Stock indices closed slightly lower as investors are awaiting the release of Fed's minutes. Investors hope to get insight how the Fed plans to tighten its monetary policy. The Fed may start to hike its interest rate in June. It is unclear how the Fed want to raise its interest rate.

Retail sales in the Eurozone fell 0.2% in February, missing expectations for a 0.1% decrease, after a 0.9% gain in January. January's figure was revised down from a 1.1% rise.

The decline was driven by lower gasoline sales and lower sales of food and drinks.

On a yearly basis, retail sales in the Eurozone rose 3.0% in February, after a 3.2% increase in January. January's figure was revised down from a 3.7% gain.

German seasonal adjusted factory orders decreased 0.9% in February, missing expectations for a 1.5% increase, after a 2.6% drop in January. January's figure was revised up from a 3.9% decline.

Concerns over Greece's debt problems continue to weigh on markets. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today.

The Bank of England released its quarterly Credit Conditions Survey on Wednesday. U.K. lenders expect the demand for secured lending for house purchase to increase in the second quarter of 2015.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,937.41 -24.36 -0.35 %

DAX 12,035.86 -87.66 -0.72 %

CAC 40 5,136.86 -14.33 -0.28 %

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said at the press conference on Wednesday that Japan's economy faces less risk now than it did last year. He noted that the stimulus boost in October has a positive impact on wages and prices.

The BoJ governor reiterated that the central will adjust its monetary policy if needed to achieve its 2% inflation target.

The New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Wednesday that the Fed could still start to raise its interest in June if the economic data pick up in the coming months. He noted that it is better to wait to hike interest rate as the inflation is below the Fed's 2% target.

He pointed out that the pace of the interest rate increase will depend on market reaction.

Japan's Cabinet Office released Eco Watchers' Index figures on Wednesday. Japan's economy watchers' current conditions index climbed to 52.2 in March from 50.1 in February, exceeding expectations for an increase to 50.9.

Japan's economy watchers' future conditions index rose to 53.4 in March from 53.2 in February.

A reading above 50 indicates optimism, while a reading below 50 indicates pessimism.

The Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell said in a speech in New York on Wednesday that the Fed should wait longer before tightening its monetary policy, but he expects the first interest rate hike "later this year". He added that he believes it's better to raise interest rate if the economic data better than expected.

Powell noted that the financial crisis damaged the productive capacity of the U.S. economy. "Given this uncertainty, it is even more difficult than usual to assess how much slack remains. It seems plausible that at least part of this supply-side damage could be reversed if the economy enjoys a period of sustained growth," he said.

The Federal Reserve governor expects that the labour market will continue to strengthen.

Powell noted that he expects the interest rate to increase "fairly gradually".

The Bank of England released its quarterly Credit Conditions Survey on Wednesday. U.K. lenders expect the demand for secured lending for house purchase to increase in the second quarter of 2015. The demand for secured lending for house purchase fell in the first quarter.

The demand for credit card lending by households also declined in the first quarter.

The demand for lending from large corporates rose in the first quarter, while the demand from small businesses and medium-sized companies remained unchanged.

The Swiss Federal Statistics Office released its consumer inflation data on Wednesday. Switzerland's consumer price index rose 0.3% in March, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.3% decline in February.

The rise was driven by higher prices for clothing, petroleum products and package holidays.

On a yearly basis, Switzerland's consumer price index declined to -0.9% in March from -0.8% in February, beating expectations for a drop to -1.0%. It was the lowest level since June 2012.

Prices of domestic goods climbed 0.3% in March, while prices of imported goods fell 4.3%.

U.S. stock-index futures rose before the Federal Reserve releases the minutes of its March meeting and as Alcoa Inc. unofficially kicks off earnings season.

Global markets:

Nikkei 19,789.81 +149.27 +0.76%

Hang Seng 26,236.86 +961.22 +3.80%

Shanghai Composite 3,995.5 +34.13 +0.86%

FTSE 6,987.88 +26.11 +0.38%

CAC 5,153.17 +1.98 +0.04%

DAX 12,089.04 -34.48 -0.28%

Crude oil $52.78 (-2.22%)

Gold $1206.50 (-0.34%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

Eurostat released its retail sales data for the Eurozone on Wednesday. Retail sales in the Eurozone fell 0.2% in February, missing expectations for a 0.1% decrease, after a 0.9% gain in January. January's figure was revised down from a 1.1% rise.

