Ivaylo
12 Jul, 2007
New York City
Asian markets finished higher Thursday with bid activity in the metal sector boosting stocks in South Korea and HK to records highs. Worries over U.S. subprime interest rates held Japan, which bucked the overall upward trend. In China, B shares of foreign-currency stocks pushed the market higher, while Sydney ended up on strong performance from miners.
Elena
12 Jul, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock futures pointed higher on Thursday, driven by gains in the metals sector, as well as some better-than-expected sales among retail stocks. Rio Tinto''s $38.1 billion offer for Alcan and Wal-Mart''s robust June sales managed to offset negative sentiment generated by profit warning from Motorola and other unimpressive retail results. Wal-Mart rose 2.3% in pre-open trade, as the retailer said June same-store sales rose 2.4% and confirmed quarterly profit outlook.
Elena
12 Jul, 2007
New York City
The offer exceeds a hostile bid from U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa by roughly a third. The transaction represents a 65.5% premium to Alcan''s all-time high prior to the Alcoa offer. It s a premium of 32.8% to Alcoa''s current cash-and-shares offer valued at $76.03 per Alcan share. Alcan shares surged 12% in pre-market trading, while Alcoa shares gained 5.7%.
Ivaylo
12 Jul, 2007
New York City
The market witnessed a very strong session buoyed by speculation that strong earnings will boost buying in equities. Shares of auto, banking, metals, capital goods sectors all rallied, except for IT stocks which plunged. The market-breadth was very strong and the turnover jumped. Hindalco and Reliance Energy surged, while ONGC and the IT large-caps dipped. Industrial production slowed for a second month in May.
Ivaylo
12 Jul, 2007
New York City
Tracking the rally on U.S. markets, European stocks bounced back Thursday with Alstom and Rio Tinto leading the gainers. Alstom announced better-than-expected first-quarter figures, while Rio Tinto boosted miners as it successfully completed the $30 billion purchase of Alcan of the U.S. Nokia also gave the market a boost as Motorola lost market share. National benchmarks advanced in 13 of 17 western European markets that were open.
Ivaylo
12 Jul, 2007
New York City
Gold retreated from gains made in the two previous session and declined Wednesday, while wheat rallied on the Chicago Board of Trade on a report that will show tightening stocks in the U.S. and growing demand. Industrial metals recovered some of the losses of previous days with copper prices firming up, while energy futures gave up some of its earlier gains.
123jump.com Staff
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
Late afternoon rally in New York trading lifted averages on the optimism on earnings. YUM! Brands surged 5% ahead of earnings. Chicago Merc, Intercontinental Exchange, NYSE Euronext, and Nymex gained between 3% and 7%. Dollar traded at a record low against euro and 26-year low against pound, dragging all European markets lower. American unit of Brazil based Gerdau bought Chaparral Steel for $4.2 billion. Infosys declined after earnings.
Elena
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
European stock markets finished in the negative for a second day in a row. Banks and exporter-related stocks were leading decliners amid concern that U.S. mortgage losses will hurt economic growth and slow global expansion. Barclays was a notable decliner, falling 1.1%. Insurance company Allianz dropped 1.4%. Germany led losers with a drop of 0.8%, followed by France, down 0.3% and the U.K., down 0.2%.
Elena
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock markets recovered from steep declines on the back of some takeover deals and speculation. The steel sector posted strength, as Chaparral Steel climbed 10.3% after it agreed to be acquired by Gerdau Ameristeel for $4.22 billion. Unilever rose 4% on speculations that Colgate-Palmolive was interested in buying the company. Alcan added 2% on news it started merger talks with Rio Tinto to fend off a hostile bid from Alcoa. Yum Brands rose 4% on upgrade from UBS ahead of earnings report.
Elena
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
Wall Street posted modest gains at opening Wednesday, recovering from heavy losses the previous session. However, investors remained concerned about subprime lending, due to a number of new downgrades and downgrade threats in the securities sector. Second-quarter earnings reports were also eagerly awaited, with biotechnology company Genentech and fast-food chain operator Yum Brands due to release results after market close.
Ivaylo
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
London fell sharply Wednesday, tracking heavy losses on Wall Street overnight as concern over U.S. mortgage market weighs heavily. Higher oil prices further eroded sentiment in oil companies. HSBC and HBOS led the decliners, while BskyB brought in some respite surging on strong customer growth. The benchmark index FSTE 100 lost 25 points or 0.4% to 6,603.2 by mid-day.
Elena
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock futures were indicating a lower market opening Wednesday, hurt by continued subprime loans concerns. The economic jitters were sparked yesterday by a wave of profit warnings from Home Depot and Sears Holdings along with a threat from S&P that it could downgrade credit ratings on $12 billion worth of subprime securities. Investors were also awaiting Q2 earnings releases. There are no major economic data scheduled to be released Wednesday.
Ivaylo
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
Asian markets plunged across the board on Wednesday with Japan dipping on concern about slowing U.S. housing market and the strengthening of the yen against the dollar. HK also sank declines in China Mobile and HSBC while South Korea lost on banks and brokerages. China bucked the trend and advanced on property stocks. In Australia, the market lost ground on falling mining stocks as the prices of industrial metals dipped.
Elena
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
The transaction is a 14% premium over Chaparral''s closing price of $75.69 on Tuesday. The transaction, which is subject to Chaparral shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close before the end of the year.
Ivaylo
11 Jul, 2007
New York City
Lowered earnings outlook from Infosys in rupees and weak trading in global markets added volatility to the Sensex. Auto and banking stocks came under heavy selling pressure, while metals, cement and oil stocks gained. Grasim and Tata Steel led the advancers, while IT stocks underperformed with Infosys leading the decliners. The Indian rupee advances may be arrested with the intervention from Reserve Bank of India.
