Dow, Nasdaq, Up 0.5%

Elena
26 Dec, 2006
New York City

Wall Street closed higher in a light post-holiday trading session Tuesday, with stocks boosted by a considerable decline in oil prices. Weaker oil lent support for the stock markets as prospects of lower gasoline prices prompted improvement in consumer spending. Retail shares were in focus amid early reports of weaker-than-expected holiday consumer spending. Amazon.com and other retailers were pressured by concerns about the strength of holiday-shopping sales.

[R]4:00PM Stocks closed in the positive, supported by a slide in oil prices.[/R]
Wall Street closed higher in a light post-holiday trading session Tuesday, with stocks boosted by a considerable decline in oil prices. Weaker oil lent support for the stock markets as prospects of lower gasoline prices prompted improvement in consumer spending. Retail shares were in focus amid early reports of weaker-than-expected holiday consumer spending. Amazon.com and other retailers were pressured by concerns about the strength of holiday-shopping sales. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 64.41, or 0.52%, to 12,407.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 6.14, or 0.44%, at 1,416.90, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 12.33, or 0.51%, at 2,413.51.


Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.607% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.742%.

Gold gained $4.20 to close at $626.50 a troy ounce, silver increased 10 cents to end at $12.755 a troy ounce and copper advanced 2.45 cents to close at 287.8 cents per pound.

Oil declined $1.410 to close at $61 a barrel and heating oil lost 5.85 cents to finish at 162.35 cents a gallon. Gasoline was down 5.08 cents to end at 157.22 cents a gallon. Natural gas decreased 58 cents to close at $6.055 per mBtu.

Asian markets closed higher led by India with a gain of 1.76%, Taiwan with an increase of 1.06% and Hong Kong with an advance of 0.51%. The decliners were South Korea with a decrease of 0.25%, Philippines with a loss of 0.15% and Indonesia with a decline of 0.10%.Japanese stocks gained after automaker Toyota forecast 2007 worldwide sales growth of 6%.

European markets closed lower due to thin trading ahead of the Christmas break Friday. The decliners were led by Germany with a loss of 1.08%, France with a decrease of 1.02% and Netherlands with a decline of 0.78%. The only advancer was U.K. with a gain of 0.10%.

Latin America markets finished higher led by Mexico with an increase of 0.96%, Brazil with an advance of 0.57% and Argentina with a gain of 0.13%. The only decliner was Canada with a loss of 0.15%.The Toronto Stock Market was closed for Boxing Day.


[R]11:30AM Bond prices supported market sentiment. Retailers showed weakness.[/R]
Stocks posted modest gains in light trading Tuesday as bond prices helped offset a generally disappointing report on holiday retail sales. The possibility of lower-than-expected holiday sales exerted pressure on retail stocks. Target ((TGT)) lost 0.6%, while electronics chain Best Buy ((BBY)) fell 1.6%. With little corporate and economic news on release today, an advance in bonds drew investors'' attention. The 10-year bond was little changed, but its yield fell to 4.59% from 4.60% on Friday.

The Dow was helped move higher by gains for Exxon Mobil ((XOM)), Chevron ((CVX)) and ConocoPhillips ((COP)), made on the back of higher oil prices. Independent oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp. ((APC)) traded up 1.1% after it said it plans to sell two gas fields in Louisiana to EXCO Resources Inc. for $1.6 billion. The company is selling assets to cut its debt level after it spent $22.5 billion earlier this year on the buyout of rivals Kerr-McGee Corp. and Western Gas Resources. Shares of miners like Entree Gold Inc. ((EGI)) and Crystallex International Corp. ((KRY)) showed notable strength, helped by higher gold prices. Entree Gold jumped 13%, while Crystallex International rose 5%.

Microsoft Corp. ((MSFT)) moved below the flat line after security experts said they had found potentially serious flaws in Microsoft''s new Vista operating system. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 24.99, or 0.20%, to 12,368.21.The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 3.32, or 0.24%, to 1,414.08, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 5.32, or 0.22%, at 2,406.50.


[R]10:30 AM The Sensex gains on Tuesday supported by a rally in large-caps.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 236.60 points, or 1.76% higher, at 13,708.34. The market-breadth was strong. There were more than 3 advancers for every two decliners. As 1,644 shares advanced, 956 declined and 76 remained unchanged. From the Sensex stocks 26 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,051 crore, lower than Rs 4,188.60 crore on Friday. The turnover on NSE was 6,163.81, compared with Rs 7,570.55 crore.

[Economic news

The Reserve Bank of India, on Friday, made possible for up to 49% foreign investment in stock exchanges. The rule change may pave international bidding for investment in some of the fastest growing exchanges in India. The Reserve Bank of India also permitted international investing up to 49% in depositories and clearing corporations servicing exchanges. Under the new regulations, foreign direct investment will be restricted to 26%, while foreign portfolio investments would be limited to 23% in all such entities.

Foreign funds have invested $8.2 billion in Indian equities this year, lower than $10.7 billion in 2005.

Most-active stocks

Great Offshore was the most active stock with a turnover of Rs 212 crore followed by Tech Mahindra and Sobha Developers.

Advancers

IT stocks were in focus on expectations of a strong December quarter results. Wipro led the gainers, advancing 4.69% to Rs 599.95, on a volume of 1.90 lakh shares. Other IT shares had also advanced with TCS rising 3.45% to Rs 1,191 and Satyam Computers up 3% to Rs 476.

