DOW, NASDAQ, S&P Futures

Dow Jones -24.00

NASDAQ -4.50

S&P 500 -3.10 1456.7

at the time of posting

US Market plunges on hedge fund woes

Worries about financial health of hedge funds and a near $70 crude hit stocks

A near $70 crude and worries about the health of hedge funds slammed US stocks today (Friday, 22 June, 2007). Renewed concerns about the impact of the subprime mortgage market prompted a major sell-off among US stocks. The annual rebalancing of the Russell indexes exacerbated the broad-based move to the downside.

Of all the 10 sectors finishing lower, Financials led the way. Selling remained the name of the game going into the closing bell. Growing fears following the subprime fallout at Bear Stearns led Investment Banks as today's worst performing S&P industry group.

All but one of 30 Dow stocks closed lower for the day. Twenty-two Dow stocks had losses of greater than 1%. The Dow Jones Industrials lost a whopping 185.58 points to close at 13360.26. Tech heavy Nasdaq shed 28 points to close at 2588.96. S&P 500 closed lower by 19.63 points at 1,502.56.

Du-Pont was the sole Dow winner. Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Intel and Caterpillar were the major Dow laggards today.

The Dow is down 1.9% for the week. The S&P 500 is down 2% and the Nasdaq shed 1.4%.

But the widely anticipated IPO of The Blackstone Group got a warm reception amid the sell-off in today’s market. Its stock opened up about 18% at $36.45 and ended with a 13% gain. The offering raised $4.13 billion by pricing at the top of its estimated range as the sixth-richest IPO in U.S. history.

Microsoft’s 2% fall pushes Tech to the wall

When market opened in the morning, stocks opened lower across the board as rising interest rates continued to act as an overhang as the 10-year yield at 5.19% remained a concern for the economic outlook.

The market saw a brief afternoon reprieve after Bear Stearns said that all liquidations of assets from its two struggling hedge funds, which are tied to the distressed subprime mortgage market, would be put on hold.

Of all the 10 languishing sectors down more than 1% on the session, the biggest three disappointments were Financials, Technology and Health Care.

The benchmark 10-year bond reversed early losses to finish up 12/32 at 95 3/32, while its yield dropped to 5.141%.

Technology was a weak spot for the broader market for the entire day. A 1.7% decline in Microsoft made the situation even more difficult. Chip maker PMC-Sierra plunged 3.8% following reports that it will be removed from the S&P 500 next Friday.

Crude just below $70 on Nigeria strike

Crude oil futures strengthened today after the government of Nigeria failed to reach an agreement with unions to end a three-day-old general strike in the largest oil-producing country in Africa.

As per latest reports, yesterday, oil unions withdrew workers from export terminals in a bid to halt shipments. Nigerian unions increased pressure on the new government in the third day of the strike, protesting increases in taxes and fuel prices. Nigeria, a member of OPEC produced about 2.3 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2006.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for August delivery closed at $69.14/barrel (higher by $0.49/barrel or 0.71%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 0.9% this week and are down 2.4% from a year ago.

Trading volumes showed 2.6 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange and 2.7 billion shares traded on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues topped gainers by 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by 20 to 9 on the Nasdaq.

The Federal Reserve will meet on Wednesday and Thursday next week to discuss the economy and interest rates. Among earnings reports expected, Oracle, RIMM and General Mills are the big names.

Stocks End Lower on Investor Worries

Wall Street ended a volatile week with a sharp decline Friday as investors again succumbed to nervousness about souring subprime loans and rising interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 185 points.

The steep pullback coming a day after a respectable gain was characteristic of the erratic sessions Wall Street has endured in recent weeks as it dealt with concerns ranging from interest rates to the health of hedge funds to, more recently, the prospects of unfavorable legislation from Washington.

Friday's session, unusually devoid of economic or earnings data, began with a focus on the initial public offering of a stake in the management arm of Blackstone Group LP. The most talked-about IPO since Google Inc. went public saw the buyout shop's stock open well above the $31 a share at which it had been priced late Thursday. The stock rose $4.15, or 13.4 percent, to $35.15. Enthusiasm over Blackstone wasn't broad enough to prop up the markets, however.

The Dow fell 185.58, or 1.37 percent, to 13,360.26. On Thursday, stocks had fluctuated before ending higher, with the Dow recovering 56 points following a 146-point tumble on Wednesday.

Broader stock indicators also dropped sharply Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.63, or 1.29 percent, to 1,502.56, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 28.00, or 1.07 percent, to 2,588.96.

The week was a rough one on the stock market. The Dow lost 2.1 percent, while the S&P 500 fell 2 percent and Nasdaq lost 1.4 percent.

