Semiconductors Gain on Upgrade

Elena
14 Jun, 2006
New York City

Stock futures indicated a positive start of Wednesday session, following steep declines yesterday and awaiting CPI data. Semiconductors received a boost in pre-market trading after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on four companies. The investment bank raised Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices, SanDisk Corp., and Applied Materials Inc.

[R]9:00AM Stock futures indicated a higher opening ahead of economic data.[/R]
U.S. stock futures advanced in pre-market trading, recovering from the steep decline Tuesday when inflation concerns seriously hurt market sentiment. On Wednesday investors awaited government report on inflation in May, expected to give a clue about the extent of further interest rate increases. The Labor Department''s Consumer Price Index is expected to show a 0.4% rise in May, compared with a 0.6% gain in April. Among industry sectors, semiconductors received a boost after Goldman Sachs ((GS)) upgraded its rating on four companies. The investment bank raised Intel Corp. ((INTC)). Advanced Micro Devices ((AMD)), SanDisk Corp. ((SNDK)) and Applied Materials Inc. ((AMAT)). Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is also part of a consortium that agreed to buy Associated British Ports, Britain's largest ports group, for $4.6 billion. In other company news, Boeing Co. ((BA)) may rise on news that rival EADS was hit by delays in the delivery of the A380 superjumbo, prompting brokerage downgrades on the European aerospace group.Casey's General Stores Inc. ((CASY)) rose 4.4% after the closing bell on Tuesday after the convenience store operator reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings. Standard & Poor''s 500 futures were up 6.10 points, above fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 43 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 7.75 points.

Teleflex Inc, ((TFX)), manufacturer for automotive, medical, and other markets, cut down its estimate for the year's earnings due to a slower-than-expected recovery in its Medical Segment performance and non-recurring charges. Teleflex now guides Q2 earnings from continuing operations to fall substantially from those of the year-agp period and to advance modestly from Q1. For the year, the company reduced its expected range for earnings from continuing operations to $3.65 to $3.80 from a previous estimate of $3.91 to $4.12. The company added it would consolidate more operations in several businesses and expects the restructuring to cost $12 million to $15 million in 2006. It will also take a charge of $3.8 million on the carrying value of a minority-held investment. Q2 will also reflect $2 million of legal and accounting costs tied to a proposed acquisition with which the company determined not to proceed.

National City Corp, ((NCC)), banking and financial-services company, reported that based on April and May results, its Q2 net interest margin and net interest income will be slightly below those of Q1. In a Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K, NCC announced that commercial and commercial real estate loans have grown. The bank added that core deposits, excluding escrow balances, continue to show steady growth. The bank saw no unusual trends in fee income or non-interest expense in April and May. Commercial- and consumer-credit-quality trends were stable.

SkyWest Inc, ((SKYW)), airline, announced that its May load factor was 76.9%, 6.2 points higher. The company reported a 117.6% rise in revenue passenger miles for May, when available seat miles more than doubled from the same period last year.


[R]8:00AM Goldman Sachs Group agreed to acquire AB Ports.[/R]
On Wednesday Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced that its consortium had reached an agreement to acquire Associated British Ports Holdings PLC. The deal is valued at 2.5 billion pounds which equals euro3.7 billion, or US$4.6 billion. The announcement came after Goldman Sachs raised its bid to 810 pence (euro11.85 US$14.90) a share, following a bid rejection of 730 pence a share from AB Ports in March. Goldman Sachs'' consortium, Admiral Acquisitions UK Ltd., also includes Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc., a part of Canada''s Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System; and Singapore government fund GIC Special Investments Ptd. Ltd. AB Ports owns 21 ports across Britain, and holds a 49% stake in the Southampton container port. Shares in AB Ports were up 7.2% at 833 pence (euro2.19 US$15.33) in morning trading on the LSE.


[R]7:15AM Asian stocks closed mostly higher despite interest rate concerns.[/R]
Asian markets closed mostly higher. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.64% to 14309.56. Among the gainers was supermarket chain operator, Aeon, advancing 3.7%, and insurance company T&D Holdings, soaring 6.13%. Nippon Steel gained 3.18%, while trading company Mitsubishi surged 3.22% and Internet-services company Softbank jumped 7.10%increase. The dollar''s recent strength versus the yen also boosted export, making it possible for companies such as Toyota Motor to advance 1.08%. Hong Kong shares closed slightly up due to bargain-hunting following a sharp fall in the previous session, but U.S. rate-increase worries kept to pressing down market sentiment. The Hang Seng Index advanced 0.09% to 15247.92 after losing 2.5% Tuesday. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange advanced 131.8 points, or 2.1%, to 6469.01. China Airlines increased 6.9%. Its rival EVA Airways added 6.7%. South Korea''s Kospi Index also recovered, advancing 1.48% at 1227.61 after ending at seven-month low Tuesday. The index bounced back on banks and technology shares, with Kookmin Bank, surging 5.4%, and Samsung Electronics, gaining 1.5%, leading the gainers.


[R]6:15AM European stocks traded mixed in early session.[/R]
European shares were mixed in early trading. In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 9.5 points or 0.2% at 5,510.10, while the German Xetra Dax put up 3.1 points or 0.1% at 5,292.98. The French CAC 40 lost 5.2 points or 0.1% at 4,612.41. On the corporate front, EADS plummeted 29% after it announced delivery delays for the Airbus A380 superjumbo would cost €2bn in 2007. Singapore Airlines expressed disappointment at the delays and added it was talking to EADS about possible compensation. BAE Systems plunged 5.7% on concerns that EADS might try to renegotiate the price it has agreed to pay the UK company to buy its interest in the project. The fight for control of Schering is about to reach a climax today with German rivals Bayer and Merck vying for control of the German healthcare group. The battle has become more hostile after Bayer sued Merck in a US court late on Tuesday, stating that it had not properly disclosed a purchase of 2.1 million shares, taking it stake to 21.8 million shares. Schering traded 1.3% higher.

Light, sweet crude oil for July delivery advanced 34 cents to $68.90 a barrel. The contract dropped $1.80 to end at $68.56 a barrel on Tuesday. In London, July Brent crude futures advanced 29 cents to $67.21 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Gold bullion opened Wednesday at a bid price of $576.60 a troy ounce, higher than $576.30 late Tuesday. The dollar lost slightly against the euro. The European currency bought $1.2588 in morning European trading, up a little from $1.2541 in New York late Tuesday. The British pound also gained to $1.8422 from $1.8335. The dollar slipped against the Japanese currency, dropping to 114.87 yen from 115.27 yen.