Elena
21 Mar, 2007
New York City
Wall Street opened slightly higher Wednesday, reflecting positive sentiment generated by strong earnings reports from Morgan Stanley and Oracle, as well as cautiousness ahead of the Fed Reserve''s interest-rate decision. Wall Street largely expects the Fed will leave short-term interest rates unchanged at 5.25%. Morgan Stanley gained 2.3% after the bank posted a 70% rise in profit in Q1, well above estimates. Oracle rose 3.7% after reporting a better-than-forecast 35% jump in quarterly profit.
Ivaylo
21 Mar, 2007
New York City
Asian markets ended mostly higher Wednesday, continuing their advance, with property shares giving Hong Kong a lift. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Markets in Taiwan and Singapore also posted gains, while in Australia the market ended slightly lower. South Korean shares ended virtually flat.
Ivaylo
21 Mar, 2007
New York City
The benchmark index traded range-bound on Wednesday for the major part of the session. Agressive buying, mainly in ICICI Bank, Hindustan Lever, SBI in late noon deals helped the rally. Short-covering in the derivatives segment also supported the market. Banking stocks surged after the government said the current cash shortage will ease shortly. Gujarat Ambuja led the decliners, alongside with HDFC and Ranbaxy. TRAI said on Wednesday it had cut the fee paid by all telecoms users.
Ivaylo
21 Mar, 2007
New York City
M&A activity spurred European markets higher in early trade as financial stocks extended their advance. Barclays and ABN Amro were at the forefront of the advance after agreeing to some initial terms for a merger that may be the biggest financial-services takeover in history. However, the mood was cautious ahead the interest rate decision of the US Federal Reserve later on Wednesday. Frankfurt Xetra Dax was fractionally lower, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.1%, and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.2%.
Ivaylo
21 Mar, 2007
New York City
U.S. cocoa futures rallied to nearly four-year highs Tuesday on the New York Board of Trade on speculative buying and boosted by a significantly lower U.S. dollar against the British pound. On the New York Mercantile Exchange gold and silver futures hit two-and-a-half-week highs. Both contracts hit their highest levels since March 2. Crude oil prices ended higher in light trading ahead of the weekly inventory report.
123jump.com Staff
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
U.S. stocks rose led by tech companies and steelmakers, on prospects demand for computer chips would grow and steel prices would increase. The Federal Reserve''s Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting on interest rates and the economy. A government report showed housing starts rebounded in February. Halliburton sank 7.5% on lowered earnings and Systemax plunged 21%. Oracle reported 27% rise in revenue and 35% increase in profit. Claires Store agrees to be sold to Apollo for $2.8 billion.
123jump.com Staff
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
Stocks rose after housing data as the Federal Reserve began its two-day meeting on rates. Stocks also won some support from talk of possible acquisitions. An investment group said it is offering $5.93 billion in cash to take Affiliated Computer Services Inc. private, while speculation arose over media reports on several other deals, that Palm Inc. is a takeover target by not only Nokia Corp. Hancock Fabrics drops 28%.
Elena
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
European stocks closed on a positive note Tuesday, reversing from earlier losses. Markets were given a boost by gains in the U.S. markets, strength in the financial sector and bid speculation. Dutch banking group ABN Amro shares gained 3.5% after confirming the takeover talks. Barclays shares were also higher, up 3.7%. U.K. insurer Prudential climbed 3.3% to 731.50 pence amid merger consolidation. The U.K. FTSE 100 added 0.5%, the German DAX 30 gained 0.4%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.8%.
Elena
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
U.S. stocks traded modestly higher, awaiting the Fed Reserve''s interest-rate decision. Investors received well the Commerce Department''s report that construction of new homes and apartments rose by 9%. However, homebuilders declined on the prospect of fewer permit applications. Toll Brothers, D.R. Horton, Centex, KB Home and Hovnanian Enterprises moved to the downside. Some deal talk also generated positive sentiment.
Ivaylo
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
Whitbread is viewed as a potential private equity break-up candidate on account of its diverse portfolio of assets. The financials sector are still in the spotlight after Barclays bank confirmed it was in merger talk with ABN Amro of the Netherlands. Prudential gained on broker comment, while Friends Provident slumped on poor annual results. In mid-morning trade, the FTSE 100 was down 7.5 points to 6,181.7.
Ivaylo
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
Asian stocks mostly ended higher Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 average in Tokyo advancing for the second day in a row, led by export-related shares such as Toyota Motor after the yen dipped again against the U.S. dollar and the euro. The markets in Japan were lifted by news that the Bank of Japan voted to leave monetary policy unchanged. Most markets in the region finished in positive territory with only Taiwan and New Zealand closing slightly lower.
Elena
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock markets began trading in a mixed fashion on Tuesday, with investors cautious ahead of the Fed Reserve''s decision on interest rates, but relieved that the house construction increased. Housing starts rose 9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.525 million in February from a revised 10-year low of 1.399 million in January, beating the expectations for an increase to 1.46 million.
Ivaylo
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
The benchmark index opened with a positive bias but trading was volatile and the market gyrated until afternoon trade, when gathered momentum and finished in positive territory. IT stocks ended lower on stronger rupee. Banks and cement shares advanced. Ranbaxy led the advancers, while BHEL and Infosys led the decliners. Strong capital inflows drove the Indian rupee to an 18-month high against the dollar.
Ivaylo
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
European markets traded in a tight range on Tuesday with gains from ABN Amro and from car-makers canceled out by worries ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve next interest-rate decision and ill-received earnings from companies such as Deutsche Post. Investors took a breather after the previous session strong gains. By mid morning, Frankfurt Xetra Dax fell 0.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris was off 0.4 % and London FTSE 100 edged 0.1 % higher.
Ivaylo
20 Mar, 2007
New York City
Platinum made a significant advance Monday as speculative buying continued in otherwise quiet trading conditions. Gold and silver futures consolidated in relatively narrow ranges. The metals advanced modestly much of the session after Asian stocks rose overnight. The U.S. stock market was also stronger as the gold pits were closing. Energy stocks finished mostly lower with gasoline bucking the trend. Arabica coffee futures ended weaker as well as raw sugar futures.
