- Elena
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
European stocks closed in the positive territory Thursday, supported by U.K. banking stocks after BoE kept interest rates unchanged. The U.K. stocks were boosted by shares of mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester, which rose 1.6%. On the side of the losers, DaimlerChrysler dropped 1.5% and truckmaker Volvo slipped 2.7%, as both traded without rights to the next dividend payment. .K.''s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the French CAC-40 index rose 0.04%, and the German DAX Xetra 30 index climbed 0.4%.
- Elena
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Wall Street traded in a light pre-holiday mood Thursday as investors, awaiting the release of March employment figures, keeping a cautious tone ahead of a three-day weekend. In corporate news, Constellation Brands rose 2.7% after it reported 26% profit increase in Q4. Among decliners, mattress maker Sealy fell 4.7% after it reported 7% profit rise in Q1 on lower prices. Nokia added 1.3%, while Qualcomm slipped 2.6% after Nokia agreed to pay Qualcomm $20 million in Q2 for using its UMTS license.
- Elena
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Wall Street started trading narrowly mixed on Thursday after a three-day winning streak and ahead Friday''s release of key employment data. There was little reaction to the latest initial jobless claims figures, which rose to their highest weekly level. Investors cautiousness was also attributed to the fact that the stock market is closed on Friday for the Easter holiday. In corporate news, Micron Technology fell 1.2% due to disappointing quarterly results, followed by a brokerage downgrade.
- Ivaylo
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
London stocks received a boost on Thursday as the Bank of England chose to keep UK interest rates unchanged. Investors had forecast that the Monetary Policy Committee would raise rates to 5.5%, although a rise in May now is mostly likely. However, there was little corporate news to excite as trading was subdued ahead of the Easter break. A touch lower before the mid-day rate decision, the FTSE 100 was up 10 points to 6,374.7 just after the bank announcement.
- Elena
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stock futures indicated a flat to lower market opening after five straight sessions of gains and ahead of a three-day weekend. Economic data weighed on the sentiment after the Labor Department reported the number of jobless claims increased last week, indicating continued pressure on the economy. Investors were also digesting overseas monetary policy moves and a downgrade of Micron Technology stock.
- Ivaylo
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Asian markets closed mostly lower on Thursday, as Japanese Nikkei average ended lower as investors booked profits on large-cap stocks. Chinese stocks, however, hit a fourth straight record, while Singapore reached new highs for a second session. Markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Philippines were closed for a public holiday.
- Elena
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Constellation Brands, wine and spirits producer and marketer, posted 26% net income increase in Q4, boosted by strong wine sales. Earnings for the fiscal quarter rose to $70.2 million, or 29 cents a share, up from $58.2 million, or 24 cents a share. On a comparable basis, it earned 35 cents a share, above expectations of 34 cents a share.
- Ivaylo
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
The benchmark index opened slightly higher but soon weak global markets sent the market lower. The Sensex rebounded in late trading on firm buying in metal and cement stocks. Tata Steel led the gainers, together with Reliance Energy and Grasim. Dr Reddy
- Ivaylo
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
French aerospace group Safran was in the focus on European markets on Thursday on reports it could merge with defence electronics group Thales. Stocks fell after China decided to reduce bank lending, raising concern investment will slow down. By mid morning, the main indices were lower as caution was the key word ahead of the Easter holiday weekend. Frankfurt Xetra Dax was flat, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.2% and London FTSE 100 was flat.
- Ivaylo
- 05 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Copper futures surged Wednesday, helped by short covering and fund buying. Copper has risen steadily in recent sessions, supported by influences including more demand especially from China, than supply. In precious metals trading, gold ended sharply higher, helped by fund buying. Silver and platinum tracked gold, although palladium remained range-bound and finished with a small loss.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 04 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Markets in New York and Europe were little changed. U.S. employment report showed March gain in private-sector payrolls, slightly below expectations. Commerce Department reported a lower-than-expected increase of 1% in February factory orders. Microsoft rose 2.5%, Monster Worldwide declined 13%, and Jackson Hewitt rose 10%. Latin American and Asian markets rose. Australia kept rates unchaged. Oil fell but stayed above $64 on a deal between the U.S., Iran and Britain on British sailor release.
- 123jump.com Staff
- 04 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Monster Worldwide fell on lowered revenue outlook for the first quarter. Best Buy profit profit in the fourth quarter rose 18.5% but stock fell after rising in the monrning trading. Candle maker Blyth rose on return to profitability. Positive brokerage comments on Microsoft Corp. lent support, with shares of the software maker up 2.3%. General Electric fell 0.5% and Citigroup was down 0.3%.
- Elena
- 04 Apr, 2007
- New York City
Dow component Microsoft moved notably higher after Citigroup raised its U.S. Q3 estimates for the company after a successful launch of Windows Vista, Office 2007, and SharePoint Server by the company. Company''''s stock rose 3%. Altria Group provided further support to the blue-chip average, rising 1%. However, Walt Disney was a notable drag, falling 1%.
- Elena
- 04 Apr, 2007
- New York City
European stocks closed modestly higher on Wednesday, helped by strength among travel and technology stocks which offset some weakness from oil and gas firms. A decline in the shares of DaimlerChrysler also limited the upward movement. The automaker fell 1.5% after Chairman Zetsche confirmed that there are talks with unidentified buyers for Chrysler. The French CAC-40 added 0.5%, the German DAX Xetra 30 index gained 0.4% and the U.K. FTSE 100 finished flat at 6,364.70.
- Elena
- 04 Apr, 2007
- New York City
U.S. stocks traded in a volatile fashion, reflecting weaker-than-expected reports on the service-sector, employment, and on factory orders. The ISM reported that the nation''s service economy expanded at a slower pace in March, with index coming in at 52.4, down from 54.3 in February. Also, factory orders rose by a disappointing 1% in February, below expectations of an increase of 1.9%.