Nasdaq Leads with 11.9% Rise

123jump.com Staff
28 Sep, 2007
New York City

On the last day of the third quarter stocks closed lower. For the quarter Nasdaq led the three popular indexes with a rise 3.8% and for the year with a gain of 11.9%. European indexes closed lower. Crude oil crossed $83 a barrel and gold surged $10 to close above $750 per ounce. Copper traded at elevated level.

[R]5:30PM New York, 11:30PM Frankfurt, 3:00AM Mumbai – U.S. economic data on inflation, personal consumption and income, and construction spending offered a mixed view. Japan unemployment rose. German retail sales fell. Inflation in India declined.[/R]

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.31 or 0.12% to 13,895.63, Nasdaq declined 8.09 or 0.30% to 2,709.59, and S&P 500 lost 5.96 or 0.39% to 1,531.38. In Toronto TSX Composite declined 0.22% or 30.84 to close at 14,098.89.

Dow Jones in the third quarter jumped 3.6% with Proctor & Gamble leading all stocks in the index with a rise of 15% followed by rises of 13.5% in United Tech, and 12% in IBM. Home Depot led the decliners with a loss of 18% followed by declines of 9% in Wal-Mart and Citigroup.

Nasdaq in the third quarter increased 3.8% led by 76% surge in Wynn Resorts followed by 66% gallop in Intuitive Surgical. Akamai Technologies led the decliners in the index with a loss of 41% followed by a loss of 33% in Sepracor.

S&P 500 in the third quarter surged 1.5% led by 45% increase in Juniper Network followed by 39% rise in Hilton Hotels. Tenet Healthcare led the decliners with a loss of 48% followed by 47.5% decline in Countrywide Financial.

For the year Nasdaq led with a rise of 11.9% followed increases in Dow of 11.5% and in S&P 500 of 7.7%.

In Brazil, iBovespa Index closed 1.40% lower or 587.38 to a record close of 60,465.06 and in Mexico Bolsa index fell 0.76% or 231.81 to close at 30,296.19.

In London FTSE 100 Index lost 19.60 or 0.3% to 6,466.80, in Paris CAC 40 index lost 17.68 or 0.31% to close at 5,715.69, and in Frankfurt DAX index increased 0.10% or 7.72 to close at 7,861.51. In Zurich trading SMI added 0.53% or 47.53 to close at 8,933.48.

In Tokyo stock market Nikkei 225 index down 0.28% or 46.53 to close at 16,785.69, in Hong Kong Hang Seng index closed up 0.29% or 77.32 to 27,142.47, in Australia ASX 200 closed up 0.45% or 29.70 to a record close of 6,567.80, and in India Sensex closed up 140.54 or 0.82% to a record close of 17,291.10.

Bond Yields declined on 10-year U.S. bonds to 4.579% and 30-year bond declined to close at 4.833%.

Crude oil gained $2.79 to close at $83.09 per barrel for a front month contract, up 35% for the year so far, natural gas lost 12 cents to $6.91 per mBtu, and gasoline futures increased 6.3 cents to close at 209.10 cents per gallon.

Gold increased $10.10 in New York trading to close at $750.00 per ounce, silver closed up 27 cents to $13.92 per ounce, and copper for front month delivery in London gained $80.00 to $8,066.00 per pound.

Dollar edged lower against euro to $1.4150 from $1.4125 and higher to 115.63 yen from 115.55 yen.

Of the 30 stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average 15 closed lower, 15 closed higher, and none were unchanged. Pfizer led the decliners with a loss of 1.3% followed by 1.2% in AT&T and Merck. Caterpillar led the gainers with a rise of 1.2% followed by General Motors with 0.7%, and Disney with 0.5%.

Of the stocks in S&P 500 191 stocks closed higher, 303 fell, and 6 closed unchanged. Eight stocks gained more than 3% and six fell more than 3%. Jabil Circuit led the decliners with a loss of 6.8% followed by Big Lots with 4%, McCormick and First Horizon with 3.4%.

