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That seems to be one takeaway from the surge in stocks and other assets in the global “risk-on” rally that followed Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. After all, the speech was notably short on details. But the sober tone was hailed as more befitting the office and roundly cited as a factor in a global rally by equities that saw the DJIA, +1.46%  top 21,000 for the first time ever as the S&P 500 SPX, +1.37%  and other major Wall Street indexes set new records. See: Trump shifts tone but not policies in speech to Congress Some investors and analysts, however, question just how big of a factor policy proposals have been in driving a record-busting U.S. equity rally. Read: Dow tops 21,000—on pace for fastest milestone in history “There weren’t too many surprises regarding the programs Trump wants to implement, but the specific details and timeline are still scarce, adding to the argument that the market maybe isn’t as polic...

Saudi Arabia on Sunday launched a parallel equity market designed to boost small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that closed up 20 percent, the maximum allowed in a single day, brokers said. The index on the parallel market, Nomu, listing seven companies, closed at 6,000 points with trading of SR256 million (about $67 million). Argaam, a Saudi economic website, put the total capitalization of the seven companies trading on Nomu at SR1.8 million ($479 million). The companies listed are Raydan Restaurants, Baazeem Trading Company, Arab Sea, Al-Omran Trading, Abdullah Saad Abo Moati, Food Development Company and Al-Samaani Metal. Argaam said Baazeem was the most active on Sunday with 2.2 million shares trading hands. To be listed on Nomu, companies must have a market value of at least SR10 million ($2.7 million), a minimum of 35-50 shareholders and at least 20 percent of shares publicly owned. Nomu’s launch was announced last Monday by Tadawul, which said the new equit...

U.S. President Donald Trump's planned economic agenda has fanned the flames for Wall Street's record-setting run, but some investors worry that his first major address to Congress next week risks dousing it if his plans look slow to execute or are overly vague. The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX has surged 10 percent since Trump's Nov. 8 election, with optimism running high over the Republican administration's domestic proposals, including plans to reform taxes paid by businesses. But there have been few specifics so far, and some investors believe Trump may need to provide more than just generalities when he gives his first major presidential address on Tuesday. "If he comes out next week and there are little or no details other than that it is going to be great, that is going to be a time where we could have the first sort of crack in the armor," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago. Trump has said enough so far to help ...

Stock prices climbed to record highs worldwide for a third straight session on Thursday, propelled by an oil rally after a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories and comments from U.S. President Donald Trump and his Treasury chief on plans for job creation and tax reform.The dollar was bogged down a day after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed the U.S. central bank was in no rush to raise interest rates. Treasury and euro zone government bond yields declined as European Central Bank policymakers also signalled they were not getting carried away by signs the euro zone economy is gathering strength. This outlook for policy accommodation lifted gold prices to a three-month high near $1,250 an ounce .Equity markets around the world have advanced this year as traders bet on tax cuts, less regulation and more infrastructure spending from Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress to bolster the U.S. economy. Details on these stimulus progra...

Shares of India’s largest private enterprise Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Wednesday jumped as much as 10.5%, its biggest jump since May 2009, as investors anticipated revenue generation for its telecom venture Jio starting from 1 April. In intraday trade , RIL touched a high of Rs1,202, a level last seen on 19 May 2009, and gained as much as 10.5%, its biggest jump since May 2009. At 2.31pm, RIL was trading at Rs1,201.75 on the BSE, up 10.4% from its previous close, while India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 0.33% to 28,857.07 points. The scrip gained in six out of seven trading sessions and rose 13.8% in this period. So far this year, it has gained 8.3%. On Tuesday, Reliance Jio announced that it will end free data service and start charging its customers from 1 April, though voice calls and roaming will remain free. “We believe this is a significant development as it will likely lead to P&L recognition of Jio in FY18 and also provide much better visibility on i...

