Nasdaq Rises 5.5% in October; Dollar Declines 3.6%

Devan Biswas
29 Oct, 2010
New York City

U.S. indexes closed mixed after first read on the GDP showed slower than expected expansion. Consumer sentiment declined but the index of business activities showed an increase. Gold and silver rallied. Microsoft closed higher after earnings shot up 51%.

[R]4:00 PM New York – U.S. indexes closed mixed after first read on the GDP showed slower than expected expansion. Consumer sentiment declined but the index of business activities showed an increase. Gold and silver rallied. Microsoft closed higher after earnings shot up 51%.[/R]

U.S. stocks traded lower after third quarter GDP expanded at 2% as consumers increase spending. However, U.S. consumer sentiment index declined but stayed comfortably in the positive territory as tracked by Reuters/University of Michigan survey. The index of business activities increased as well.

Nasdaq Composite index increased 5.5% and the S&P 500 index added 3.3% in October. For the month gold increased 3.7% and dollar declined 3.6%.

GM planned to cut debt and pension obligations by $11 billion ahead of IPO. Le Gaga priced IPO of 10.87 million ADS at $9.50 each. MetLife Worldwide agreed to a sell stake in Japan venture for $275 million. Microsoft earnings surged 51%.

Deckers Outdoor surged after the footwear maker lifted full year outlook. Estee Lauder soared 12% after earnings exceeded expectations. Coinstar Inc soared after it raised earnings outlook. First Solar declined 7%.

The European indexes fell after euro area annual inflation accelerated in October and jobless rate reached the highest level since 1998. German retail sales fell in September. Hungary and Dutch PPI rose in September. Polish Central Bank raised growth outlook for 2010.

The UK indexes slid after mortgage approvals fell to seven-month lows in September and consumer sentiment improved in October. Irish retail sales declined and private sector credit growth slackened in September. British Airways net rose.

A drop in industrial production index combined with a strong yen dragged Tokyo index lower by 1.8%. Bank of Japan trimmed economic outlook for 2010 and 2011. Nissan recalls 2.14 million vehicles worldwide. New housing starts rise 18% in September.

Stocks in China region closed lower. Two of the five largest banks were the latest to report surging profits. ICBC and Bank of Communications earnings surged more than 24%. Profit growth accelerated at listed companies in the third quarter.

Stocks in Mumbai closed higher after direct tax collection rose 17% in the first half. Reliance ADAG places $8.29 billion order to Shanghai Electric for supply of power equipments. Reserve Bank of India conducts special auction and announce measures to lower liquidity crunch. Bank of Baroda earnings rise 61%.

Stock in Mumbai rose. Bharat Heavy Electricals fell 0.6% and net profit rose 33.15%. ICICI Bank soared 6.5% after net profit rose 21.87%. ONGC fell 0.3% and net profit rose 5.88%. Tata Chemicals plunged 8.5% after net profit tumbled 42.96%.

Shares in Sydney declined today but gained for the week and month. Queensland puts Abbot Point coal terminal for sale. Sale of new homes dropped in September and demand for credit remained weak. ASX Limited failed to convince lawmakers on the merger benefits with the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Commodities, Currencies and Yields

Dollar edged down against euro to $1.3903 and fell against the Japanese yen to 80.46. One UK pound fetched $1.60.

Crude oil decreased $0.77 to $81.41 a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas edged higher 0.16 cent to $4.05 per mBtu and gasoline decreased 0.94 cents to 210.45 cents.

Gold increased $15.50 in New York trading to close at $1,358.00 per ounce, silver increased $0.80 to $24.68 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery decreased 5.30 cents to $3.74 per pound.

Yield on 10-year U.S. bond decreased to 2.60% and on 30-year U.S. bond yield fell to 3.99%.