Forex News from InstaForex

[IFX Gertrude]

China Consumer Prices Rise 0.8% In February



Consumer prices in China were up just 0.8 percent on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 1.7 percent, and down sharply from 2.5 percent in January.

The bureau also said that producers prices spiked an annual 7.8 percent - exceeding forecasts for 7.7 percent and up from 6.9 percent in the previous month.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Dow, S&P 500 Extend Declines as Energy Shares Plunge



Wall Street ended mostly lower as investors tackled declining oil prices and assessed the latest employment data. Oil prices plunged over five percent in the aftermath of a much stronger-than-expected increase in U.S. inventories.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.33 percent at 20,855.73, as Caterpillar led losses while Wal-Mart was the top gainer. The S&P 500 dropped 0.23 percent to close at 2,362.98, as energy sectors led seven sectors down while consumer discretionary outperformed. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.06 percent to close at 5,837.55.

The energy sector tumbled 2.5 percent, its largest loss since mid-September. Caterpillar was down 2.8 percent following a report from the New York Times which stated that it reviewed a report commissioned by the U.S. government, accusing the company of carrying out tax and accounting fraud. Shares of H&R Block jumped by almost 15 percent for their best day in more than eight years as the firm reported its quarterly results.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Fxwirepro: Eur/krw Hovers Around Key Resistance at 1,228 Mark, sustained Close Above Targets 1,242



EUR/KRW is currently trading around 1,226 mark.

Pair made intraday high at 1,227 and low at 1,224 levels.

Intraday bias remains neutral till the time pair holds key resistance at 1,228 mark.

A daily close below 1,225 will drag the parity down towards key supports around 1,214, 1,209, 1,199, 1,191, 1,184, 1,178 and 1,163 marks respectively.

Alternatively, a sustained close above 1,225 will take the parity higher towards key resistances around 1,228, 1,233, 1,242, 1,252, 1,268, 1,272, 1,280, 1,287 and 1,304 marks respectively.

Seoul shares open down 0.11 pct at 2088.67.

Important to note here that 20D, 30D and 55D EMA heads down and confirms the bearish trend in a daily chart. Current upside movement is short term trend correction only.

South Korea’s January L-money supply growth decrease to 6.8 % vs previous 7.5 %.

We prefer to take short position in EUR/KRW around 1,228, stop loss at 1,242 and target of 1,214/1,209/1,199.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

AirBnB Clinches $1 Billion in Latest Funding Round



AirBnB has managed to raise over $1 billion investment in its latest funding round, according to sources, which was later confirmed via a filing to the U.S. SEC.

The company managed to raise roughly an additional $450 million as part of its series of funding rounds, making the round almost double its original value during the last fall. According to the filing, the total amount came in at $1, 003, 312, 065.

Since its establishment in 2008, AirBnB has raised over $3 billion. The company was last reported to be raising investment fund at around $30 billion valuation. The most recent funding round brings the company's total valuation to around $31 billion.

AirBnB also swung to profit during the second quarter of 2016, according to sources. The company expects to continue being profitable this year.

Sources also reported that the home-sharing start-up firm has no plans to offer its shares on the stock market in the short-term.

The firm did not provide details on how it would utilize the raised money, but it is seen to further grow its operations globally.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Japan Core Machine Orders Fall 3.2% In January



Core machine orders in Japan slipped a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent on month in January, the Cabinet Office said on Monday - coming in at 837.9 billion yen.

That missed expectations for a decline of 0.1 percent following the 2.1 percent increase in December.

On a yearly basis, core machine orders tumbled 8.2 percent - again shy of forecasts for a decline of 3.7 percent following the 6.7 percent gain in the previous month.

The total value of machine orders, which includes volatile ones for ships and electric power companies, fell 10.0 percent on month and gained 8.6 percent on year to 2,236.9 billion yen.

Manufacturing orders shed 10.0 percent on month and 22.0 percent on year to 330.9 billion yen in January, while non-manufacturing orders added 0.7 percent on month and 5.7 percent on year to 507.6 billion yen.

Government orders surged 20.4 percent on month and surged 64.1 percent on year to 354.6 billion yen. Orders from overseas gained 3.2 percent on month and 25.9 percent on year to 880.6 billion yen. Orders from agencies dropped 10.4 percent on month and 6.6 percent on year to 108.0 billion yen.

