Wholesale Inflation Falls

Elena
20 Dec, 2005
New York City

Producer price index declined 0.7% in November, seasonally adjusted, following a 0.7% rise in October and a 1.9% gain in September. Asian markets finished mostly higher with the Nikkei up 1.6% on on news that AIG will buy Tokyo property for $3.5 billion. European stocks declined on tech and construction stocks.

U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

U.S. stock futures pointed to a positive start of the session, following Monday’s close in the negative territory with the S&P 500, down 1.3%. Pre-market sentiment rose ahead of data on wholesale-level inflation and earnings from Morgan Stanley.

In economic news, November producer price index is expected to fall 0.4% against a 0.7% rise last month. Core PPI is seen rising 0.2%t after a 0.3% fall the prior month.

A few merger deals stand out today. Japan''s Mori Trust confirmed a report that it''s in talks to sell a central Tokyo property to American International Group Inc. The newspaper report said the deal could be worth more than $3.4 billion.

Morgan Stanley said it's buying the Goldfish credit card operations from U.K. bank Lloyds TSB for $1.76 billion. The investment bank also is expected to report earnings of $1.08 a share on revenue of $6.5 billion, according to Thomson First Call.

Also on the mergers-and-acquisitions front, Tyco International Ltd. is near a deal to sell its plastics unit to private equity group Apollo Advisers for around $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Dow Jones futures recently were up 15 points, S&P 500 futures were up 1.8 point, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2 points.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished Tuesday session generally higher. The Nikkei climbed 1.6% on news that U.S. insurer American International Group will buy a Tokyo development property for $3.5 billion. Among other regional markets Sydney’s All Ordinaries rose 0.4%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.4%.

European stocks declined at mid-day, reflecting Wall Street losses overnight, weak tech stocks like German Infineon Technology and construction stocks including Britain’s Hanson. The German DAX 30 fell 0.2%, the French CAC 40 lost 0.2%, and London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1%. The euro traded lower 0.3% at $1.1981.

OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil prices advanced ahead of petroleum report, expected to show a decrease in oil inventories. Light sweet crude for January delivery gained 31 cents to $57.80 a barrel on the Nymex. Heating oil advanced to $1.7180. Gasoline added a cent to $1.5350. Natural gas edged down to $14.040 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent climbed 32 cents to $56.43.

Gold climbed in European trading for the third straight day after last-week declines. In London spot gold rose $4.62 to $508.42 per troy ounce. Silver advanced 2 cents to $8.59.

The U.S. dollar climbed, extending gains against the yen. The euro fell to $1.1967 from $1.2003. The dollar bought 116.55 yen, up from 116.13. The British pound traded at $1.7608, down from $1.7631.

EARNINGS NEWS

FactSet Research Systems ((FDS)), provider of financial and economic data, reported Q1 earnings of 38 cents a share, up from 33 cents a share in the year-ago period. On a non-GAAP basis, the company earned 38 cents a share. Revenue advanced 21.1%. The company beat the analysts’ estimates for earnings of 35 cents a share.

Progress Software Corp ((PGRS)), software company, reported Q4 net income of 33 cents a share, up from 28 cents a share in the year-earlier period on 12% revenue growth, missing analyst estimate of 37 cents a share. Pro forma earnings were 38 cents a share. The company announced it would pay $68 million to buy Neon Systems.

Park Electrochemical Corp. ((PKE)), printed circuit boards manufacturer, reported Q3 earnings per share before special items of.41 cents, up from 21 cents in the same period last year. The company topped analysts’ expectations of 34 cents per share. Earnings per share were 48 cents up from 38 cents per share for the comparable period.