Energy, Tech Stocks Lead Europe Higher

Elena
15 Mar, 2001
New York City

European averages advanced at mid-day trading, supported by strong energy and technology stocks after the sharp decline of U.S. bond yields. BHP bIlliton, Rio Tinto and BP were among the leading gainers, together with tech companies STMicroelectronics and Infineon Technologies. The German DAX 30 added 0.3%, the French CAC 40 gained 0.3%, and London TSE 100 rose 0.5%.

8:30 AM A couple of retailers top estimates
Sears Holdings, ((SHLD)), full-line and specialty retail stores operator, reported that Q4 net income advanced to $4.03 a share, up vs. $3.09 a share in the year-ago period on revenue growth, beating analysts’ forecasts for earnings of $3.62 a share. In a SEC filing, the company announced that proforma revenue for the year shed 3.0%, as domestic comparable store sales were down 5.3% in the aggregate, with Sears Domestic comparable store sales decreasing 8.4% and Kmart comparable store sales decreasing 1.2%.

Charming Shoppes Inc, ((CHRS)), clothing retailer, reported that Q4 net income surged to $19.2 million, or 15 cents a share, from $4.9 million on 36% net sales growth and 7% sames-store sales growth. The company beat analysts’ expectations of 14 cents a share. The company announced that performance followed higher sales and operating margin improvement at its Lane Bryant and Catherines Plus Sizes brands.

EchoStar Communications Corp, ((DISH)), satellite-television operator, reported Q4 net income of 30 cents a share, up from 15 cents in the prior year. Total revenue came to $2.18 billion for Q4, up 12.8% from the same period the previous year. The company missed analysts’ projections of 35 cents a share. Net new subscribers added to EchoStar''s Dish Network totaled about 330,000 for Q4, pushing the customer base to 12.04 million. For 2005 as a whole, EchoStar said Dish Network added nearly 1.14 million subscribers.

Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc, ((CNSL)), communications services provider, reported that Q4 net loss was narrower reaching $2.1 million, or 7 cents a share, from $10.6 million in the year-ago period, as revenue advanced 3.3%. The company missed analyst estimate for a profit of 15 cents a share. The company also added that its digital video service advanced considerably during Q4, which should be instrumental in boosting customer loyalty.


8:00AM Asian markets advanced across the region, despite Sony’s stock decline.
Asian-Pacific benchmarks advanced across the region Wednesday, boosted by solid gains on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei rose 0.5% to 16,319.04, despite 1.8% decline in Sony’s stock as the electronic giant postponed the release of its PlayStation 3 game console until November. The index was largely supported by technology, communications and auto stocks, including Advantest, up 1.9%, NTT DoCoMo, up 0.6%, and Honda Motor rising 0.7%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.3% on property stocks, helped by easing rate-hike concerns. Shanghai Composite surged 1.3%, led by gains in oil major Sinopec. Taiwan weighted index rose 0.9% on strong tech sector and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.6% on insurance stocks.

European markets posted gains at mid-day trading, lifted by strong resource and technology stocks, following a sharp decline in U.S. bond yields overnight. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and BP advanced on higher metal prices. Among tech stocks, STMicroelectronics and Infineon Technologies showed strength. The German DAX 30 added 0.3%, the French CAC 40 gained 0.3%, and London FTSE 100 rose 0.5%.