In Latin Markets trading Brazil led the decliners with a loss of 0.96% followed by loss of 0.76% in Mexico, and 0.20% in Argentina. Of the 63 stocks in iBovespa index 25 gained, 36 lost, and two closed unchanged. Sabesp led the decliners with a loss of 4.2% followed by a loss of 3.1% in Perdigao and 2.2% in CESP. Aracruz led the gainers with a rise of 3.2% followed by gains of 2.6% in Souza Cruz and Duratex.

[R]2:30 AM New York - Wall Street was marginally down Friday as investors digested economic reports and worried about third-quarter earnings.[/R]

The Dow slipped 2.19, or 0.02%, to 13,910.75. Broader indexes were also little changed. S&P 500 index fell 3.32, or 0.22%.

The S&P 500 which was in record levels in mid July, tumbled by nearly 10% as credit concerns intensified in August. As the quarter closes, the S&P is higher by 1.7% for the period and is 1.5% below its mid-July record close of 1,553.08. Of the index, 198 stocks closed higher and 293 declined, 9 were unchanged.

CIENA CORP ((CIEN)) was one of the movers after it picked up $0.49 or 1.31% to $37.92. The company recently posted its results for the July quarter ahead of the estimates and raised its guidance. The EPS estimates for 2007 and 2008 have been reduced to $1.28 to $1.48 and from $1.75 to $1.86, respectively.

Target Corp ((TGT.N)) rose $1.57 to $63.22. The company is reported to have voluntarily recalled 350,000 units of children''s toy gardening tools and chairs made in China because the surface paint contained excessive amounts of lead according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Wednesday.

The recall includes Happy Giddy Gardening Tools and Sunny Patch Children''s Chairs sold at Target stores across the United States from August 2006 through August 2007, at prices between $3 and $10, according to the safety commission.

On the downside Jabil Circuit Inc. ((JBL)) dropped $1.28 or 5.22% to $23.22. The company recorded a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $11.7 million, or 6 cents compared to a loss of 22 cents a share. The electronics contract manufacturer said revenue rose slightly to $3.1 billion from $3 billion a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Jabil said earnings were $59.9 million, or 29 cents compared to 36 cents per share beating an estimate of 28 cents per share.

Embarq Corp ((EQ)) fell after it was downgraded by some analyst. Embarq, fell after Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery downgraded shares to “underweight” from “equal-weight.” Embarq, Flannery said, has “significant exposure” to some of the areas of the country hit hardest by the housing recession, including Florida and Nevada. Embarq fell as low as $55.37, down $2.71,or 2.96%.

Motorola Inc ((MOT)) was also among the losers and fell $0.33 or 1.77% to $18.36. The company agreed to sell its embedded communications computing business to Emerson Electric Co. for $350 million. The acquired business will become part of St. Louis-based Emerson''s Emerson Network Power unit.

[R]12:30 PM New York, 10:00PM Mumbai – Sensex closed to yet another high, ninth record in a row.[/R]

Sensex in Mumbai was up for the ninth day in a row. The BSE Sensex added 0.8% or 140.5 to close at17,291. Strong rollover from September 2007 futures to October 2007 futures boosted the market Friday. The CNX Nifty rose 0.4% or 20.8 at 5,021. Of the BSE shares, 1,392 fell, 1,362 gained while 58 remain unchanged.

Of the 30-member Sensex, 20 advanced while the rest slid. The BSE net turnover surged 7,915 crore rupees. The National Stock Exchange turnover amounted to 17,595 crore rupees.

The wholesale inflation declined to 3.23% for the week ended September 15th compared to 3.3% for the previous week. The fall was attributed the falling prices of fruits and vegetables, pulses, milk and some manufactured items. The wholesale price based index stood at 5.27% in the corresponding week a year ago. However, prices of cement moved up by 0.2% during the week followed by other items like steel furniture and hydraulic pump.

