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US Market Reports

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With traders digesting an upbeat jobs report amid continued geopolitical concerns,stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major averages are lingering near the unchanged line after ending the previous session sharply higher. The choppy trading comes despite the release of a report from the Labor Departmentshowing significant jobs growth in the month of February, with employment rising at its first pace since May of 2010. The report also showed an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate. The Labor Department said payroll employment rose by 192,000 jobs in February following an upwardly revised increase of 63,000 jobs in January. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 196,000 jobs compared to the increase of 36,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Additionally, the report also showed that the unemployment rate slipped to 8.9 percent in February from 9.0 percent in January. The modest decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting the unemployment rate to edge up to 9.1 percent. While the report has added to recent signs of improvement in the labor market, a notable increase by the price of crude oil seems to have offset any optimism about the economic outlook. Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, although early weakness has emerged among brokerage and semiconductor stocks. On the other hand, goldstocks are moving back to the upside after bucking the uptrend that was seen on Thursday. The major averages have moved to the downside in the past few minutes and are currently posting modest losses. The Dow is down 15.51 points or 0.1 percent at 12,242.69, the Nasdaq is down 8.11 points or 0.3 percent at 2,790.63 and the S&P 500is down 2.79 points or 0.2 percent at 1,328.18.

Asia Market Reports

Nikkei 225 Hang Seng Bse Sensex S&P/ASX 20

Indian Market Ends Range-bound Session Flat  The Indian market ended a range-bound session with little change on Friday following a sharp post-budget rally early this week. With crude futures for April delivery still trading higher by about a percent near $103 a barrel in late Singapore trading and violent protests continuing in oil producing Libya, investors moved to cash in recent gains. Banking, auto, IT, oil/gas and realty stocks witnessed stock-specific buying, while shares of capital goods manufactures fell sharply on profit taking. Buoyed by sharp gains on Wall Street overnight and positive cues from the other Asianmarkets, the benchmark 30-share Sensex opened on a positive note and rose to a high of 18,737 in early trading before succumbing to profit taking to end on a flat note at 18,486, down 3 points or 0.02 percent from its previous close. Likewise, the 50-share Nifty gave up early gains before ending up 3 points or 0.05 percent at 5,539. Second-line stocks closed on a subdued note and the market breadth was slightly negative, with 1484 decliners versus 1391 gainers on the BSE. In the Sensex pack, Infosys, Jindal Steel, Reliance Infrastructure, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda Motors and Tata Power rose by 1-2 percent. SBI gained 0.38 percent and HDFC Bank added 1.16 percent after the Union Cabinet approved Thursday the long-pending banking laws amendment bill that seeks to align the voting rights in banks in proportion with the equity holding. Axis Bank advanced nearly 2 percent after Nilesh Shah, one of the top fund managers in the mutual fund industry, joined the private sector bank as President, Strategic Initiatives, in its Corporate Banking Division. State-run oil marketing companies such as BPCL, HPCL and IOC rose by 1-2 percent after the government sought Parliament's nod for sanctioning additional Rs.21,000 crore subsidy to keep the oil firms afloat. In the health care sector, Strides Arcolab climbed 4.40 percent after its wholly-owned subsidiary Onco Therapies received European Union approval for its oncology drug carboplatin. Aurobindo Pharma rallied 4 percent after Pfizer, which has a tie up with Aurobindo on generic supplies, reportedly said it would help the company in resolving an import alert imposed by the U.S. FDA. Bajaj Finserv, which hit the 20 percent upper circuit limit yesterday, boosted by U.S.-based Berkshire Hathaway's deal with the company's unit, rose to a 52-week high of Rs.607 before paring gains and ending 3.27 percent higher at Rs.544.70. BGR Energy Systems added 0.67 percent after its environment division bagged contracts worth Rs.29.76 crore for condensate polishing units. Simbhaoli Sugars rose 1.46 percent despite posting a Rs.17-crore net loss in the quarter ended December. On the negative side, construction & engineering giant Larsen & Toubro fell a little over 3 percent on profit taking after gaining nearly 10 percent in the past three sessions. Among other prominent decliners, Sterlite, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel,TCS, BHEL and Jaiprakash Associates eased about 1-2 percent. ONGC shed 0.37 percent on reports that its follow-on public offering is likely to be delayed to the first week of April. Areva T&D fell 2.31 percent on a brokerage downgrade. Panacea Biotec lost 0.87 percent after it signed a non-exclusive marketing agreement with Uruguay-based Laboratorios Clausen S.A. to market Panacea's organ transplant drug, Pangraf, in Europe. Lanco Infratech declined nearly 3 percent after the power and infrastructure company said it has acquired Griffin coal mines in Western Australia for A$750 million. On the global front, the other Asian markets rose notably on Friday, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific index up by over a percent, as a dip in oil prices from 2-1/2 year highs and data showing steady improvement in the world's largest economy boosted hopes of stronger economic recovery ahead of U.S. jobs data due later in the global day. The European markets were higher, extending the previous session's rally, and theDow futures indicated a positive start on Wall Street. The dollar rose against the yenbut slipped against the euro to a four-month low after the European Central Banksignaled an interest rate hike as early as April.

