Market to Open Moderately Higher

Elena
01 May, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures indicated a moderately higher opening on Tuesday ahead of a reading on the nation

[R]9:00AM U.S. stock futures pointed slightly higher ahead of manufacturing data.[/R]
U.S. stock futures indicated a moderately higher opening on Tuesday ahead of a reading on the nation’s manufacturing sector, which is expected to give further signs of the rate of economic slowdown. Investors were also awaiting the release of another batch of quarterly earnings, eager to learn whether the robust growth in corporate profits is likely to continue. The ISM’s index of U.S. manufacturing is due out after the opening bell, with economists predicting the April index will come in at 51.0. Reports on pending sales of existing homes in March and automakers’ sales figures in the month of April are also due out today.

Among pre-market headlights, Circuit City Stores ((CC)) slipped 8% in the pre-open after it withdrew its fiscal first-half 2008 outlook and said its Q4 loss from continuing operations will widen. Procter & Gamble Co ((PG)) reported a 14% increase in its Q3 profit, with earnings coming in line with expectations while sales, which rose 8%, came in better than expected. The company also lifted the lower end of its full-year forecast.

Automakers are scheduled to report weak U.S. sales for April. Ford Motor Co. ((F)) expected to posted 22% sales drop, followed by General Motors ((GM)) with 11% decline on sales, and Chrysler ((DCX)) with 10% decrease. Dow futures expiring in June rose 14, or 0.11%, to 13,130. The blue chip index has hit 37 record closes since the beginning of October, its latest coming on Friday. Standard & Poor''s 500 index futures rose 3.30, or 0.22%, Tuesday to 1,491.70. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 3.00, or 0.16%, to 1,882.25.


[R]8:45AM The FTSE 100 slips in light trading, Pub Taverns leads decliners.[/R]
The UK benchmark index was lower on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 was down 30.5 points at 6,418.7 by late morning.

Advancers

There were very few advancers in the market. Real estate stocks gained after well-received figures from shopping centre operator Liberty International, up 2.7 %. First-quarter profit was boosted by rising net rental income cmpared with a year earlier. Net asset value per share, a key gauge for property companies, also rose 4% during the quarter.

Other gainers included Hammerson which rose 1.1%, while Slough Estates, which was supported by continued bid speculation, firmed 1.5%.

Decliners

Punch Taverns leads the decliners, down 4.1%, after investors took profits in the pub group. Punch reported a 12% rise in profits and said second-half trading was in line with expectations

In the mid-caps, Aberdeen Asset Management lost 2.6% despite the fund manager announcing a sharp rise in interim profits. Technology commercialisation firm Angle announced it expects pre-tax losses to be 4.4 million pounds in the second half and 9.3 million pounds in the full year. Shares of Angle slumped almost 21%.


[R]8:00AM Procter & Gamble posted higher profit and lifted full-year outlook.[/R]
Procter & Gamble Co. ((PG)) announced on Tuesday a 14% increase in Q3 profit and lifted the low-end of its full-year profit outlook. The company posted quarterly profit of $2.51 billion, or 74 cents per share, compared with $2.21 billion, or 63 cents per share a year earlier. The upbeat results were contributed to strong sales of Olay skin care products and Tide laundry detergent.

The company’s Q3 financial results came in line with its own expectations, as well as with analyst estimates. P&G said it now expects to earn $3.01 to $3.03 per share this year, compared with a prior target of $2.99 to $3.03. Shares of P&G declined 1.7% during the quarter.


[R]7:45AM Japan finishes lower on profit-taking and weak U.S. close.[/R]
Japan finished lower on Tuesday. Markets in China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand were closed for a public holiday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended at 17,275.68, down 124.73 points, or 0.72%, from Friday. Trading was subdued on account of Golden Week. The market was closed Monday for a national holiday and will be closed again on Thursday and Friday. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group shed 1.9% after a downward revision of its earnings estimate for the year ended March 31. NTT DoCoMo added 2%, however, as it projected a profit rise for this fiscal year after reporting a double-digit net profit fall in the just-ended year.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended also down 20.2 points, or 0.3%, at 6,145.8. Resources stocks led the decline, with BHP Billiton down 1.2% and Rio Tinto down 2.1%. Symbion Health gained 4.4%, though, after receiving a takeover offer from a consortium comprising Healthscope, Ironbridge and Archer Capital.