IT large-cap Infosys Technologies advanced 2.33% to Rs 2,222.15, following its schedule of a board meeting on January 11, 2007, to consider third-quarter December 2006 results. It is also thought to be in talks with ten global banks for its banking software – Finacle.

ITC surged 3.04% to Rs 174.80, it said it had agreed to an agro-alliance with Marubeni Corp, a Japanese trading house. Recently listed construction company Atlanta has joined hands with Amdavad based NG Realty Pvt Ltd. Atlanta will acquire 50% of the company and management control for Rs 910 million.

Oil and gas leader, ONGC advanced 2.80% to Rs 889.50. Industry reports suggest that ONGC has discovered oil in Assam and ONGC Videsh has secured 28% stake in a Libyan oil site. The company has declared record interim dividend of 180%, for the current fiscal year.

Engineering company BHEL gained 1.53% to Rs 2,236.30, on reports that the company is in negotiations with GE and Siemens to invest up to Rs 500 crore to improve nuclear production capacities.

Index heavy Reliance Industries advanced 0.52% to Rs 1,278, on a volume of 4.35 lakh shares. Tata Motors gained 2.78% to Rs 883.15 while the State Bank of India advanced 2.36% to Rs 1,242.70.

Decliners

There were only a few decliners led by a loss of 0.62% in Hero Honda to Rs 745, on 1.06 lakh shares. It traded as low as Rs 737. Textile firm S Kumar''s Nationwide shed 0.76% to Rs 73.35, ahead of its board meeting on December 30, 2006.

Other decliners included Tata Steel falling 0.49% to Rs 476, Dr Reddy shedding 0.39% to Rs 801.10 and Reliance Communications dropping 0.18% to Rs 467.


[R]9:45AM Stocks opened modestly up on higher oil.[/R]
U.S. stocks moved slightly higher at opening on Tuesday as an increase in oil prices lifted major energy stocks like Exxon Mobil Corp. ((XOM)) and Chevron Corp. ((CVX)). Shares of airlines traded mixed, with larger network carriers losing ground to smaller regional airlines. Crude prices rose to $62.63 a barrel after the Iranian government expressed determination to continue its nuclear research despite threats the UN would impose sanctions on the country.

Returning from the holiday weekend, investors were interested in retail stocks which were largely under pressure amid concerns that the holiday shopping season was somewhat disappointing. Target Corp. ((TGT)), Best Buy ((BBY)), Federated Department Stores ((FD)) were among the early decliners. Industry gainers included Circuit City Stores Inc. ((CC)), RadioShack Corp. ((RSH)). Elsewhere, pharmaceutical and biotech shares advanced, boosted by strength in King Pharmaceuticals Inc. ((KG)). However, shares of Telik Inc. ((TELK)) tumbled 70% after the company said results from three separate Phase III trials related to its cancer drug Telcyta were ‘extremely disappointing’. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.70, or 0.20%, to 2,405.88. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 2.75, or 0.19%, to 1,413.51, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 4.48, or 0.19%, at 2,405.66.


[R]8:00AM Stock futures moved slightly higher on post-Christmas reopening.[/R]
U.S. stock market futures moved slightly higher Tuesday following gains for Asian markets overnight. Market is expected to gain ground after closing down on Friday amid concerns about slowing economic growth, sparkled by disappointing durable goods orders report. Tuesday trading volume will be very light as many investors haven’t returned from vacation. European stock markets remain closed for extended Christmas holidays.

In early Tuesday morning, shares of retail stocks were in focus after a report showed holiday sales rose by only 3% in 2006, lower than last year''s 5.2% growth. In the energy sector, an increase in oil prices is expected to help energy stocks move to the upside. Exxon Mobil Corp. ((XOM)) shares attracted some attention as U.S. crude oil prices rose almost 1% to $63.01 a barrel after Iran threatened to use oil exports as a weapon following the U.N. Security Council''s decision to impose sanctions on its trade in nuclear goods.

Shares of FedEx Corp. ((FDX)) were also expected to draw attention after the company said European regulators had asked it for information as part of a probe into possible anti-competitive behavior in the air freight transport industry. Shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. ((AMLN)) and Eli Lilly and Co. ((LLY)) appeared in the spotlight after U.S. regulators approved their diabetes drug Byetta as an add-on therapy for people with type 2 diabetes. Standard & Poor''s 500 futures were up 0.9 point, just above fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were unchanged, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.5 points.


[R]7:30 AM Asian markets finished mostly higher on Tuesday with Japan, China up.[/R]
Asian markets finished mostly higher on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.5% to close at 17,169.19, its highest close since May 9. Advancers included Nippon Steel, rising 5.1%, Sumitomo Metal Industries, advancing 3.6%, and Mitsubishi Materials surging 5.7%. Pharma stocks also gained, with Takeda Pharmaceutical gaining 0.7%.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, in South Korea declined 0.3% to 1,433.92. Korean Air shed 1.4% and Kosdaq-listed Asiana Airlines declined 2%. Banks gained 0.4% on expectations of stable annual dividends compared with other shares. Korea Exchange Bank jumped 1.8%. LG.Philips LCD also rose 1.7% on bargain-hunting, bucking the technology downtrend.

The Shanghai Composite Index in China advanced 1.8% to 2,479.73. The pending Jan. 11 share listing by China Life, the No. 1 life insurer in the country, is helping aid demand. ICBC gained 5.8% and BOC gained 2.3%. Some large-cap fell, though, on profit-taking. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank dipped 1.2%, China International Marine Containers lost 3% and China Yangtze Power lost 1.7%.