Perancis cukup sukses dalam penjualan obligasi
gabungan senilai 11.87 miliar euro. Keberhasilan lelang obligasi Spanyol tersebut membantu mengangkat euro dari level terendahnya terhadap
dollar AS, meskipun investor masih berfokus pada kerapuhan sektor perbankan Uni‐Eropa. Dollar AS melemah terhadap yen dalam 2‐sesi, turun
0.4% ke 83,33 <JPY=>.
• Harga emas tercatat menguat seacara beruntun dalam 4‐sesi terakhir seiring meningkatnya data CPI AS yang menaikkan perhatian investor pada
tekanan inflasi. Kondisi tersebut menambah dukungan pada minat beli investor terhadap emas setelah sebelumnya terdongrak kondisi geopolitik
di kawasan Timur Tengah. Harga spot emas <XAU=> naik 0.7% ke 1384.19 USD per troy ounce setelah sempat mencapai level tertinggi dalam 5‐
pekan terakhir di 1,384.65 USD per troy ounce.
• Sementara itu harga minyak mentah berjangka AS naik tajam pada sesi Kamis menyusul merebaknya unjuk rasa di beberapa negara Timur Tengah
penghasil minyak yang berpotensi mengganggu pasokan minyak. Minyak mentah Crude AS untuk pengiriman Maret <CLc1> 1,37 USD ke 86,36 USD
per barel, menguat 1,6% yang merupakan kenaikan terbesar dalam 2‐ minggu terakhir. Minyak mentah Brent untuk pengiriman April <LCOc1>
turun 1,19 USD ke 102,59 USD per troy ounce.
US & GLOBAL
• Indeks S&P500 mencatat kenaikan tertinggi sejak 2‐tahun terakhir ditopang membaiknya laporan earning Dell dengan prospek yang menjanjikan, meskipun tipisnya
volume perdagangan menggoyahkan ekspektasi berlanjutnya akselerasi. Pelaku pasar mengatasi kekhawatiran tentang ketegangan antara Israel dan Iran, dan indeks
perlahan‐lahan kembali menguat dan ditutup mendekati level tertingginya. Indeks Dow Jones <. DJI> naik 61,53 poin atau 0,50% ke 12,288.17, S&P500 <. SPX> naik
8,31 poin atau 0,63% ke 1,336.32 dan Nasdaq <. IXIC> naik 21,21 poin atau 0,76% ke 2,825.56.
• Sementara itu dollar AS anjlok terhadap mata uang utama dunia lainnya setelah adanya berita kapal perang Iran dalam perjalanan menuju Suriah, yang menaikkan
ketegangan geopolitik di Timur Tengah, memicu lonjakan harga minyak dan meningkatkan minat investor pada mata uang safe haven tradisional terutama Swiss franc.
Faktor teknis dan reposisi investasi investor juga turut menekan dolar khususnya terhadap euro. Namun demikian pelemahan dollar diperkirakan tidak akan bertahan
lama dimana mata uang tersebut masih didukung oleh serentetan rilis data ekonomi AS yang positif. Secara umum, dollar AS cenderung turun ketika harga minyak
(yang berdenominasi dollar) naik, karena menjadi lebih murah bagi investor asing yang memegang mata uangnya untuk membeli minyak mentah. Harga minyak Brent
melonjak ke level tertinggi 2‐1/2‐tahun terakhir setelah berita Iran tersebut.
• Pada akhir sesi New York, euro tercatat naik 0,5% terhadap dolar ke 1,3562 <EUR=>, yang merupakan performa positif dalam 2‐sesi berturut‐turut. Swiss franc yang
berposisi sebagai mata uang dengan status safe haven secara tradisional, terutama pada saat kekacauan geopolitik meningkat, mendorong penurunan dollar AS
sebesar 0,8% ke 0,9597 franc <CHF=>. Franc sempat melonjak hampir 1% setelah berita ketegangan antara Iran dan Israel tersebut. Swiss franc juga naik tipis terhadap
euro <EURCHF=>, yang merosot 0,2% menjadi 1,3016 franc. Sementara itu penguatan beruntun dollar AS terhadap yen dalam kurun 2‐pekan terakhir mulai terhenti,
tertekan penurunan imbal hasil produk Treasury AS dan ketegangan di Timur Tengah. Pada akhir perdagangan New York, dollar AS tercatat turun 0,1% ke 83,67
<JPY=>.
• Sterling turun tajam karena investor merevisi ekspektasi kenaikan suku bunga setelah Bank of England menurunkan proyeksi pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam laporan
inflasi kuartalan. Sterling <GBP=> turun ke level terendahnya di 1.5985, dan tercatat melemah 0.2% ke 1.6086.
• Harga emas ditutup relatif stagnan setelah sempat menguat ke level tertinggi dalam kurun 1‐bulan terakhir berkaitan dengan meningkatnya tensi geopolitik di Timur
Tengah. Ketegangan antara Israel dan Iran menaikkan minat investor pada aset safe haven dalam hal inin emas. Harga spot emas <XAU=> mencapai tertinggi satu
bulan di 1,381.84 USD per troy ounce, dan ditutup menguat tipis 0,1% ke 1,374.20 USD per troy ounce.