Of the Sensex shares, Reliance Energy led the gainers with a surge of 8.8% to 1,215 rupees on 35.31 lakh shares. Bharti Airtel slid 2.3% to 938 rupees on 1.83 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

Tata Motors rose 1% to 758 rupees. Hindalco gained 4.8% to 172 rupees, Cipla increased 3.9% to 183 rupees, ICICI Bank gained 2.99% to 1060 rupees. The bank raised $2 billion through a bond issue in the international market through a five-year fixed rate note. The stock struck an all time high of 1,070 rupees today. State Bank of India surged 4.2% to 1,965 rupees.

Tata Steel surged 7% to 850 rupees after the company Chairman said that the company is likely to generate 60% of its revenue from its UK operation up from 38% a year ago. Other Tata group company Titan Industries jumped 1.1% to 1,470 rupees after the company indicated that it expects profit to rise at least 50% in the fiscal year 2008 and revenue increase of 50% to 3,150 crore rupees.

Sesa Goa surged 8% to 2,548 rupees after it had added 7% on Thursday on the speculation that international iron ore exporters in Australia and Brazil are looking to raise the shipment price by 30% during the upcoming price negotiations with Chinese customers.

Bank of India rose 7.7% to 280 rupees, Canara Bank jumped 3.3% to 278 rupees, Union Bank of India closed firmer at 4.45% 164.25 rupees, Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 3.3% to 924 rupees and Federal Bank gained 2.7% to 375 rupees. Emkay Share & Stock Brokers soared 10% to 146 rupees after its subsidiary received an approval to act as insurance broker.

Arvind Mills jumped 6% to 61.50 rupees after the company approved 5 core convertible warrants to founders at 52 rupees per share. The founders will increase its stake to 47% from 34% after the full conversion.

Financial Technologies surged 6% to 2,760 rupees after the company sold 5% stake in Multi Commodities Exchange to Citigroup and Merrill Lynch each.

Wipro rose 0.09% to 460 rupees. It acquired Oki Techno Centre of Singapore in a cash deal.

Of the Sensex share, some of the decliners were Bharat Heavy Electricals which closed weaker at 0.6% to 2,027 rupees. Infosys was down 1.03% to 1,892 rupees while TCS shed 1.08% to 1,050 rupees. Ambuja Cements slipped 1.4% to 143 rupees, Larsen and Toubro slump 0.6% to 2,818 rupees. Reliance Industries was down 0.7% at 2302 rupees on 7.55 lakh shares.

[R]10:30AM New York – Consumer in the U.S. shows resilience in spending. German retail sales fell. Unemployment in Japan edged higher.[/R]

After one hour of trading in New York, stocks meandered on the last day of trading. In the overnight trading in Asia market closed higher but near the end of day stocks in Europe weakened. Volatile third quarter left several markets nervous ahead of earnings season due in the next two weeks.

The Commerce Department reported August personal income increased 0.3% and consumption added 0.6%. Construction spending rose 0.2% from July and fell 1.7% from a year ago to $1.167 trillion. Earlier in the week August consumer price index fell 0.2% from July but added 2% from a year ago and core rate in the index fell 0.1% and up 1.8% from a year ago.

The Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment was unchanged in September from August and was reported at 83.4. Chicago purchasing managers’ index increased to 54.2 in September from 53.8 in August.

Economic reports in Japan indicated a mild rise in consumer spending in August and sharp rise in industrial production of 3.4% as automakers revved up manufacturing after earthquake. Unemployment in Japan rose to 3.8% in August from 3.6% in July.

In Germany, retail sales declined in August unexpectedly declined 1.4% and economic outlook for the next year was revised lower to 1.9% from 2.2% earlier in the week. Housing prices edged up a fraction defying the credit market turmoil as reported during the week.

[R]9:00 AM New York – 1:00PM London – Stocks in Europe are trading lower. Deutsche Telekom purchased Orange Netherlands for 1.33 billion euros. Retail sales in Germany fell.[/R]

European equities fell in early trade on Friday as investors took a cautious attitude to the last day of trade in the third quarter.

During the turbulent third quarter the CAC 40 has been one of the worst performing European indices, down 5.4% over the period. The Xetra Dax, however, has lost 1.6%, with the FTSE 100 down 1.8%. London’s FTSE 100 gave up on Friday as Tate & Lyle tumbled after a trading update and Northern Rock resumed its decline after two sessions of gains.

