June Housing Prices Jump Record High

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

Existing-home sales surpassed market expectations and reached another record in June as low mortgage interest rates drove June sales to 7.33 million homes and median home price rose to $216,000 from $209,000.Asian benchmarks closed mostly higher. Japan

U.S. MARKET AVERAGES



The lackluster morning trading got strong boost from the housing market data. June housing market suggested dynamic housing market across the country with the median single-family home prices rising 14% from a year ago to $219,000.



The earnings releases before the market opening showed Xerox still lagging in its restructuring efforts and released earnings well below market expectations. Other earnings negative surprises from the notable companies this morning include, Arch Coal, Bell South and Valero LP. Fording Canadian Coal Trust this morning reported earnings jump of nine fold to $123 million in the second quarter. Market is awaiting earnings from American Express.



Despite few weak earnings market internals suggest strong undertone to today’s trading. 247 stocks on NYSE and 61 stocks on NASDAQ are trading at new highs.
ECONOMIC NEWS

Existing-home sales surpassed market expectations and reached another record in June as low mortgage interest rates and favorable market conditions continued to attract buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 2.7 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.33 million from an upwardly revised pace of 7.14 million in May. Sales were 4.4 percent above the 7.02 million-unit level in June 2004; the previous record was 7.18 million in April of this year.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $219,000 in June, up 14.7 percent from June 2004 when the median price was $191,000; this is the strongest increase since November 1980 when annual appreciation was 15.6 percent.
INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

European markets closed up boosted by U.S. stocks gains and gains in the oil and gas sector which offset losses from technology companies and from Groupe Danone. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended up 0.6% as a top gainer, helped by oil majors with investors digesting earnings reports from important companies such as Vodafone, Reckitt Benckiser and Pearson. Averages in Germany and France added 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.


Asian benchmarks closed mostly higher. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6%, lifted by top domestic companies ahead of the new-week earnings reports and U.S. markets gains Friday. Among the gainers were energy companies benefiting from strong crude-oil prices and commodity-based firms, such as Teikoku Oil which gained 1.6% and Nippon Mining which added 3.3%. Australia’s All Ordinaries advanced 0.3%, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.4%, and Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.6%. Averages in China and Singapore ended down.

European stocks traded mixed at mid-day, reflecting positive corporate news and losses from tech companies and food producers which offset gains made by the oil and gas sector. U.K.’s FTSE made the strongest performance, climbing 0.4% as markets continue to recover from last week’s terrorist attacks and traders are in the process of digesting earnings updates from Vodafone and Pearson. The German DAX 30 was flat, trading amid a rise in import prices of 1.6%. The French CAC 40 added 0.1% with traders’ attention focused on France Telecom which is likely to win the auction for Spanish operator Amena and Danone which slid 8.3% after PepsiCo reported it wasn’t planning to bid for the French dairy company.

ENERGY, METALS AND CURRENCIES MARKETS

Gold futures climbed above $426 per ounce for the first time in two weeks as boosted commodity demand is expected after the revaluation of the Chinese currency last week. Gold for August delivery traded at $426.40 per ounce on the NYME. Silver added 0.5 cents to reach $7.12 per ounce. Copper prices continue rising on global supply concerns and September contract was up 0.05 cents to reach $1.618 a pound.

The euro regained some ground against the dollar climbing to $1.2085 after Friday’s drop to $1.2043 amid inflationary suggestions.

Crude-oil futures dropped after Friday’s intense rally as supply fears eased and are further expected to decrease and slip below $55 a barrel in the last quarter. Light sweet crude for September delivery declined 69 cents to $57.96 in electronic trading on the NYME after it rose $1.52 Friday. Heating oil dropped 1 cent to $1.5715 a gallon. London Brent September delivery lost 49 cents to trade at $57.09 on the International Petroleum Exchange.

Gold changed little after falling Friday as the dollar gained against the euro. Gold for immediate delivery rose 20 cents to $425.20 per ounce and 30 cents for August delivery to reach $425.30 per ounce in after-hours trading on the NYME.

China’s yuan gained against the U.S. dollar after currency limits were relaxed for the first time in a decade. The yuan ended trading at 8.1097 against the dollar, up from 8.11. Against other currencies the greenback was firm, trading at 111.55 yen and $1.2052 per euro.

