WORLD MARKET UPDATES
https://globaleconomic-trendsanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/world-market-updates_21.html
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With traders reacting positively to the latest batch of earnings news, stocks moved sharply higher at the start of trading on Wednesday. The major averages all showed strong upward moves at the open, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The initial strength in the markets came on the heels of the release of better than expected quarterly results from some big name companies, including semiconductor giant Intel (INTC). Shares of Intel have surged up by 6.1 percent following the release of its results. After the close of trading on Tuesday, Intel reported first quarter adjusted earnings of $0.59 per share on revenues of $12.85 billion, while analysts had expected earnings of $0.46 per share on revenues of $11.59 billion. The company also forecast second quarter revenues of $12.8 billion, plus or minus $500 million. Yahoo (YHOO) is also turning in a strong performance in early trading after the internet media giant reported first quarter earnings that fell to $0.17 per share from $0.22 per share in the year-ago quarter but still came in a penny above analyst estimates. Meanwhile, shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) are moving to the downside even though the company reported better than expected first quarter earnings and revenues. A slew of other big name companies have also released their quarterly results, includingDow components AT&T (T) and United Technologies (UTX). In other corporate news, AES Corp. (AES) announced that it has agreed to acquire DPL Inc. (DPL), the parent company of Dayton Power & Light, for $3.5 billion in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, AES will pay $30 in cash for each share of DPL, representing a nearly 9 percent premium to DPL's closing price on Tuesday. Including the assumption of $1.2 billion in debt, the deal has a total value of $4.7 billion. Semiconductor stocks have moved sharply higher in early trading following the news from Intel, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 3.2 percent. Despite the strong gain, the index remains stuck in a recent trading range. Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the upside, with significant strengthvisible among electronic storage, metal, wireless, and oil stocks. While the major averages have not seen much follow-through on their initial upward moves, they remain firmly positive. The Dow is currently up 161.82 points or 1.3 percent at 12,428.57, the Nasdaq is up 46.96 points or 1.7 percent at 2,791.93 and the S&P 500 is up 16.11 points or 1.2 percent at 1,328.73. | |||||||||||||
European Market Reports | |||||||||||||
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European Markets Rally; Chipmakers Gain The European markets are rallying in afternoon trading Wednesday, as optimism generated by positive earnings reports from the U.S. encouraged risk appetite. Chipmakers are seeing notable gains on the strength of quarterly numbers announced by U.S.-based Intel. Oil companies, miners and automakers are witnessing upside. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro zone blue chippers is surging 2.17 percent, while theStoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 1.58 percent. The German DAX is surging 2.70 percent, the French CAC 40 is rising 2.42 percent, and the UK'S FTSE 100 is adding 2.12 percent. Switzerland's SMI is rising 1.79 percent. Chipmaker Infineon Technologies is adding 3.8 percent in Frankfurt,STMicroelectronics is rising 6 percent in France and Arm Holdings is adding 4.1 percent in London. German car manufacturers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are surging between 3.1 percent and 1.6 percent. Truckmaker MAN is adding 2.4 percent. ThyssenKrupp is gaining 2.5 percent. JPMorgan raised its price target on the stock to 39 euros from 34 euros, dpa-AFX said. ADVA Optical Networking is declining about 9 percent after the company reported unimpressive results. WestLB lowered the stock to "Sell" and reduced the price target to 5.63 euros from 7.04 euros, dpa-AFX said. The fiber optic cable specialist's results were disappointing, analyst Thomas Langer said. Peugeot is up 4.5 percent in Paris after reporting higher sales for the first quarter. Rival carmaker Renault is rising 1.6 percent. Luxury goods giant LVMH is rising 2.1 percent. Barclays raised its price target on the stock to 130 euros from 125 euros, dpa-AFX said. In London, miners Xstrata, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and BHP Billiton are gaining between 3.5 percent and 2.4 percent. Oil firms Royal Dutch Shell and BP are gaining 3.6 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. Outside the FTSE 100 index, DS Smith is adding 6.9 percent after the company said the year to April 30 is progressing in line with expectations. Home Retail is up 5.1 percent after reporting full-year results. Dutch brewer Heineken is dropping about 1.3 percent in Amsterdam after reporting first-quarter results. In economic news, Germany's producer price inflation slowed to 6.2 percent in March from 6.4 percent in February, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The consensus forecast called for an annual rate of 6.6 percent. The Bank of England minutes showed that six members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to retain the key interest rate at 0.5 percent in April, while three members preferred a rate hike. As in February and March, Andrew Sentance, Spencer Dale and Martin Weale sought an increase in the key interest rate. Across Asia/Pacific, most major markets ended notably higher. Australia's All Ordinaries gained 1.35 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 added 1.76 percent. China'sShanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.29 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, theDow rose 0.5 percent, the Nasdaq climbed 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.6 percent. Among commodities, crude for June delivery is rising $1.28 to $109.56 per barrel and June gold is adding $10 to $1505.1 a troy ounce. | |||||||||||||
