Market Update

Market Loses Direction

Elena
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

U.S. stocks fluctuated in late morning trading Friday. Investors digested a pair of profit warnings in the technology sector and better-than-anticipated economic data which signal healthy economy that could make the Fed Reserve to hold interest rates. Although shares of chip maker Advanced Micro Devices plunged 12%, tech stocks traded in the positive. After touching a new 19-month low, oil stocks were pushed higher on speculations of production cuts by OPEC. ConocoPhillips rose 2.4%.

Record Close In India, Bank Stocks Rally

Elena
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

The market rose almost 700 points in two days, after it had plunged 500 points in five straight sessions. Positive industrial production data for November 2006, rising markets in Asia and New York and short covering in the derivatives segment helped the Sensex rally. Banks surged, and so did Reliance Industries. IT stocks extended gains from Thursday. Sugar stocks rebounded. ICICI Bank led the gainers on government relaxed guideline to issue industrial loans.

Oil Gains at Opening

Elena
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

Wall Street opened Friday session little changed, as profit warnings from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices and business software provider SAP AG took a bite of the tech stocks strength that powered rally yesterday. Shares of AMD dropped 12.5% in early trading. Despite the unfavorable news, Dow components Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard traded 1% higher, while Google and Amazon gained 1% on the Nasdaq.

EMI Weighs on UK

Ivaylo
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

London fell closer to 6,200 ahead of the US open with miners, oil issues and the real estate sector leading the decline. Music company EMI is the worst hit, following its profit warning. All the big mining stocks plunged as metal prices continued to weaken. Antofagasta, Xstrata and Anglo American led the decliners. Oil groups were under pressure again following the slide in crude oil prices. The FTSE 100 shed 17 points, or 0.26%, at 6,214 in mid-afternoon on Friday.

Weak Techs Drag Stock Futures Down

Elena
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock market futures declined on Friday as weakness in the tech sector offset a bigger-than-expected increase in December retail sales. Techs moved lower after a profit warning from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices sent the stock 7.3% lower in pre-market trading. Dow component Intel lost 0.9%, while Apple slipped 1% on the Nasdaq. Disappointing sales data from software giant SAP AG also weighed on the sentiment.

AMD Warns of Lower Q4 Revenue

Elena
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

According to information provided by the company, Q4 revenues would be about $1.37 billion, coming in below the average estimates of $1.85 billion. Earlier the company said that it expects Q4 microprocessor sales to grow in the range of 7%-13% sequentially or 42%-50% compared to last-year same period. The stock dropped 7.2% in pre-market trading.

Exporters Send Asia Higher

Ivaylo
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

Stocks across the Asia ended higher Friday, as a record close on US markets helped lift shares in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Japanese stocks advanced, aided by another record close on US markets and the rise of the dollar, which supported the key export sector of the nation. In Hong Kong, a rebound in China-related firms pushed shares higher. South Korean shares extended gains, boosted by Samsung Electronics and Posco. In China, however, the market plunged as investors sold large-caps.

SAP, Carrefour Push Europe Lower

Ivaylo
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

European stocks lost grounf on Friday on weakness in the software and food retailing sectors, in the wake of disappointing results from SAP and Carrefour, impacting sentiment negatively. Other tech stocks were also hit. The declines also came as the U.S. embassy in Athens came under fire early Friday morning from a rocket attack. The U.K. FTSE 100 index lost 0.2%, Germany Xetra Dax slipped 0.1 %, while in France the CAC 40 was essentially flat.

Gold, Silver Little Changed

Ivaylo
12 Jan, 2007
New York City

Gold and silver futures ended little changed on Thursday, retreating from early gains after a sharp afternoon fall in oil prices. The precious metals declined when oil plunged and the dollar rebounded. Gold and silver appear to be caught in trading ranges not far above the psychological $600 and $12 areas, respectively. Copper futures finished lower, but made an important technical move higher earlier in the day.

Oil Down 4%, Averages Rally

123jump.com Staff
11 Jan, 2007
New York City

Oil price continued to slide as investors bailed out of energy futures, dipping oil price another 4% with a total loss of 15% for the year. Market averages rallied for the first time this year hoping that consumer speding will remain robust. Department of Labor reported average unemployment for the year 2006 at 4.6%, lowest in six years. Google traded above $500 during the day. Energy stocks lost ground but airlines and financial services stocks gained. European markets closed higher.

Rates Push Europe Steeply Higher

Elena
11 Jan, 2007
New York City

European stocks closed notably higher on Thursday as the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged, prompting rate increases are not expected in the following couple of months. A strong opening for U.S. stock markets also provided support. The German DAX 30 climbed 1.8%, the French CAC 40 surged 2%, while London FTSE 100 gained only 1.1% due to a surprising key interest rate increase to 5.25% by the Bank of England.

Tech, Oil Shares Power Rally

Elena
11 Jan, 2007
New York City

U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, helped by tech shares which boosted the Nasdaq 1% and oil company shares that rebounded after investors turned to bargain hunting. Genentech''s positive earnings news lifted optimism about corporate profit, sending the stock up 3.7%. Shares of oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron gained more than 2% each.

Infosys Powers Mumbai Rally

Elena
11 Jan, 2007
New York City

Infosys Q3 results were the catalyst of the market recovery, together with aggressive buying in other technology stocks in late afternoon trading, which helped the index to settle with a gain of more than 2%. Ten sector indices closed in positive territory. Reliance Communications led the gainers, Wipro also surged and HDFC Bank recovered from initial losses. Reliance Industries finished higher while the only two large-caps of the Sensex stocks that declined were HDFC and Grasim.

Genentech Gains as Profit Soars 75%

Elena
11 Jan, 2007
New York City

Despite stock futures indications, U.S. stocks opened in the positive Thursday, reflecting continuously falling oil prices and a surprising drop in jobless claims to a six-month low. Investors also looked past news that Cicso Systems is suing Apple Inc. over the iPhone trademark. Shares of the computer maker and media player fell 1.3% in early trading. In earnings news, Genentech reported 75% profit jump in Q4 on strong demand for its cancer-fighting drugs. The stock rose 2.9%.

Rate Hike Leads London Lower

Ivaylo
11 Jan, 2001
New York City

The central bank raised the base rates from 5% to 5.25% in a move that took the market by surprise. Real estate and housebuilders were worst hit by the sell-off. Investors took profits from the retail sector sending shares of Sainsbury south. However, the downslide in the retail sector was offset by strength in the mining sector, with BHP Billiton a leading advancer. The FTSE 100 shed 16.2 points at 6,144.5 in early afternoon trade.