U.K. stocks lower at close of trade; Investing.com United Kingdom 100 down 0.45%

Stock market

U.K. stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Industrial Metals & Mining, Mining and Oil & Gas Producers sectors led shares lower.

At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 declined 0.45%.

The best performers of the session on the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 were Taylor Wimpey PLC (LON:TW), which rose 3.52% or 5.40 points to trade at 158.70 at the close. Meanwhile, Barratt Developments PLC (LON:BDEV) added 2.84% or 12.800 points to end at 463.500 and Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) was up 2.63% or 46.00 points to 1794.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES), which fell 5.88% or 114.00 points to trade at 1825.00 at the close. Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) declined 4.02% or 35.00 points to end at 835.00 and Randgold Resources Ltd (LON:RRS) was down 3.95% or 330.00 points to 8020.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the London Stock Exchange by 1093 to 1006 and 462 ended unchanged.

Gold for December delivery was down 0.19% or 2.55 to $1343.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 2.97% or 1.46 to hit $47.65 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 3.03% or 1.54 to trade at $49.34 a barrel.

GBP/USD was up 0.46% to 1.3136, while EUR/GBP fell 0.54% to 0.8614.

The US Dollar Index was up 0.06% at 94.54.

Source by investing.com

Germany stocks mixed at close of trade; DAX down 0.47%

Stock market

Germany stocks were mixed after the close on Monday, as gains in the Utilities, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare and Media sectors led shares higher while losses in the Food & Beverages, Consumer & Cyclical and Financial Services sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX declined 0.47%, while the MDAX index declined 0.31%, and the TecDAX index gained 0.16%.

The best performers of the session on the DAX were Fresenius Medical Care KGAA ST (DE:FMEG), which rose 1.47% or 1.160 points to trade at 80.010 at the close. Meanwhile, RWE AG ST O.N. (DE:RWEG) added 0.69% or 0.100 points to end at 14.605 and E.ON SE NA (DE:EONGn) was up 0.67% or 0.055 points to 8.205 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Thyssenkrupp AG O.N. (DE:TKAG), which fell 3.04% or 0.660 points to trade at 21.085 at the close. Deutsche Boerse AG (DE:DB1Gn) declined 2.43% or 1.850 points to end at 74.330 and Adidas AG NA O.N. (DE:ADSGN) was down 1.69% or 2.650 points to 153.900.

The top performers on the MDAX were Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (DE:PBBG) which rose 2.54% to 8.31, Metro AG ST O.N. (DE:MEOG) which was up 1.35% to settle at 26.595 and Rhoen Klinikum AG (DE:RHKG) which gained 0.91% to close at 26.020.

The worst performers were Suedzucker AG (DE:SZUG) which was down 5.72% to 22.405 in late trade, GEA Group AG (DE:G1AG) which lost 2.51% to settle at 48.025 and SalzgitterAG (DE:SZGG) which was down 1.92% to 28.570 at the close.

The top performers on the TecDAX were Morphosys AG O.N. (DE:MORG) which rose 2.48% to 38.995, GFT Technologies AG (DE:GFTG) which was up 1.99% to settle at 19.445 and Slm Solution G (DE:AM3D) which gained 1.52% to close at 27.70.

The worst performers were Siltronic AG (DE:WAFGn) which was down 4.50% to 17.615 in late trade, SMA Solar Technology AG (DE:S92G) which lost 1.50% to settle at 30.880 andRIB Software AG Na (DE:RIB) which was down 1.49% to 9.575 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 463 to 412 and 37 ended unchanged.

The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was unchanged 0.00% to 17.92.

Gold for December delivery was down 0.17% or 2.35 to $1343.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 2.97% or 1.46 to hit $47.65 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 2.99% or 1.52 to trade at $49.36 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.08% to 1.1315, while EUR/GBP fell 0.55% to 0.8613.

The US Dollar Index was up 0.06% at 94.54.

Source by Investing.com

Chinese investors buy ad tech startup Media.net for $900 million

Technology

Advertising technology startup Media.net, founded by tech entrepreneur Divyank Turakhia, said on Monday it had been acquired for about $900 million by a group of Chinese investors.

The deal would represent the third-largest in the ad tech industry, after Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) unit Google's acquisition of DoubleClick and Microsoft Corp's (O:MSFT) deal for aQuantive.