Stock market movements make headlines every day. How many people invest in stock markets in India? Which state has most stock market investors in India? Mint has analyzed statistics from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to answer some of these questions. The BSE data used unique client codes to identify the number of stock market investors in each state and union territory. It identified 3.23 crore registered stock market investors in total. All investor accounts are linked to a demat account, though there maybe duplication, for example with one demat account connected to investor accounts with more than one brokerage. A total of 98.7% of these had clear state/union-territory wise data. It was not defined for 4.29 lakh investors. This works out to less than 7% of India’s 48.18 crore-strong workforce. The exchange updates the data daily. The analysis used numbers from 20 February 2017. Maharashtra alone accounts for more than one-fifth of India’s stock market investors. Gujar...

The local stock barometer is seen to continue consolidating this week as investors digest the ongoing stream of local corporate earnings and offshore developments. Last week, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by a meager 9.58 points or 0.13 percent to close on Friday at 7,244.79. Investors tended to dump shares whenever the index neared the 7,300 barrier and buy anew whenever the barometer slipped to the 7,100 levels. “ Stock market benchmark index remained range bound, finishing the week almost unchanged at 7,244.79. Renewed rate hike fears in the US, following (US Federal Reserve) Fed chair Janet Yellen’s statement in Congress, caused local players to lighten up their position,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief strategist at BDO Unibank. Chartwise, Ravelas said the week’s close at 7,244.79 continued to suggest that the market would remain range-bound between the 7,000–7,400 levels in the near term. “Only a move above the 7,500 levels will call the bulls ba...

President Trump is excited about record stock prices. and he doesn’t think we’re done yet. In a Thursday morning tweet, Trump exclaimed: “ Stock market hits new high with longest winning streak in decades. Great level of confidence and optimism — even before tax plan rollout!” Trump appears to be making reference to data from FactSet, cited earlier in the day by CNN Money, showing Wednesday’s fifth-straight record high close for each of the major U.S. equity indexes matches a streak last seen in January 1992. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Trump again highlighted the stock market’s recent performance, saying, “The stock market has hit record numbers. There has been a tremendous surge of optimism in the business world.” Trump added that, “plants and factories are already starting to move back into the United States and big league,” citing recent announcements from Ford and General Motors. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, and again on Thursday, confid...

अमेरिका में भंडार बढ़ने से कच्चे तेल में दबाव बढ़ गया है। कल अमेरिकी एनर्जी डिपार्टमेंट की रिपोर्ट आई थी, जिसके मुताबिक अमेरिका में क्रूड का भंडार करीब 95 लाख बैरल बढ़कर रिकॉर्ड स्तर पर चला गया है। भंडार में ये बढ़त बाजार के अनुमान का करीब तीन गुना है। यही नहीं गैसोलीन के भंडार में भी करीब 28 लाख बैरल की बढ़त देखी गई है। ऐसे में कच्चे तेल की कीमतों पर दबाव बना हुआ है। इस बीच ग्लोबल मार्केट में चांदी का दाम 18 डॉलर के स्तर पर चला गया है। सोने में भी हल्की बढ़त है। हालांकि बढ़त के बावजूद सोना बेहद छोटे दायरे में कारोबार कर रहा है। दरअसल जनवरी में यूएस इकोनॉमी के शानदार आंकड़ों से अमेरिका में ब्याज दरें बढ़ने की संभावना मजबूती हो गई है। यूएस फेड चेयरमैन के संकेत के बाद गोल्डमैन सैक्स ने इस साल की पहली छमाही में अमेरिका में ब्याज दरें बढ़ने की संभावना जताई है। वहीं जे पी मॉर्गन ने कहा है कि मई तक फेड दरें बढ़ा सकता है। इस बीच रुपये में हल्की कमजोरी है। फिलहाल एमसीएक्स पर कच्चा तेल सपाट होकर 3550 रुपये पर कारोबार कर रहा है। नैचुरल गैस करीब 0.5 फीसदी की मजबूती के साथ 197.4 रुपय...

U.S. stocks notched a fourth straight record close Tuesday with a rally in banks after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen signaled that the central bank could gradually raise interest rates sooner rather than later.During Yellen’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, stocks flipped between small gains and losses but started carving out fresh intraday highs as the testimony wrapped up, adding to three straight days of record closes for the Dow industrials, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.40%  finished up 9.33 points, or 0.4%, at a record 2,337.58, with financials and health-care stocks leading the gains. The financials sector has rallied more than 20% since the November election, and 4.2% this month alone. Bank stocks jumped after Yellen’s comments on interest rates, while rate-sensitive sectors such as utilities and real estate slumped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.45%  gained 92.25 points, or 0.5%, to close at ...

