- Ivaylo
- 21 May, 2007
- New York City
European markets were mixed in mid-morning trade on Monday as attention was draw to the developments in the Italian banking sector. Acciona of Spain enjoyed strong gains as investors warmed to its transformation story. In Germany the Xetra Dax added 15.6 points or 0.2% but in Paris, the French CAC 40 fell 16.5 points, or 0.3%, and the U.K. FTSE 100 index inched down 0.2%.
- Ivaylo
- 21 May, 2007
- New York City
Short covering sent gold and silver futures higher on Friday recovering some of the ground they lost earlier in the week. Crude oil settled higher, bucking the downtrend in the energy stocks. Arabica coffee and raw sugar also finished lower, while cocoa advanced. Wheat plunged as prices got caught in a seasonal slump heading into harvest.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
Deal activity pushed the U.S. stocks up. GE is close to an agreement to sell its plastics division for almost $11 billion to Saudi Basic Industries. Microsoft announced a $6 billion deal to buy aQuantive. China raised interest rates and widened trading band for Yuan. Coal miners and oil refiners continued their climb as oil hovered near $65 per barrel. Fording Canadian jumped 7% and Carnival rose 4%. Goldman Sachs market cap cross $100 billion for the first time.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks rose on takeovers. Investors speculated that a sale of General Electric plastics unit may bring more than $11 billion. Intuit jumped 13% after the software maker said its third-quarter profit rose 23%. CalAmp fourth-quarter net earnings declined. Fording Canadian Coal Trust rose 7% on expectations of increases in shipment. Peabody and Sasol rose on steady rise in stocks in the coal and energy sector. Carnival Cruise gained 4%.
- Elena
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
European stock markets closed notably higher on Friday, hitting new multi-year highs on the back of extended rally in the energy sector and U.S. gains, generated by merger activity. Oil giants Royal Dutch Shell, Total and BP all posted gains above 2%. Shares of Bayer AG rose 3.5% on reports that the GE plastics unit could be sold for nearly $11 billion. The German DAX 30 rose 1.4%, the French CAC 40 advaced 1.2%, and the U.K. FTSE 100 rose 0.9%.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
Takeover news and stronger-than-expected reading on consumer sentiment drove U.S. market averages higher. Trump Entertainment climbed 19% after the casino and hotel operator said it received indications that would-be suitors show interest in buying the company. In earnings news, Intuit rose 13% after the software maker reported 23% profit increase in Q3. The company posted better-than-expected full-year outlook.
- Elena
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
General Electric advanced 1.8% amid reports that it is close to a deal to sell its plastics division for nearly $11 billion to Saudi Basic Industries Corp. Trump Entertainment rose 19% after the casino and hotel operator said it received indications that would-be suitors show interest in buying the company.
- Elena
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
Wall Street gained ground on Friday, boosted by takeover activity including a Microsoft Corp. acquisition of online advertising firm Aquantive and a potential divestiture by General Electric Co. Shares of Aquantive surged 77% in early trading, while Microsoft lost 1.2%. GE advanced 1% amid reports that it is close to a deal to sell its plastics division for nearly $11 billion to Saudi Basic Industries Corp. Again in the Dow, Intel jumped 2.3% after Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock.
- Ivaylo
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
The UK market hit a near seven-year high on Friday as oil stocks surged and Cadbury Schweppes advanced on a report that private equity groups are putting together an 8 billion pounds offer for its US beverages arm. As Brent oil prices remained steady at $70 a barrel, oil large-caps continued to make gains. The FTSE 100 was up 40.2 points to trade at 6,619.5.
- Elena
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a rebound after Thursday''s losses, with General Electric expected to announce the sale of a subsidiary and Dow member Verizon Communications moving 1.6% higher after Citigroup upgraded its stock to buy from sell. GE added 1% in pre-market trading on reports that it is close to a deal to sell its plastics division for nearly $11 billion to Saudi Basic Industries.
- Ivaylo
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
Asian markets closed mostly lower Friday, as Tokyo retreated after a sharp decline in copper prices overnight and data showing a drop in Japanese steel exports for March. Sumitomo Metal Mining, the largest nickel miner in Japan, declined the most in almost seven weeks, while BHP Billiton., the world biggest mining company, also tumbled. All major markets in the region ended in negative territory.
- Elena
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
Microsoft announced Friday an agreement to acquire Aquantive in an all-cash deal, valuing the company at approximately $6 billion. Microsoft offered to buy the shares of the digital marketing technology provider at $66.50 each, a healthy premium to Thursday''s close at $35.87. The transactions is expected to complete in the first half of fiscal 2008.
- Ivaylo
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
The benchmark index was highly volatile Friday, opening with a negative bias on weak global markets. IT stocks helped the index regain lost territory at noon, but it was banking stocks which performed the best in late trading. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank led the advancers, while Bajaj Auto led the decliners. Reliance Industries hit a record high. The wholesale inflation this week was lower than last week.
- Ivaylo
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
European markets reached six-and-a-half-year highs on Friday as merger talk drove advances in the oil sector, while aerospace group EADS was boosted by rumours of the sale of a stake. Oil stocks were higher, both by crude prices surging back towards $70 a barrel, and by merger talk between Royal Dutch Shell and BP. By late morning, Frankfurt Xetra Dax added 0.8%, the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.8% and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.8%.
- Ivaylo
- 18 May, 2007
- New York City
A combination of bearish fundamental influences came together and weighed on copper futures Thursday. According to investors, the market is entering a period when demand tends to slow on a seasonal basis. Much of the building wire and other copper-related products used for the U.S. construction season is purchased in the spring. Some of the pressure on gold and silver spilled over from the second straight day of sharp drops in copper prices.