Good morning traders!

In the US last night, the Dow rose 75 points to 15,300, the Nasdaq added 19 points at
3,504 and the S&P500 gained 12 points at 1,652.

In Asia today, the Nikkei was recently down 13 points at 14,460 and the Hang Seng
up 89 points at 20,772.

WTI crude oil traded at $104.58 a barrel and Brent crude at $107.81.

Gold settled at $1,248 an ounce.

Good hunting!

G.

CNY Trade Balance 27.1B 27.8B 20.4B

JPY Consumer Confidence 44.3 47.2 45.7

Nikkei falls as dismal China data raise growth concerns

Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:11am BST
TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average fell on
Wednesday as the yen's weakness paused, while unexpectedly weak
Chinese trade data heightened concerns about a deepening
slowdown in the world's second-largest economy and one of
Japan's top export markets.

The benchmark Nikkei dropped 0.4 percent to
14,416.60 in choppy trade after rising as high as 14,555.33
earlier, the highest level since May 24. The Topix shed
0.1 percent to 1,195.20.

Japanese equities have been volatile in recent weeks as
investors fretted over slowing growth in China and the prospect
of the U.S. Federal Reserve rolling back its stimulus in the
coming months.

FTSE100 slightly higher in early deals as retailers shine

French Industrial Production m/m -0.4% -0.5% 2.2%

Italian Industrial Production m/m 0.1% 0.4% -0.3%

FTSE100 turns firmly lower by midday as the miners weaken

USD Wholesale Inventories m/m -0.5% 0.3% 0.2%

EU makes major changes to rules on state aid to banks

(Reuters) - Europe overhauled the rules covering state aid to struggling banks on Wednesday, in a major policy shift that will put the burden on shareholders and junior debtholders when it comes to restructuring an unstable institution.

From August 1, any bank in the European Union that needs help from the state will first have to present a detailed restructuring plan that ensures its viability before any aid can be disbursed. Currently, aid comes before a restructuring plan.

And the burden on financing the overhaul of an institution will fall first on its shareholders and junior bondholders before any taxpayer money can be used.

FTSE100 ends day just slightly lower as weak miners weigh