For the first quarter of 2017, core machine orders are forecast to have gained 1.5 percent on quarter and 1.7 percent on year.

Also on Monday, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices were up 0.2 percent on month in February - in line with expectations following the 0.6 percent increase in January.

On a yearly basis, prices advanced 1.0 percent - again matching forecasts and up from 0.5 percent in the previous month.

Export prices were down 0.5 percent on month and up 2.5 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices jumped 0.7 percent on month and 10.1 percent on year.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Toshiba Tec Rallies on Reported Stake Sale



Toshiba Tec Corp. shares advanced more than 6% in early Asian trading, lifted by a report that Toshiba Corp., its owner company, is mulling to sell shares in the firm. Toshiba Tec shares were last seen trading at 645 yen, rising 5.2% from its finish on Friday.

Toshiba Corp. denounced a Nikkei business daily report that it was eyeing to share shares in the cash register systems maker, as it looks to raise cash for an upcoming $6.3 billion massive writedown for its U.S. nuclear business unit.

The Japanese conglomerate reportedly chose an advisory company to help seek out a buyer for Toshiba tec, Nikkei said. According to the paper, the seen sale of 50.02% stake in the company would be valued around 100 billion yen or $870 million.

Toshiba is currently laying the groundwork for the sale of a majority or the entirety of its stake in its memory chips business, which is currently valued by the company at $13 billion. Earlier this March, the company has also sold all of its shares in its subsidiary Toshiba Machine Co. for $134 million to raise money.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Business Confidence Slide In February



Business confidence in Australia deteriorated in February, the latest survey from the National Australia Bank revealed on Tuesday with an index score of +7.

That's down from +10 in January.

Business conditions also slipped in February, with the index dropping to +9 from +16 in the previous month.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

China’s Economy Opens Year on Strong Footing



China's economy managed to maintain its strong pace of growth at the start of the year as the second-largest economy's traditional growth engines begin to gather momentum.

Industrial output rose at an annual rate of 6.3 percent in January and February combined, higher than the average estimate of 6.2 percent growth.

Fixed-asset investment also gained 8.9 percent during the period, boosted primarily by infrastructure projects. Infrastructure is seen by economists to be generally robust this 2017 due to the public-private tie-ups.

In an indication that the economy's pace of growth is sustained, private fixed-asset investment rose to 6.7 percent growth year-on-year during the first two months of the year. Property development also rose 8.9 percent, while a gauge of services production advanced 8.2 percent during the period.

Retail sales advanced 9.5 percent during the first two months of 2017, missing estimates. Auto sales also showed signs of slowing down following a tax hike on small engine cars.

The National Bureau of Statistics said that despite the weakness in retail sales and auto sales, the data showed that the economy started the year on a strong footing.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Australia New Motor Vehicle Sales Sink 2.7% In February



New motor vehicle sales in Australia were down a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent on month in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - standing at 94,786.

That follows the 0.6 percent increase in January.

By category, sales for passenger vehicles fell 0.6 percent, while sports utility vehicles were down 0.5 percent and other vehicles shed 0.3 percent.

By region, the largest downward movement was in Tasmania (-2.6 percent), while the biggest gain came in the Northern Territory (0.1 percent).

On a yearly basis, sales dropped 4.1 percent after falling 0.9 percent in the previous month.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Gold Prices Steady Ahead of Fed Announcement



Gold prices held firm on Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting, with the U.S. central bank broadly expected to hike interest rates. With a rate increase by the Fed already seen as a done deal, investors turn their focus on what message the central bank will announce.

Spot gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,199.34 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3 percent lower at $1,199 an ounce. Investors also shifted their focus on Wednesday's Dutch elections, which has boosted the precious metal's safe-haven demand. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund was up 0.36 percent to 834.99 tonnes on Tuesday from Monday.

British peer-to-peer gold-and-silver-bullion exchange company BullionVault is now offering clients a facility to buy, sell and store physical platinum held in bars that weigh between one kilogram and six kilograms denominated in dollars, euros and sterling.

News are provided byInstaForex.