S&P 500 Snaps Three-Day Skid; Gold Rallies from Three-Week Low; Nikkei Falls to One-Month Low

S&P 500 Snaps Three-Day Skid (Bloomberg)

After declining 1.1% in the past three sessions, the S&P rose Thursday, as better-than-expected Chinese trade data was reported. “It shows that the data is moving in the right direction, so at the end of the day that is a positive catalyst for stocks,” Anastasia Amoroso, Global Market Strategist at JPMorgan Funds, said. “There could be some short-term volatility around how that impacts Fed policy. One thing to keep in mind is if the Fed does actually reduce the pace of purchases that is for some very good reasons.”

Gold Rallies from Three-Week Low (Reuters)

After hitting a three-week low early on Wednesday, Gold rallied more than two percent by closing time on Thursday as the dollar slid to a seven-week low. “The buying today is due to short covering since not much is happening to strengthen the U.S. dollar,” said a Sydney-based precious metals trader. “Investors are selling their long U.S. dollar and buying other currencies and gold.”

Nikkei Falls to One-Month Low (CNBC)

After a Bank of Japan meeting closed without a change in fiscal policy, the Nikkei reversed earlier gains and fell 1.6% on Thursday. Though dwarfed by Wednesday’s 4% loss, the Nikkei’s Thursday decline marked a one-month low. “There are no downside risks emerging — inflation has developed with expectations while long-term interest rates have been very stable so the BOJ has been successful in restoring its credibility,” said Masayuki Kichikawa, chief Japan economist at Merrill Lynch Japan Securities.