EARNINGS NEWS

Federal Mogul, auto parts maker, reported 2Q wider net loss of 13 cents a share vs. loss of 11 cents a year ago on high raw materials expenses and increased pension costs.

Forward Industries, home medical diagnostic equipment maker, posted 3Q earnings jump of 33 cents a share, up from 5 cents a year earlier on doubled revenue.

World Acceptance, consumer finance company, reported flat 3Q earnings of 38 cents, missinf expectations of 41 cents due to a slowdown in loan growth.

Commercial Capital, banking services company, announced 2Q net income growth of 34 cents a share against 28 cents earned a year ago, reflecting $71.6 million revenue and increased net interest income. The company raised its dividend by 7% to 7.5 cents a share.

Arch Coal, mining firm, reported 2Q profit decrease of 3 cents per share compared with 17 cents last-year same quarter , citing rail disruptions in the U.S. The company raised its 2005 earnings outlook to the range of 75 cents to $1.25 a share.

Datawatch, information technology company, posted 2Q profit rise to 6 cents per share against 2 cents a year ago on 19% revenue growth.

Fording, Canadian coal trust, reported 2Q profit increase of $123 million, up from $13 million a year ago mainly due to higher metallurgical coal sales prices.

Valero LP, oil pipelines and storage facilities owner, announced 2Q net income fall of 74 cents per share, down from 79 cents last year on reduced maintenance operations, meeting analysts’ expectations.

Pilgrim’s Pride, poultry producer, reported 2Q earnings jump of $1.28 per share compared with 15 cents a year earlier , beating expectations of $1.20 per share.

Veeco Instruments, semiconductor equipment maker, posted 2Q net loss of 2 cents a share vs. a loss of 6 cents a year ago on revenue growth of $103.4 million. Excluding non-recurring items earnings would have been 9 cents a share, beating estimates of 6 cents a share.

Quest Diagnostics, diagnostic services provider, reported 2Q profit increase of 72 cents a share vs. 59 cents for the comparable quarter last year on revenue of $1.38 billion, meeting analysts’ expectations.

BellSouth, telecommunication services provider, posted 2Q profit decline of 43 cents a share vs. 51 cents last year. On a normalized basis including the company’s share in the performance of the Cingular Wireless joint venture with SBC Communications, the company earned 46 cents a share on revenue of $8.52 billion.

Xerox, copier and printer maker, reported 2Q net income growth of 40 cents a share compared with 21 cents a year ago, boosted by a tax benefit of 33 cents a share.

Volvo, truck maker, posted 2Q 40% profit rise of SEK3.9 billion on sales increase of SEK61.1 billion. Earnings rose 45% to SEK9.67 per share.

Triad Hospitals, health care services provider, posted 2Q profit of 72 cents a share, reversing a year-ago loss of 7 cents a share on revenue growth of $66 million. The company lifted its 2005 outlook to $2.82 and $2.90 a share.

Silicom, server adapters maker, reported 2Q swung to profit of 7 cents a share vs. last-year net loss of 13 cents on sales increase of $2.64 million.

Smith International, oil and gas industry services provider, posted 2Q earnings rise of 67 cents per share against 27 cents last year on revenue growth of $1.35 billion. The company raised its full-year guidance to $1.40 and $1.45 per share.

Vodafone, U.K. mobile phone operator, announced 2Q 8.6% organic growth in mobile phone revenue and an increase in the total number of customers to 165 million.

CORPORATE NEWS

The U.S. beverage giant PepsiCo denied having any intentions to bid for Groupe Danone of France. The stock slid 8.3% in early trading to $99 after gaining more than 20% in two weeks on speculations that PepsiCo was preparing a takeover bid for Danone.

France Telecom is said to be the likely winner of an auction for Amena, a Spanish wireless operator. The deal is valued at about $12.79 million and includes a mix of cash and shares, as well as debt.

Wal-Mart Stores announced a plan to open 42 more stores in China by the end of 2006, making them 90 together with the current 48. Wal-Mart has no plans to to have fully owned operations in China.

OTHER NEWS

Commerzbank, one of Germany’s biggest banks, is under a money-laundering investigation, based on the suspicions that Russian telecommunications assets, worth hundreds of million dollars, were diverted through a state company set by a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin and poured into a network of funds via dummy companies and shareholdings. The case is likely to further shake the German corporate elite, being the next one of a series of other business scandals.