S&P 500, Nasdaq Rebound 1.3%; Home Sales Rise

123jump.com Staff
11 Feb, 2010
New York City

U.S. stocks turned positive after jobless claims declined and investors awaited the details of the EU bailout of Greece. Philip Morris said it will buy back $12 billion of its shares. First Energy offered $4.7 billion for Allegheny Energy Inc. Commodities traded higher.

[R]3:00 PM New York, 6:00 PM London, 7:00 AM Sydney – U.S. stocks turned positive after jobless claims declined and investors awaited the details of the EU bailout of Greece. Philip Morris said it will buy back $12 billion of its shares. First Energy offered $4.7 billion for Allegheny Energy Inc. Commodities traded higher.[/R]

U.S. stocks traded lackluster after weekly jobless claims decreased and the EU leaders said that Greece will not be left alone and a bailout package is in works. However the lack of details kept investors guessing. Indexes turned positive in the afternoon and traded up more than 1%.

Market indexes turned positive after existing home sales increased in the fourth quarter by 14% to an annualized rate of 6.03 million from 5.29 million in the third quarter according to the National Association of Realtors.

Philips Morris International increased more than 4% after it announced a buyback plan of $12 billion and reported adjusted fourth quarter earnings of 81 cents.

Masco Corporation led the decliners in the S&P 500 index. Prudential reports quarterly net of $1.78 billion but lower than expected. Allstate rises on improved fourth quarter net of $518 million. AutoNation, Inc posts higher revenue. JA Solar reported higher than expected sales and earnings. PepsiCo Inc fourth quarter earnings nearly doubled.

European markets traded higher and the euro stabilized after the EU leaders suggested a deal to support Greece will be soon announced but under tough conditions. Markets turned negative after rising as much as 0.6% after the EU leaders offered no details of the Greek bailout.

Total SA fourth quarter sales fell 6.5%. Credit Suisse swings to quarterly profit. Air France-KLM reported a narrower loss and indicated signs of recovery. Renault expects 10% drop in European car market in 2010. Danone net increased on asset sale.

UK stocks pared losses after EU leaders failed to provide any details for the Greece bailout. Rio Tinto reinstated its dividend. BT Group dropped on the pension reserve worries. Anglo American Plc said it will participate fully in the De Beers’ $1 billion rights issue in which it holds 45% stake.

Asian markets rebounded after positive economic news from China and strong consumer demand in India. Australian unemployment drops to an 11-year low.

Markets in Japan were closed today.

China home prices increased 9.5% in January and lending surged to $202 billion, 14% lower than a year ago but higher than the total in the fourth quarter 2009. Mainland China inflation in the month was 1.5%, lower than expected. Stocks surged after lower than inflation and a decline in M2 money supply growth.

Mumbai stocks surged after Reserve Bank of India increased transparency in how it determines interest rates. January exports increased 11.5%. DLF, the real estate developer said residential sales in the month were satisfactory. Unitech sells 7.2% stake in its wireless unit to Telenor Asia. Fortis Healthcare is looking to raise $250 million.

Stocks in Sydney trading gained after employers added 52,000 workers in January. The sharp gain in payrolls dragged unemployment rate to an 11-year low of 5.3%. The Australian dollar strengthened. Telstra first half profit declined 3.3%. Rio Tinto full year profit increased 33%.