"We got an incredible amount of interest just because ad tech is a large and growing space and, at the same time, the number of companies that have been successful in it have been limited," Turakhia said in an interview.

The company's products, which are licensed by various publishers and ad networks, auto-learn and display the most relevant ads to users.

Media.net, a Yahoo Inc (O:YHOO) ad partner, attracted seven bidders, including a publicly listed company based in the United States.

However, the bid fell through following a substantial decrease in the company's stock value, Turakhia said.

The deal gives Media.net access to the Chinese online advertising market, which is currently the second largest in the world, Turakhia said.

Digital ad spend in China is expected to reach $40.42 billion in 2016, a 30 percent jump from a year earlier, according to research firm eMarketer.

Media.net, which is based in Dubai and New York, gets 90 percent of its revenue from the United States.

The company posted revenue of $232 million in 2015, with more than half of that coming from mobile users.

The Chinese consortium will buy Media.net from Turakhia's Starbuster TMT Investments and has already made a payment of $426 million.

The group is led by Zhang Zhiyong, the chairman of telecom firm Beijing Miteno Communication Technology Co.

Miteno's shares have been halted since December.

Source by Reuters

Norway stocks higher at close of trade; Oslo OBX up 0.07%

Stock market

Norway stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Healthcare Equipment & Services, Food, Beverages & Tobacco and Banking sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Oslo, the Oslo OBX rose 0.07%.

The best performers of the session on the Oslo OBX were Fred. Olsen Energy ASA (OL:FOE), which rose 12.98% or 1.9 points to trade at 16.1 at the close. Meanwhile,Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (OL:NWC) added 3.70% or 11.2 points to end at 314.0 and Bw Lpg (OL:BWLPG) was up 1.72% or 0.47 points to 27.77 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Yara International ASA (OL:YAR), which fell 9.12% or 29.0 points to trade at 288.9 at the close. Seadrill Limited (OL:SDRL) declined 4.02% or 0.9 points to end at 21.5 and REC Silicon ASA (OL:REC) was down 3.26% or 0.05 points to 1.33.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Oslo Stock Exchange by 98 to 77 and 23 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for October delivery was down 3.03% or 1.49 to $47.62 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 3.09% or 1.57 to hit $49.31 a barrel, while the December Gold contract fell 0.22% or 2.90 to trade at $1343.30 a troy ounce.

EUR/NOK was up 0.08% to 9.3115, while USD/NOK rose 0.14% to 8.2292.

The US Dollar Index was up 0.06% at 94.54.

Source by Investing.com

Sweden stocks lower at close of trade; OMX Stockholm 30 down 0.15%

Stock market

Sweden stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Stockholm, the OMX Stockholm 30 declined 0.15%.

The best performers of the session on the OMX Stockholm 30 were Volvo, AB ser. B (ST:VOLVb), which rose 1.56% or 1.38 points to trade at 89.88 at the close. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca PLC (ST:AZN) added 1.07% or 6.0 points to end at 566.0 and ASSA ABLOY AB ser. B (ST:ASSAb) was up 1.05% or 1.9 points to 183.5 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Getinge AB ser. B (ST:GETIBs), which fell 3.84% or 6.7 points to trade at 167.6 at the close. Lundin Petroleum AB (ST:LUPE) declined 1.89% or 2.90 points to end at 150.60 and Nokia Oyj (ST:NOKIA) was down 1.35% or 0.64 points to 46.91.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Stockholm Stock Exchange by 313 to 265 and 74 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for October delivery was down 3.05% or 1.50 to $47.61 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 3.09% or 1.57 to hit $49.31 a barrel, while the December Gold contract fell 0.23% or 3.05 to trade at $1343.15 a troy ounce.

EUR/SEK was down 0.24% to 9.4855, while USD/SEK fell 0.03% to 8.3843.

The US Dollar Index was up 0.07% at 94.55.

Source by Investing.com

U.S. stocks lower while digesting Fed comments, oil slumps 3%

Stock market

Market participants opted to sell U.S. equities on Monday despite the lack of news flow as traders continued to digest comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials and started the countdown to the U.S. central bank head Janet Yellen’s speech on Friday, while oil slumped 3%, ending a seven-day rally.

