Market Update

Intercontinental Offers $9.9 B for CBOT

123jump.com Staff
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

Stocks stayed afloat as signs of strength in corporate takeover activity, jobs and overseas markets allowed investors to stomach a sharp rise in wholesale inflation. There was a short pullback in stocks ahead of the Philadelphia Fed''s manufacturing index, which showed that the region''s growth slowed in March. Intercontinental Exchange made an unsolicited bid for $9.9 billion for Chicago Board of Trade. CBOT is in the midst of merging with Chicago Merc.

Europe Rallies on Deal Talk

Elena
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

European stocks rallied on Thursday, boosted by deal talk, strong gains in the shares of resource stocks and strong earnings from Bayer. Tobacco stocks were the best performers on merger speculation. Imperial Tobacco rose 8.6% after it approached rival Altadis over a potential offer worth $15 billion. Shares in Altadis surged 17%. The German DAX 30 climbed 2.1%, the French CAC 40 rose 1.8%, and the U.K. FTSE 100 gained 2.2%.

Cisco Agrees to Buy WebEx for $3.2 B

Elena
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. market averages traded slightly in the positive, as enthusiasm over merger activity offset the surprisingly high wholesale inflation. WebEx Communications surged 24% after Cisco Systems agreed to acquire the online meeting company in a deal worth $3.2 billion in cash, or $57 per share. That represents a 23% premium over WebEx''s closing price on Wednesday. IntercontinentalExchange made an unsolicited offer to merge with the parent of the Chicago Board of Trade in a deal worth $10 B.

Imperial Lifts FTSE

Ivaylo
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

London has continued Thursday to recover the massive losses incurred yesterday, with buyers returning on new M&A action and well received results, while miners helped the surge. Imperial Tobacco was the stand-out advancer as it confirmed it had made an approach for Altadis, the Spanish cigarette manufacturer. The strong finish markets in Asia and a rally on Wall Street overnight lifted sentiment and helped the FTSE 100 gain 100 points at 6,101.4.

Wholesale Inflation Spikes on Food, Energy Costs

Elena
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stocks opened mixed, reflecting higher-than-expected inflation at the wholesale level and initial jobless claims drop. Investors'' hopes of interest rate cuts dampened, as wholesale prices unexpectedly jumped 1.3% in February amid a big increase in energy prices and food costs. Even excluding food and energy prices, the core PPI rose 0.4%, double the 0.2% rise that analysts were predicting.

Japan Leads Asian Recovery

Ivaylo
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

After the sharp declines in the previous session, traders in Asia were active again on Thursday, helping regional markets to rally with Japan leading the advance. Tokyo gained a day after suffering its second-biggest single-day point fall so far this year. Exporters drew the greatest interest on the market as the Japanese yen softened against the dollar. All the major regional markets ended in positive territory.

Market Attempts Higher Start

Elena
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures traded moderately higher Thursday, taking a lift from solid gains in intraday trading yesterday that gave signals the market is on the rebound. As investors

Sensex Gains 0.1%

Ivaylo
15 Mar, 2001
New York City

The Sensex opened with a positive bias and surged until early afternoon following strong global markets in a highly volatile trade. Heavy selling at higher level made the index pare gains but it still managed to finish in positive territory. Dr Reddy

NY Rebounds, Sharp Decline in Asia and Europe

123jump.com Staff
14 Mar, 2008
New York City

Stocks in New York trading recovered at close after hitting their lows at mid-day. Smaller than expected current account deficit data failed to counter the worries related to sub-prime lending. Lehman Bros reported first quarter earnings of $1.96 per share compared to $1.83 per share. The company said that its exposure to subprime ledning is well contained. General Motors reported prift in the fourth quarter on GMAC sale. Asian and European markets dropped more than 2%.

Lehman Supports Market Advance

123jump.com Staff
14 Mar, 2007
New York City

Market averages dipped to its lowest level in the afternoon trading. Lehman reported first quarter profit of $1.96 per share compared to $1.83 per share a year ago. Revenue rose 13% to $5.05 billion from a year earlier.The company also reported that its exposure to sub prime lending is not more than 3% of its assets and it accounts for 25% of total mortgage origination.

Banks Lead Europe Steeply Lower

Elena
14 Mar, 2007
New York City

European stocks finished sharply lower on Wednesday, led by declines for banking stocks as U.S. worries about subprime-mortgage losses spread through the sector. Among firms in focus, Deutsche Bank dropped 5.1%, Credit Suisse lost 4.3% and UBS shed 4.3%. Insurers and fund managers were also notable losers. France''s AXA slid 5.1%, while U.K. Man Group dropped 4%. The French CAC 40 tumbled 2.5%, the German DAX 30 dropped 2.7%, and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 slid 2.6%.

UK off 1.4%, HBOS Plunges

Ivaylo
14 Mar, 2007
New York City

The London market followed US stocks sharply lower on Wednesday as growing concerns about the health of the US subprime lending sector harmed the financials sector and resurrected fears of a slump. Several of the big high street banks had already posted higher provisions for bad debts including HSBC. The FTSE 100 was down more than 100 points, or 1.4%, to 6,060.2 in morning trade.

Asia Tumbles

Ivaylo
14 Mar, 2007
New York City

Asian markets declined sharply Wednesday following a sharp sell-off on US market, with Japanese benchmark index plummeting almost 3% with exporters retreating as the yen strengthened against major currencies. Property stocks declined the most among large-cap companies in HK. In China, comments from China''s central bank governor led to speculation there will be an interest rate increase soon and the Shnaghai benchmark index also fell.

H&R Block Falls on Profit Warning

Elena
14 Mar, 2007
New York City

Wall Street opened mixed on Wednesday, gaining some ground after the recent sell-off. The market sentiment was boosted by strengthening dollar which rose vs. the yen on the back of narrower current account deficit. However, there was more evidence about the fallout in the mortgage lender market. H&R Block slid 2.4% after it warned that the meltdown increased its quarterly losses.

Stock Futures Point Slightly Lower

Elena
14 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures were indicating a slightly weak opening, as concerns over the troubled sub-prime mortgage business continued to weigh on global markets. Disappointing results from General Motors and Lehman Bros. also generated negative mood, helping to offset a smaller-than-expected rise in import prices. Import prices rose 0.2% in February, below expectations of a 0.7% gain. Excluding fuels, prices declined 0.2%, the biggest drop since July 2005.