• Harga minyak Brent melonjak mendekati level tertinggi dalam 2‐1/2 tahun menyusul naiknya ketegangan antara Israel dan Iran yang menambah tensi geopolitik sejak
berlangsungnya kerusuhan di kawasan Timur Tengah. Harga minyak mentah Brent Crude London <LCOc1> mencatat penutupan tertinggi sejak September 2008 di
103,78 USD per barel setelah sempat melonjak hingga 104,52 USD per barel, sementara Crude AS <CLc1> naik 67 sen ke 84,99 USD per barel.
US & GLOBAL
• Bursa saham AS melemah secara luas dimana investor terkemuka disebut‐sebut mulai melakukan aksi ambil untung ditengah kekuatan rally bursa ke level tertinggi dalam kurun 2
1/2 tahun terakhir yang tidak mendapat dukungan dari volume perdagangan. Saham‐saham energi dan bahan material dasar memimpin penurunan bursa dalam indeks S&P500
yang mencatatkan diri sebagai performa terburuk harian sejak 28 Januari silam. Data penjualan ritel AS semakin menaikkan keraguan akan perbaikan tingkat belanja konsumen
Amerika yang merupakan bagian penting dari pemulihan ekonomi. Indeks Dow Jones <. DJI> turun 41,55 poin atau 0,34% ke 12,226.64, S&P500 <. SPX> turun 4,31 poin atau
0,32% ke 1,328.01 dan Nasdaq <. IXIC> turun 12,83 poin atau 0,46% ke 2,804.35.
• Sementara itu dollar AS naik terhadap yen ke level tertinggi dalam 8‐pekan terakhir didorong oleh meningkatnya imbal hasil obligasi AS dengan prospek kenaikan lebih lanjut
dengan pasar obligasi yang masih terus menyoroti kenaikan inflasi. Kenaikan ini tercatat sebagai performa positif dollar AS terhadap yen dalam 9 sesi dari 10 sesi terakhir dimana
tercatat menguat lebih dari 2% sepanjang Februari. Imbal hasil obligasi AS dengan tenor 2‐tahun telah meningkat lebih dari 20 basis poin sejak 1 Februari terdorong oleh
ekspektasi inflasi di tengah pemulihan perekonomian AS. Kondisi tersebut telah meningkatkan daya tarik terhadap aset berdenominasi dollar khususnya terhadap mata uang
dengan imbal hasil rendah lainnya termasuk yen. Dollar terhadap yen merupakan pasangan mata uang yang paling sensitif terhadap perubahan imbal hasil obligasi AS karena
kedua mata uang tersebut saling bersaing untuk menjadi unit pembiayaan yang paling diinginkan pasar. Setiap pergeseran dalam kurva imbal hasil obligasi atau ekspektasi suku
bunga bank sentral akan memiliki dampak signifikan pada kedua mata uang tersebut. Hingga akhir sesi New York, dollar AS tercatat menguat 0,7% terhadap yen, setelah sempat
mencapai level tertinggi sejak 8‐pekan terakhir ke 83,91 <JPY=EBS>.
• Pada saat yang sama, euro mengungguli dolar untuk pertama kalinya dalam 4‐sesi terakhir, namun keberlanjutan dari rally euro cukup diragukan oleh sementara analis berhubung
sinyal teknikal yang cenderung melemah. Euro tercatat menguat 0.3% terhadap dollar AS <EUR=> ke 1,3517, sedangkan sterling berhasil menguat 0.6% terhadap dollar ke 1.6128
<GBP=> terdorong meningkatnya inflasi Inggris yang melebihi target BoE.
• Harga emas naik ke level tertinggi dalam 4‐pekan terakhir seiring meningkatnya ekspektasi inflasi global dan menurunnya prospek kenaikan suku bunga Cina yang memicu
technical breakout pada emas. Minat investor pada emas kembali mengemuka setelah manajer hedge fund terkemuka seperti John Paulson dan George Soros tercatat
memperbesar jumlah investasi mereka pada emas sejak kuartal keempat 2010 lalu. Harga spot emas <XAU=> naik 0,9% ke 1,374.20 USD per troy ounce, setelah sebelumnya
mencapai empat minggu tinggi di 1,376.50 USD per troy ounce.
• Harga minyak Brent turun lebih dari 1% dalam sesi perdagangan yang volatile terdesak rilis data Retail Sales AS yang mengecewakan dan kekhawatiran akan turunnya permintaan
dari China sebagai konsumen energi terbesar kedua dunia. Harga minyak mentah AS kembali melemah menghadapi rilis laporan cadangan minyak AS yang diperkirakan masih
mengalami kenaikan. Minyak mentah Brent London untuk pengiriman April <LCOc1> turun 1,44 USD ke 101,64 USD per barel sedangkan minyak mentah crude AS untuk
pengiriman Maret <CLc1> turun 49 sen ke 84,32 USD per barel.
NEW YORK | Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:05pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Market breadth weakened and a prominent investor retreated from bullish positions as a vulnerable U.S. stock market slipped off 2-1/2-year highs on Tuesday.
Energy and basic materials stocks led the slide in the S&P 500's worst day since January 28, and billionaire investor Ken Fisher told Reuters he is "more neutral on stocks than I've been in years."
Volume remained light with 7.1 billion shares changing hands on the combined New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.
