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Wall Street Gains as Dow Breached 22,000 Mark





The Dow Jones industrial average breached the 22,000 mark for the first time ever on Wednesday, lifted by a rally in Apple's shares.


The 30-stock index rose 0.22 percent at 22,011.55. The S&P 500 climbed 0.07 percent at 2,478.18 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.46 percent at 6,391.96.


Apple surged 6.02 percent to a record peak, after the world's biggest publicly listed company posted strong results and iPhone sales. The company also indicated that its upcoming 10th-anniversary phone is on schedule. The stock has gained nearly 30 percent in 2017.


The S&P 500 information technology index is 22 percent higher for the year to date, leading other sectors. It was the only S&P advancer with a one percent gain.


Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower. The energy index fell 0.81 percent and led decliners.


Two-thirds of S&P 500 firms have posted their second-quarter earnings so far and 72 percent have exceeded Wall Street's expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.


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Australia Retail Sales Rise 0.3% On Month In June





Retail sales in Australia were up a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$26.150 billion.


That beat expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.6 percent gain in May.


For the second quarter of 2017, retail sales climbed 1.5 percent on quarter to A$76.203 billion.


That also exceeded expectations for a gain of 1.2 percent following the upwardly revised 0.2 percent increase in the three month prior (originally 0.1 percent).


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Dow Posts 7th Record in a Row as Amazon, Apple Weighs on S&P 500





U.S. stocks fluctuated on Thursday as the Dow Industrials rose to a seventh consecutive record peak. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq declined, pulled down by Amazon.com, Apple and other technology stocks.


Stocks lost quite some ground late in the session following a report from the Wall Street Journal which stated that Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington to probe into allegations of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential elections.


The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.04 percent to close at 22,026.10.


The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite dropped to session lows on the report. However, both managed to pare losses before the close.


The S&P 500 slipped 0.22 percent to 2,472.16, as energy led decliners.


The Nasdaq fell 0.35 percent to 6,340.34. Investors may be taking a break ahead of the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


The S&P 500 information technology index fell 0.35 percent. Apple shed 1.0 percent after notching a record peak on Wednesday.


Silicon Valley electric carmaker Tesla soared 6.50 percent after posting its quarterly results which were above Wall Street's expectations.


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FRANCE: Macron Offers As Mediator In Venezuelan Crisis





The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, offered to mediate the Venezuelan crisis while condemning the political violence in the country and the arrest of the opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma.


"Our European partners share these concerns. Together, we call that the human rights, the rule of law and people's fundamental freedoms to be respected. We hope that institutions in Venezuela return to its normal functioning as soon as possible," the French Presidency said in a statement.


"France, along with its European partners, supports the efforts of the countries of the region and will continue to support any arbitration that will allow the resumption of a credible, sincere and serious dialogue between the government and the opposition and to end the spiral of violence. Our ambassador, on the spot, stays in touch with all parties," the statement said.


The French offer comes shortly before the installation of the National Constituent Assembly elected last Sunday amid and an opposition boycott.


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Gold Steady Near 2-Week Low as Dollar Strengthens





Gold prices held steady near two-week lows early on Monday, weighed down by the rebound in the U.S. dollar following better-than-expected U.S. jobs data from last week.


Spot gold was flat at $1,257.31 an ounce. On Friday, it reached its lowest in over a week and recorded its first weekly drop in four.


U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.1 percent to $1,263.00 an ounce.


SPDR Gold Trust, the world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings dropped 0.60 percent to 787.14 tonnes on Friday from 791.88 tonnes the previous day. The fund saw its holdings decline by over seven percent in July, as investors dumped bullion for other assets and propelled it to its largest monthly drop since April 2013.


Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the third consecutive time to the highest in seven weeks in the week to Aug. 1, and raised it to a record peak in copper, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.


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ARGENTINA: Merval Falls 1.03% Amid Caution Before Primary Elections





Merval, the main index of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, fell 1.03%, closing at 21,479.78 points Monday, with uncertainty rising as primary legislative elections draw near. Opinion polls in Buenos Aires point to a technical tie between the ruling party and the opposition led by the former President Cristina Kirchner.


Eduardo Fern?ndez, an analyst at Rava Burs?til, said that investors are reluctant to take new positions in risky assets before the primary election results.


The shares of Autopistas del Sol (-5.46%), Agrometal (-5.39%), Aluar (-4.42%), Transener (-4.28%), Central Puerto (-4.23% ) fell, while shares of TGS (+ 2.17%) rose in the eve of its quarterly financial result's release. Petrobras Brasil also posted gains (+ 1.55%).


