US Stocks

Stocks climbed Thursday, reversing sharp morning losses as commodities rebounded and defensive stocks strengthened. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 65.89 points, or 0.52%, to 12695.92, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 6.57 points, or 0.49%, to 1348.65 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 17.98 points, or 0.63%, to 2863.04.

The market's recovery was led by defensive stocks in the consumer-staples and health-care sectors, which helped erase a morning slide that had the Dow off by as much as 93 points. Commodities also found a footing after a morning of declines and an upturn in the energy sector also helped lift the broader market.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

Financials were the a drag on the markets, led by a 1.2% fall in Citigroup Inc. shares. The financial giant, which implemented a reverse stock split earlier this week, is off 7.6% for the month. Goldman Sachs was one of the worst decliners among the S&P 500 stocks, falling 3.5%. Also struggling was Cisco Systems Inc., which skidded 4.8% to lead the Dow decliners. Symantec Corp. (SYMC) rose 5.2% after reporting results that topped expectations.

European Markets

European stock markets fell Thursday with mining companies posting steep losses as worries over global growth led investors to cut their exposure to riskier assets such as equities and commodities. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.7% to close at 281.80 after dipping as low as 280.41. Of the major indexes, the FTSE 100 index fell 0.5% to close at 5,944.96, the CAC 40 index was down 0.9% at 4,023.29 and Germany's DAX 30 dropped 0.7% to finish at 7,443.95. Mining stocks were lower across the board, with silver producer Fresnillo PLC dropping 7.6% after metal prices slipped.

Shares in Kazakhmys PLC dropped 2.8% and Vedanta Resources PLC fell 3.2%. Since commodities started to turn lower at the end of April in part due to worries over European growth helping to lift the dollar the hot money has started to pour out of the sector, though Gijsels said there could still be more losses to come. The fall in commodity prices also weighed on oil companies, with French oil major Total SA down 1.4%.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

Among the economic worries hanging over the market Thursday was a decision by China to lift the ratio of funds domestic banks must set aside as reserves the fifth such hike this year as the country continues to battle against inflation. Insurance stocks were among the weakest performing stocks. Shares in Aegon NV sank 5.7% after the Dutch company reported a 12% drop in profit, missing analyst expectations. Old Mutual PLC fell 3.3% after reporting lower sales in the first quarter, along with outflows of client cash. Allianz SE slipped 1.4% in Frankfurt as higher costs from natural disasters led to a 45% drop in profit.

Asian Markets

Asian shares were dragged down Thursday as a tumble in energy markets Wednesday spooked investors. South Korea's Kospi shed 2% to 2,122.65, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.5% to 9,716.65, China's Shanghai Composite gave up 1.4% to 2,844.08, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.9% to 23,073.76, and India's Sensex dropped 1.3% to 18,335.79. The broad losses followed a tumble in energy prices Wednesday. Worries about Greece's debt crisis added to the selling pressure.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

Resource sector stocks tracked the broad losses suffered in commodity prices and were among those hit hard. Inpex lost 3.6% in Tokyo and Hindalco Industries slid 4.7% in Mumbai. Cnooc's 1.4% drop in Hong Kong during the session erased the stock's gains in 2011 to date. Aluminum Corp. of China and gold miner Zijin Mining Group lost 2% and 2.2%, respectively; in Shanghai, the stocks fell 2.2% and 2.5%, respectively.

Outside the resources sector, Toyota Motor rose 3.1% even after the company reported a 77% drop in earnings for the January to March quarter. It expects earthquake hit production to recover sooner than it indicated earlier. Yamaha Motor jumped 4.3% after posting improved earnings. But those gains failed to offset losses elsewhere. Shares of Olympus tumbled 5.6% and Terumo dropped 3.4% after their earnings reports disappointed.

Base Metals

Base metals closed mostly higher on the London Metal Exchange Thursday after paring earlier losses in line with equity markets, oil futures and the euro. LME three-month copper ended the session at $8,729 a metric ton, up 0.3% on Wednesday's afternoon kerb close. The close was a positive one for the red metal, which had earlier traded as low as $8,504/ton.

Crude futures settled higher Thursday in a volatile trading session, as commodity and currency markets attempted to find footing amid massive price swings this week. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose as high as $100.49 a barrel before settling 76 cents, or 0.8%, higher at $98.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange ended 41 cents higher at $112.98 a barrel.

Oil prices wavered between gains and losses after a 5.5% drop Wednesday, when trading was halted on the Nymex for the first time in more than two years due to a 25-cent plunge in gasoline futures. After trading near two and a half month lows early in Thursday's session, prices rose above $100 a barrel at one point amid a retreat of the dollar against the euro. A mid-morning reversal in the dollar helped boost gold above $1,500, while silver pared earlier losses.

The most actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, gained $5.40, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,506.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The May-delivery contract settled up $5.50, or 0.4%, at $1,506.60 a troy ounce. May-delivery silver settled down 71.6 cents, or 2%, at $34.793 a troy ounce. The most actively traded silver futures, for July delivery, were down 2%, or 71.8 cents, at $34.797 a troy ounce.

More from IBT Markets:
Newsletter: To receive Global Markets update, sign up here

ADVERTORIAL: Do you want to learn more about forex? Avail of this free forex training from Knowledge to Action across Australasia! Book a free seminar near you here.