Asia Market Reports | |||||||||||||
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Indian Market Gains Strength Signs of growth in advanced economies, data showing the fastest annual growth inIndia's exports for FY11 and a forecast by the nation's Meteorological Department that India will have normal monsoon rains for the second year running lifted the Indian market sharply higher on Wednesday. While global cues remained supportive, a surge in global oil prices to near $110 a barrel in late Singapore trading went largely unnoticed. Ending near the day's high at 19,471, the 30-share BSE Sensex added about 350 points or 1.83 percent while the 50-share Nifty climbed 111 points or 1.93 percent to 5,852. Second-line stocks saw relatively modest price gains and the market breadth remained extremely positive, with about 2 shares gaining for every share that declined on the BSE.Auto, IT, metal, consumer durable, banking and FMCG stocks were among the prominent gainers. Utility vehicles manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra climbed over 5 percent on launching a new 15 HP tractor. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motorsrose by 1-4 percent on expectations of a surge in rural demand after the IMD forecast a normal monsoon for the second consecutive year. However, Hero Honda Motors lost 1.87 percent on going ex-dividend for a Rs.70 dividend per share. HCL Technologies soared 10 percent after the software services firm reported robust Q3 earnings and forecast improvement in margins in the April-June quarter. Infosys edged up 0.65 percent, TCS climbed 4.63 percent ahead of its results tomorrow and Wipro closed up 3 percent. In the metal pack, NALCO, Sterlite, Tata Steel, SAIL, JSW Steel and Hindalco Industries rose by 1-4 percent as metals prices advanced. Jindal Steel and Powerrose 2.39 percent after it launched a takeover offer to buy all outstanding shares of Australian coal-mining company Rocklands Richfield. FMCG stocks such as ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Colgate Palmolive gained between 1.5 percent and 3.2 percent as a normal monsoon forecast this year strengthened the prospects of higher farm output and rural income. In the oil/gas sector, heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 1.72 percent after oil regulator Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons directed the company to re-work its production strategy in KG-D6 gas fields. Cairn India closed up 1.38 percent, a day afterVedanta Group bought a 10.4 percent stake in the company. Among banking stocks, SBI rose 2.28 percent after it hiked lending rates by 25 basis points. Private sector lender ICICI Bank advanced 1.92 percent and rival HDFC Bankclosed up 1.39 percent. Yes Bank added 2.24 percent after its Jan-March quarter net profit rose 45 percent from a earlier, beating forecasts. Reliance Infrastructure rose 1.76 percent after it commissioned three new extra high-voltage substations in the western suburbs of Mumbai. Tata Power gained 1.62 percent after it raised $450 million via issue of hybrid dollar bonds. Lloyds Steel rallied 5 percent on the buzz that promoters of Uttam Galva are close to acquiring the company. Suzlon jumped 5.71 percent and Areva T & D India closed up 1.58 percent on winning new orders. Unitech (down 5.48 percent), Reliance Communication (down 1.48 percent) and DB Realty (down 2.71 percent) closed subdued after a special CBI court in New Delhi rejected the bail plea of five top telecom officials allegedly involved in the 2G scam case. Container Corporation of India plunged nearly 5 percent on reporting a 17 percent rise in quarterly net profit. Power Finance Corporation tumbled 3.56 percent on posting tepid Q4 earnings. Elsewhere, the MSCI Asia Pacific index rose nearly 2 percent today, as a strong close on Wall Street overnight on the back of some encouraging economic and earnings reports, upbeat results from technology bellwethers, including Intel, Yahoo and IBM, and strength in metals prices boosted sentiment. The European averages such as London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France'sCAC 40 were up over 2 percent each as upbeat results from companies such as PSA Peugeot Citroen and L'Oreal SA and encouraging economic data from the U.S. and Europe bolstered investor confidence in the global economic recovery. The U.S. stock futures climbed, while the dollar weakened against the euro as risk appetite improved. | |||||||||||||
Forex Top Story | |||||||||||||
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Euro Extends 16-Month Peak Versus Dollar As Global Stocks Surge The euro surged to its highest in more than a year versus the dollar on Wednesday, after a spectacular quarter from tech giant Intel highlighted an encouraging earnings season. A number of major corporations have reported strong profits and raised forecasts, driving appetite for riskier currencies through the roof. With stocks soaring in most major markets, the euro, aussie, and Canadian dollar all reached long-term highs against the struggling U.S. dollar. Traders shrugged off figures showing Germany's producer price inflation slowed to 6.2 percent in March from 6.4 percent in February. On a monthly comparison, producer prices also rose at a slower pace of 0.4 percent in March, following February's 0.7 percent growth. Still, the European Central Bank will likely hike interest rates again before the Federal Reserve thinks about tightening monetary here in the U.S. The euro rose to $1.4546 versus the dollar, its highest since January 2010. The euro began this year near $1.33. U.S. mortgage applications rose last week, as potential buyers scrambled to apply for government loans before an increase in FHA insurance premiums kicked in, industry data showed Wednesday. Mortgage applications increased 5.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 15. The euro pared recent losses versus the yen this morning, rising to Y120.40. A similar pattern was witnessed against the sterling, with the euro rising to GBP 0.8877. In other news from Europe, the Swedish central bank boosted its key benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to combat inflation.
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