The locally traded US dollar again showed an upward trend, hitting an intraday high of 17.72 Argentinean pesos, but the central bank intervened to prevent it from rising more, and the currency settled at 17.70 pesos (+0.17% ).


The Argentinean government is apparently comfortable with the steep greenback's rise but is trying to avoid that it exceeds the 18 pesos barrier or rise abruptly before the elections.


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Wall Street Gains as Dow Hits 9th Record Close in a Row





U.S. stocks climbed on Monday, as corporate earnings and acquisitions propelled some of the largest moves in individual shares.


The Dow Jones industrial average touched intraday and closing records, as it contributed to the previous week's record-setting performance. The 30-stock index climbed 0.12 percent to 22,118.42 as Boeing and Goldman Sachs contributed most of the gains.


The S&P 500 rose 0.16 percent to 2,480.91, its first record close since July 26. The Nasdaq composite jumped 0.51 percent to 6,383.77.


The energy sector led declines with a 0.9 percent fall as oil prices slipped on a rebound in production from Libya's biggest oil field, along with concerns regarding higher output from OPEC and United States.


The S&P consumer staples index rose 0.7 percent while the technology index climbed 0.6 percent, both were the benchmark's leading sectors on the day. Tyson Foods, one of the consumer staple sector's largest boosts on the day, gained 5.7 percent to $66.90 after the company posted better-than-expected profit and revenue for the recent quarter. Shares of Wal-Mart rose nearly one percent.


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YPF: Revenue Increases 14% And Company Returns To Profit In Q2





Argentina's state-owned oil company YPF reported a net profit of 272 million Argentinean pesos in the second quarter of 2017, reversing the 753 million pesos loss recorded in the same period of 2016. Revenue amounted to 60.162 billion pesos, a 14.0% growth.


YPF's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) reached 16,177 million pesos, a 5.8% fall compared to the same period of 2016. Investments decreased by 10.1% in the second quarter of 2017, to 13.029 billion pesos, compared with a year earlier.


YPF's total output reached 550.1 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in the second quarter, 4.2% lower than in the same period in 2016. Crude oil production declined by 10.1%, to 218.3 thousand barrels per day (bpd), while natural gas production reached 44.6 million cubic meters per day (Mm3d), 0.5% lower than the same period of 2016. Regarding Natural gas liquids, production increased by 3.7%, reaching 51.4 thousand bpd.


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Oil Continues to Retreat as Skepticism over OPEC Cuts Persist





Oil futures slid for a third day in morning Asian trading as the market brushed off a bigger than expected decline in U.S. stockpiles by an industry group as skepticism remain over OPEC's ability to limit output as pledged.


Brent crude fell 21 cents or 0.4 percent, bringing it at $51.93 per barrel. In the prior session, the international benchmark finished 0.4 percent down.


U.S. WTI traded down 15 cents or 0.3 percent at $49.02 per barrel after ending down 0.4 percent on Tuesday.


U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than anticipated in the previous week as imports decreased and refinery runs rose, while gasoline inventories unexpectedly increased, according to API's latest report.


Crude stockpiles slid by 7.8 million barrels in the latest week to 478.4 million, compared with analysts expectations for a decline of 2.7 million barrels.


The U.S. EIA will publish its weekly fuel status report later today.


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ARGENTINA: Merval Closes Below 21,000 Points Due To Risk Aversion





Merval, the main index of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, fell 1.22% to 20,995.17 points Wednesday amid caution ahead of Sunday's primary legislative elections.


YPF oil company closed stable after reporting yesterday night a net income of 272 million pesos in the second quarter of 2017, reversing the losses recorded in the same period of 2016. Meanwhile, the Group Financiero Galicia share fell 1.67% after the company presented a 33.5% increase in its net profit in the second quarter.


TGN closed higher despite reporting a 50.23% decrease in its net profit in the second quarter. San Miguel fell 2.60% after reporting net losses of 110 million pesos in the first half of 2017, and Holcim decreased 2.02% despite reporting a threefold increase in its second quarter net profit, to 194.7 million.


Meanwhile, the locally traded US dollar ended with a slight decline of 0.12%, at 17.70 pesos, amid successive interventions by the central bank on the foreign exchange market four days before the legislative primaries. The government is trying to avoid a possible electoral impact of a sudden dollar appreciation.


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