Market Update

Profit-Taking Weighs Tokyo Down

Ivaylo
11 Jul, 2006
New York City

Major Asian stocks settled lower Tuesday, as investors moved to the sidelines after a mixed session in New York and growing uneasiness about interest rates ahead of the policy meeting of the Bank of Japan which starts Thursday. The lack of willingness to push markets higher, before the policy meeting of the Bank of Japan, ends Friday alongside the impulse to gain from retail traders after a dramatic rebound Monday caused the broader market fall amid weak trading volumes.

Tech Stocks Pressure Europe

Ivaylo
11 Jul, 2006
New York City

The technology weakness followed a similar move overnight in the U.S. market, where stock indexes ended Monday after weakness in technology shares pulled the indexes down. Lucent said that revenue would come much lower than expected, thus weighing heavily on its recent acquirer, Frances Alcatel. The U.K. FTSE 100 index slipped 0.2%, the German DAX Xetra 30 index declined 0.6% and the French CAC-40 index lost 0.3%.

Gold Closes Lower On Oil Price Decline

Ivaylo
11 Jul, 2006
Metals

The loosening geopolitical pressure and falling oil prices are forcing the yellow metal down, which will likely remain volatile in the near term due to the upcoming Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia late next week and the North Korea talks. The volatility is expected to calm down and the metal is mainly to trade sideways into the summer.

L'Oreal, Novartis Lift Europe

Elena
10 Jul, 2006
Frankfurt

European markets closed in the positive, reflecting robust opening on Wall Street ahead of the second-quarter earnings season and gains for L

EMC Drops 5% on Warning

Elena
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

EMC Corp., the biggest maker of corporate data storage equipment, announced its quarterly earnings fell short of expectations as it misjudged demand and did not stock enough inventories for a new product. EMC expects to report on Friday net income of 12 cents a share on revenue of about $2.575 billion, vs. previous forecast of 13 cents a share on sales of at least $2.66 billion.

Kimco Realty Pays $2.9 B for Pan Pacific

Elena
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

Stocks rallied Monday as after weeks of volatile trading on confusion about interest rates, investors gained optimism for a strong Q2 earnings session. A few multibillion-dollar acquisitions also helped to generate positive sentiment. Kraft Foods Inc. agreed to buy the Spanish and Portuguese units of United Biscuits for $1.07 billion and Kimco Realty Corp. agreed to acquire Pan Pacific Retail Properties Inc. for $2.9 billion.

Cement and IT Rally In India

Elena
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

The market rebounded today after a sharp fall in the previous two trading sessions on strong Asian markets, lower crude oil price and short-covering in derivatives. Volatility was high as the benchmark Sensex moved in the trading range of 243 points. IT stocks soared on hopes of an upward revision in earnings and revenue guidance and cement shares advanced on hopes of strong first-quarter results.

Market Gains on Acquisitions

Elena
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

Stock markets opened higher on optimism of strong earnings season. Helen of Troy Ltd. reported Q1 net earnings sank to 21 cents a share, from 33 cents a share last year despite net sales growth, missing analysts

Centro Watt to Buy Heritage Property for $3.2 B

Elena
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

U.S. stock market futures moved higher ahead of the start of second-quarter earnings season, with aluminum-producing giant Alcoa scheduled to announce its results after the closing bell. General Electric, PepsiCo and Texas Instruments are also due to report quarterly earnings this week. In merger deals, Centro Watt, a U.S.-Australian joint venture, agreed to buy Heritage Property Investment Trust for $3.2 billion, or $36.15 a share.

U.S. and South Korea in Free Trade Talks

Elena
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

The two sides are trying to reach an agreement by the end of 2006 aiming to slash tariffs and other trade barriers between the two countries. The talks received strong resistance from South Korean labor groups, especially farmers who have protested against any reduction in protections for agriculture, particularly rice.

Tokyo Rebounds

Ivaylo
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

Asian markets seemed to have shrugged off the North Korea

Europe Starts Week Lower

Ivaylo
10 Jul, 2006
New York City

US stocks ended last week lower as investors grew uneasy over record high oil prices, rising labour costs and signs of economic softening. Investors appear to be worried that the July unemployment report may show rising wage inflation, which could force the Fed to hike the fed funds target at its August meeting. The U.K. FTSE 100 index declined 0.1%, the German DAX Xetra 30 index lost 0.1% and the French CAC-40 index sank 0.2%.

Profit-Taking Pulls Gold Down

Ivaylo
10 Jul, 2006
Metals

For the moment, gold looks as though it ran out of buyers. So there is general profit-taking, which was more or less expected. Despite a weaker-than-expected payrolls reading from the U.S. and the dollar''s subsequent reaction, gold and the other precious metals have failed to find significant upside traction, with initial gains in both running into end of week profit-taking.

3M and Job Report Drag Market

123jump.com Staff
07 Jul, 2006
New York City

Market averages declined on job report, worries of rising wage inflation, earnings warnings from 3M and sales declie at Advanced Micro. worries of stagflation, slowing economy and rising inflation, put market and investor on the edge. Tech stocks traded lower in NY and European trading. Asian markets recovered. Brazil and Mexico fell. India declined on political worries. 3M fell 9% on earnings warning.

Techs Lead Europe Lower

Elena
07 Jul, 2006
Frankfurt

European markets closed slightly lower on weakness in the technology sector, following two high profile profit warnings. Weakness on Wall Street also contributed to the downward trend as the latest U.S. jobs data sparked concern the economy may be slowing to a point where corporate earnings may suffer. The German DAX 30 lost 0.2%, the French CAC 40 dropped 0.3%, and London FTSE 100 inched down to 5.888 points.