Thursday Vs Friday

Thursday - Shrinkage in China's manufacturing sector, poor demand; a strong dollar - negative sentiment everywhere. China's official Aug PMI showed contracting for a fifth month.

Friday - China's factory returned to surprising expansion in August, according to a private sector survey. Five biggest Chinese banks cut interest rates to ease pressure on their shrinking margins.

Does it mean supply, domestic demand and employment are reviving? At the least market believes so.

Prices of base metals rallied as China rolled out more?measures to support property?market. Also aiding the market was some?weakness?in the U.S.?dollar. The dollar index steadied around 103.6, weighed down by signs that the US economy may be cooling. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note held at the 4.1%. Gold steadied around $19,40 an ounce amid signs that the US economy may be cooling.?3M copper on the LME?was up 1.3% at $8,540?a ton. 3M LME Ali gained 1% at $2,230 a ton.

In another news, Aurubis said review of components of recycling materials, including copper, gold and silver, indicated that certain samples had been manipulated and that scrap suppliers had received too much money. I know scrap business is not a bed of roses, but such scam happening with an astute player like Aurubis is surprising.

The ISRO is all set to launch India's first-ever solar mission, Aditya-L1 tomorrow. L1 is Lagrange point 1, an ideal location to view and study the Sun. Read about it over weekend or dig out more on payroll data due shortly. Happy weekend.

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