U.S. retail sales data cast doubts on a rebound in consumer spending, a vital part of the economic recovery, and import prices jumped, while a gauge of manufacturing in New York State climbed to its highest in eight months.
The S&P retail index .RLX closed flat after being down earlier in the day.
"More and more companies are worried about the price of input," said Kim Caughey Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
"There's a lot of conflicting data. Low volume means there's no conviction either way: whenever you really don't have an idea, you're not trading," she said.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI lost 41.55 points, or 0.34 percent, at 12,226.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 4.31 points, or 0.32 percent, at 1,328.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC slipped 12.83 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,804.35.
Shares of JDS Uniphase Corp (JDSU.O) dropped 10.2 percent to $25.05 after brokerage Bernstein cut its rating on the stock to "market-perform" from "outperform." An index of chipmakers' shares .SOX was down 1.1 percent.
The S&P energy sector .GSPE carried most of the day's losses, falling 1.1 percent. Brent crude oil fell more than 1 percent on the U.S. retail sales data and as China continued to struggle to keep inflation at bay.
Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) was down 2.3 percent to $82.97, following a 2.5 percent gain on Monday.
The S&P 500 has nearly doubled from lows hit in March 2009, but waning volume suggests investors are having a harder time finding value.
"I'd not be overly optimistic right now," said Fisher, chief investment officer and founder of Fisher Investments, a money management firm in Woodside, California that oversees about $43 billion in assets.
The spread between daily winners and losers has been narrowing for months, suggesting more of the market's gains are coming from fewer stocks -- generally a sign of a weakening market.
On Tuesday, declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE and the Nasdaq by a ratio of about 8 to 5.
Short- and medium-term the S&P 500 was nearing overbought levels, with more than 79 percent of its components trading above their 20- and 50-day moving averages. But Craig Peskin, co-head of technical analysis research at MF Global in New York, said no major downside move concerns him short term.
"Volume has not been that spectacular for a long part of this bull market. We may be ready for a pullback, but this is not a sign of a market top."
Shares of NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) fell 3.4 percent at $38.12 after it agreed to be acquired by Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) to create the world's largest exchange operator. The deal dodges key questions that could threaten its completion.
Shares of U.S. exchanges also fell, with Nasdaq OMX Group Inc (NDAQ.O) off 4.6 percent at $28.28, CME Group Inc (CME.O) down 3.7 percent to $291.33 and CBOE Holdings (CBOE.O) down 5.9 percent to $26.21.
US & GLOBAL
• Saham‐saham energi dan komoditas mengangkat bursa Wall Street untuk kemudian ditutup relatif menguat tipis meskipun volume perdagangan mencapai
titik terendah selama 2011. Rendahnya volume perdagangan tersebut menurut sementara analis merupakan salah satu indikasi bahwa penguatan tajam
bursa Wall Street kemungkinan akan mulai terhambat. Indeks Dow Jones <. DJI> turun 5,07 poin atau 0,04% ke 12,268.19, indeks S&P500 <SPX.> naik 3,17
poin atau 0,24% ke 1,332.32 dan Nasdaq <. IXIC> naik 7,74 poin atau 0,28% ke 2,817.18.
• Euro anjlok ke level terendah dalam kurun 3‐pekan terakhir terhadap dollar AS dan diprediksi akan melanjutkan pelemahannya dalam sepekan ke depan
setelah pertemuan menteri keuangan Eropa tidak memberikan kejelasan tentang solusi konkret untuk menangani masalah fiskal Uni‐Eropa. Menterimenteri
keuangan Eropa mengadakan pertemuan di Brussels awal pekan ini untuk membahas penguatan dana bailout senilai 440 miliar euro. Jerman tetap
enggan untuk meningkatkan jumlah penyertaan dana pada fasilitas bailout tanpa komitmen anggota Uni‐Eropa pada koordinasi ekonomi yang lebih erat.
Selain itu, berita tentang bank bermasalah asal Jerman ‐ WestLB turut menambah tekanan pada euro. Berdasarkan sumber terdekat, WestLB tengah
mempersiapkan permohonan bantuan dari pemerintah Jerman.
• Pada akhir sesi New York, euro turun 0.4% terhadap dollar AS ke 1.3485<EUR=> setelah sempat menguat hingga level 1.3506 namun kemudian terbebani
kembalinya kekhawatiran investor akan masalah fiskal kawasan Uni‐Eropa. Namun demikian, penurunan euro terbatasi oleh maraknya aksi bank sentral
beberapa negara yang melakukan upaya diversifikasi dari dollar AS. Dollar AS naik sekitar 0,2% terhadap the basket of currencies ke 78,598 <DXY.>, naik di
atas level moving average 100‐hariannya untuk pertama kalinya dalam 4‐minggu terakhir. Dollar AS justru jatuh terhadap yen untuk pertama kalinya dalam
9‐hari terakhir, turun 0,2% ke 83,30 yen <JPY=>. Lelang obligasi Eropa juga menjadi fokus utama bagi investor pada hari awal pekan ini, Italia sukses menjual
obligasi bertenor 30‐tahun senilai 5.2 miliar euro. Meskipun demikian, pelaku pasar masih khawatir akan prospek obligasi negara‐negara kawasan Uni‐Eropa
setelah lelang obligasi sindikasi Portugal akhir pekan lalu tidak terlalu menggembirakan.
