Nikkei ekes out slim gains; U.S. payrolls, Olympics-bid decision eyed

Thu Sep 5, 2013 7:19am BST
TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average edged
up for a fourth day in choppy trade on Thursday as investors
awaited key events this week, including U.S. jobs data and a
decision on Tokyo's bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, while
the auto sector outperformed on the back of strong U.S. auto
sales.

The benchmark Nikkei added 0.1 percent to 14,064.82.
It rose to a new four-week high of 14,156.50 earlier before
briefly dipping into negative territory.

The broader Topix gained 0.l percent to 1,157.84.

U.S. payroll data for August is due out on Friday and on
Saturday, a final decision on which city will host the 2020
Summer Olympics is expected.

FTSE100 firmly higher in early deals with easyJet the leader

Third bailout for Greece realistic - Eurogroup head

BRUSSELS | Thu Sep 5, 2013 8:45am BST
(Reuters) - Greece's financial troubles will not end in 2014 and it is therefore realistic to expect the debt-laden country will need additional money from the euro zone before it can return to markets, the head of euro zone finance ministers said.

International lenders estimate that Greece will need around 10-11 billion euros from the second half of 2014 to keep it going next year and in 2015.

But several euro zone governments are reluctant to extend any further loans because of negative public opinion, with voters tired of bailing out other countries after three years of the sovereign debt crisis.

Spanish 10-y Bond Auction 4.50|2.0 4.72|2.3

French 10-y Bond Auction 2.57|1.9 2.32|1.7

German Factory Orders m/m -2.7% -0.7% 3.6%

GBP Asset Purchase Facility 375B 375B 375B

GBP Official Bank Rate 0.50% 0.50% 0.50%

FTSE100 firmly higher at midday, with M&S in fashion

EUR Minimum Bid Rate 0.50% 0.50% 0.50%

USD ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 176K 175K 198K

USD Unemployment Claims 323K 332K 331K

USD Revised Nonfarm Productivity q/q 2.3% 1.6% 0.9%

USD Revised Unit Labor Costs q/q 0.0% 0.9% 1.4%

USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 58.6 55.2 56.0

USD Factory Orders m/m -2.4% -3.4% 1.6%

Exclusive: Defecting Assad ally reaches Istanbul - sources

(Reuters) - Bashar al-Assad's former defence minister has reached Istanbul after a defection that betrays cracks in the president's support among his own Alawite sect, opposition and diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

Dismissing a cursory Syrian state television denial of the first Reuters report that General Ali Habib had been spirited across the Turkish frontier this week, opposition figures said Habib was likely to keep a low profile after evading house arrest and reaching Turkey with the aid of Western agents.

FTSE100 ends a positive session with solid gains