It may be high time for stock-market bears to throw in the towel. All the pundits and prognosticators side-eyeing (that means, a sidelong glance or gaze, especially when expressing scorn, suspicion, disapproval, or veiled curiosity, according to Merriam-Webster) record-breaking equity indexes must be feeling awfully close to the point of capitulation, right about now. Read: The stock market’s Trump rally has just begun Who can blame them, if that is the case? U.S. equities — heck, the global stock market — have resumed an elevator ride to new heights, after mostly stalling out once the elation sparked by President Donald Trump’s election victory in November abated somewhat. But now the stock market is back at its rip-roaring best, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.70%  flirting with 21,000 like a lonely bar patron during last-call for drinks. This after surpassing the psychological milestone of 20,000 19 trading days ago and ringing up back-to-t...

Stock markets seemed to give a resounding thumbs-up to Both the Sensex and  Nifty rose steadily as Jaitley's speech progressed in the Lok Sabha, and registered gains of around 1 percent by the time he finished.When Jaitley took his seat after finishing his speech, the Sensex was more than 300 points up and the Nifty was up by 80. Both indices seemed to show no signs of slowing their rise. The Sensex and Nifty had opened in the green, and had flattened into a tight band around Tuesday's closing. The appreciating 24 paise, to Rs 67.63 to the dollar. The 30- stock BSE benchmark Sensex had lost 226 points in the two trading days before the Budget speech.The positive performance of both key indices was reflected across the breadth of the markets, in the smallcap and midcap indices as well. This also broadly applied to a majority of the sectors. Gold prices fell on Wednesday morning, with futures contracting by Rs 87, to Rs 28,705 per 10 grams. Visit - http://www.profits...

World equity markets are volatile. They go up and they go down. Sometimes these markets correlate closely, meaning that they make similar moves up and down. At other times, one would be hard pressed to find any correlation in performance and behavior from one region to another. Again in 2016 large U.S. companies have dominated the winners circle. It is unusual that the U. S. equity markets outperform the developed world for such an extended period. It is also unusual in that small companies, historically more volatile and risky than investing in large companies, have also consistently lagged large U.S. companies. What scares me most is the large flow of funds into large U.S. companies. Many investors have been reading the headlines, and after an 8 year bull run and period of appreciation, are abandoning their global diversification and flowing billions of dollars into U.S. based index funds. According to the Wall Street Journal, domestic index-tracking mutual and exchange-traded f...

The performance of commodity-driven economies is more influenced by policy than the commodity pricing cycle.This was heard during a panel discussion on the repricing of African commodities, at Deloitte’s Africa 2017 Outlook conference, held in Woodmead on Wednesday.Mining industry representatives on the panel discussed the role of policy in shaping the economy’s performance. “You can’t get policy change without regime change,” said Peter Major, head of mining at Cadiz Corporate Solutions.Using the example of Chile, following regime or policy changes, the country went from producing 600,000 tons of copper in the 1970s to 6 million tonnes in production after. “The wrong regime changes happened in the DRC and Zambia and they went from having 600,000 tonnes to less than 100,000 tonnes,” Major said.“We [South Africa] have not had a policy change since 1994. Policy continues to push production down,” he said. The implications of policy must be considered. Given existing legisla...

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock market moved lower Thursday but stayed near its record level as gold, metals and materials stocks incurred losses.The S&P/TSX composite index in Toronto retreated 28.32 points at 15,615.52, a day after it finished just a few points shy of its all-time closing high set in September 2014. The telecom sector was the biggest gainer on the index, helped by a spike from Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B) which reported better-than-expected quarterly results.The Toronto-based company reported that it earned an adjusted profit of $382 million or 74 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $331 million or 64 cents per diluted share in the same quarter the previous year. The results surpassed analysts’ expectations of a profit of 71 cents per share of earnings, excluding items such as asset impairments, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue was slightly below the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion.Shares in Ro...