• Harga emas naik di atas level 1.360 USD per troy ounce pada perdagangan perdana awal pekan ini terdongkrak kekhawatiran investor bahwa kerusuhan
Mesir akan menyebar ke negara Arab lainnya. Sementara itu harga perak naik lebih dari 2% seiring ekspektasi kenaikan permintaan dari industri yang
didorong oleh tanda‐tanda perbaikan ekonomi global. Harga spot emas <XAU=> naik 0,4% ke 1,360.85 USD per troy ounce.
• Minyak mentah Brent naik lebih dari 2% pada sesi Senin 14 Februari naik diatas level 104 USD per barel untuk pertama kalinya dalam 28‐bulan terakhir
terdorong kekhawatiran unjuk rasa di kawasan Timur Tengah dan meningkatnya impor minyak mentah oleh China. Sementara itu harga minyak mentah AS
justru melemah, terbebani oleh naiknya cadangan minyak AS terutama pada titik penyerahan di Cushing, Oklahoma. Harga minyak mentah Brent London
untuk pengiriman April <LCOc1> naik 2,14 USD ke 103,08 USD per barel, setelah mencapai level 104,30, harga tertinggi sejak 25 September 2008. Minyak
mentah AS untuk bulan Maret <CLc1> turun 77 sen ke 84,81 USD per barel.
NEW YORK | Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:37pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Energy and commodity shares lifted Wall Street to modest gains on Monday, but the lowest volume so far this year indicated the equity rally may be near a top.
The S&P 500 edged up, trading near its highest since June 2008, nominally a good sign, but the index was stuck in the 1,325-1,333 area without enough buyers to get through this technical hurdle.
A mere 6.6 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, the lowest volume so far this year and far below the 8 billion daily average for 2011.
Shawn Hackett, president at Hackett Advisors in Boynton Beach, Florida, said rising index levels on falling volume sets the stage for a pullback.
"Everything I see suggests the driver now is a last bit of greed and momentum before the market runs out of buyers," he said.
Three-month copper hit a record high after Chinese import figures suggested strong demand for basic materials. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX.N) jumped 4.9 percent to $56.14 and the PHLX Gold/Silver index .XAU rose 2.2 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dipped 5.07 points, or 0.04 percent, to 12,268.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 3.17 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,332.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 7.74 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,817.18.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) was one of the worst performers on the Dow after JPMorgan downgraded the stock. Shares fell 1.6 percent to $54.80.
The S&P 500 has gained nearly 27 percent since the start of September. It now stands near the 50 percent extension of last year's slide from April to July and also near 100 percent advance from the low hit in March 2009.
The coincidence of the levels makes the technical resistance stronger.
Still, some traders see residual strength in the market and are willing to buy on any declines in prices.
"We wouldn't be surprised to see a pullback, but longer term we think the market has room to grow," said Mitch Rubin, chief investment officer at RiverPark Advisors in New York.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of about 5 to 4, while on the Nasdaq, about seven stocks rose for every six that fell.
U.S. President Barack Obama proposed a federal budget that he said would cut the U.S. deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years. Congress must approve the plan, and Republicans, who are in the majority in the House, said it did not curb spending enough.
Obama's budget would provide $8 billion for investment in clean energy, but big drugmakers might take a hit from generic competition under two proposals in the plan.
Among alternative energy companies, Trina Solar (TSL.N) gained 5.2 percent to $28.79 while GT Solar International (SOLR.O) climbed 2.7 percent to $11.50. Drugmaker Merck & Co (MRK.N), a Dow component, slid 0.8 percent to $32.82.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc (GMCR.O) shares jumped 6.7 percent to $46.35 after Reuters reported the company has been in partnership negotiations with Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O).
Recent merger and acquisition activity continued.
EchoStar Corp (SATS.O) agreed to buy Hughes Communications Inc (HUGH.O) for about $1.33 billion. Private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice agreed to take Emergency Medical Services Corp (EMS.N) private for about $3 billion.
Shares of Hughes fell 3.7 percent to $59.47 while EchoStar rose 3.2 percent to $30.84. Emergency Medical fell almost 11 percent to $62.92.
US & GLOBAL
• Bursa saham global seperti Wall Street dan bursa Eropa naik sementara harga komoditas seperti minyak dan emas terkoreksi pada akhir minggu kemarin
menyusul meredanya concern geopolitik setelah pernyataan mundur dari presiden Mesir, Hosni Mubarak, dan menyerahkan kepemimpinannya ke wakil
presidennya. Indeks FTSEurofirst 300 naik 0.41%, indeks MSCI untuk bursa saham dunia naik 0.16%.
• Namun USD dan obligasi pemerintah masih naik karena masih ada kekhawatiran di kalangan investor mereka terhadap kondisi Mesir yang berpotensi
meyebar ke negara‐negara Arab sekitar. Sementara data ekonomi AS kembali dirilis positif yang memperkuat pandangan terhadap kelangsungan pemulihan
ekonomi AS. Di sisi lain mulai berkembangnya pesimisme terhadap penanganan krisis utang Eropa masih menekan euro.
• Indeks Dollar AS naik lebih dari 0.2% sementara EUR/USD terkoreksi hingga 0.35% ke level 1.3540 setelah penutupan NY akhir minggu lalu. Harga emas di
pasar spot <XAU=> turun $6.00 ke level $1357.00/troy ounce.
