International Report

The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.7% to close at 1,051.12 points. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.16%, to close at 10,642.15. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index 0.05%, to close at 1,150.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.23%, to close at 2,362.21.The Nikkei index closed down 30.27 points at 10,721.71. The Topix index remained almost constant at 938.10.

Jean-Claude Juncker the Eurogroup chairman said that the eurozone finance ministers will help Greece to reduce its debt. Juncker said the support is most likely to be in the form of bi-lateral loans. In February, US industrial production braked sharply, however figures showed yesterday that manufacturing activity in the New York state stalled this month. Analysts said that they still believed the factory-led economic recovery remained on track and that in March they expect a rebound in industrial production. In the Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates today, the US central bank is expected to hold overnight interest rates in a range of zero to 0.25% and pledged to keep them low for an extended period of time.

Due for release today is the EUR German ZEW Economic Sentiment, USD Building Permits, USD FOMC Statement and USD Federal Funds Rate.

by Greg Secker

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