Bermuda Commercial Bank

Monday, March 29, 2010

Stocks rose around the world and commodities rallied as the USD and the JPY fell against the EUR after Greek deficit concern abated and the economic recovery sparked demand for higher-yielding assets. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations’ stocks gained for a third day, advancing 0.3% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.6%, the most in nine days. Futures on the S&P’s 500 index rose 0.6%. Crude oil increased 0.9% to exceed $80 a barrel and copper jumped 2.1%. The JPY dropped against the AUD and NZD.

The EU reported an improvement in business and consumer confidence, days after the region’s leaders and the IMF pledged to help Greece finance its budget deficit, the biggest in the bloc. A U.S. jobs report on April 2 may show the largest increase in employment in three years. The MSCI World gauge has increased 10% in eight weeks on evidence of a sustained global recovery.

The RUB weakened the most against the EUR in more than two months and was little changed against the USD after suicide bombers killed at least 37 people in the deadliest terrorist attacks in Moscow since 2004. The Micex index climbed 1% for the biggest gain since March 17.

Crude oil for May delivery rose 70 cents to $80.70 a barrel in New York trading. Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.4 percent to $1,111.75 an ounce as investors bought the metal as a hedge against the weaker dollar. The JPY weakened 0.6% to 124.76 against the EUR, with the dollar also depreciating 0.6%, to $1.3489 per euro. The Dollar Index slid 0.6% to 81.228. The AUD climbed 1.1% to 0.9136 and NZD advanced 0.9% to 0.7106.

The United Kingdom’s outlook remains negative at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which affirmed its AAA long-term and A-1+ short-term sovereign credit ratings today

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