The decline was driven by lower gasoline sales and lower sales of food and drinks.

On a yearly basis, retail sales in the Eurozone rose 3.0% in February, after a 3.2% increase in January. January's figure was revised down from a 3.7% gain.

As oil prices have stabilised in recent months, the households spending sank.

Upgrades:

Downgrades:

Apple (AAPL) downgraded from Buy to Hold at Societe Generale

Other:

FedEx (FDX) reiterated at Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts, target raised from $169 to $180

Japan's Ministry of Finance released its current account figures on late Tuesday. The current account surplus jumped to 1,440.1 billion yen in February from a 61.4 billion yen surplus in January, exceeding expectations for a surplus of 1,150 billion yen. It was the highest level since September 2011.

The increase was driven by the higher value in yen terms of income from overseas investments and a smaller trade deficit.

The trade balance deficit fell to 143.1 billion yen in February from the deficit of 864.2 billion yen in the previous month.

Falling oil prices helped to lower the trade deficit.

Exports rose at an annual rate of 0.4%, while imports dropped at an annual 6.2%.

The Fed released its consumer credits figures on Tuesday. Consumer credit in the U.S. rose by $15.5 billion in February, exceeding expectations for a $13.6 billion increase, after a $10.8 billion gain January.

January's figure was revised down from a $11.6 billion rise.

The increase was driven by a gain in non-revolving credit. Non-revolving credit surged up by $19.2 billion in February, while revolving credit declined by $3.7 billion.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday ruled out another round of fiscal stimulus to help the economy, which has been hurt by lower oil prices. He said that the economy is still expected to grow, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated.

Canadian gross domestic product declined 0.1% in January and job creation over the past 12 months has been weak due to lower oil prices.

Harper confirmed the government intension to eliminate deficit ahead of the release of the federal budget later this month.

European stocks are trading mixed today with the FTSE100 being the only index out of the three in positive territory. German factory orders and Eurozone Retail Sales weigh on stocks.

Factory Orders in Germany, Eurozone's biggest economy, declined in February by -0.9%, below the estimated +1.5%. The January reading was -3.9%. Year on year Factory orders declined -1.3% compared to -0.1%. Orders fell for a second month, contradicting other positive reports on the German economy and its recovery.

The French Trade Balance rose unexpectedly last month with a reading of -3.44 billion euros, compared to forecasts of -3.8 billion and a previous reading of -3.7 billion.

Retail Sales in the Eurozone declined seasonally adjusted in February by -0.2%, more than the expected -0.1%. The data for January was revised from +1.1% down to +0.9%. Year on year Retail Sales for February came in at +3.0%. Last February's reading was revised down from +3.7% to +3.2%.

The FTSE 100 index is currently trading +0.54% quoted at 6,999.03 points. Germany's DAX 30 is trading at 12,066.65 points -0.47% close to intraday-lows. France's CAC 40 is currently trading at 5,146.42 points, -0.09%.

BLOOMBERG

Forget Interest Rates, the Fed Has Another Big Decision to Make in the Next Year

In case exiting years of zero interest rates won't be hard enough, Federal Reserve officials have another challenge approaching quickly: when to begin unwinding trillions of dollars of bond purchases that constitute the world's largest fixed-income portfolio.

Less than a year from now, the Fed must decide whether to reinvest $216 billion of proceeds from Treasury debt maturing in 2016, or shrink its balance sheet by allowing it to expire. By not reinvesting, the Fed would increase the supply of securities available to investors and put upward pressure on yields.

Shrinking the $4.2 trillion portfolio will add to the monetary tightening from increases in the benchmark interest rate officials envision for this year. That would mark a reversal of the easing the Fed achieved when it bought bonds to speed a recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-08/2016-fed-balance-sheet-decision-looms-beyond-rate-liftoff

REUTERS
Oil down on U.S. stock build, record Saudi output

(Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than a percent on Wednesday as industry data showed a larger-than-expected weekly increase in U.S. stockpiles and as Saudi Arabia reported record output in March.

