Market Update

Ford to Slash Costs

Elena
13 Sep, 2006
New York City

Stock market futures traded mixed ahead of third-quarter earnings release by investment-banking giant Lehman Brothers. Analysts expect Lehman to report net income of $1.49 a share. The broker upgraded Gap Inc. to overweight from equal-weight. Automaker Ford rose 3% in Frankfurt on reports it is planning to cut its white-collar costs by nearly a third.

Chip-Makers Lead Asia Higher

Ivaylo
13 Sep, 2006
New York City

Asian shares were higher on Wednesday, though, markets retreated from early gains. Japan Nikkei Average gained on separate reports from blue chip Bridgestone Corp. and truck maker Hino Motor Ltd. which stated that they will expand their international sales operations. Indexes in Shanghai and Hong Kong led advancers, with property stocks and energy-sensitive issues in focus.

Europe Trades In Positive Territory

Ivaylo
13 Sep, 2006
New York City

The dollar held up positions despite weak trade data. The markets were buoyed by by overnight gains on U.S. markets, earnings news from British defense contractor BAE Systems, M&A speculation in the truck-making sector and stronger technology shares. The U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 0.1%, the German DAX Xetra 30 index advanced 0.2% and the French CAC-40 index increased 0.2%.

Gold Falls In Late Trading

Ivaylo
13 Sep, 2006
New York City

Gold and silver futures couldn''t hang onto early gains and finished lower again on Tuesday, with selling coming from short-term speculators and supported by the continuing drop in crude oil. A rebound in the dollar and a following decline in crude oil prices led to a lower close for copper.

Nasdaq Up 42, Dow Up 101

123jump.com Staff
12 Sep, 2001
New York City

Market averages surged close to 1% on a 3% drop in oil. Oil fell $1.85 to close at $63.76. Nasdaq rose 1.96%, S&P gained 1.04% and Dow advanced 0.9%. HP reported that CEO Mark Hurd will replace Patricia Dunn as Chairman of the Board in January. Goldman Sachs reported earnings that fell below expectations but stock surged 5% with other brokeage stocks advancing. U.S. trade deficit widened to $68.04 billion on record price of oil import. Exports declined.

Europe Gains on Strong Tech Stocks

Elena
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

European markets posted solid gains Tuesday, boosted by strength in the technology sector and positive mood on Wall Street following strong quarterly results at Goldman Sachs. Chip maker Infineon Technologies advanced 4.2%, while STMicroelectronics jumped 4.5%. The German DAX 30 and the French CAC 40 both jumped 1.3%, while London FTSE 100 rose 0.8%.

Trade Deficit Hits Record Highs

Elena
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

On the economic news front, the Commerce Department said that U.S. trade deficit widened by 5.0% in July to a record $68.0 billion. The trade deficit was above the consensus analyst forecast of a deficit of $65.4 billion.

Volatile Sensex Rebounds

Elena
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

Banks and technology stocks were the backbone of the reversal from weak market to rally by the benchmark index in the second half of trading session today. What gave momentum was the strong data on July industrial production released by the government. Reliance Industries, TCS, Infosys and SBI led the advancers. Finance Minister Chidambaram stated that high industrial growth will not necessarily affect interest rates and he expects foreign investments from Japan and the U.S. to rise.

Goldman Sachs Profit Tops Estimate

Elena
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

U.S. stocks opened on a positive note Tuesday as better-than-anticipated quarterly earnings from Goldman Sachs helped offset news of a record trade deficit in July. Investment bank Goldman Sachs said its fiscal Q3 profit fell 1% from a year ago, to $3.26 a share on revenue $7.46 billion, but exceeded expectations of earnings of $2.97 a share on revenue of $7.17 billion.

England Brushes Fears Away

Ivaylo
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

The market initially declined after four gunmen attacked the U.S. embassy in Damascus on Tuesday, but the quick solution to problem, leaving staff unscathed, soothed sentiment. The prospect of more stable commodity prices brought marketmen back to trading. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto advanced, though smaller mining companies such as Antofagasta and Kazakhmys extended losses. By mid-day GMT, the FTSE was up 0.1%.

Futures Turn Flat on U.S. Embassy Attack

Elena
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

U.S. stock market futures were sitting near the flat mark Tuesday morning after news of a failed attack on the U.S. embassy in Syria and data showing wider-than-expected trade gap. Yet, upgrades in the technology sector and a rise by the shares of Goldman Sachs helped offset worries about Texas Instruments Inc.''s Q3 forecast.

TI Cuts Financial Targets

Elena
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

The company forecasted total sales in the range of $3.71 billion to $3.87 billion, compared with its previous estimate of $3.63 billion to $3.95 billion. It projected earnings per share between 44 cents and 46 cents compared to its previous outlook of 42 cents to 48 cents.

Commodities Push Asia Mostly Lower

Ivaylo
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

Asian shares closed mostly lower on Tuesday as a plunge in commodity prices pushed lower oil and mining shares like PetroChina and BHP Billiton, while Japanese industrials including Komatsu cannot still convalesce from weak machinery-order data. Japanese markets turned lower in the afternoon on data showing that consumer confidence declined in August. Only the benchmark index Hang Seng in Hong Kong and Shanghai Composite Index closed higher.

Europe Bounces Back

Ivaylo
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

The stocks had briefly slipped into the red on news of a thwarted attack on the US embassy in Syria. The strong performance in the technology sector outweighed concerns over the plummeting oil prices leading the energy sector down. By mid-morning, the FTSE 100 in London was flat, the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt rose 0.2% and the Paris CAC-40 gained 0.2%.

Crude Sends Gold Lower

Ivaylo
12 Sep, 2006
New York City

The moves accelerating when chart-based selling was triggered. Silver suffered especially hard after the metal had outperformed gold at times over the summer but has now plunged below a key uptrend line. A couple of the contacts cited momentum-based selling of metals after prices also declined late last week, with funds said to be among those liquidating long positions.