Good morning traders!

In the US Friday, the Dow rose 147 points to 15,136, the Nasdaq gained 35 points at
3,479 and the S&P500 added 17 points at 1,632.

In Asia today, the Nikkei was recently up 77 points at 14,387 and the Hang Seng off
391 points at 20,464.

WTI crude oil traded at $103.63 a barrel and Brent crude at $107.72.

Gold settled at $1,224 an ounce.

Happy Monday!

G.

Nikkei drops 1.4 pct on Asian markets' weakness; S&P cuts SoftBank to 'junk' status

Mon Jul 8, 2013 7:16am BST
TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell
1.4 percent on Monday after hitting a six-week high as sharp
declines in Asian markets tempered optimism stemming from strong
U.S. data and a weaker yen, while S&P's downgrade on SoftBank
Corp's debt rating to "junk" status increased a
negative mood.

The benchmark Nikkei dropped 200.63 points to
14,109.34 after rising as high as 14,497.65 in early trade, a
level not seen since May 29, on the back of upbeat U.S. jobs
data suggesting the world's largest economy was on a solid
footing.

The broader Topix index dropped 1.4 percent to
1,172.58.

UK business confidence reaches 13-month high

Business confidence in the UK is at its highest point since May last year, according to a new report.

The Optimism Index by the accountancy and business advisory firm BDO moved higher for the fifth consecutive month in June.

BDO said confidence in both services and manufacturing firms had increased.

However, it added that the figures remained fractionally below the level which would indicate the economy was expected to grow.

BDO said that despite growing confidence, pressures such as volatility in the eurozone, "belt-tightening" by UK consumers and a signalling by the US Federal Reserve that its stimulus measures may taper off later in the year are weighing on business optimism going forward.

German Trade Balance 14.1B 17.4B 17.5B

Worth a listen at 9 this morning, although I doubt there is much we don't already know.

A Dark Magic

Can't.. I'm on holiday -):

FTSE100 firmly higher early on with ARM leading the charge

EUR Sentix Investor Confidence -12.6 -11.5 -11.6

German Industrial Production m/m -1.0% -0.5% 2.0%

FTSE100 firmly higher at midday, with RBS the star turn

Euro zone nears deal on lifeline for Greece

BRUSSELS | Mon Jul 8, 2013 3:22pm BST
(Reuters) - With fresh promises from Greece to redouble its reform efforts to keep international financial aid flowing, euro zone finance ministers will decide on Monday if Athens gets the cash it needs all at once or by drip feed.

There will also be warning shots to Portugal to ensure that its economic reforms stay on track despite political stress.

FTSE100 ends sharply higher with RBS the star performer