Commodity rout weighs on markets - 9.12.2015

US stocks extended losses on Tuesday as continued decline in oil prices weighed on markets and weak Chinese trade data undermined investor confidence. The dollar weakened with euro advancing and commodity currencies weakening further as the slump in oil and materials continued. According to live dollar index data the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.3%. The China data, which showed imports fell for the 13th consecutive month and exports declined for a 5th month in November, renewed concerns about global slowdown. The S&P 500 was down 0.7%. The materials and energy sectors, off 1.9% and 1.5% respectively, led the decliners. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite closed lower 0.8%. The trading volume was 7.5 billion shares on US exchanges, about 9% above the daily average for the last 20 sessions. In economic news National Federation of Independent Business small business index for November fell 1.3 points to 94.8, and job openings in October fell to 5.38 million from a revised reading of 5.534 million in September. Today at 13:00 CET Mortgage Applications will be released in US. At 16:00 CET October Wholesale Inventories will be published. The tentative outlook is positive.

European stocks slid on Tuesday dragged lower by falling oil and commodity prices. The euro gained 0.5% against the dollar. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed down 2%, Germany's DAX 30 index fell 2.3% to 10,631.43. Mining shares were hit hard after weak Chinese data raised concerns about demand from China, world’s biggest metal consumer. Anglo American PLC slumped 12.3% after the miner suspended dividends for the second half of this year and announced a major restructuring of its business including selling more assets. Glencore lost 6.9%, Rio Tinto sank 8.4% as it lowered its forecast on what it will spend on major projects next year. Eurostat report indicated third quarter euro-zone GDP growth was in line with expectations. Today at 10:30 CET minutes of Financial Policy Committee meeting will be released in UK.

Nikkei fell today 1% to lowest closing in more than a month despite stronger-than-expected machinery orders report indicated core machinery orders rose 10.7% in October against an expected decline of 1.5%. Tomorrow at 00:50 CET Bank of Japan quarterly Business Survey Index will be published in Japan. The tentative outlook is positive. At the same time financial data on foreign and domestic purchases of bonds and stocks will released.

Today at 21:00 CET Reserve Bank of New Zealand interest rate decision will be announced. The central bank is expected to cut the interest rate 0.25% to 2.5%.

Oil prices are recovering today on surprise fall in US crude inventories and better-than-expected machinery orders in Japan. Today at 16:30 CET US Crude Oil Inventories will be released in US, and crude stocks are estimated to fall 1.9 million barrel according to American Petroleum Institute report on Tuesday, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 252,000 barrels. Oil futures fell for third straight session yesterday with January Brent crude falling 1.2% to $40.26 a barrel.

Gold is extending gains today supported by dollar weakness while investors anticipate Federal Reserve rate hike next week, which is expected to lower the demand for non-interest-paying safe haven metal.

Copper and base metals are rising today after data showed China’s imports of copper and iron ore in November increased compared with previous month.