Stocks, which had risen in the past 13 Fridays, lost ground even as bond yields fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 5.14 percent from 5.20 percent late Thursday. The dollar fell against most other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude rose 49 cents to $69.14 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Investors have been grappling with concerns about whether the economy will heat up and prompt the Federal Reserve to put off cutting, or perhaps even raising, interest rates. Also, concerns about the health of Bear Stearns hedge funds involved with subprime loans, those made to people with poor credit, have weighed on the markets.

In addition, news from Washington has shown some lawmakers are impatient with some of the vast sums Wall Street investors have generated and could look to tamp down big payouts with higher taxes. Several House Democrats on Friday proposed an increase to the taxes paid by those who manage hedge funds and private-equity companies.

Bill Schultz, chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates, contends the pullback in stocks isn't unexpected given the sizable gains Wall Street has seen. Even with Friday's losses, the Dow is up 7.2 percent for the year, while the S&P 500 is higher by 5.9 percent and the Nasdaq is up 7.2 percent.

"There's a point where you need to see a pause before people get excited again. Do you commit at this point or do you wait for a pullback? There's a sense that maybe we may be a little bit overextended here," he said.

Friday's session brought added volatility for some stocks as the Russell indexes implemented changes, adding and subtracting some names. The changes can stir some unusual trading activity as investments that track the index try to square their holdings with the latest look of an index.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 5.06, or 0.60 percent, to 834.75.

Neil Massa, senior trader at MFC Global Investment Management, contends stocks were showing volatility Friday in part because of the rebalancing of the Russell indexes. Even the moves among some smallcap companies can affect larger stocks, he said, as investors jockey for positions.

"I think it spills over and I think this is a little healthy pullback from the highs we've been seeing," he said.

The session comes ahead of a busy week in which the Federal Reserve meets and in which investors will receive several readings on the housing sector and the final report on economic growth in the first quarter with release of the gross domestic product.

In corporate news, Jabil Circuit Inc., a contract electronics manufacturer, rose $1.93, or 9.1 percent, to $23.13 after its fiscal third-quarter profit excluding items such as restructuring costs topped Wall Street's estimate.

Cognos Inc., a software maker and technology consultant, forecast a fiscal second-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The stock fell 52 cents to $39.10.

Taser International Inc., the stungun maker, rose 80 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $13.43 after a court dismissed a lawsuit alleging the company's product resulted in an accidental death.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a heavy 2.62 billion shares, compared with 1.6 billion traded Thursday.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.28 percent, while the sometimes-volatile Shanghai Composite Exchange fell 3.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.43 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.19 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.11 percent

US Market stages a comeback

A $70 below crude and upgrade on semiconductor stocks act as the main fuel for today’s rally

After an entire day of volatile trading, US Market, closed higher today (Thursday, 21June, 2007). Lower crude prices and a better-than-expected report on manufacturing from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank helped offset the rise in bond yields that had pulled down market yesterday. Bond yields stabilized today.

Dow traded within a 165 point range during the day and was down by 90 points before staging a recovery. Nine out of ten economic sectors posted gains today with Energy leading the way. Technology too was a bright spot today.

Sixteen out of 30 Dow stocks closed higher for the day. The Dow Jones industrials finished the day with a 56 point gain to 13,545.46. The Nasdaq rose a healthy 17 points to 2,616.96. S&P 500 closed up 9.4 points to 1,522.19.

Exxon Mobil, Boeing, CoCo-Cola and American Express were the major Dow winners today. Wal-Mart, Mc Donalds, Honeywell, P&G and Verizon were the main Dow laggards.

During the lunch hours, the day’s only economic data hit the wires. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's index of manufacturing activity jumped to 18 in the month of June, up from 4.2 in May. That was its strongest growth since April 2005, and came in well above analysts' expectations for a reading of 9.

Upgrade on Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia give Technology the boost

When market opened in the morning, stocks opened relatively flat. The indices were extending their reach to the downside as the bulk of early leadership was negative. Of the eight economic sectors trading lower, Financials led the way.

Interest-rate concerns and possible spillover from the near collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds continued to act as an overhang for Financials.

But further appreciation in Technology fueled by a rally in chip stocks during pre-lunch hours led to a recovery effort among the indices. The Financials sector also nearly halved its decline and this coupled with turnarounds in Health Care and Consumer Staples also contributed to the market's improved stance.

In the post lunch hours, though the indices were off their highs but buyers remained in control of the afternoon's action. Semiconductor Equipment and Semiconductors were among the day's top performers following analyst upgrades of Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia and these sectors gave Technology the required boost.

