DAILY

PSI20: +0.76% DAX30: +0.98% FTSE100: CLOSED S&P500: CLOSED

27th May 2013

NIKKEI225: -3.22%

The EU may consider giving Portugal more time to meet its deficit targets if economic conditions worsen, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the group of euro-area finance ministers, said. Krugman opposes to what troika and the Government are doing in Portugal. It is impossible to implement structural reforms with rising unemployment, he said. PSI 20 closed with gains, aligned with European partners. Banking sector had great contribution to this rise, together with the heavy energy sector in the index.

European stocks rose, rebounding from their first weekly loss in more than a month, as carmakers and technology companies gained. Property prices in UK rose by the most in six years in May, fueling concerns that loose monetary policy and a plan to make home buying more affordable may lead to a new housing bubble. A majority of EU governments oppose a plan to impose hefty duties on solar panel imports from China. The European Commission, the EU's executive, accuses Chinese firms of dumping.

A low activity level was registered this Monday in the U.S., since stock markets were closed, as the country celebrated Memorial Day. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Canadas largest drug maker, agreed to buy Bausch & Lomb Holdings, owned by Warburg Pincus LLC, for about $8.7 billion in cash and loans to repay debt. In the upcoming week, markets will be focused on the economy and whether there's any sign it is getting strong enough to lead the FED to start pulling back the security blanket of quantitative easing.

Japan's stock market went on another wild ride on Monday as the benchmark Nikkei index tumbled as much as 4 percent before paring losses in a third day of volatile trade. Losses were underpinned by uncertainty in the Japanese government bond (JGB) market. China's industrial profits growth quickened in April from the previous month, though the government noted that the pickup was due mainly to a low comparative base, indicating that the world's second largest economy still faces slack domestic and external demand.

GOLD (1394.45 $/oz t; +0.62%): Gold rose on Monday, extending its gains after its strongest week in a month, as the dollar slipped and European stock markets steadied, while physical buying remained strong in Asia. NATURAL GAS (4.333 $/MMBtu; +1.88%): Natural gas futures rallied to a four-week high on Monday, as prices were boosted by a warmer-than-normal weather outlook that was expected to increase demand for the fuel.

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