Markets rise on GM and Oil News

123jump.com Staff
30 Nov, -0001
New York City

Flattening yield in the 10-year treasury and Fed Chairman's comment that this itself does not spell disaster for the economy brought several buyers to the stock market. The yield fell to 3.89%. Buyers drive stock averaes in the opening hour to the higher ground. Tech, energy, financial, REIT, drug and HMOs shares are trading higher. Dollar lost some ground to Euro.

Enthusiastic buying in the equities market drove the averages in the morning hour in the positive territory. Stocks in the auto, energy, and tech sectors were trading above average volume.

Energy and metals markets are trading lower. Crude, gasoline, propane, heating oil are trading lower on the possible rise in OPEC supply. Copper, gold, silver, and platinum are trading lower in the opening hours in NY.

GM Chairman and CEO announced that the company will cut at least 25,000 people staff at its assembly and component plants over the next three years, while addressing shareholders meeting. The stock in the morning trading is trading up 1%.

In the current quarter ending April 30, Sears Holdings reported loss of 7 cents a share on revenue of $7.9 billion, including the inventory related accounting charge of $81 million or 65 cents per share. The results include K Mart’s 13 week performance and that of Sears’ five weeks. Sales at Sear grew one percent and at K Mart lost 2.3%.

Most markets in Asia closed lower on weaker US dollar as investors worried that this will deflate value of exporters’ profit when repatriated into local currencies. Averages in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines were trading down whereas the stocks in India traded higher by 0.34%, Malaysia 0.57% and Singapore 0.25%.

European markets finished higher at midday gaining on Siemens’s long-awaited deal to divest control of its unprofitable handset unit as well as on a move that lowers Pernod Ricard’s chances to buy Allied Domecq. The markets were helped by a higher close of US stocks as oil prices started falling down.

The stocks of the Japanese automakers Honda, Toyota and Mazda ended down. Advantest and Sony from the tech sector also lost ground. Honda dropped 1.9%, Sony fell 1.0%.

The euro rose against the US dollar reaching $1.23 level. The greenback fell against the Japanese yen to 106.60.

One week before the OPEC meeting crude oil prices lose ground but keep higher than $54 a barrel levels as the frenzy heating oil buying slowed down.

The flat-panel maker LG Philips LCD advanced 2.7% after announcing a three-year supply contract of $5 billion with Hewlett-Packard.

Siemens AG agreed on handing control to Ben Q of Taiwan over the company’s handset division putting a stop to the long search for a partner for this loss-making business. The transaction which is to complete in the quarter ending Sept. 30 will take a pretax charge of $429.7 million. Boosted by the deal Siemens shares gained 1.9%.

Alberton’s, supermarket chain, reported tripled 1Q net income, or 27 cents per share vs. 10 cents a year ago on acquisition and continued recovery. Analysts had expected earnings of 26 cents a share. Same-store sales increased 1.8%. The company backed its 2005 guidance.

American Woodmark, manufacturer of kitchen cabinets, posted 4Q lower net income of 44 cents per share compared with 50 cents in the prior- year same period. Net sales jumped 15%.