Market Update

BASF and Nestle Boost Europe

Elena
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

European stocks gained ground on Thursday, boosted by gains for mining and chemical stocks. Chemicals were led higher by 5.4% gain for BASF. The company

IAEA Report on Iran Offsets Tech Rally

Elena
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

U.S. stocks erased earlier gains to turn lower in late morning trading. News that Iran refused to suspend its uranium enrichment program hurt market sentiment, offsetting a strong rally in the tech sector. However, semiconductors Analog Devices and National Semiconductor continued to trade higher, up 10% and 7% respectively. The Dow was dragged down by Hewlett-Packard, down 1.7%, General Motors, also falling 1.7%, and IBM, losing 1.1%.

Wild Oats Surges 17% on Acquisition Bid

Elena
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock markets were driven higher Thursday by merger news and a trademark agreement between Apple and Cisco Systems. Positive sentiment was also generated by a government report that showed the labor market remains strong. Tech stocks were helped by 9% gain for Analog Devices on brokerage upgrade, due to a lifted outlook. Whole Foods jumped 10% after it agreed to buy smaller rival Wild Oats Markets for about $565 million. Shares of Wild Oats surged 17%.

FTSE Higher on BAE, Centrica

Ivaylo
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

London equity market regained momentum on Thursday as a series of strong earnings reports helped the FTSE 100 back toward the 6,400 level. Large-cap stocks continued to advance, as the market was upbeat on results from BAE Systems and Centrica. The benchmark index, the FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to 6,395.1, a gain of 38 points, helping restore most of the 55 lost from the previous session.

Stock Futures Point Slightly Higher

Elena
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures pointed to modestly higher opening on Thursday. In pre-market highlights, Whole Foods jumped 7.5% after it agreed to buy smaller rival Wild Oats Markets for about $565 million. Shares of Wild Oats surged 17%. In the tech sector, Cisco Systems and Apple were in the spotlight as the two tech giants managed to settle the issue over Cisco''s iPhone trademark, agreeing to share the name. Apple shares rose 1.5% in pre-market trading, while Cisco gained 0.6%.

Japan Surges to Seven-Year High

Ivaylo
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

The Nikkei in Japan on Thursday crossed the 18,000-point level for the first time in almost seven years on Sony and other exporters rising due to the weaker yen. The Japanese currency dipped after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates but stated future increases would come gradually. South Korea and Australia closed at records, while indexes in Singapore and Malaysia touched intraday highs before giving up gains ahead of the market close.

Sensex Sheds 1.2%

Ivaylo
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

The market opened with a positive bias but soon dipped into negative territory. It was in the final hour of trading though, that the benchmark index plunged as selling pressure mounted on cement, banking, auto and pharma stocks. Grasim, ACC, Gujarat Ambuja, Hero Honda and Ranbaxy tumbled. Reliance Comm led the gainers, debutant Firstsource soared. Morgan Stanley will spend $425 million to set up its own service platform in India.

Toll Bros Net Slips 67%

Elena
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers posted Q1 net income drop of 67% to $54.3 million, or 33 cents a share, down from $163.9 million, or 98 cents last year. The quarterly earnings fell on 19% revenue decline and missed analyst estimate of 29 cents. Revenue fell to $1.09 billion from $1.34 billion.

Insurers Buoy Europe

Ivaylo
22 Feb, 2001
New York City

Insurers supported European equities on Thursday, as markets rebounded from losses in the previous session when concerns over inflation and interest rates made them retreat from recent six-year highs. BAFS was leading the advancers on strong Q4 reslts, Axa and Allianz also contributed to the rally. In early trade, Frankfurt Xetra Dax added 0.7%, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.7% and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.6%.

Gold, Corn Rally

Ivaylo
22 Feb, 2007
New York City

Gold futures rallied to a seven-month high on Wednesday, after data showed consumer inflation rising at a faster-than-expected pace in January, boosting the appeal of gold as an inflation hedge. The outright refusal of Tehran to halt uranium enrichment and the pursuit of nuclear power also added fuel to the increase in gold. Other metals, like silver, platinum, palladium and copper also advanced. Corn spurted to ten-year high on speculative buying.

Oil Rises Above $60

123jump.com Staff
21 Feb, 2007
New York City

U.S. stocks closed down Wednesday, as a steeper-than-forecast rise in consumer prices reduced speculation the Fed Reserve will cut interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was dragged down by losses for Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, Intel and Merck. Computer-related companies in the S&P 500 lost 0.3%. Motorola Inc. declined 1.4%. The downside trend for tech stocks was limited by Apple which rose 3.7%. European stocks closed in the negative on weaker commodities.

Epiq Systems Narrows Loss

123jump.com Staff
21 Feb, 2007
New York City

U.S. stocks traded lower on stronger-than-expected consumer-price data that sparked inflation concerns, and a disappointing earnings outlook from Hewlett-Packard. The tech sector was split. Sun Microsystems declined 1.3%, while Yahoo lost 2.1%. Microsoft jumped 1.1%. Apple leapt 3.7%.Epiq Systems gained 7.7%.

Weak Commodities Weigh on Europe

Elena
21 Feb, 2007
New York City

European stocks were led to a negative close Wednesday by weakness in the commodity sector, inflation worries on Wall Street and concerns that DaimlerChrysler may not find a partner for Chrysler hit markets. Resources shares declined as mining company Anglo American dropped 2.5%. Shares of German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp fell 1.1%. Meanwhile, Arcelor-Mittal closed 1.1% higher. The German DAX 30 lost 0.6%, the French CAC 40 lost 0.3%, and London''''s FTSE 100 lost 0.3%.

HP Leads Blue Chips Down

Elena
21 Feb, 2007
New York City

U.S. market averages posted losses, reflecting disappointing earnings outlook from Hewlett-Packard and inflation concerns amid news of higher-than-expected gains in consumer prices last month. Dow component HP weighed heavily on blue-chips, falling 4.2%. Other decliners included General Motors, down 1.4% and Intel Corp., falling 1.9%. Motorola fell 1.3% on stock downgrade at Lehman Brothers.

Novastar Tumbles 35% on Loss

Elena
21 Feb, 2007
New York City

Wall Street opened Wednesday session in the negative after higher-than-expected increase in consumer prices in January raised worries that inflation pressures will prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates later this year. Among early highlights, Motorola lost 1.2% after Lehman Brothers downgraded the stocks. On a positive note, JetBlue Airways rose 3.3%. The carrier warned operating margins might decrease due to to recent winter storms.