• Di minggu ke depan isu mesir hingga concern inflasi masih akan berpotensi menjadi market‐mover, namun selain itu yang tak kalah penting adalah laporan
earning perusahaan yang kali ini akan terfokus pada perusahaan‐perusahaan Eropa. Minggu ini dijadwalkan perusahaan jasa keuangan/perbankan, seperti
Barclays, AXA, BNP Paribas hingga Volvo akan merilis laporan keuangan kuartalan mereka.
• Minggu lalu laporan keuangan Credit Suisse dirilis di bawah harapan pasar, yang mengakumulasi kekhawatiran terhadap earning korporasi global setelah
perusahaan teknologi raksasa Cisco Systems Inc melaporkan keuntungan yang mengecewakan. Belum ada setengah dari perusahaan yang tergabung dalam
indeks saham Eropa (STOXX 600) yang merilis laporan keuangannya, namun lebih dari 50% dari total yang telah melaporkan tersebut belum memenuhi
ekspektasi pasar. Dibandingkan perusahaan‐perusahaan AS yang tergabung dalam indeks S&P500, hanya 25% dari total yang telah merilis laporannya yang
tidak memenuhi ekspektasi pasar.
• Bursa emerging market terutama Asia masih diselimuti oleh concern lonjakan inflasi dan pengaruhnya terhadap pengetatan kebijakan moneter. Hal ini
menekan indeks saham MSCI emerging market hingga lebih dari 5% di minggu lalu. Kekhawatiran inflasi tersebut berkembang setelah terjadi kenaikan
harga‐harga makanan.
• Concern inflasi juga mulai menyebar ke developing market, terkait dengan dampaknya terhadap pengetatan kebijakan moneter dan kenaikan suku bunga.
Lonjakan harga di tingkat grosir/produsen juga terjadi di Jerman dan Inggris. Bahkan hal tersebut sempat menyebabkan harga inflasi di tingkat konsumen
Jerman di revisi naik.
• Minggu ini data inflasi harga konsumen di Cina, AS dan Inggris akan diamati pasar. Selain itu pasar juga akan melihat laporan inflasi kuartalan Inggris (Rabu)
minggu ini khususnya terkait dengan meningkatnya proyeksi dimulainya kenaikan suku bunga BoE di bulan Mei tahun ini.
• Concern inflasi ini pulalah yang akan mengisi pertemuan menteri keuangan dan kepala bank sentral negara‐negara G20 di Paris akhir minggu nanti. Pasar
akan melihat apakah akan dilakukan ‘tindakan bersama’ terkait dengan potensi kenaikan inflasi di emerging market. Hal ini akan berpotensi menjadi majordriver
terhadap pergerakan pasar ke depannya.
NEW YORK | Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:27pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out their second straight week of gains on Friday with a rally sparked after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned, easing tension around the region for now.
The S&P's five-month surge, which has taken it up almost 27 percent, has confounded those calling for a correction, but weak volume recently has been undercutting the unfailingly bullish direction in equities. Only 7.7 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year's daily average of 8.47 billion.
The volume "suggests that maybe we're getting waning interest and a narrowing of the market," said James Gaul, portfolio manager at Boston Advisors LLC in Boston, which manages $1.7 billion.
Financials led on the back of the reduced uncertainty, rising throughout the trading day. Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) gained 1.9 percent to $14.77 and the KBW Banks index .BKX added 1.8 percent.
Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF (EGPT.P) rallied on record volume the news, climbing 4.5 percent to $18.60.
Two weeks of anti-government protests in Egypt sparked concerns the unrest could spread across the Middle East, contributing to volatility in markets and commodity prices worldwide.
"If things deteriorated in Egypt that would have created a risk for U.S. markets, especially if the Suez Canal was closed," Gaul said. "We've removed a short-term uncertainty and are seeing a positive reaction as a result."
He added that some uncertainty persisted. Vice President Omar Suleiman said a military council would run Egyptian affairs, but some have questioned the army's appetite for real democracy.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 43.97 points, or 0.36 percent, at 12,273.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 7.28 points, or 0.55 percent, at 1,329.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 18.99 points, or 0.68 percent, at 2,809.44.
For the week, the Dow is up 1.5 percent and both the S&P and Nasdaq are up 1.4 percent.
Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) limited gains in the Dow on Friday a day after it cut its 2011 profit growth forecast, sending the stock down 1.4 percent to $30.66, the biggest percentage decliner on the blue-chip index.
Shares of mortgage insurers rose after the Obama administration presented options for overhauling the wrecked U.S. housing finance system. It pledged to continue backing existing obligations of government-controlled mortgage finance sources Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB).
PMI Group (PMI.N) shares rose 2.8 percent to $3.34 and Radian Group (RDN.N) gained 13.4 percent to $8.03.
A drought in Northern China has hit 7.7 million hectares of winter wheat growing areas, which, coupled with strong demand, is lifting some agricultural processor stocks, according to optionMonster co-founder Jon Najarian.
Agribusiness Bunge Ltd (BG.N) rose 3.4 percent to $71.36 and Archer-Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N) gained 2.2 percent to $36.22.
Commodities were a weak spot as crude oil prices declined in parallel with a falling-off of worries of possible oil supply problems in the Middle East. March crude futures dropped 1.5 percent.
