Market Update

Kronos, Paxar, Bel Fuse Up on Bids

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

Averages traded higher with less than an hour of trading left in New York. European Markets closed higher led by auto and mining stocks. Vonage plunged 22% on the injuction that will prevent the company from using patented technology owned by Verizon. Existing home sales in February rose 3.9%, higher than expected, but median home prices fell and inventories of home rose 5.9% at the end of the month.

Daimler Up 6% on Chrysler Bid

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

Market traded with a slight positive bias in the early afternoon trading as oil rose above $62 per barrel and housing sales data surprised the industry. DaimlerChrysler stock jumped nearly 6% on the analyst report stating that the Canadian auto partsmaker Magna is in the lead to acquire Chrylser for $4.8 billion, one billion dollars less than valued by Goldman Sachs.

DaimlerChrysler Drives Europe Higher

Elena
23 Mar, 2007
New York City

European stocks finished in the positive on Friday, boosted by gains in the shares of automakers and oil producers which helped offset weakness in the tech sector. DaimlerChrysler shares advanced 6.4% amid continued speculation about a possible sale of Chrysler. Volkswagen climbed 6.2%, amid speculation that Porsche will buy them. Other gainers in the sector included Fiat and Renault. The German DAX 30 rose 0.6%, the French CAC-40 index rose 0.7%, and the U.K. FTSE 100 added 0.3%.

Blackstone Files for $4 B IPO

Elena
23 Mar, 2007
New York City

Stocks turned higher Friday after an unexpected jump in existing homes sales in February added to optimism that the housing sector may not be as weak as feared. Existing home sales rose by the biggest amount in nearly three years. The 3.9% increase was the largest since a similar jump in March 2004. Blackstone Group has file to bring part of the firm public in an offering worth up to $4 billion. The filing allows public access to once private numbers, including the $2.27 B of last-year income.

Amgen Falls 4% on Cancer Drug

Elena
23 Mar, 2007
New York City

Wall Street opened nearly flat on Friday, with investors waiting for the release of February existing home sales. In corporate news, Amgen fell 4.2% after the company halted a trail of colon cancer drug Vectibix. ImClone Systems, which makes Erbitux, a competitor drug to Vectibix, jumped 15%. DaimlerChrysler rose 4.1% amid reports the automaker would sell its Chrysler unit.

Stock Futures Gain before Housing Data

Elena
23 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock markets looked poised for moderately higher opening on Friday, awaiting key economic data on housing starts. Wall Street expects a decline in sales after jumping to 6.46 million in January. Among companies in focus, shares of Amgen dropped 4.2% in pre-open trade after it halted a study due to poor survival in patients that used Vectibix along with Genentech''''s Avastin and chemotherapy to treat colorectal cancer.

Stocks in NY Struggle, Oil Up 3.5%

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

Market averages struggled under the weight of profit taking, sub-prime worries and rising oil prices. After a three-day gain in averages investors showed a little interest in buying. Sub-prime lending was the topic of the discuss for the U.S. lawmakers and crude oil jumped 3.5% on weekly inventory report showing a fall in gasoline supply for the sixth week in a row. Motorola, Herman Miller, Scholastics and Intuit dropped on earnings shortfall. Markets in Europe and Asia rose on Fed decision.

Scholastic, Herman Miller and Intuit Decline

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

Stocks in the U.S. were near the flat line as traders digested their gains of the last three days and continued to ponder the next moves of the Federal Reserve. Technology shares came under pressure after warning by Motorola that fell 6.5%. New issue of Glue Mobile rose 11% on its first day of trading. European stocks closed sharply higher led by more than 2% rise in Germany. Oil traded near $62 per barrel on weekly inventory report. Asian stocks closed higher in overnight trading.

Europe Ends Sharply Higher

Elena
22 Mar, 2007
New York City

European stocks closed steeply higher on Thursday, boosted by FOMC statement. Rate-sensitive construction stocks such as Saint Gobain and Acciona rose more than 1.3%. Further boost was provided by gains for banking firms. ING Group added 2.7% on merger speculation, with its main targets being Dexia, up 4.2%, Fortis, up 4.4% and KBC higher by 2%. The German DAX Xetra 30 surged 2.2 %, the French CAC-40 rose 1.8%, and the FTSE 100 added 1% in UK.

Orient-Express Gains on Bid Speculation

Elena
22 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. market ailed to extend the strong rally of the previous session, as lingering worries about the subprime mortgage market and rising oil prices weighed. Shares of Orient-Express Hotels climbed 5.5%, hitting a new 52-week high after a news report that the operator of hotels, restaurants, tourist trains may be bought in a deal worth more than $3 billion.

Next Boosts FTSE

Ivaylo
22 Mar, 2007
New York City

Retailer Next led the advance in London as the FTSE gained for a fifth consecutive session. Sentiment was boosted by a strong performance on U.S. market overnight as investors received well the decision by the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold. The FTSE 100 was up 85 points in early trading, and was trading 40.5 points higher at 6,297.3 at mid-day.

Motorola Falls on Profit Warning

Elena
22 Mar, 2007
New York City

Wall Street moved to the downside on Thursday, giving up some of the previous sessions''s buying interest. Investors awaited more economic data to see if market rally could extend or profit-taking will be the course of action. The Conference Board said that the index of leading economic indicators fell 0.5% in February, close to the 0.4% drop expected by economists, with four of the 10 indicators increasing.

Export Stocks Lead Asian Rally

Ivaylo
22 Mar, 2007
New York City

Asia advanced Thursday, with Japanese Nikkei hitting a three-week high as Sony and other export-related shares surged as the yen weakened against the dollar. The advance of Asian stocks came on the back of U.S. market strength on Wednesday. Sentiment was lifted across the region after the Federal Reserve kept the rate unchanged and indicated that the next move in rates might be lower. China ended at a record and HK also advanced.

Sensex Rallies 2.8%, Rupee Drops

Ivaylo
22 Mar, 2007
New York City

The Sensex rallied over 300 points supported by sustained buying across the board. Robust markets in Asia and strong close on US market helped the Indian benchmark index. The decision of the Fed to keep rates intact also boosted sentiment, as rate cuts are believed to shift investment to emerging markets. Today, BHEL led the advancers in a broad-based rally, while the only decliner in the Sensex stocks was Grasim. The rupee retreated from 19-month highs on Thursday.

Market to Open Flat

Elena
22 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures predicted a flat market opening, following a strong rally on Wednesday, inspired by the Fed Reserve