At 15:34GMT, or 11:34AM ET, the Dow 30 lost 52 points, or 0.28%, the S&P 500 fell 6 points, or 0.27%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded down 10 points, or 0.20%.

Fed vice chair Stanley Fischer said on Sunday that the U.S. economy was close to hitting the central bank's targets for full employment and 2% inflation.

Fischer's speech was just the latest piece of hawkish rhetoric from top Fed officials. Last week, San Francisco Fed president John Williams, New York Fed chief William Dudley and Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart all said a September rate hike may be on the table.

Yellen will give a speech at the end of the week at the Economic Symposium at Jackson Hole and investors will look for clues on the future path of monetary policy.

However, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, investors are pricing in just a 15% chance of a rate hike by September, up from just 6% at the start of last week.

Still, the probability of an increase at the December meeting once again surpassed the 50% threshold on Monday.

With no major macro data set for release on Monday, Fischer’s remarks were helping support the dollar against major rivals, while causing gold to slump to a two-week low.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, edged forward 0.05% at 94.53, at 15:36GMT or 11:36ET, while gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 0.27%, or $3.65, to $1,342.55.

Meanwhile, oil snapped a seven-session win streak on Monday as reports surfaced that Iraq would increase crude exports by 5%, further undermining recent speculation that OPEC could take measures to control output when it meets on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in September.

Additionally, indications of an ongoing recovery in U.S. drilling activity also kept prices under pressure. According to oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. last week increased by 10 to 406, the eighth consecutive weekly rise and the 11th increase in 12 weeks.

U.S. crude futures slumped 2.99% to $47.64 by 15:38GMT, or 11:38AM ET, while Brent oil traded down 2.91% to $49.40.

In company news, Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) jumped almost 20% after Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) confirmed a deal to acquire the U.S. cancer drug company for close to $14 billion.

Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ:ISIL) was also up almost 19% on a report that Japan’s Renesas Electronics was close to deal to buy the U.S. chipmaker for $3 billion.

Source by Investing.com

Oil down 2 pct as rally snaps on rising crude, China fuel exports

Commodities

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Monday, retreating from last week's two-month highs, on worries about burgeoning Chinese fuel exports, more Iraqi and Nigerian crude shipments and a rising U.S. oil rig count.

China's July diesel and gasoline exports soared 181.8 percent and 145.2 percent respectively from the same month last year, putting pressure on refined product margins.

U.S. drillers added 10 oil rigs in the week to Aug. 19, the eight straight week of rig additions, as crude rebounded towards the $50 a barrel mark that makes drilling viable.

Iraq's plans this week to increase exports of Kirkuk crude by 150,000 bpd from northern fields weighed on prices, traders said.

Also hitting sentiment was an announcement by a Nigerian militant group that it was ready for a ceasefire and dialogue with the government. The group had in the past claimed a wave of attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta.

Data from market intelligence firm Genscape, showing a drawdown of over 187,000 barrels last week at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. crude futures, did little to shore up sentiment, traders who saw the numbers said.

Brent crude was down $1.34, or 2.6 percent, at $49.54 a barrel by 11:02 a.m. EDT (1502 GMT). Brent hit a two-month high of $51.22 on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude's most active contract, October , fell $1.28, or 2.5 percent, to $49.60 a barrel. WTI's front-month contract, September , which expires at Monday's settlement, hit a six-week high of $48.75 on Friday.

Oil rallied with few stops over the past two weeks, going from a bear to bull market as it reversed a loss of over 20 percent in early August on speculation Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree to a production freeze with Russia and other non-OPEC members.

"We continue to view a meaningful OPEC production agreement as highly unlikely," Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said in a note.

"It is unlikely Riyadh will take any freeze negotiation seriously as officials believe the market share policy is slowly but surely working," Morgan Stanley said, referring to Saudi Arabia's policy of defending market share above price support.

It, however, added that oil could be volatile between now and late September before OPEC and other producers meet in Algeria.

Based on the growing crude output and storage overhang in fuel, investment bank Barclays(LON:BARC) said crude at $50 and above was unsustainable.

"Oil prices will likely experience another short-term dip in the coming weeks," it added.

