World Markets Ease, BSkyB to Buy German, Italian Units from Fox

Nichole Harper
25 Jul, 2014
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street turn lower after Amazon reported larger than expected quarterly loss for the second quarter in a row and Visa lowered its annual revenue outlook. BSkyB agreed to acquire Sky ventures in Italy and Germany.

[R]12:30 PM New York – Stocks on Wall Street turn lower after Amazon reported larger than expected quarterly loss for the second quarter in a row and Visa lowered its annual revenue outlook. BSkyB agreed to acquire Sky ventures in Italy and Germany.[/R]

Stocks on Wall Street declined after Amazon missed its earnings target for the second quarter in a row and Starbucks reported lower than expected revenues.

In addition, consolidation in media industry gathered momentum after the U.K. based BSkyB agreed to pay $9 billion to acquire pay-TV services controlled by Rupert Murdoch in Germany and Italy.

BSkyB offered to pay £2.45 billion for 100% stake in Sky Italia and £2.9 billion for 57% stake in Sky Deutschland.

S&P 500 index declined 9.71 to 1,978.27 and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 23.12 or 0.5% to 4,448.94.

U.S. Movers

[Amazon.com, Inc. ((AMZN)) tumbled 11.1% or $39.79 to $319 after the online market place operator stated net sales in the second-quarter ending in June soared 23% to $19.3 billion from a year ago.

Net loss in the quarter widened to $126 million or 27 cents a diluted share compared to $7 million or 2 cents from a same quarter last year.

The Chubb Corporation ((CB)) declined 3.6% or $3.35 to $89.41 after the casualty insurance company said net premiums written in the second-quarter ending in June rose 4% to $3.2 billion from a year ago.

Net income in the quarter declined 13.8% to $499 million or $2.03 a diluted share compared to $579 million or $2.21 from a same quarter last year.

European Markets

European markets closed lower on the final hour of losses after LVMH and Statoil reported lower than expected earnings.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index fell 0.4% to 6,791.55 and in Frankfurt the DAX index dropped 1.5% to 9,644.01.

In Paris, CAC 40 index plunged 1.8% or 80.10 to 4,330.58 after weaker than expected results from LVMH.

On the European corporate front, Air France said net loss narrowed to €6 million and revenue fell 1% to €6.4 billion.

The U.K. based construction conglomerate Carillion confirmed it is in merger talk with Balfour Beatty for £3 billion.

France based luxury group LVMH said net fell 4% to €1.5 billion. RBS net tumbled 81% to £708 million. Vodafone sales climbed.

Asian Markets

Stocks in Japan climbed on earnings from Chugai Pharma, Fanuc Corp and Itochu were ahead of expectations however the latest data on inflation showed a decline.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said consumer prices in June climbed 3.6% but down from 3.7% in May.

Core CPI, excluding the volatile food prices, advanced 3.3% but fell from 3.4% in May. Overall inflation, excluding food and energy prices, was 2.6% in the month.

Overall CPI for the Tokyo region increased 2.8% from a year ago to July and fell from 3% rate in June. Core CPI in Tokyo region advanced 2.8%.

The Bank of Japan reported corporate service prices in June jumped 3.6% from a year ago and on a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1% after adding 0.2% in May.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 173.45 or 1.1% to 15,457.87 and the broader Topix index gained 11.49 to 1,281.35.

For the week, Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.9%.

The yen closed at 101.72 against one U.S. dollar and gained for the week 1% on the rising tensions in the Middle East and in Europe. The yen has gained 3.5% in the year so far after falling 18% in 2013.

In Mumbai trading, the Sensex Index slipped 145.10 or 0.5% to close at 26,126.75 The CNX Nifty fell 40.15 to 7,790.45. For the week, Sensex jumped 1.8%.