Markets Update 29/08/13

One line- Markets breathe a sigh of relief as attack on Syria is delayed.

- David Cameron's attempts to unite the parties and launch an attack on Syria along with the USA were thwarted as Labour leaders switched from support to opposition. The Labour party would like to wait until the result of the UN probe has been declared. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/29/uk-syria-crisis-britain-idUKBRE97R1CZ20130829

- US and Asian stocks rose buoyed by energy stock gains and relief about an attack on Syria being delayed. Gold retreated with oil. The Nikkei added 0.91% with the S&P adding 0.27%. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/39a79e14-104f-11e3-a258-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl#axzz2d6JdcLZe

- European stocks opened higher as Vodafone looked to sell its stake in Verizon giving it around $130 billion in cash. German jobless data showed an unexpected increase of 7000 although the adjusted jobless rate is 6.8%- near a two decade low. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-29/german-jobless-unexpectedly-rises-even-as-economy-grows.html  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-29/european-stock-index-futures-little-changed-before-data.html

- The Brazilian central bank raised rates for a fourth time since April, to 9% (50bp) in further efforts to protect the Real and quell inflation. Inflation has reached 6.27% while economic growth last year was just 0.9%. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5f347c50-1037-11e3-99e0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2d6JdcLZe

- US economic data released today is expected to show an acceleration in growth pushing the dollar to 2 week highs against the euro. Emerging currencies bounced as Syria worries eased oil price concerns. The Reserve Bank of India committed to providing foreign currency aid to its oil companies. The rupee strengthened 1.7% on the news. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/dollar-trades-near-four-week-high-ahead-of-u-s-growth-report.html

Data:
S&P 1634.96 0.27%
FTSE 6470.88  0.63%
Nikkei 13,459.71 0.91%


EUR/USD- 1.3269 0.53%
USD/JPY- 98.16 0.53%
GBP/USD- 1.5512 0.09%

Gold- 1405.61 0.84%
Oil (Brent)- 115.49 0.96%
Copper- 331.1 0.23%

10 year yields
US- 2.79 (+2bps)
UK- 2.80 (-1bps)
Japan- 0.7 (-1bps)