Market Update

Stock Futures Predict Gains

Elena
06 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock market futures were indicating a higher opening on Tuesday, boosted by a recovery in overseas bourses after the steep global decline in recent sassions. Asian stock markets advanced and European stock markets also moved higher. The U.S. dollar gained some ground against the rallying yen and helped provide further support to the pre-market sentiment. On the economic news front, January factory orders, statistics on January pending-home sales and Q4 productivity are due for release.

Google and Apple Gain on Common Projects

Elena
06 Mar, 2007
New York City

The Dow was led higher by financial stocks which bounced back after heavy losses. Mortgage lender New Century Financial surged 25% and Fremont General climbed 11.7%. Blue-chip company Altria Group rose 1.8% after Deutsche Bank upgraded its stock to buy, noting opportunities to unlock value through a restructuring. Google helped push the tech-heavy Nasdaq higher on the back of news that the company is working together with Apple on new projects. Google shares rose 2.2%, while Apple added 1.5%.

Japan Leads Asian Recovery

Ivaylo
06 Mar, 2007
New York City

The Nikkei benchmark index had its first positive close in six sessions Tuesday, and regional indexes followed suit and closed broadly higher, as investors bought shares of Softbank, Sony and others that were hit last week. Gains were made in leading markets across the region, including China, South Korea and Hong Kong. Markets in Thailand and New Zealand bucked the uptrend and ended slightly lower.

Sensex Rebounds 2.3%, IT, Reliance Rally

Ivaylo
06 Mar, 2007
New York City

The benchmark index ended in positive territory despite the high volatility, supported by a surge in large-caps and Reliance Industries in late afternoon. Short-covering in derivatives and strong Asian markets also aided the rally. Wipro, ICICI Bank and Infosys led the gainers, while Hindalco and NTPC led the decliners. The rally, however, was not broad-based. The rupee was steady against the dollar. The government has been urging steel and cement industries to control prices.

European Markets Rebound

Ivaylo
06 Mar, 2007
New York City

A five-session losing streak was ended in Europe on Tuesday as expectations that traders have priced in risks of an unwinding of the carry trade, the health of U.S. mortgage lending, and the valuations of Chinese stocks. Carry-trade worries temporarily dispersed, as the yen reversed gains made against several currencies. In early trade, The German DAX Xetra 30 rose 0.7%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.5% and the U.K. FTSE 100 advanced 0.3%.

Arabica Coffee Plummets, Gold Dips

Ivaylo
06 Mar, 2007
New York City

Arabica coffee futures collapsed to 4 1/2-month lows on the New York Board of Trade on Monday as funds and small speculators liquidated in a broad commodity slide, tracking overnight losses in Asian and European stock markets. More speculative liquidation pushed gold and silver futures lower in New York, although the markets bounced off their weakest levels.

New York Closed Lower on Global Decline

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

stocks fell in New York trading, extending their worst weekly slump in four years, led by financial companies on concern that a surge in mortgage-loan defaults is spreading beyond the riskiest creditors. Losses in U.S. stocks were less steep than in Asia and Europe. New Century Financial declined 70% and Fremont General fell 33%. AvalonBay Communities declined 4.1% and Barnes & Noble fell 10%. A measure of U.S. service industry growth in February showed a slowest growth in the last four years.

Barnes & Noble Drops 10%

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

Sharp and continued sell-offs in Asia and Europe, as well as lingering worries about the end of the yen carry trade and the health of the sub-prime mortgage industry, continued to weigh on the markets. Averages in the New York are trading side ways with a negative bias. Service industry index in February grew at the slowest level in four years.

Europe Tracks Global Decline

Elena
05 Mar, 2007
New York City

European stocks finished a volatile trading session in the red for a fifth day in a row. Monday losses came on the back of U.S. mortgage lending concerns, rallying Japanese yen and Chinese stock valuations. The most notable losers included British Airways which slipped 6.6%, construction materials firm Kingspan, down 7.2%, and miner Antofagast, falling 2.7%. The German DAX 30 dropped 1% at 6,534.57, the French CAC 40 fell 0.7% at 5,385.03 and the U.K. FTSE 100 lost 0.9% at 6,058.70.

Pathmark in $1.3 B Deal

Elena
05 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. market averages gained some ground after the initial sharp decline. The Dow bounced into the positive territory, helped by technology socks. Blue-chip stocks were led higher by Hewlett-Packard and IBM, each rising over 1%. However, the broader market remained below the flat line amid concerns in the subprime mortgage market and global markets jitters.

New Century Tumbles 57%

Elena
05 Mar, 2007
New York City

Wall Street started trading sharply lower, reflecting rally in the Japanese yen, weakness across Asian and European markets, and growing concerns in the subprime mortgage market. Sub-prime lender New Century Financial slipped 57% after announcing that it is under investigation by federal regulators. The Dow was led to the downside by aluminum producer Alcoa, down 2.78% and broker J.P.Morgan Chase, down 1.8%.

UK off 1.5% on Weak Asia

Ivaylo
05 Mar, 2007
New York City

London stocks plunged on Monday, as sharp losses on leading Asian exchanges overnight offset hopes of a recovery after the steep falls last week. The FTSE 100 index fell below 6,000 for the first time since October last year. Shares in British Airways and leading miners such as Xstrata and BHP Billiton led decliners. By midday the FTSE 100 was 1.5% lower at 6,027.7, a loss of 89 points.

Strong Yen Pressures Stock Futures

Elena
05 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures pointed Monday to a lower opening for another straight session, with the yen posting strength and thus hurting hedge funds. Worries over the health of the U.S. second-biggest subprime lender, New Century Financial, also generated negative sentiment. Company''s stiock tumbled 57% in the pre-open after it said it is a target of a federal criminal probe and is likely to breach a major lending covenant with its financial backers.

Asia Tumbles, Yen Surges

Ivaylo
05 Mar, 2007
New York City

Asian makets plunged sharply across the region, with Japanese stocks falling for the fifth session in a row, while Hong Kong dipped 4%. In Japan, exporters were hit hardest on the recent rally of the yen. HK stocks dived to close below 19,000 for the first time since mid-December, on currency worries and expectations of poor earnings figures from HSBC. South Korea tracked sharp declines in global markets, with steelmaker Posco and builders leading losses. Australia and Shanghai also plunged.

Sensex Sheds 3.7%, Rupee to Four-Month Low

Ivaylo
05 Mar, 2007
New York City

The benchmark index opened with a negative bias, following weakness in the world markets. The market continued to decline throughout the trading on heavy selling in all sectors. Ranbaxy, Maruti Udyog led the decliners in a highly volatile session with a very weak market-breadth. Overnight cash rates fell to 18-month lows on Monday and bond yields rose. The rupee dropped the most in almost four months.