Citi Net Drives U.S. Indexes Higher

123jump.com Staff
19 Apr, 2010
New York City

U.S. stocks traded sideways but closed higher after Citigroup and Daimler AG swung to profit in the latest quarter. Treasuries fell. The SEC officials were split to sue Goldman Sachs. Natural gas futures declined below $4 per mBtu but copper traded near recent highs.

[R]6:00 PM New York – U.S. stocks traded sideways but closed higher after Citigroup and Daimler AG swung to profit in the latest quarter. Treasuries fell. The SEC officials were split to sue Goldman Sachs. Natural gas futures declined below $4 per mBtu but copper traded near recent highs.[/R]

U.S. rebounded at close after investors focused on earnings. Citigroup and Daimler AG swung to a quarterly profit and the drug maker Eli Lilly earnings met analysts’ expectations.

Goldman Sachs closed higher after dropping as much as 2% and regulators in the UK and Germany may seek information after the SEC alleged mortgage fraud. Bloomberg News reported that SEC commissioners in a 3-2 vote approved the case against Goldman Sachs. The split vote suggested that the alleged case may not be as strong as feared by investors.

Citigroup Inc quarterly net tops $4 billion. Bank of Hawaii Corp first quarter profit tops street. M&T Bank first quarter profits more than doubles as provisions decline. Eli Lilly and Company quarterly net declined 4.6%.

European markets closed lower after transportation stocks and banks led the decliners. Banks fell after the UK and German regulators are seeking more information from Goldman Sachs. Airline industry association raised its estimate of daily loss to $300 million.

UK stocks closed lower after airlines and airport operators and banks led the decliners. Banks declined on the worries that regulators may tighten scrutiny after the U.S. regulator accused Goldman Sachs of mortgage securities fraud.

Stocks in Mumbai decline ahead of the interest rate decision tomorrow by the Reserve Bank of India. IndusInd Bank rose after net surged 89%. Shree Digvijay Cement Co. Ltd declined 6% after quarterly net declined 15% and sales dropped 6%.

North American Markets

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73.39 or 0.7% to close at 11,092.05, S&P 500 Index edged higher 5.39 or 0.5% to 1,197.52 and Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.15 or 0.05% to close at 2,480.11. Toronto TSX Composite Index rose 32.31 or 0.3% to 12,102.97.

Latin American Markets Indexes

Mexico Bolsa Index fell 181.62 or 0.5% to 33,439.77 and Brazil Bovespa Stock Index decreased 181.62 or 0.5% to 69,097.58.

Europe Markets Review

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 16.05 or 0.28% to 5,727.91, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 16.16 or 0.41% to close at 3,970.47, in Frankfurt DAX index lower 18.46 or 0.30% to close at 6,162.44. In Zurich trading SMI decreased 90.01 or 1.31% to close at 6,803.68.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed lower 193.41 or 1.74% to 10,908.77, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased 460.09 or 2.10% to 21,405.17 and CSI 300 index in China lower 179.91 or 5.36% to 3,176.42. ASX 200 index in Australia decreased 69.60 or 1.40% to 4,915.10. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia closed lower 6.10 or 0.46% to 1,326.67.

The Kospi Index in South Korea decreased 29.19 or 1.68% to close at 1,705.30. SET index in Thailand closed lower 9.87 or 1.34% to 726.29 and JSE Index in Indonesia decreased 38.25 or 1.33% to 2,840.42. The Sensex index in India decreased 190.50 or 1.08% to 17,400.68.

Commodities, Metals, and Currencies

Crude oil decreased $1.28 to $81.96 a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas edged down 10 cents to $3.94 per mBtu and gasoline decreased 1.85 cents to 225.85 cents.

Soybean future closed down 8.50 cent to $9.86 a bushel. Wheat futures decreased 23.75 cents in Chicago trading to $4.79 a bushel. Sugar closed up 0.87 cents at 17.05 cents per pound.

Gold decreased $0.80 in New York trading to close at $1,136.10 per ounce, silver closed up $0.07 to $17.74 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery increased 1.05 cents to $3.546 per pound.

Dollar edged higher against euro to $1.349 and increased against the Japanese yen to 92.47.

Yield on 10-year U.S. bonds rose at 3.80% and with 30-year maturities added to 4.69%.