Oracle Drags Nasdaq 1% Lower

Elena
19 Dec, 2006
New York City

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday after government data showed the sharpest rise in producer prices in 32 years last month, sparkling inflation and higher interest rates concerns. Oracle Corp. fell 4.6% after the software maker posted disappointing sales results. Circuit City Stores said it swung to a loss in Q3 because of sharp discounts on flat-panel televisions and computer equipment. The company also lowered its full-year sales forecas. The stock slipped 17%.

[R]9:45AM Stocks dropped at opening, amid disappointing sales at Oracle and inflation worries.[/R]
U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday after government data showed the sharpest rise in producer prices in 32 years last month, sparkling inflation and higher interest rates concerns. The Labor Department reported that the Producer Price Index climbed 2% in Novembe, while the core PPI, which excludes energy and food prices, rose 1.3%. In other report, the Commerce Department said construction of homes rose by 6.7% in November, but at the same time applications for building permits dropped for the 10th straight month. Further pressure was exerted by news that the stock market in Thailand tumbled 15% Tuesday after the Thai government announced controls on foreign investment.

Earnings-related news also generated negative mood. Oracle Corp. ((ORCL)) was the biggest drag on the Nasdaq, falling 4.6% as the software maker posted disappointing sales results. Circuit City Stores ((CC)) said it swung to a loss in Q3 because of sharp discounts on flat-panel televisions and computer equipment. The company also lowered its full-year sales forecas. The stock slipped 17%. Best Buy Co. ((BBY)) also declined, down 4.2%. On a positive earnings note, investment bank Morgan Stanley ((MS)) reported 10% profit drop in Q4, which came in above estimates. The company reported net income drop of $2.21 billion from $2.47 billion a year ago. On a per-share basis, the profit was $2.08, down from $2.32 a year ago, exceeding expectations of $1.77 a share. The stock rose 2.8%.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 27.95, or 0.22%, at 12,413.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 3.97, or 0.28%, at 1,418.51, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 18.99, or 0.78%, at 2,416.58. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.58% from 4.59% late Monday.


[R]Housing starts rose above expectations.[/R]
The Department of Commerce released its report on housing starts and building permits in the month of November on Tuesday, showing that housing starts rose more than economists had been expecting. The report showed that housing starts rose 6.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.588 million units in November from the revised October estimate of 1.488 million units. Economists had expected housing starts to increase to 1.550 million units compared to the 1.486 million unit rate originally reported for the previous month. The increase in housing starts was partly due to a notable increase in housing starts in the South, where starts rose by 18.5 percent. Housing starts in the Northeast rose 8.6 percent, while starts in the Midwest and West fell 6.3 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively. Despite the increase compared to the previous month, housing starts were still 25.5 percent below the November 2005 rate of 2.131 million units. At the same time, the report showed that building permits fell 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.506 million units in November from a revised October rate of 1.553 million units. Building permits were down 31.3 percent year-over-year.

[R]Producer prices index rose 2%.[/R]
Tuesday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on producer prices in the month of November, showing that prices rose much more than economists had been expecting. The increase was partly due to a rebound in energy prices. The Labor Department said that its producer price index rose 2.0 percent in November following a 1.6 percent decrease in October. The increase came in well above economist estimates of an increase of about 0.5 percent. A rebound in energy prices contributed to the increase in producer prices, with energy prices rising 6.1 percent in November after falling 5.0 percent in October. A significant turnaround in gasoline prices contributed to the rebound by energy prices. The Labor Department also said that prices for light motor trucks increased 13.7 percent in November after falling 9.7 percent in October. Prices for passenger cars and alcoholic beverages also turned up after falling in the previous month. The report also showed that the core producer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 1.3 percent in November after falling 0.9 percent in October. Economists had expected the core index to edge up by 0.2 percent.


[R]9:30AM The FTSE 100 declined in early trade on Tuesday, despite Britvic bid.[/R]
The FTSE 100 in London was off 28.6 points, or 0.5%, to 6,218.8, in late morning trade.

Advancers

Britvic shares surged 6.8%, an all time-high, as hopes that Permira may revive its interest boosted the stock However, Permira would not be permitted to make a full bid for the company until March at the earliest as the company dropped the its bid earlier this year.

GlaxoSmithKline advanced 0.4% after the drug maker decided to strengthen its product pipeline with the $2.1 billion acquisition of rights to a promising leukaemia drug developed by Genmab of Denmark.

Decliners

Vedanta Resources shed 4.4%, Kazakhmys dipped 1.9% and BHP Billiton sagged 1.6%. The trend was worsened by lower metals prices on commodities exchanges.

Vodafone dipped 0.5% after the mobile telephone operator revealed plans to sell its 2% holding in Swisscom Mobile.

