RETAIL SALES

The lifeblood of retail expansion is same store sales. If same store sales do not increase, any store count expansion becomes a death march. But the big retailers keep expanding out of touch with reality.

S&P 500 Index gained 3.00 points, or 0.24 percent, to trade at 1,246.91 at 09:50 a.m. EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 7.11 points, or 0.06 percent, to trade at 11,499.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.20 percent to trade at 2,648.31.

Online spending in the United States rose 12 percent to $27.5 billion till date this holiday shopping season. Free Shipping Day punctuated an exceptional week in which consumers spent more than $5.5 billion online, representing a 14 percent increase from last year, research firm comScore said.

British retail sales rose in November for a second consecutive month as consumer spending picked up ahead of a hike in value added tax (VAT) next year.

Gold Prices slipped to a two-day low in London dealing on Wednesday, dropping 1.5% from yesterday's Dollar high at $1408 per ounce as Asian stock markets closed up to 2% lower and European stocks lost 0.7% on average.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) raised its holiday sales forecast to 3.3 percent, or $451.5 billion, from 2.3 percent, saying stock market gains and income growth combined with great deals on merchandise have given consumers the capacity to spend.

SuperGroup, the owner of Superdry brand, reported a 86 percent rise in pretax profit for the first half on strong sales growth at its retail and wholesale segments. But, the British fashion retailer warned rising raw material prices may affect gross margins in the next financial year.

Stocks retreated in the final hour of trading after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at near-zero, maintained its bond-buying program and warned about the slow pace of economic recovery in the U.S.

Gold and silver fell off day's highs after stronger-than-expected US data released Tuesday morning in New York strengthened the greenback, losses in which had helped the metals rose to 1-week highs earlier in the day, but both metals held on to the SMA support strongly.

US stocks advanced in early trade on Tuesday, following better-than-expected reports on retail sales and producer prices.

The FT reported that market-making brokerage and bank J.P.Morgan has materially reduced its bets on lower silver prices, citing a person familiar with the matter.

U.S. retail sales continued to rise in November for the fifth month, boosted by holiday shopping as well as fuel prices, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to modestly higher opening on Tuesday, following better-than-expected reports on retail sales and producer prices.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a modestly higher opening on Tuesday ahead of a wave of economic data including the US Federal Open Market Committee statement (FOMC).

The British pound strengthened on Tuesday on a higher-than-expected inflation reading for November, with the sentiment also supported by a view that the US Federal Reserve may expand its bond buyback program at its monetary policy later in the day, supplying more dollars into the system.

The EUR/USD distanced itself from a falling channel ahead of the Fed policy and rose to a three-week high on Tuesday. The single currency, however, pared some of its gains after data at 10:00 am GMT showed the region's industrial output rose at a lower-than-expected pace in October.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a modestly lower opening on Tuesday as investors awaited a wave of economic data including the US Federal Federal Open Market Committee statement (FOMC)

USD/CHF fell below a channel support as concerns of the US Fed expanding its $600 billion bond buyback at a policy announcement later Tuesday. The pair extended its losses to hit its lowest in more than a month early in the day in Europe before recovering partly.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Monday, following the gains in global equities, after Chinese policymakers refrained from raising interest rates over the weekend.

GBP/USD that rose above the key 1.5838 level to a 2-week high of 1.5860 on Friday slipped on Monday despite a stronger-than-expected data and is now targeting 1.5649 as immediate support (S1).

USD/CHF is currently testing the 50-day SMA at 0.9784 and targeting the 1.0064-81 region (R1) immediately on the upside. If the uptrend continues, 1.0331-1.0434 region (R2) will form next key resistance level for the pair.