Nokia (NOK1V.HE) (NOK.N), the world's largest cellphone maker, and Microsoft (MSFT.O) teamed up to build an iPhone challenger in an attempt to take on Google and Apple in the fast-growing smartphone market.
U.S.-listed shares of Nokia slumped 14 percent to $9.36. Dow component Microsoft was 0.9 percent lower at $27.25.
Almost three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. More than two stocks rose for every decliner on the Nasdaq.
US & GLOBAL
• Indeks Nasdaq dan S&P500 akhirnya mampu mencatat penguatan setelah hampir sepanjang perdagangan Kamis kemarin bergerak di
wilayah negatif. Penguatan dipicu oleh meredanya eskalasi konflik di Mesir setelah presiden Hosni Mubarak mengatakan akan
mendelegasikan kekuasaannya pada wakil presiden, setelah sebelumnya dikabarkan akan mundur dari jabatannya. Sementara Dow Jones
ditutup melemah, mengakhiri kenaikannya selama 8 sesi berturut‐turut sebelumnya setelah pesimisme outlook dari perusahaan teknologi
Cisco System Inc.
• Prospek pemulihan ekonomi AS kembali berkembang setelah data weekly jobless claims AS turun ke level terendahnya selama 2,5 tahun –
sebuah indikasi mulai membaiknya pasar tenaga kerja.
• Sementara laporan earning di Eropa mengganggu sentimen positif di bursa global semalam, setelah laporan Credit Suisse gagal memenuhi
ekspektasi pasar. Masih di Eropa, sentimen pesimis juga berkembang setelah ada indikasi penanganan krisis kredit belum memadai.
• USD menguat didukung oleh perbaikan data tenaga kerja dan lemahnya euro. Selain itu, penguatan USD juga didukung oleh lemahnya
Swiss franc yang tertahan penguatannya sebagai mata uang safe‐haven setelah meredanya eskalasi konflik di Mesir. Indeks USD mendekati
level terkuatnya selama 1 minggu di sekitar 78.336. Sementara dollar ke level terkuatnya selama 1 bulan terhadap yen di 83.29.
• Outlook Jumat (11/Feb/2011): Bursa saham Asia nampaknya masih berpotensi tertekan dari kekhawatiran inflasi dan pengetatan
kebijakan moneter di emerging market. Sementara konsolidasi di bursa Wall Street juga dapat memberikan imbasnya. USD masih
berpotensi mengalami penguatan terhadap mata uang global menyusul perbaikan ekonomi yang terus terjadi, terlebih setelah salah satu
indikator tenaga kerja mencatat perbaikan signifikan semalam.
CAIRO | Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:38pm EST
CAIRO (Reuters) - President Hosni Mubarak provoked rage on Egypt's streets on Thursday when he said he would hand over powers to his deputy but refused to step down after more than two weeks of protests demanding that he quit.
The armed forces high command had earlier issued "Communique No.1," declaring it was taking control of the nation in what some called a military coup seeking to end the turmoil under the 82-year-old former general, who has ruled for 30 years.
"Leave! Leave!" chanted hundreds of thousands who had gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square in anticipation that a televised address would be the moment their demands were met.
Instead, the former air force commander portrayed himself as a patriot and war hero overseeing an orderly transition until an election in September -- in which he said last week he would not stand. Mubarak praised young people who have stunned the Arab world with unprecedented rallies. He offered constitutional change and a bigger role for Vice President Omar Suleiman.
Waving shoes in the air in a dramatic Arab show of contempt, the crowds in central Cairo chanted: "Down, down Hosni Mubarak."
Asked if Mubarak would step down, an Egyptian official had told Reuters before the speech: "Most probably." But his information minister had said that would not be the case.
Joy turned to despair and then to anger.
Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize winner and retired U.N. diplomat who runs a liberal political movement, wrote on Twitter: "Egypt will explode. Army must save the country now."
DELEGATING POWERS
In a 20-minute address in which he said he would not bow to foreign pressure -- Washington has called on its old ally to make way quickly -- Mubarak said he would "delegate to the vice president of the republic the prerogatives of the president of the republic in a manner that is fixed by the constitution."
"It is not immediately clear what powers are being handed over," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC.
Suleiman, a 74-year-old former intelligence chief who was promoted just last month, is not widely popular with protesters who are seeking a complete break with the military-dominated system that has governed
Egypt for the past six decades.
Suleiman appeared on state television to say there was a "road map" for transition and said he would oversee a "peaceful transition of power" in the Arab world's most populous nation.
Egypt's sprawling armed forces -- the world's 10th biggest and more than 468,000-strong -- have been at the heart of power since army officers overthrew the British-backed king in 1952.
The army, from politically plugged-in generals to poor conscripts and junior officers, is key to what happens next. "This poses a real dilemma for the army," said Rosemary Hollis at London's City University. "Are they going to allow the demonstrators to escalate their demonstrations so that they push the point that Mubarak has got to go, and that means the army definitely does split with Mubarak? he demonstrators are very disappointed and there will be violence."
Robert Springborg of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School called Mubarak and Suleiman's speeches "enormously provocative," made by "desperate men, willing to gamble the fate of the nation for their own personal interest."
"The speeches ... are not intended to bring an end to the crisis in a peaceful way but to inflame the situation so there is justification for the imposition of direct military rule. They are risking not only the coherence of the military but even indeed, and I use this term with advisement here, civil war."