Source by Reuters

Saudi Arabia stocks lower at close of trade; Tadawul All Share down 1.65%

Stock market

Saudi Arabia stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Media & Publishing, Industrial Investment and Cement sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share fell 1.65% to hit a new 3-months low.

The best performers of the session on the Tadawul All Share were Arabian Shield Coop Insurance Co (SE:8070), which rose 2.13% or 0.50 points to trade at 24.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Saudi Electricity Company (SE:5110) added 1.30% or 0.25 points to end at 19.50 and Saudi Industrial Export Co (SE:4140) was up 0.54% or 0.20 points to 37.50 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were The National Co for Glass Industrie (SE:2150), which fell 8.68% or 1.90 points to trade at 20.00 at the close. Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SE:2250) declined 7.72% or 1.05 points to end at 12.55 and Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker (SE:1214) was down 6.53% or 1.30 points to 18.60.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 159 to 4 and 6 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for October delivery was down 2.12% or 1.04 to $48.07 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 2.52% or 1.28 to hit $49.60 a barrel, while the December Gold contract fell 0.31% or 4.15 to trade at $1342.05 a troy ounce.

EUR/SAR was down 0.12% to 4.2415, while USD/SAR rose 0.01% to 3.7504.

The US Dollar Index was up 0.10% at 94.57.

Source by Investing.com

Wall Street set to open lower as oil prices drop

Wall Street

Wall Street looked set for a lower open on Monday as oil prices dropped the most in four weeks and dollar strengthened on bets of an interest rate hike in the coming months.

With the earnings season coming to an end, investor focus will shift to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech on Friday at the annual central bankers' meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

"The markets will start to get a little bit nervous about what's going to be said, what kind of indications will be given about a September hike," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth in New York.

The case for an imminent rate hike was strengthened by Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer's comments that the U.S. economy was close to hitting job and inflation targets.

New York Fed president and permanent voting member William Dudley said last week that a hike as soon as next month was possible.

The dollar index (DXY) rose for the second day, after five straight sessions of losses, on prospects of a rate hike in the coming months.

Traders have priced in a 12 percent chance of a rate hike for September and a 39.1 percent chance for December, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Oil prices fell nearly 3 percent on Monday as China ramped up exports of refined products, U.S. producers added rigs for an eighth consecutive week, and prospects emerged for increased exports from Iraq and Nigeria. [O/R]

Wall Street closed lower on Friday, with the major indexes barely making any gains for the week, as investors weighed prospects of a rate hike.

Dow e-minis (1YMc1) were down 34 points, or 0.18 percent, at 8:31 a.m. ET on Monday, with 19,703 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis (ESc1) were down 3.25 points, or 0.15 percent, with 180,941 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis (NQc1) were down 6.25 points, or 0.13 percent, on volume of 25,152 contracts.

Medivation (O:MDVN) shares jumped 19.8 percent to $80.43 premarket after agreeing to be bought by Pfizer (N:PFE) for $14 billion. Pfizer's shares were marginally lower at $34.75.

Syngenta's U.S.-listed shares (N:SYT) jumped 11.3 percent after a U.S. national security panel cleared ChemChina's $43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group.

Valeant's U.S.-listed shares (N:VRX) rose 3.4 percent to $29.73 after the Canadian drugmaker named a new chief financial officer.

Chipmaker Intersil (O:ISIL) jumped 28 percent $20 after a source told Reuters that Japan's Renesas was in the final stages of negotiations to acquire the company for about $2.99 billion.

Source by Reuters

Mexican Economic Indicators

Economic Indicators

Mexican GDP 2.4% vs. 2.4% forecast

Mexico’s gross domestic product fell in the last quarter, official data showed on Monday.

In a report, Insituto Nacional de Estadistica Y Geografia said that Mexican GDP fell to a seasonally adjusted 2.4%, from 2.6% in the preceding quarter.

Analysts had expected Mexican GDP to fall to 2.4% in the last quarter.

Mexican economic activity 2.20% vs. 1.85% forecast

Economic activity in Mexico remained unchanged unexpectedly last month, official data showed on Monday.

In a report, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia said that Mexican Economic Activity remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 2.20%, from 2.20% in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected Mexican Economic Activity to fall to 1.85% last month.

Source by Investing.com