- Ivaylo
- 17 May, 2007
- New York City
European markets advanced in early trading on Thursday, with U.K. insurer Prudential leading gainers on talk that it may be bought out and by conglomerates including Siemens and Philips Electronics. Volumes were low in Europe with many traders on vacation for the Ascension Day holiday. The U.K. FTSE 100 gain 0.3%, the German DAX 30 advanced 0.5% and the French CAC 40 improved 0.4%.
- Ivaylo
- 17 May, 2007
- New York City
Gold and silver futures plunged Wednesday, pulled down by the firmer U.S. dollar and technical selling. The most-active July copper contract dipped also injured by the the stronger dollar, news about a decline in building permits and chart-based factors. On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybean futures closed sharply higher after climbing to 6-week highs on aggressive fund buying interest.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks advanced after billionaire investors Buffett, Lampert and Carl Icahn increased their holdings of drug companies, banks and railroads. Bausch & Lomb jumped 9% after it agreed to be acquired by Warburg Pincus for $65 per share. Agile Software rose 13% on agreement to be bought by Oracle for $495 million. Applied Materials slid 3.4% after forecasting flat sales in third quarter. Brazilian currency rose on debt rating upgrade. HP reported earnings fall of 7% on revenue gain of 13%.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks advanced mainly on a mixed reading on the housing sector that had briefly helped send stocks lower. Citigroug rose 4% after billionaire hedge fund manager Ed Lampert said he acquired more than 15 million shares of the financial services conglomerate. Dell Inc. rose 4.2%.
- Elena
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
European stock markets closed in the negative territory on Wednesday, pressured by weakness among airlines stocks as well as mixed earnings from Credit Agricole and Vivendi. Air France-KLM dropped 2.1% after UBS downgraded the company to neutral from buy. Shares in the French Credit Agricole slipped 4.1%, while Vivendi shares rose 1.1%. The U.K. FTSE 100 edged down 0.1%, the French CAC-40 declined 0.2%, and the German DAX Xetra 30 lost 0.3%.
- Elena
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
In late morning trading, U.S. stocks reversed from earlier gains made on the back of better-than-expected economic data. The Commerce Department said that construction of homes and apartments rose 2.5% in April, while a Fed report showed that industrial output rebounded by 0.7% in April. While the Dow and the Nasdaq traded below the flat line, the S&P 500 managed to remain in positive territory on strong gains by Compuware and Bausch & Lomb, rising 12.2% and 8%, respectively.
- Elena
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
Compuware surged 14.5% after it reported 20% earnings increase in Q4. Jack in The Box was another earnings-related gainer, rising 3.6% after posting better-than-expected profit rise of 25% as revenue grew 6.8% to $660.7 million. Deere & Co. declined 1.8% on the back of 16% drop in Q2 earnings. Arcelor Mittal fell 1.2% after it reported 40% increase in Q1 profit on 17% higher sales. The company also projected higher Q2 earnings, driven by higher prices.
- Elena
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks advanced at opening on Wednesday, reflecting mixed housing data, speculation about Citigroup and a cautious outlook at chip-equipment maker Applied Materials. Dow component Citigroup jumped 3% after hedge-fund manager disclosed he bought more than 15 million shares in the bank. Tech stocks were pressured by Applied Materials which fell 4.6% after forecasting flat Q3 sales and up to a 15% drop in orders. Rival chip equipment makers KLA-Tencor fell 2.1% and Lam Research slipped 2.7%.
- Elena
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher on Wednesday. Pre-market sentiment was supported by Citigroup which rose 1.7% after a hedge-fund manager bought the stock, but a cautious outlook at chip-equipment maker Applied Materials weighed, sending the stock down 4.2%. The Commerce Department posted mixed housing data, as U.S. home builders pulled back on filing for permits to build homes in April, but housing starts advanced.
- Ivaylo
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
Asian markets finished higher on Wednesday with Japanese shares advancing despite drops from its building sector, while gains in large-cap stocks pushed Hong Kong slightly higher. Financial companies and makers of alcoholic beverages aidded Chinese recovery from losses yesterday. Australia, South Korea and Singapore also finished in positive territory.
- Elena
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
The eye-care company announced on Wednesday that it agreed to be acquired by affiliates of private equity firm Warburg Pincus in a deal worth $4.5 billion. The acquisition deal includes about $830 million in debt. Under the terms of agreement, affiliates of Warburg Pincus will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Bausch & Lomb common stock for $65 a share in cash. The stock jumped 9.5% in pre-market trading.
- Ivaylo
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
A weak real estate sector and poorly received update from fashion retailer Next has offset gains from miners and strong figures from Compass on Wednesday, sending the benchmark index a slightly lower. The FTSE recovered from earlier losses by mid-day after the the Bank of England indicated that inflation would decline later in the year. The FTSE 100 fell 5 points, 0.1%, to 6,564.4.
- Ivaylo
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
The benchmark index traded firm throughout the day on strong performances from banking, telecom, media and property stocks. Trading intensified toward the end of the session when a rally in Reliance Industries boosted the market. SBI, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors all advanced sharply. Hero Honda, Infosys and TCS led the decliners. Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya has bought the Scottish whisky distiller Whyte & Mackay.
- Ivaylo
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
Losses for banking stocks sent European stock markets lower on Wednesday, paring gains for oil stocks and carmakers. Banks dipped, led by Credit Agricole after the French lender reported first-quarter net profit that failed to meet market forecasts. In mid morning trade, Frankfurt Xetra Dax lost 0.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.2% and London FTSE 100 was flat.
- Ivaylo
- 16 May, 2007
- New York City
World raw sugar futures sank to 2-year lows on the New York Board of Trade Tuesday on funds selling positions amid raising estimates for world surplus this year, with big crops anticipated in Brazil, India and other nations. Precious metals settled up, with only palladium bucking the trend. In energy stocks, all ended on a positive note, except for natural gas which slumped.