Loonie Weakens Versus Majors Amid November Economic Data [EUR/CAD]

Loonie Weakens Versus Majors Amid November Economic Data [EUR/CAD]
The Canadian dollar weakened against its major counterparts amid the release of the Canadian New Housing price data and Building permits data for the month of November The Canadian jobless claims down 15,000 to 322,000 and building permits fell 9.9% November.

More Gain Projected For Hang Seng []
The Hong Kong stock market closed higher Wednesday for just the second time in the last six sessions, but analysts have tipped the Hang Seng Index to continue its positive bounce when it kicks off trade on Thursday. In line with other regional gains, the Hang Seng could well regain 28,000 points.

South Korean Market Closes Sharply Lower []
Thursday, Seoul shares closed lower, amid volatility, on the day of settlement of options and futures contracts. The main index had gained more than 30 points in early trade, helped by Wall Street's rebound overnight on bargain-hunting. However, investor sentiment was impacted by Bank of Korea's decision to keep interest rate firm at 5.0%, concerns about domestic inflation and a global economic slowdown.

Japanese Market Falls On Economic Growth Concerns []
Tokyo shares fell Thursday on selling in real estate and shipbuilding stocks amid concern about a slowdown of Japanese economy. The market declined after a senior central bank official said that the pace of Japan's economic growth was slowing due to a big drop in housing investment.

Swiss Franc Strong Against Euro []
In trading against its European counterpart, the Swiss franc saw strength into Thursday morning action. The franc rose steadily to a mark of 1.6295 against the euro. The pair moved as the European Central Bank maintained its key interest rate at a six-year high of 4%.

Indian Market Opens Flat []
Wednesday, Indian shares opened flat, tracking weak cues from global markets. At 10:04 a.m. IST, the benchmark Sensex was down 65 points at 20,807 and the broader Nifty was losing 19 points to 6,268.

FTN Financial Examines Recent Jobless Claims []
Chris Low from FTN Financial commented on Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 15k in the holiday-shortened week ending January 5, a week that is typically volatile and difficult to seasonally adjust due to the New Year's holiday.

Dollar Falls To New Multi-year Low Against Chilean Peso [USD/CLP]
The US dollar fell against the Chilean peso in early deals on Thursday. Extending yesterday's downtrend, the US currency touched a multi-year low of 485.00 at about 7:25 am ET, compared to yesterday's close of 486.45. As of now, the dollar-peso pair is worth 485.35.

KOSPI Seen To Extend Gains []
The South Korean stock market rode a strong afternoon rebound Wednesday to snap a two-day losing streak, and analysts fully expect that bounce to continue positively when the KOSPI opens for business on Thursday. Trade is likely to remain volatile again, however, ahead of the settlement of futures contracts and the Bank of Korea's interest rate decision.

China Shares Close Higher, Led By Property Developers And Steelmakers []
Shanghai stocks closed higher Thursday, led by property developers and steelmakers. However, weakness in energy stocks, following a government announcement that it will hold electricity and fuel prices steady in the near term, capped gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 20.73 points or 0.38% at 5,456.54.