Binary Options News : August 19, 2012

Positive US sentiment boosts stocks.

US

The trading week ended on Friday with stocks rising across the globe as the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for August reached its highest level since May at 73.6, up from 72.3 last month, and beating economists’ forecasts for a 72.4 reading. Meanwhile, the Conference Board reported that its leading index increased 0.4% in July, up from a 0.4% fall in June after analysts had been predicting the index to increase by 0.2%.

The data followed other indicators that indicated to an improving U.S. economy as U.S. industrial production outpaced expectations in July, rising 0.6%, beating the forecasted 0.5% increase. Whilst earlier in the week the Retail sales figures in the U.S. shot up 0.8% in July after a 0.7% decline in June, far outpacing market forecasts for a 0.3% increase. This led to a sixth straight week of gains for the Dow and the S&P 500 with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.19% on Friday, the S&P 500 index also closing up 0.19% whilst the Nasdaq Composite index finished 0.46% higher.

Oil

Crude Oil posted a 0.6% increase to end the trading week as reports that U.S. consumers are more upbeat over their economy than expected combined with ongoing tensions in the Middle East and maintenance issues on North Sea oil rigs all helped to push the prices  of Crude Oil higher.

Europe

It was reported last week that the eurozone’s trade surplus reached 14.9bn euros in June up from 200 m euros a year ago. The surplus was at its highest level since the European Union’s statistics agency started collecting data in 1999.

Germany, the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland posted the largest surplus amongst the 17 member euro area and the wider 27 member EU. The EU’s trade surplus was 400m euros, compared with a 15.3 bn euro deficit from the previous year.

Outlook

Tomorrow is a quiet day for the release of economic news, however, expect there to be pressure on the Euro as concerns over Greece come to the fore.

* * * * * * * * * *
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of OptionsClick, blog.optionsclick.com, OptionsClick.com or any of its staff. The contents of this article are in no way intended to be advice or any other form of counsel for any trader of binary options or any other investor. Please be advised: Investing of any kind always carries a relative risk. As with any market trading, it is always possible to lose your investment. Always be sure to do your own research, seek professional advice, and make your own, well-educated decisions when it comes to financial investments.