Stock Market News
US pre-open: Stock futures gain as US durable goods orders rise
26-03-2014 12:05
Add To Google +1 | Tweet |
US stock futures rallied after a Federal Reserve official said the US jobless rate will fall below six per cent this year.
James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, painted a bright outlook for the US economy despite weak data earlier in the year.
"The biggest thing is that unemployment has come down more quickly than expected," he said at the annual Credit Suisse investor conference in Hong Kong today.
The unemployment rate for February was 6.7%, just off January's five-year low of 6.6%.
In another lift to markets on Wednesday, a report showed US durable goods orders rose more than expected in February.
Orders gained 2.2%, compared to a 1.3% fall in January. Economists had predicted a 0.8% rise.
Crimea
Geopolitical tensions remained high after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last week.
Political leaders from the world's top economies removed Russia from the G8 on Monday as they met in The Hague. The group said it was ready to "intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation".
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing the weakest domestic economic outlook since 2009, has shrugged off threats of sanctions from the US and European Union.
Sources told Bloomberg there would be serious repercussions for the move as Russia may have to direct at least $2.8bn of emergency budget reserves this year to subsidise Crimea.
Facebook gains on Oculus deal
Facebook advanced as the social network group said it will spend $2bn to buy Oculus, which makes virtual-reality headsets.
Endocyte declined after the biotechnology company said it will offer 4.5m shares to raise funds for working capital, research and development and clinical-trial costs.
Tesla Motors climbed as the Ohio Senate committee approved a bill that permits the company to operate retail stores.
RD
James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, painted a bright outlook for the US economy despite weak data earlier in the year.
"The biggest thing is that unemployment has come down more quickly than expected," he said at the annual Credit Suisse investor conference in Hong Kong today.
The unemployment rate for February was 6.7%, just off January's five-year low of 6.6%.
In another lift to markets on Wednesday, a report showed US durable goods orders rose more than expected in February.
Orders gained 2.2%, compared to a 1.3% fall in January. Economists had predicted a 0.8% rise.
Crimea
Geopolitical tensions remained high after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last week.
Political leaders from the world's top economies removed Russia from the G8 on Monday as they met in The Hague. The group said it was ready to "intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation".
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing the weakest domestic economic outlook since 2009, has shrugged off threats of sanctions from the US and European Union.
Sources told Bloomberg there would be serious repercussions for the move as Russia may have to direct at least $2.8bn of emergency budget reserves this year to subsidise Crimea.
Facebook gains on Oculus deal
Facebook advanced as the social network group said it will spend $2bn to buy Oculus, which makes virtual-reality headsets.
Endocyte declined after the biotechnology company said it will offer 4.5m shares to raise funds for working capital, research and development and clinical-trial costs.
Tesla Motors climbed as the Ohio Senate committee approved a bill that permits the company to operate retail stores.
RD
Related share prices |
---|
Stock News is provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions from Sharecast news. Please read the terms and conditions of useage of this data. Republication or redistribution of content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Digital Look Ltd.
Get a free widget for your website with our latest headlines.
You can now add our live prices and new headlines to your website.The news widget features quotes for Oil prices, spot Gold price and Indices plus a choice of news channel for healines.
Top Shares pages
- Share price quotes
- Share charts
- Share watch list
- Company Results Calendar
- Top Large UK Shares
- UK Market Sectors
- Stock market news
- Company news
- Share tips
- A-Z company search
More share features
POPULAR Share Prices
- Royal Mail share price
- Lloyds share price
- HSBC share price
- Barclays share price
- Prudential share price
- Santander share price
- RBS share price
- Diageo share price
- Standard Life Share Price
- BP share price
- Vodafone share price
- British Airways
- Centrica share price
- Tesco share price
- Taylor Wimpey Share Price
- National Grid
- GKP Share Price
- Marks and Spencer
- Rolls Royce
- Rio Tinto
- Morrisons Share Price
- Aviva Share Price
- LGO Share price
- Tullow Oil Share Price
- SXX Share Price
- Easyjet Share Price
- Next Share Price
- Thomas Cook Share Price
- SSE Share Price
- IAG Share Price
- Bat share price
- Monitise Share Price
- Kingfisher share price
- Dragon Oil share price
- UKOG share price
- SOLG share price