Hanson, the aggregates provider, broke its upward momentum after a strong run up to a trading statement which stood by existing full-year profit forecast. Its shares shed 0.7%.

London Stock Exchange shares declined 0.4% following its report of details of its rejection of Nasdaq latest, hostile, bid for the company to shareholders. It announced the bid was at the lowest level permitted by the Takeover Code and was utterly unacceptable.

[R]7:30AM Asian markets plunged Tuesday on Thai cetral bank decision.[/R]
Asian markets finished lower Tuesday. Panic selling on the Stock Exchange of Thailand weighed the SET index down 14.8% to finish at 622.14. The Bank of Thailand on Monday unveiled its rigorous measures yet to restrict speculative inflows that have lifted the Thai currency, the baht, to a nine-year high. Starting Tuesday, all banks must hold in reserve for one year 30% of capital inflows that are not trade or services-related, or repatriation of Thai residents investments abroad, the bank announced.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% to 16,776.88. Financial stocks were hit the hardest from the correction. Nikko Cordial declined 14% after it was put on a watch list by the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Mizuho Financial shed 1.6% and telecom and Internet services provider Softbank declined 3.6%. Japan Tobacco plunged 6.4% as investors took profits after the tobacco company formally announced Friday it would take over British cigarette maker Gallaher Group. Energy company Inpex Holdings dipped 1.6%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed 1.19% lower at 18,964.55. Shares of PetroChina slipped 2.9%, while the largest offshore oil producer of China, CNOOC shed 2.2%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 1.8% to 9,068.65. Singapore Straits Times Index sank 1.6%. Australia S&P/ ASX 200 lost 0.6% and South Korean Kospi was off 0.3. Malaysia KLSE Composite declined 1.7% and Indonesia JSX Composite was down 1.6%., Taiwan Weighted Price Index canceled out earlier gains to finish 0.3% lower and China Shanghai Composite shed 0.2%.


[R]6:30AM Eurpean stocks slipped on Tuesday with tech stocks leading the deecline.[/R]
European markets were lower in early trading on Tuesday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index declined 0.4% to 6,221.10, the German DAX Xetra 30 index dipped 0.5% to 6,562.24 and he French CAC-40 index lost 0.6% to 5,497.33.

Advancers

Swisscom shares gained 0.6% following its statement that it will take 100% control of Swisscom Mobile, agreeing to buy 25% stake from Vodafone Group for $3.48 billion.

Genmab surged 16 % after GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay $2.1 billion for a stake in Genmab and rights to one of the cancer and arthritis treatments of the company.
Colruyt SA climbed 3.4 % to 154.1 euros. The biggest discount food retailer in Belgium raised its annual profit forecast after low prices and warmer weather helped to lift first-half sales.

Decliners

SAP shares declined 0.7% in Frankfurt after peer Oracle Corp reported higher second-quarter sales and profit overnight but also said that sales of new software licenses, which are a key indicator of future growth, advanced less than expected.

Mining stocks led declines. Vedanta Resources Plc, the largest copper and zinc producer of India, fell 3.9 % in London and BHP Billiton lost 1 %.

Shares in the London Stock Exchange shed 0.6% after it again recommended that shareholders reject the latest takeover bid from Nasdaq Stock Market.

Vodafone Group shares dipped 0.7% in London. ASML Holdings slipped 0.8% after it has agreed to buy closely held semiconductor-design group Brion Technologies Inc. for $270 million.

BP, the second-largest oil producer in Europe, dropped 0.5 % while Total, the regional third-largest, lost 1 %.

Oil and gold

Crude oil fell on signs mild weather will curb heating demand in the U.S., the world''s biggest oil consumer, and as inventories remained above seasonal averages. Crude oil for January delivery fell 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $61.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and traded at $61.83 in London. Brent crude for February settlement declined 47 cents to $61.66 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.

Gold rose for the second day as the dollar fell against the euro, boosting the appeal of the metal as an alternative investment. Gold for immediate delivery in London rose as much as $1.40, or 0.2%, to $617.65 an ounce. It traded at $616.05 an ounce at 10:33 a.m. local time.

Currencies

The euro climbed the most in two weeks against the dollar after business confidence in Germany, unexpectedly surged in December. The euro rose to $1.3167 in London from $1.3098 late yesterday in New York. The European currency was at 155.27 yen, from 154.75 yen.

The pound rose against the dollar after an index of house prices held near a four-year high in November. Against the dollar, the pound climbed to $1.9616 at 10:20 a.m. in London from $1.9452 yesterday.

The U.S. dollar was trading at 118.02 yen on Tuesday, down from 118.19 yen from late Monday in New York.