Forex Top Story

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Dollar Rallies Versus Yen, Inches Lower Versus Euro The dollar was mixed Friday morning in New York, extending its comeback versus the slumping yen while edging even lower versus the resurgent euro. Markets worldwide were waiting for Labor Department's monthly report on the U.S. employment situation. The report, which is due out at 8:30 am ET, is expected to show the economy generated 180,000 new jobs in February. Still, the unemployment rate is forecast to tick up to 9.1 percent. Considering the European Central Bank's strong indications of a rate hike in April, a decent jobs report could move the Federal Reserve closer to tightening monetary policy here in the U.S. Yesterday's encouraging jobless claims figures raised hopes that February will mark the turning point towards a better jobs market. The dollar rebounded to Y82.72 versus the yen, its highest in two weeks. However, thebuck remained on defense versus other majors, hitting a fresh 4-month low of $1.3976 versus the euro. Early gains evaporated against the sterling, with the dollar trading at around $1.6275 approaching mid-morning. The buck hit a yearly low of $1.6343 on Wednesday. There was little movement for a second day in a row versus Canada's loonie, with thegreenback staying near a 3-year low at three cents below par. The monthly jobs report will likely overshadow the Commerce Department's factory goods figures for January. Economists estimate factory good orders for the month to increase by 2 percent. Canadian Market Reports CADUSD Oil Gold Allbanc TSX Looks To Open Higher Amid Firm Commodities Bay Street stocks may extend gains at open Friday amid firm commodities prices and positive cues from the global equity markets. Also, latest reports from the U.S. revealed that employment increased by more than expected in February. Global equities moved higher after Wall Street closed firm overnight. While most Asian markets ended higher, European stocks were hovering in positive territory. U.S. stock future were pointing to a higher open following sharp gains in the previous session. On Thursday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced to a fresh 2-year peak of 14,214.72, adding 70.70 points or 0.50 percent. The price of crude oil moved up Friday morning amid reports of protests in Saudi Arabia's oil-producing eastern region. Meanwhile, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi sent troops to recapture towns in western Libya. Crude for April was up $1.18 to $103.09 a barrel. The price of gold was ticking higher, with gold for April adding $5.30 to $1,421.70 an ounce. In corporate news from Canada, silver streaming company Silver Wheaton reported over two-fold rise in fourth-quarter net earnings at $123 million or $0.35 per share, compared to $50.8 million or $0.15 per share in prior-year period. Analysts were expecting the company to report earnings of $0.30 per share. The company guides 15 percent production growth in 2011 and announced an inaugural quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per common share. Global energy services company Shawcor Ltd., reported improved fourth quarter net income of C$50.77 million or C$0.71 per share, compared to C$31.52 million or C$0.43 per share in the year ago period. Contract drilling services provider Major Drilling swung to profit in third quarter, reporting net income of C$1.7 million or C$0.07 per share, compared to net loss of C$4.5 million or C$0.19 per share a year ago. Analysts were expecting the company to report earnings of $0.14 per share. Intermediate oil and natural gas firm Legacy Oil + Gas said it plans to spend $254 million in 2011, a 45 percent increase over 2010 capital spending guidance and anticipates a 2011 average production rate of 14,150 Boe per day, representing growth of 59 percent over 2010 guidance. Civil construction contracting company Bird Construction reported lower fourth quarter net income of $8.9 million or $0.63 per share compared to $13 million or $0.93 per share last year. The company boosted its annual dividend by 10 percent to $1.98 per share, up from $1.80 a share earlier. Further, the company's Board of Directors has approved a 3 for 1 stock split to be effected by way of a stock dividend, subject to necessary approvals. In economic news from south of the border, the U.S. Labor Department said payroll employment rose by 192,000 jobs in February following an upwardly revised increase of 63,000 jobs in January. Economists were expecting employment to increase by about 180,000 jobs. Additionally, the unemployment rate slipped to 8.9 percent in February from 9.0 percent in January. The modest decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting the unemployment rate to edge up to 9.1 percent. European Market Reports FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40 Recovery Signs Leading European Stocks Higher Friday  European stocks edged higher Friday morning, and are set to finish a roller coaster week slightly positive if they can hang on to their early gains. Hopes that the global economic recovery is in full swing have given a boost to markets across the continent, even after Europe's top central banker gave strong indications that an interest rate hike is coming in April. The benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro zone blue chippers was up 0.65 percent at 2,988.67 in mid-day action. Factoring in U.K. shares, the Stoxx Europe 50 was up 0.35 percent to 2,691.64. The FTSE 100 index in London gained 0.5% at 6,035.24, Frankfurt's DAX index was 0.6 percent higher at 7,269.86, while Paris's CAC-40 index added 0.22% to 4069.59. Switzerland's SMI Index lagged for a second day, and was little changed from the previous session despite gains from Novartis and Swiss Re. All of the indices were down slightly from their early highs. Markets are waiting on more good news from America in light of yesterday's encouraging U.S. jobless claims report, Christian Falkner of Alpha Securities Trading Bank GmbH told dpa-AFX. U.S. non-farm payrolls for February are expected to increase by 180,000, but the unemployment rate is seen ticking up to 9.1 percent. Among stocks performing particularly well today, Italian banks Unicredit and Sanpaolowere up more than 2 percent each, while Germany's Allianz added 2.5 percent. The world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch was up 1.3 percent, extending yesterday's strong gains. In corporate news, French utility Veolia Environnement SA reported Friday a slight decline in net profit attributable to owners of the company for the year 2010, despite improved revenues and cost reductions. The company's profit outlook disappointed traders, according to dpa-AFX. Shares of Veolia Environnement was down 1.9 in Paris. Irish advertising firm WPP Plc Friday announced preliminary 2010 results, reporting higher profit, driven by revenue growth in all its business segments and regions, along with lower charges. The company also backed its operating margin outlook for 2011 and expects revenue growth to be similar to 2010. Still, WPP shares were down 2.5 percent in London. France's Areva SA reported a surge in profit for the full year 2010, and shares were up 5 percent in Paris. Rio Tinto announced that non-executive directors Rod Eddington and Yves Fortier will be retiring from the boards at the conclusion of the 2011 annual general meetings on May 5, 2011. Rio Tinto stock was up 0.75 percent in London. Dresser-Rand Group Inc., a maker of equipment for the oil and gas industry, said that it has agreed to acquire Spanish diesel engine supplier Grupo Guascor S.L. for an enterprise value of euro 500 million or $690 million in cash and stock. LML Patent Corp., a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of LML Payment Systems Inc.said that it has entered into a settlement and license agreement with HSBC Holdings Plc with respect to a patent litigation filed by LML in a U.S. district court.