Market Update

Europe Gains on Deal Speculation

Elena
11 May, 2007
New York City

European stock markets posted gains on Friday, boosted by deal-related gains managed to offset negative sentiment, generated by weak earnings. Societe Generale rose 4.7% on speculations that the bank is a target for eight different groups. Utility shares alsi gained. RWE rose 6% on reports that France''''s EdF plans to buy it. The German DAX 30 closed up 0.9%, the French CAC-40 added 0.6%, and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 rose 0.6%.

Alcatel-Lucent Gains on Upbeat Outlook

Elena
11 May, 2007
New York City

The U.S. market indexes rebounded on Friday on the back of upbeat key economic data. Tame core inflation and an unexpected drop in retail sales generated optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The networking sector moved notably higher, helped by 3.8% rise for Alcatel-Lucent which reported a Q1 loss but released a positive forecast about the second half of the year. Resource stocks also gained amid an increase in commodities prices.

Nvidia up 7% on Strong Earnings

Elena
11 May, 2007
New York City

American International Group rose 0.5% after the insurer reported 29% profit rise in Q1. The company also disclosed that it would take a pretax charge from its subprime loan exposure. Chip maker Nvidia climbed 7% after reporting better-than-expected Q1 results. Tech stocks Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Delln advanced 1% each.

Chicago Mercantile Lifts Takeover Bid for CBOT

Elena
11 May, 2007
New York City

Wall Street opened in the positive on Friday, boosted by upbeat news on wholesale inflation and weak retail sales. Rate-sensitive financial services stocks were among the leading gainers. Goldman Sachs Group added 1.4%, while and Merrill Lynch rose 1.7%. Significant gains were also posted by energy stocks, benefiting from rising oil futures.

Japan Tumbles, South Korea Egdes Higher

Ivaylo
11 May, 2007
New York City

Asian markets closed lower across the board Friday, with Japanese markets dipping as export-oriented shares lost ground on renewed worries about the health of the U.S. economy and a weaker close on the U.S. market. Declines in Hong Kong and China were expected in view of the lightening pace of recent gains. South Korea bucked the overall downtrend and advanced.

Core Inflation, Retail Data Lift Stock Futures

Elena
11 May, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock market futures were pushed higher on Friday by hopes for interest rate cuts, raised by flat core producer prices and lower retail sales. The Labor Department said that higher energy prices lifted wholesale prices by 0.7% in April, but core inflation was tame again. U.S. retail sales had their worst performance in 7 months, falling a worse-than-expected 0.2% in April. Market also digested the latest assessment from ex-Fed Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

London Recoups Morning Losses

Ivaylo
11 May, 2007
New York City

The FTSE rebounded from sharp early losses to trade higher on Friday afternoon.The index declined more than 1% in morning trade after a weak finish on U.S. markets overnight. A number of takeover speculation, though, and a surge in the mining sector sent shares higher by mid-day. By early afternoon, the FTSE 100 was was up 7.6 points at 6,531.7.

Inflation Lower, BSP Leads UP Elections

Ivaylo
11 May, 2007
New York City

Trading on Friday was marked by increased volatility and although the benchmark index opened lower, it soon advanced on strength in IT stocks. Bajaj Auto and Reliance Comms led the advancers today, while ACC declined the most. Bahujan Samaj Party appears to have a significant lead over the ruling Samajwadi Party in the elections in Uttar Pradesh. India''s industrial production grew 12.9% annually in March 2007 from a year earlier and wholesale inflation slowed for a second week.

Europe Lower on Weak Banks

Ivaylo
11 May, 2007
New York City

European markets declined on Friday led by the rate-sensitive banking sector as signals from the European Central Bank suggested that the interest rate tightening cycle was not over. The speculation about the slowing economic growth in the U.S. also hurt companies earnings as ABB and BASF paced declines by companies dependent on sales in the U.S. By mid morning, Frankfurt Xetra Dax shed 1.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.2% and London FTSE 100 slid 0.9%.

Copper Declines on Liquidation, Gold down

Ivaylo
11 May, 2007
New York City

Copper futures continued their decline on Thursday on liquidation, while gold and silver plunged sharply. The metals have been correcting in recent days and that pace accelerated when the dollar slipped against the other major currencies. On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures finished lower and near the lows of the session, pulled down by technical weakness and long liquidation ahead of Friday''s supply and demand reports.

U.S. Stocks Declined, Chinese Stock Speculation

123jump.com Staff
10 May, 2007
New York City

U.S. trade deficit widened in March by 10.4%, wider than the forecast. The Labor Department said April import prices climbed 1.3% amid rising energy and food prices after a 1.5% increase in March. April retail sales were reported by Wal-Mart, Federated and several other apparel stores. Chinese individual investors speculation has driven local market indexes to record level. Brazil debt receives an upgrade. Bank of England hike rates to 5.5% and ECB keep rates at 3.75%

Apparel Retailers Fall, Aeropostale Rises

123jump.com Staff
10 May, 2007
New York City

Stocks slid as disappointing April retail sales and a widening trade deficit raised worries about the economy''s health a day after the Federal Reserve reiterated their unease about inflation. Wal-Mart April same store sales dropped 3.5%, worst decline in last 28 years. Children''s Place, Pacific Sunwear and New York & Co. Inc. cut their earnings forecast after reporting April sales.

Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton Drag Europe Down

Elena
10 May, 2007
New York City

European stock markets closed in the red Thursday, dragged down by weakness in the shares of miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Markets showed little reaction to the in-line-with-expectations interest-rate decisions from the BoE and the ECB. Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton fell more than 3% a day after speculation that BHP had launched a bid for Rio. The German DAX Xetra 30 slipped 0.8%, the French CAC-40 dropped 0.6%, and the U.K. FTSE 100 fell 0.4%.

Housing Stocks Decline

Elena
10 May, 2007
New York City

The three major market averages continued to trade in the negative territory, pressured by disappointing economic report which showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened much more than expected in March. The downward move reflected significant weakness among housing, disk drive, and oil stocks. The housing sector was dragged down by Toll Brothers Inc. which dropped 2.4%.

Toll Bros Falls on Profit Warning

Elena
10 May, 2007
New York City

Toll Brothers fell 1.7% a day after the biggest U.S. luxury homebuilder reported a steep decline in revenue and a shrinking backlog. The company reported Wednesday a 19% drop in revenue to $1.17 billion for its Q2. Toll Bros blamed the stricter lending requirements that have been tough on buyers who want to upgrade but are unable to sell their current residences.