Market Update

Sensex Down 0.5%, Rate Hike Worries

Elena
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

The market was wary Monday, expecting RBI decision on short-term interest rates due this Wednesday. Reliance Industries ended in positive territory, supporting the market. Banks plunged with ICICI Bank leading the decline. Other decliners included Tata Motors and Satyam. Reliance Communication and Tata Steel led the advancers as the metal sector finished higher. Reported earnings so far have been stronger than expected and significantly better than a year ago.

Merrill Lynch Buys First Republic for $1.8 B

Elena
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

U.S. stocks opened moderately higher Monday on earnings and deal news. In early earnings highlights, Mattel reported Q4 net income of growth of 75 cents a share, up from 69 cents a year ago, exceeding estimates of 67 cents a share. Meat producer Tyson Foods swung to profit in Q1, breaking a series of three quarterly losses. The company reported a higher-than-expected profit jump of 46% due to higher chicken sales and lower cost.

Prudential Boosts FTSE

Ivaylo
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

Prudential advanced in London on Monday as the life assurer agreed the sale of Egg, its internet bank. Citigroup has agreed on the proposed price. The telecom sector declined after a profit warning from Deutsche Telekom. British Airways led the advancers as a likely strike in the company was called off, while Drax Group led the decline. In afternoon trade, the FTSE 100 was 9 points higher at 6,236.9

Verizon Helps Stock Futures

Elena
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher Monday, helped by earnings reports and some merger activity. Dow component Verizon Communications reported Q4 earnings decline to 35 cents per share, down from 59 cents last year, blaming taxes on the sale of assets and costs related to a spinoff. However, the results beat analyst estimates as the telephone company''s cellular business added 2.3 million customers.

Citigroup Buys Egg Banking for $1.13 B

Elena
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

Prudential said the deal is expected to complete in April, and is subject to regulatory approvals. Citigroup said it expects the deal to boost its earnings in its first year. Prudential said that a distribution agreement to provide life and pensions products to Egg customer for five year was reached.

Shanghai Ends Higher, HK Declines

Ivaylo
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

Asian markets ended mixed Monday as banks reported strong gains in Shanghai but weighed on other markets in the region, while upbeat earnings results supported the Japanese benchmark index to recover. In Hong Kong, China-related shares rose, led by a surge in state airline stocks, but failed to lift the Hang Seng index. Shares closed lower as foreign investors sold Hynix Semiconductor in South Korea. In Australia the market ended amost flat.

Nasdaq Falls 3%, Leads Other Decliners

123jump.com Staff
04 Jan, 2008
New York City

U.S. stocks turned negative at the opening after the employment report. The Labor Department reported that payroll in December increased 18,000. For the year 2007 the economy added 1.3 million jobs after adding 2.3 million in 2006. The monthly average fell to 111,000 in 2007 from 189,000 in 2006. consumer sensitive stocks dropped sharply. Retailers, restaurants, and banking sector stocks fell sharply.

Europe Higher, Deutsche Telekom Plunges

Ivaylo
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

European stock markets opened higher on Monday, but losses for telecommunications stocks impacted equities following the second profit warning from Deutsche Telekom in six months. Deutsche Telekom announced on Sunday that competition in Germany and challenging currency conditions had forced it to reconsider its 2007 forecasts. Airline stocks provided some respite. By mid morning, the FTSE 100 in London inched 0.1% higher, Frankfurt Xetra Dax gained 0.2%, and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.4%.

Precious Metals Finish Lower

Ivaylo
29 Jan, 2007
New York City

Copper futures at the New York Mercantile Exchange ended lower on Friday, retreating from gains made from previous sessions due to profit taking. Copper also witnessed downside pressure after U.S. durable goods orders came in lower than expected. Gold and silver prices also closed lower, as the precious metals responded to pressure from a rising dollar. Crude oil futures jumped on Friday.

Home Sales, Durable Goods and Earnings

123jump.com Staff
26 Jan, 2007
New York City

Market traded higher on strong earnings from industrial and tech companies but caught cautious wind on new home sales data release. Nasdaq Stock Market won''t raise its 2.7 billion-pound offer for LSE and extended its offer to shareholders by two weeks. Caterpillar Q4 profit rose 4.3 percent on increased demand for machinery in China and India. Asia ends lower on weakness in tech issues and banking shares, Europe finishes lower with mining shares, while Canada gained on oil prices.

European Markets End Lower

Elena
26 Jan, 2007
New York City

European stocks closed in the negative on Friday, as weakness in mining shares offset gains from cosmetics giant L''Oreal. Resource stocks Xstrata and Antofagasta led decliners, dragged by weaker metals prices. Industrials also declined, including French defense company EADS, down 1.6%. Automakers were also in focus, with Porsche, down 1.8%, and BMW up 1.2%. The German DAX 30 closed down 0.4%, the French CAC-40 slipped 0.5%, and the U.K. FTSE 100 lost 0.7%.

Averages Pull Back on Rate Worries

Elena
26 Jan, 2007
New York City

Wall Street reversed from earlier gains, reflecting cautiousness on rising long-term interest rates in the bond market after stronger-than-expected economic data were released. Reports of robust durable goods orders and new home sales in December pressured bond prices, sending their yields to five-month highs. Shares of financial services companies declined, with American International Group and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. each falling about 1%. Merrill Lynch slid 2%, while Morgan Stanley lost 1%.

Microsoft and Caterpillar Boost Opening

Elena
26 Jan, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock markets opened in the positive Friday, as government data showed an improving manufacturing sector, with orders of durable goods up 3.5% in December, in line with expectations. Better-than-expected forecast from Caterpillar Inc. also provided a boost. Technology stocks were supported by a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit from Microsoft. Caterpillar shares rose 2.8%, while Microsoft gained 1.8%.

London Traces US Plunge

Ivaylo
26 Jan, 2007
New York City

The London market dropped in mid-day trade on Friday, following a sell-off overnight on US markets. Banks, mining stocks and oil large-caps all were trading in the red, only some defensive stocks made small gains. The more cautious sentiment put pressure across the board. Oil companies fell as crude prices fell below $55 a barrel. The benchmark FTSE 100 Index dropped 15.2, or 0.2%, to 6254.10 at mid-day in London.

Durable Goods Orders Lift Pre-Market Sentiment

Elena
26 Jan, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures indicated a mixed opening Friday, with traders digesting stronger-than-expected sales growth at Microsoft vs. somewhat disappointing results from Dow components Caterpillar and Honeywell. Microsoft added 1.9% in pre-open trading on better-than-forecast sales increase. Caterpillar reported higher quarterly earnings, missing expectations. The stock rose 2%. Larger-than-expected rise in durable goods orders in December helped lift sentiment.