Market Update

Copper Surges, Gold Gains Modestly

Ivaylo
09 Mar, 2007
New York City

Copper futures surged Thursday, nearly setting a high for 2007, as stocks continue to rebound and the market focused on recent inventory declines and expectations that Chinese buying is increase. Gold futures also closed modestly higher as buying continues after a recent correction lower. On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures ended mixed ahead of supply and demand reports on Friday.

World Markets Rise, Gasoline Gains

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

Strength in commodity producers lifted stocks in Asia and Europe, which in turn provided momentum to U.S. markets. Retailers turned in a tepid February same store sales after cold weather hit parts of the U.S. Labor Department said new unemployment claims fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 328,000 in the week ended March 3, slightly better than Wall Street expectations. Wal-Mart fell on weaker than expected same store sales but Nordstrom rose 5% on the data.

Oil Refineries Stocks Up

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

Stocks halved their gains on market rumors that sub-prime mortgage lender New Century Financial may file for bankruptcy. New Century stock plunged 19.8%. Gasoline price jumped to six-month high on lower than expected supplies. The supplies fell to 216 million barrel in the four weeks ending March 2nd. Refineries stocks rose. Gasoline for April delivery rose 1.6% to $1.925 per gallon.

Earnings Lift Europe

Elena
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

European stocks posted solid gains on Thursday, boosted by strength in the commodity sector and well received earnings reports. Metals firms including Boliden and Xstrata made the best sector performance as copper and gold futures advanced. Among earnings-related gainers, French utilities Suez and Veolia Environnement jumped over 2% after reporting strong profit in 2006. The German DAX Xetra 30 climbed 1.4%, the French CAC 40 rose 1.3%, and the U.K. FTSE 100 closed up 1.2%.

Hollis-Eden Plunges 30%

Elena
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

Wall Street rallied on Thursday, cheered by signals that weakness across global stock exchanges had been overcome. The Dow Jones industrials rose more than 100 points, boosted by General Motors, up 1.9% and Citigroup, rising 1.2%. Retail stocks were in focus, with Nordstrom leading the sector higher after reporting strong same-store sales growth in February. The stock rose 5.2%. Kohl''s Corp. gained 2.7% after its sales handily beat the 2.9% gain estimate with an increase of 4.4%.

Nordstrom Sales Beat Estimates

Elena
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

Wall Street advanced sharply Thursday, receiving a lift from recovering global markets and looking past lackluster retail sales reports for February. A strengthening U.S. dollar also contributed to the gains. Retailers posting disappointing results included Wal-Mart, Costco Wholesale, Limited Brands and others. However, Nordstrom''s and Target Corp.''s same-store sales beat estimates. Nordstrom rose 4.8%, while Target gained 2.1%.

UK Advances on Miners

Ivaylo
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

London stocks kept their upward momentum on Thursday on a rally in the mining sector. Mining stocks led the plunge last week because they are largely seen as a proxy on global growth. Kazakhmys led the gainers in the sector. The market was also boosted by anticipated news that the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee had left interest rates on hold at 5.25%. The gains in mining stocks helped the FTSE 100 advance 43.1 points to 6,199.6 by late morning.

U.S. Market to Open High

Elena
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures advanced on Thursday, boosted by solid gains in overseas markets and strength in the U.S. dollar vs. the Japanese yen. The dollar rose 1.2% at 116.97 yen. Sluggish retailer sales in February and a rate hike from the European Central Bank failed to hurt the upside trend. Among pre-market highlights, Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals fell 21% as U.S. Dept. of Health found its Neumune drug ''technically unacceptable''.

Japan Surges, Australia Falls

Ivaylo
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Thursday, as investors neglected a weaker finish on US market and resorted to buying in domestic-consumption-related stocks on optimism over the regional growth outlook. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index shrugged off a weaker morning session with traders focusing on a wide range of large-caps and commodity-related issues. HK, South Korea and Taiwan also advanced, while Australia bucked the trend and declined.

Sluggish Same-Store Sales

Elena
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

Wal-Mart Stores said Thursday its February same-store sales rose 0.9%, missing estimates of an increase by 1.5%. Warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale reported 4% rise in its February same-store sales, missing the average analyst estimate of 5.1% growth. Limited Brands said Thursday its February same-store sales rose 3%, coming shy of analyst estimates of same-store sales increase by 4%.

Sensex Rallies 3.7%

Ivaylo
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

The market opened with an upward bias and rallied more than 500 points on strong cement, banking, construction and telecom shares. Upbeat global markets also supported the benchmark index. Hindustan Lever led the rally, together with Gujarat Ambuja and BHEL. There were no decliners of the Sensex stocks. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today stated the economy was expected to grow by over 9% during 2006-07.

Europe Advances on Utilities

Ivaylo
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

European stocks on Thursday were off to a solid start before interest-rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, with a gain for commodity producers and a batch of mostly well-received earnings from companies including Dutch insurer Aegon and French utility Suez leading the way. The German DAX Xetra 30 rose 0.4%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.5% and the U.K. FTSE 100 rose 0.4%.

Gold, Silver Gain on Higher Oil

Ivaylo
08 Mar, 2007
New York City

Gold and silver futures on Wednesday continued their upward trend, as higher energy prices combined with a weaker U.S. dollar to push the metals higher. High-grade copper futures closed higher, boosted by short covering and higher gold and silver futures prices. Of the energy stocks only natural gas declined. Arabica coffee and raw sugar both declined.

Volatility Persists in New York Trading

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

Volatility in New York trading remained at elevated level. Weekly oil report showed a sharp fall in crude oil inventory but still above five-year average, sparking a rally in oil. Fed Survey showed that economic expansion is healthy in the most regions of the country, but few regions are experiencing a slow down. Energy stocks rallied but telecom stocks fell. Saks same store rose in February. Friendly Ice Cream said that it will consider selling the company. D R Horton fell on cautious outlook.

Chicos Earnings Drive Stock Up 10%

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

Market averages traded in a choppy manner on weak economic data, cautionary outlook in the housing market and falling crude oil inventories. A report from Federal Open Market Committee noted that the economic growth is likely to remain weak for the year and moderating inflationary pressures over a period of time. Cautious outlook from homebuilder D R Horton for the current year lowered the sector. Weekly supplies of crude oil report showed a decline in crude oil inventory.