In the trading in London, the last trading day of a highly volatile third quarter saw the blue-chip FTSE 100 trading at 6,471.3, down 0.2% on the session. Over the quarter, the FTSE index was down 1.8%, but up 11% from its year low, hit on August 17.

Tate & Lyle, the sugar and sweetener producer fell 24% to 420p after warning on its outlook due to higher European corn prices and a poor performance in its sugar trading. The company added that the weak dollar would also hit profits.

In the banking sector, Northern Rock was again under pressure after Financial Times reports that it was forced to borrow additional 5 billion pounds from the Bank of England. The troubled mortgage lender had climbed strongly during the previous two sessions on speculation of a rescue bid, but Friday’s news pushed the shares 5.3% lower to 184p.

Enterprise Inns said it was too early to fully assess the likely impact on profits of the smoking ban enforced in England and Wales since July. The company said average core earnings per pub increased by more than 6% over the past year. The shares, however, fell 1.6% to 590p on concerns over delays to its £750m debt refinancing, postponed due to volatile markets.

JJB Sports, the mid-cap retailer, reported a 38% slide in first-half profit from a year ago on the boost from the World Cup. The shares climbed 5.8% to 155½p after the company said its second half was likely to be similar to that of a year ago after revenues in the last eight weeks climbed 4.9%.

Frankfurt''s DAX 30 nudged down 0.04% to 7,850.94 as traders were cautious on the last trading of the quarter.

Germany’s Federal Statistics Office reported August month retail sales decline of 1.4% from July and lost 2.2% from a year ago. Inflation adjusted retail sales data after normalizing for seasonality were widely anticipated to increase. Earlier in the week German economic growth was lowered to 1.9% from 2.2%. The economy is expected to grow at 2.5% this year. High energy prices and a rise in unemployment has put consumers on the edge and curtail its spending.

Deutsche Telekom agreed to pay 1.33 billion euros in cash for Orange Netherlands to France Telecom. The Dutch unit of France Telecom in a crowded mobile phone market was deemed a laggard and was on the block at the end of the last year. Orange Netherlands has 2 million subscribers. According to a press release on the France Telecom web site ‘This transaction has been approved by the France Telecom Board of Directors after having obtained a positive advice from the Workers Council of Orange Nederland. Since all necessary authorizations have been obtained, in particular the European Commission''s approval, the closing could occur as soon as October 1, 2007.

According to a press release in German on the web site of Deutsche Telekom, its T-Mobile unit in the Netherlands will jump from the fourth place to market leader with the acquisition. The press release also stated that the network consolidation between the two carriers will generate savings of 1 billion euros. The combined company is expected to maintain its market share of 51% in the Netherlands with nearly 4.5 million subscribers.

Merck KGaA slid 3% to 88.1 euros on the worries that the profit at the chemical unit may decline prompting Deutsche Bank analyst to cut its rating to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and lowered target price to 91 euros from 96 euros according to a report on New Ratings financial data site.

[R]6:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Stocks in Tokyo fell but for the week added nearly 3%. Unemployment level rose to 3.8%. Core consumer prices fell 0.1% and industrial production increased 3.4%.[/R]

In Tokyo trading Japan’s stock index slipped from a 6-week peak reached yesterday to close 0.28% weaker or 46.53 to 16,785.69. However, the index added 2.8%, while Topix gained 3.8% for the week. Financial stocks retreated. Commodity-related stocks and exporters rose on resurgent oil and metal prices. Oil jumped 3% in international trading lifting stocks of trading companies and oil refiners. Inpex, Japan Petroleum Exploration, and Sumitomo trading edged higher.

Of the Nikkei 225 stocks, 79 climbed, 139 slumped and 7 were unchanged. Thirty stocks gained 1%.

The Statistics Bureau revealed today Japan’s jobless rate increased 0.2% for the first time in eleven months to 3.8% in August, up from a nine-year low of 3.6% in July. The available jobs to job seekers ratio narrowed marginally from 1.07 to 1.06, while the unemployment rate for women edged up from 3.3% to 3.7%.

Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga however said the overall employment situation continued to improve. Nukaga commented that “I heard that a growing number of women job seekers led to a rise i in jobless rate. Although unemployment rates vary by region, the overall employment situation continues to improve.”

Core consumer prices, excluding fresh food, also slumped for the seventh month, shedding 0.1% from a year earlier as retailers increased prices. Prices of electronics also fell markedly, while the cost of mobile phone use also plummeted on promotions to attract new subscribers.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry revealed today industrial production 3.4% in July and household spending increased 1.2%. Automakers revved up production after the earthquake to meet inventory levels at dealers. Real consumer spending also surged 1.6% from a year earlier, beating analyst estimate of a 1.2% rise. Similarly, retail sales grew by 0.5% while spending on entertainment, education and labor spiked 11.3% stocking expectations that growing domestic demand will help forestall an economic slowdown. Steady job market has kept retail spending at healthy level but it is growing at anemic growth rate.

The Tankan survey to measure corporate confidence is expected on Monday next week.

Japanese companies are relying on exports to increase earnings as demand growth in the domestic remains anemic. The expected slowdown in the U.S. has left Japanese companies with few markets in the world to sell more. Middle East, China, India, and the rest of Asian nations are few bright spots for the Japanese companies. Companies with exposure to these markets are likely to outperform than the companies focused on domestic markets.

Asahi Newspaper report quoted on Bloomberg News service that according to the National Tax Agency the economic difference continues to increase, noting people earning less than 2 million yen increased ($17,000) by 420,000 to more than 10 million people, while those earning more than 10 million yen increased.

The yen rose against the dollar rebounding from one week low on renewed worries related to losses associated to the global credit crunch will spread from the U.S and Europe to the rest of Asia. Financial Times reports that Northern Rock had borrowed an additional 5 billion pounds to strengthen its financial position and comments by U.S. mortgage lender Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd in television interview that the housing slump will extend beyond next year triggered yen buying.

The yen was quoted at 114.90, up from 115.06 to the dollar, while it rose 163.31 from 163.63 to the euro. It also gained to 232.93 against the pound from 234.45, while strengthening to 101.71 from 101.75 against the Australian dollar.

Oil and metal prices gained spurred by speculation of a further rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and sustained growth from China and India. Crude oil rose 3.2% to $82.88 per barrel, the second highest close ever. Japan’s largest oil explorer gained 0.85% as a result.

Zinc, aluminium and copper climbed 3%, 1.2% and 1% correspondingly.

Of the Nikkei 225 index, NSK Limited led the gainers with a rise of 5.22% followed by rises of 4.79% in Mitsubishi Motor Company, 4.55% in Daiichi Sankyo, 3.93% in Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, and 2.71% in Sharp.

Metal processor NSK Limited led the gainers with a surge of 5.22% followed by Mitsubishi Motors Company rising 4.8%. Mitsubishi Motors revised half-year operating profit upwards from 5 billion yen to 136 billion yen. Sales forecasts were reviewed up from 1.17 trillion yen to 1.27 trillion yen.

Nisshin Oillio led the decliners with a loss of 5.81% followed by losses in Unitika Limited of 4.20%, in GS Yuasa Corporation of 4.18%, in Daiwa Securities of 4.04% and in Ebara Corporation of 3.63%.

Daiichi Sankyo, Japan’s third biggest drugmaker, won U.S. approval for a new blood pressure treatment that combines its Benicar with active ingredient in Norvasc.

Circle K Sunkus fell 2.7% after warning that it expects first half profits to fall by 20%. The company has more than 600 convenience stores.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group lowered its first half profit forecast by 44% to 100 billion from 146.8 billion yen for the period ending on Sept 30, according to filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Tighter consumer lending rules in Japan have battered stocks of several consumer lending companies including the largest Acom. Mitsubishi affiliate, Acom lost 50% of its market value in the last six months of trading after the new law took effect.