27.02.14

Good morning,

Australian Capital Expenditure figures came in well below expectations with a decline of just over 5%. The Aussie sold off against the USD continuing the downtrend, dropping to currently trade just above the 0.89 figure. The decline in spending has been attributed, in some parts, to the decline in the mining industry and the slowdown in machinery purchases. Later today we will see a number of key figures released in Japan, including the Consumer Price Index, and their unemployment rate.

The NIKKEI was trading at 14923.11 down 47.86 or minus 0.32%

European markets will see German Unemployment data expected to remain at 6.8%. Also this morning Euro Zone figures include Consumer Confidence, and Economic Sentiment. Ukrainian issues are currently up for discussion as Russia and Europe both will be seen to have an interest in how the region develops following the recent protests. The Ukrainian Hryvnia devalued by over 10% against the USD recently.

The FTSE100 closed at 6799.15 down 31.35 or minus 0.46%while the DAX closed at 9661.73 down 37.62 points or minus 0.39%

Today will see new FED chair Janet Yellen speak with markets expected to be react around her speech with the EURUSD trading at 1.3660 currently. Should there be further indications that the bond buying stimulus is to be increased or decreased in the speech then this could have impact on both currencies and indices.

The DOW closed at 16198.41 up 18.75 points for the day, or an increase of 0.12%

Hope you all have a good day.