DAILY

31st March 2014

PSI20: +0.43% DAX30: -0.33% FTSE100: -0.26% S&P500: +0.79% NIKKEI225: +0.90%
Euronext Lisbon rose for the fifth session in a row. Although, it has fluctuated between gains and losses throughout the day, the benchmark index of the Portuguese market (PSI20) closed with a rise of 0.43%, closing at 7 607.55 points. More >>

According to official data released by INE, the Portuguese Public budget deficit in 2013 was 4.9%, below
the target set by the Government. And without the effects of extraordinary, positive and negative measures, it reached 5.2% of GDP. More >>

Milan-listed shares outperformed skittish European bourses on Monday, helping a euro zone index touch a 5-1/2 year peak as the market welcomed signs that smaller Italian lenders are boosting their capital and winning over international investors. Euro STOXX 50 index ended 0.3% lower at 3161.60 points. More >> Consumer price inflation in the euro zone slowed to the weakest level since November 2009 in March, underlining concerns over the threat of deflation in the region. Eurostat said consumer price inflation increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% this month, down from 0.7% in February. More >>

Stocks wrapped up the session on a high note, with the Dow logging triple-digit gains, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said there's still room for the central bank to help the economy. But major index ended relatively flat for the first quarter of 2014. More >> Manufacturing activity in the Chicago-area expanded at a slower rate than expected in March, dampening optimism over U.S. economic growth. Chicago PMI fell to a seasonally adjusted 55.9 from a reading of 59.8 in February, while analysts had expected the index to decline to 59.0 in March. More >>

Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index heading for its fourth straight daily gain, as consumer shares led the advance. More >> Japans industrial production fell in February, as the first sales-tax increase since 1997 risks stalling recovery in the worlds third-biggest economy. More >> In a report, Reserve Bank of Australia said that Australian Private Sector Credit rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, from 0.4% in the preceding month. More >>

CORN ($501.62/bu, +2.19%): Corn futures entered a bull market today as the U.S. government said supplies are tighter than expected. Soybeans rose to the highest in nine months. More >> NATURAL GAS ($4.372/MmBtu, -2.04%): Natural gas dropped as mild springtime weather returned to U.S., which should prompt households to throttle back on heating. More >>

GOLD ($1285.60/oz t, -0.86%): Gold futures fell to the lowest in six weeks as a rally in U.S. equities cut demand for the metal as a haven asset. More >>

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