The US markets opened on a strong footing after a mixed performance the previous week. The strength on Wall Street was partly due to news of Chinese market reforms designed to increase liquidity, which helped offset concerns about the situation in Ukraine where Pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine claim nearly 90 percent of voters in the region were in favor of self rule in a referendum held on Sunday, although the vote has been condemned as illegal by Kiev and Western governments. However, weaker than expected retail sales growth for the month of April and higher than expected increase in producers price index. The US markets closed the week (till Thursday) on a negative note ahead of the housing starts and consumer confidence data releases even as the jobless claims data came below estimates. Continue reading Global Markets Review -16May2014 →