Elena
08 Jan, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher Monday, boosted by investor optimism about corporate profits ahead of the release of Q4 financial results. The pre-market sentiment was also helped by recovering commodity prices, as well as several acquisition deals. GE agreed to buy Vetco Gray for $1.9 B, while Forest Oil agreed to buy Houston Exploration for $1.5 B in cash and stock. Further in deal news, Caremarx rejected a $26 B offer from Express Scripts in favor of a stock swap with CVS for $21 B.
Elena
08 Jan, 2007
New York City
Vetco Gray provides drilling, completion and production equipment for oil and gas fields and has 5,000 employees in more than 30 countries. The acquisition will enable GE to grow faster in a rapidly expanding global business. The deal is expected to complete in early 2007.
Ivaylo
08 Jan, 2001
New York City
Asian markets finished lower Monday due to the strong U.S. jobs report last week which checked expectations that the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates. In Hong Kong, advances in property developers failed to keep the benchmark index in positive territory and in South Korea, the stock market continued its decline for a fourth straight session, led by technology and construction shares. Australia declined on metal prices, while Shanghai bucked the trend and jumped.
Ivaylo
08 Jan, 2007
New York City
European equity markets made an upbeat start to the new week on Monday, led higher by strength in the software, carmakers and aerospace sectors. Saint-Gobain led the gainers with a rise after BNP Paribas raised its price target on the stock. Shares in auto companies such as Volkswagen and Peugeot were higher after they released sales figures. By mid-morning, the U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 0.3%, while the German Xetra Dax added 31.4 points or 0.5% and the French CAC 40 rose 25.3 points or 0.5%.
Ivaylo
08 Jan, 2007
New York City
A strong U.S. jobs report Friday reduced market expectations for potential U.S. interest-rate cuts, sending the dollar to its highest levels since Thanksgiving and putting the precious metals under heavy pressure. February gold declined to $603, its weakest level since Oct. 27. March silver sank to $12.10, its weakest level since Oct. 26. High-grade copper futures sagged in response to a stronger U.S. dollar and recent declines in industrial commodities generally.
123jump.com Staff
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
December non-farm payroll rose by 167,000, significantly higher than the estimate of 115,000. The rise in payroll numbers worried traders that it may signal rising inflation. Market averages during the day traded mostly lower led by a decline in tech stocks. Motorola cautioned that the latest quarterly earnings may be lower than anticipated. Brazil lost 4% and markets in Europe and Japan closed lower.
Elena
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
European stocks finished in the red on Friday, pressured by weakness in the energy sector and concerns over mobile-phone maker Nokia''s revenue. Losses on Wall Street also weighed, with U.S. stocks falling on stronger-than-expected payrolls data. The German DAX 30 dropped 1.2%, followed by the French CAC 40 and London FTSE 100, each down 1.1%.
Elena
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock markets extended losses due to a surprising surge in job creation and wages and weakness in the tech sector. The Nasdaq dropped more than 1% as Motorola''s profit warning weighed on technology shares. Motorola fell 8% after the cell-phone maker cut its earnings estimates. Among other tech stocks posting losses, Intel Corp. fell after a downgrade at Credit Suisse, while Qualcomm Inc. dropped 2.8%.
Elena
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
In a highly volatile session, the Indian benchmark closed lower with oil and gas stock stocks outperforming all the other sectors on fresh buying interest. HDFC, ONGC and ICICI Bank rallied, Reliance Communications, Maruti and ITC declined. The Sensex, however, finished the week with a gain of 74 points. Small-caps and mid-caps did well but the pressure was on the large-caps as investors are waiting for Q3 results. Weekly inflation was reported at 5.48%, higher than 5.43% in the previous week.
Elena
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock markets opened Friday trading session in the negative, reflecting rate concerns, raised by stronger-than-expected employment rate in December, steeply lower oil prices and a profit warning from Motorola. Best Buy rose 1.4% after the consumer electronics retailer said same-store sales rose 7%. Circuit City erased earlier gains made on its report that December same-store sales rose 4.2%.
Ivaylo
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
UK stocks fell on Friday under the weight of weak utility with oil and gas stocks also suffering heavy losses. UK utility shares were punished as the biggest energy companies in Europe could face restrictions by the EU competition commissioner in the wake of an inquiry into the sector which found evidence of complicity and other severe market violations. The FTSE 100 fell 16.8 points, or 0.3%, to trade at 6,270.2 in mid-morning session.
123jump.com Staff
03 Jan, 2008
New York City
UK stocks edged higher on rising oil prices and stable metal prices. FTSE 100 Index addded 1% or 62.70 to close at 6,479.40. Of the 102 stocks in the index 56 gained, 44 declined, and 2 closed unchaged. Anglo American gained 3.1%, Rio Tinto added 2.2%, and Lonmin jumped 4.4%. Tullow Oil surged 5.6% on oil trading near $100 per barrel. Next Plc declined after reporting same store sales decline of 3.2% in the 21 weeks ending on December 24.
Elena
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock futures remained in the negative territory even after stronger-than-expected December payrolls data eased concerns about an economic slowdown. The Labor Department said that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 167,000 in December to 136.2 million, following increases of 86,000 in October and 154,000 in November. The number of new jobs added to the economy in December exceeded analysts'' forecasts for a gain of around 115,000.
Elena
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
The main reason cited by Motorola were lower margins and average selling prices due to an unfavorable geographical and product mix of mobile-phone sales. The world''s No. 2 mobile phone maker said that Q4 sales will come in the range of $11.6 billion to $11.8 billion, lower than earlier guidance of between $11.8 billion and $12.1 billion.
Ivaylo
05 Jan, 2007
New York City
Japanese stocks were brought down Friday by profit-taking on recent gainers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor. The advance of the yen against the dollar also weighed on the export sector. In China, after the close of trading, the People''s Bank of China stated it will lift the reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions by 50 basis points effective Jan 15. Hong Kong gained, while Australia and South Korea declined, as oil companies slipped and Samsung in Seoul retreated.