The decline in prices followed a rally on Tuesday, when U.S. crude approached 2015 highs following strong jobs data and government forecasts for lower U.S. crude production growth and higher global demand for oil.

"We're going to need to see a very big uptick in demand to offset that supply," Ben Le Brun, analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney said. "There is a glut of supply in oil at the moment."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/08/us-markets-oil-idUSKBN0MZ03320150408

BLOOMBERG

Shell Will Buy BG Group for $70 Billion in Cash and Shares

Royal Dutch Shell Plc agreed to buy BG Group Plc for about 47 billion pounds ($70 billion) in cash and shares, the oil and gas industry's biggest deal in at least a decade.

The acquisition is the most significant response yet to the slump in oil prices and could set in motion a series of mergers as the largest energy companies look to cut costs and restore profits.

Shell will pay 383 pence in cash and 0.4454 of Shell's B shares for each BG share, BG said in a statement today. That's equal to about 1,367 pence a share and gives BG a market value of about 47 billion pounds. It's a premium of about 50 percent on BG's closing share price yesterday.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-08/shell-will-buy-bg-group-for-70-billion-in-cash-and-shares

European stocks open mixed on Wednesday after lower-than-expected German factory orders and ahead of data on Eurozone's Retail Sales scheduled for 09:00 GMT.

Factory Orders in Germany, Eurozone's biggest economy, declined in February by -0.9%, below the estimated +1.5%. The January reading was -3.9%. Year on year Factory orders declined -1.3% compared to -0.1%. Orders fell for a second month, contradicting other positive reports on the German economy and its recovery.

The French Trade Balance rose unexpectedly last month with a reading of -3.44 billion euros, compared to forecasts of -3.8 billion and a previous reading of -3.7 billion.

The FTSE 100 index is currently trading +0.44% quoted at 6,992.37 points. Germany's DAX 30 is trading at 12,085.97 points -0.31%. France's CAC 40 is currently trading at 5,154.73 points, +0.07%.

U.S. stocks ended slightly down on Tuesday reversing early gains. The S&P 500 closed -0.21% with a final quote of 2,076.33 points. The DOW JONES index declined by -0.03%, closing at 17,875.42 points. Investors worry about the impact of the strong dollar on corporate earnings but sentiment is supported by the fact that a rate hike by the FED could be delayed. Today at 13:30 GMT FOMC Member Dudley speaks and at 18:00 the FOMC minutes of the last policy meeting will be published.

Chinese stocks extended gains amid speculations on further economic stimulus by the PBoC. The economic slowdown in China, the world's second largest economy, is already seen bottoming and China has lots of options left in order to spur the economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is trading +2.49% at 25,904.25 points. China's Shanghai Composite is currently trading at 3,990.28 points +0.73%. In today's session the index surpassed the 4,000 points mark for the first time since 2008, doubling since January 2014.

The Nikkei rose to a 15-year high on Wednesday. The index rose +0.76% to 19,789.81 points. The Bank of Japan left the key interest rate unchanged at 0.10% after an 8 to 1 vote and kept the bank's Monetary Base Target unchanged at 275 billion. One member voted for a lower target but was voted down. The current Eco Watchers Survey for March increased above estimates to 52.2, beating forecasts of an increase to 50.9 from a previous reading of 50.1. The Eco Watchers Outlook rose from 53.2. to 53.4. At 06:30 GMT the Bo J will hold a press conference.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei 225 19,640.54 +242.56 +1.25 %

Hang Seng 25,275.64 +192.89 +0.77 %

Shanghai Composite 3,960.98 +97.05 +2.51 %

FTSE 100 6,961.77 +128.31 +1.88 %

CAC 40 5,151.19 +77.05 +1.52 %

Xetra DAX 12,123.52 +156.13 +1.30 %

S&P 500 2,076.33 -4.29 -0.21 %

NASDAQ Composite 4,910.23 -7.08 -0.14 %

Dow Jones 17,875.42 -5.43 -0.03 %