The army quelled bread riots in Egypt in 1977 and halted a rampage by policemen over pay in 1986, but the momentous scale and consequences of the uprising that began on January 25 across the country dwarfs those events.
I FELT YOUR PAIN
"I have felt all the pain you felt," said Mubarak, who last week had already pledged not to run again in September. "I will not go back on my response to your voice and your call."
"Your demands are legitimate and just ... There is no shame in hearing your voices and opinions, but I refuse any and all dictations from abroad," he said.
"I have announced my commitment to peacefully hand over power after upcoming elections ... I will deliver Egypt and its people to safety," he said, once more, as he did last week, trying to paint himself as the father of the nation.
After the speech last week many Egyptians beyond the urban elites in the vanguard of recent protests had said they were satisfied by a promise of change in due course and have said they were more interested now in an end to economic disruption.
Tourists, a key source of income to the country of pyramids and Red Sea beaches, have deserted the hotels since last month.
But the anger on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, hours ahead of a planned "Day of Martyrs" protest on Friday to commemorate the 300 or more killed by security forces since January 25 appeared ominous in an environment where the army has been on the streets for two weeks and on Thursday said it was in charge.
"We want a civilian state, civilian state, civilian state!" Doaa Abdelaal said on Twitter, an Internet service that many see as a vital catalyst for the protests in Tunisia and Egypt that have electrified oppressed populations across the Arab world.
"The army is worried that tomorrow on Friday the people will overpower state buildings and the army will not be able to fire back," Anees said. "The army now is pressuring Mubarak to resolve the situation."
It remained to be seen if his speech would satisfy the army.
"He doesn't seem to understand the magnitude of what is happening in Egypt. At this point I don't think it will suffice," said Alanoud al-Sharek at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "He has performed quite a sleight of hand. He has transferred authority to Omar Suleiman while somehow retaining his position as ruler."
WASHINGTON WARY OF TUMULT
News that Mubarak may hand over power, or be unseated, in this key American ally in the Middle East had provoked loud and emotional cheers in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point for pro-democracy demonstrations. But some in the crowd were quick to protest they did not want military rule.
Washington's approach to the turmoil has been based from the start on Egypt's strategic importance -- as a rare Arab state no longer hostile to Israel, as the guardian of the Suez canal linking Europe and Asia and as a major force against militant Islam in the Middle East.
President Barack Obama, hailing history unfolding, said the United States would support an "orderly and genuine transition to democracy" -- Washington would be publicly uncomfortable if the army held on to power, and also does not want Islamist rule.
It had no immediate reaction to Mubarak's speech.
Washington pressured Mubarak to speed up the pace of reform but stopped short of demanding the resignation of the president of the country, which has a 1979 peace treaty with Israel and an army which receives about $1.3 billion in U.S. aid a year.
The protests that have shaken the Egyptian political system and the political landscape of the Middle East was partly inspired by the example of Tunisia, where street protesters toppled the president on January 14.
US & GLOBAL
• Aksi ambil untung investor mendominasi perdagangan sesi Rabu 09 Februari pasca kenaikan tajam indeks dalam beberapa sesi terakhir, namun penguatan
saham Bank of America di akhir sesi berhasil mendorong Dow Jones ditutup di area positif dan mencatat penguatan beruntun dalam 8‐sesi terakhir. Pelaku
pasar optimistis bahwa laporan earning korporasi yang solid masih akan memberi inspirasi penguatan bursa lebih lanjut, meskipun volume perdagangan
yang cukup tipis akhir‐akhir ini mulai menimbulkan kekhawatiran bahwa minat beli investor sudah mulai berkurang.
• Raksasa teknologi Cisco Systems Inc pasca penutpan pasar melaporkan laporan keuangan yang lebih tinggi dari perkiraan, meskipun marjin keuntungannya
tidak terlalu menggembirakan. Sementara itu saham‐saham energi dan materal membebani kinerja indeks terdesak proyeksi akan berkurangnya permintaan
dari emerging countries terutama Cina dan India. Indeks Dow Jones <. DJI> naik 6,74 poin atau 0,06% ke 1,239.89, indeks S&P500 <. SPX> turun 3,69 poin
atau 0,28% ke 1,320.88 dan Nasdaq <. IXIC> turun 7,98 poin atau 0,29% ke 2,789.07.
• Dollar AS merosot terhadap euro menyusul turunnya imbal hasil obligasi AS yang memicu aksi jual investor terhadap dollar AS terdorong komentar Ketua
Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke bahwa program pembelian obligasi masih akan terus berlanjut. Dollar AS jatuh ke level terendah dalam 3‐hari terakhir
terhadap euro, namun stabil terhadap yen Jepang. Euro sempat menguat hingga level 1,3745 <EUR=> berhasil menembus diatas resistance 1.3740 (level
teknis, 61.8% fibonacci retracement dari pelemahan sejak November hingga Januari), untuk kemudian ditutup naik 0.7% ke level 1,3722.
• Investor berharap dengan data fundamental ekonomi akhir‐akhir ini yang positif, The Fed akan mulai berfikir untuk mengakhiri program pembelian obligasi
senilai 600 miliar USD lebih cepat dari yang diharapkan. Namun sebaliknya, Bernanke justru kembali menekankan kekhawatiran tentang angka
pengangguran yang tinggi, kondisi mana menguatkan ekspektasi bahwa quantitative easning The Fed masih akan berlangsung dan akan mendorong
pelemahan dollar AS. Dollar AS tercatat melemah 0,6% terhadap Swiss Franc <CHF=> ke 0,9574 franc dan juga turun 0,2% terhadap sterling ke 1,6102
<GBP=>.
• Emas ditutup stagnan dalam sesi perdagangan yang tipis didukung oleh pelemahan dollar AS terhadap mata uang utama dunia pasca komentar Ketua The
Fed ‐ Ben Bernanke. Harga spot emas <XAU=> turun 0,1% ke 1,362.04 USD per troy ounce.
• Sementara itu harga minyak mentah Brent crude London melonjak hampir 2% ke level 101.82 USD per barel ditopang pelemahan dollar AS dan masih
berlanjutnya kerusuhan di Mesir yang memicu kekhawatiran akan pasokan minyak di kawasan tersebut. Harga minyak mentah AS untuk pengiriman Maret
<CLH1> ditutup turun 23 sen ke level 86,71 USD per barel.
NEW YORK | Wed Feb 9, 2011 3:44pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold was little changed on Wednesday as the market was underpinned by a dollar drop and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comment that he had no plans to scrap a massive bond-buying program, indicating interest rates will not rise any time soon.
In testimony to Congress, Bernanke suggested U.S. economic conditions were still too weak for the central bank to pull back on its vast monetary stimulus, despite a welcome drop in the jobless rate.
"I saw the positives to gold in Bernanke's comments. It seems that he's going to maintain the QE2 policy in place, and that's a bullish argument for commodities," said Tom Pawlicki, a precious metals and energy analyst at MF Global.
In November, the Fed launched a plan to buy $600 billion in government debt to keep borrowing costs low to stimulate the economy, a process known as quantitative easing.
Gold was trying to restore upward momentum after gaining more than 4 percent in the past 10 days, and a rise in Chinese interest rates for the second time in just over six weeks benefited gold's status as an inflation hedge.
Spot gold slipped 0.1 percent to $1,362.04 an ounce by 3:02 p.m. EST.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled up $1.40 at $1,365.50. Trading volume nearly halved its 30-day average, in line with weaker turnover in the past several sessions.
Bullion buying increased as the dollar faltered against the euro and as U.S. bond yields fell after a seven-session winning streak following a solid auction of 10-year Treasury notes, traders said.
A run of well-received economic data in January had taken the wind out of gold's sails and increased speculation that a correction was due, pushing prices back toward $1,300 an ounce.
"A lot of speculative (investors) that had gone in at the end of last year clearly saw growth being reignited and they got scared," said London & Capital portfolio manager Pau Morilla Giner. "They thought that gold would lose its appeal."
"But the long-term money in gold is still there," he said. "The realization is that economic news has been better than expected because the stimulus that has been applied has been extraordinary."
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, dipped to 1,228.56 tonnes on Tuesday from 1,228.864 tonnes the previous day, although the hefty outflows seen in January have apparently been staunched.
The SPDR fund experienced its second-biggest monthly outflow and the main silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust, its biggest ever outflow last month, adding downward momentum to precious metal prices.
GOLD-SILVER RATIO DROPS
Silver eased 0.7 percent to $30.11 an ounce, after reaching its highest price since January 4 on Tuesday at $30.84 an ounce.
The gold-silver ratio -- the number of silver ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold -- fell to near a five-year low.
"Traders are trying to play the industrial uses of silver. As the economic data has improved, they bought silver over gold, thinking that they would benefit from both silver's precious and industrial aspects," MF Global's Pawlicki said.
However, increasing acceptance of physical gold bullion as collateral by banks and exchanges could provide support to the prices of the yellow metal, Pawlicki said.
Earlier this week, J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM.N) said it would accept physical gold as collateral with its counterparties as a growing number of clients look to use bullion as a hedge against inflation.
LCH.Clearnet also said it was hoping to accept gold as collateral later this year.
Platinum and palladium rose back to multi-year highs on Wednesday at $1,865 and $836.75 an ounce, respectively, boosted by firmer gold prices, a softer dollar, and expectations that demand from carmakers for the autocatalyst metals will improve.
Platinum slipped 0.2 percent to $1,850.99 an ounce, while palladium dropped 1.4 percent to $826.45.
Prices at 3:11 p.m. EST
LAST/ NET PCT YTD
CLOSE CHG CHG CHG US gold 1365.50 1.40 0.1% -3.9% US silver 30.276 0.005 0.0% -2.1% US platinum 1859.40 -2.50 -0.1% 4.6% US palladium 826.45 -12.00 -1.4% 2.9%
Gold 1362.06 -1.53 -0.1% -4.0% Silver 30.12 -0.19 -0.6% -2.4% Platinum 1851.24 -4.00 -0.2% 4.7% Palladium 823.72 -12.00 -1.4% 3.0%
Gold Fix 1365.00 2.50 0.2% -3.2% Silver Fix 30.22 80.00 2.7% -1.3% Platinum Fix 1858.00 5.00 0.3% 7.3% Palladium Fix 835.00 1.00 0.1% 5.6%