Traders to eye Treasury market action for tomorrow

There was some M&A related news also in the market today. Equity Inns is going private for $2.2 bln and Luxottica Group agrees to buy Oakley for $2.1 bln. As per latest reports, GE and Pearson have opted out of bid for Dow Jones.

Crude oil futures further slipped today and closed 21 cents lower as against yesterday. It was first full day of trading for the August contract. Crude continued to slip on yesterday’s weekly report on unexpected surge in crude inventories. Lack of any evidence about the impact of Nigerian strike also led traders stop worrying a bit and prices relaxed.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for August delivery closed at $68.65/barrel (lower by $0.21/barrel or 0.3%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract retreated from an earlier peak of $69.85 reached earlier in the day. Prices are down 2.4% from a year ago. Yesterday, August crude had closed down 68 cents at $68.86.

Trading volumes showed 1.603 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 2.037 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Gaining issues topped decliners by 17 to 14 on the NYSE and by 15 to 14 on the Nasdaq.

For tomorrow, investors will look for trading in Treasury market to set the tone for the day’s trading as no economic data and earnings report is expected tomorrow.

A dismal day for US Market

Higher interest rate and hedge fund worries lead to a triple digit fall for Dow even as crude falls

US Market, today (Wednesday, June 20, 2007) witnessed a huge fall as stocks stumbled mainly in the final hour of trading. Morgan Stanley’s stupendous earnings report, lower crude prices and a buy back news from Home Depot failed to check the sliding stocks as investors once again became worried about the rising interest rate. News of Bear Sterns shutting two of its big hedge funds just made the situation further worse.

Twenty four of the 30 Dow stocks retreated back into red in the final hour of trading while going into close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by a huge 146 points to close at 13489.42. Nasdaq slipped by 26.8 points to close at 2599.96. S&P 500 ended the day shedding 20.96 points to close at 1512.84.

Home-Depot, P&G and GM were the major Dow winners today. Exxon Mobil, Mc Donalds and JP Morgan Chase were the main Dow laggards. Without any sectoral leadership, all ten economic sectors ended lower with energy leading the way.

Rising bond yields have pressured the stock market over the past couple of weeks. Investors started worrying today after yield on the 10-year Treasury note started moving higher just after lunch hours and the yield hit as high as 5.142% before slipping back to 5.12%.

Home-Depot shares today surged 4.6% after the home-improvement announced it would buy back up to $22.5 billion of its own shares. The news comes a day after the company decided to sell its supply business for $10.3 billion.

Morgan Stanley announces blowing earnings report - drops 0.5% after rising 4%

When market opened in the morning, all the three indices were in green with Dow getting a major boost from Home-Depot.

The financial sector and the broad market also got a boost after Morgan Stanley said second-quarter earnings were up 40% from the year earlier, widely beating analysts estimates. Its shares rose by almost 4% at first, but ultimately closed down 0.5%.

But the strength from Home-Depot was not strong enough to lift the broader market which was down by a weak energy sector and the underperformance of the financial and health care sectors. REITs are the main pocket of weakness in the financial sector.

Among other earnings news, both FedEx and Circuit City had disappointing reports.

But after a brief period of time, the indices started paring their gains. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that two big hedge funds run by Bear Stearns were close to being shut down as a rescue plan fell apart. Shares of Bear Stearns dropped 2.5%. This fuelled the selling activity further and indices just plummeted in the final couple of hours of trading.

Home Depot’s boost not sufficient enough to keep Dow in green

Crude oil futures slipped today and fell to almost $68/bbl after Energy Department was out with its weekly inventory report where it showed unexpected surge in crude inventories for the week ended 15 June. The expiration of the July contract at the trading session's close also likely exaggerated the moves in crude prices today.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $68.19/barrel (lower by $0.91/barrel or 1.3%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract retreated from an earlier peak of $69 to trade as low as $67.35. As per today’s weekly inventory report, crude supplies climbed 6.9 million barrels for the week ended 15 June and stood at 349.3 million barrels. This was much above expectations (unchanged to 1 million barrel surge was expected).

Trading volumes showed 1.672 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 2.034 billion on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues topped gainers by more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by 21 to 8 on the Nasdaq.

For tomorrow, investors will look for economic data to help set the tone of trading. The weekly Initial Claims report is expected to hit the wires at 8:30 ET. It will be followed by Leading Indicators and the Philadelphia Fed index after market opens in the morning.

US Market registers small gain

Housing report and higher crude prices try to put a brake on stocks

US stocks registered small gains today after yield on the 10-year note continued to drop and crude prices remained above $69/bbl. It was mainly because of GE and IBM that Dow posted a modest gain.

Nineteen of the 30 Dow stocks closed higher for the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 22.44 points at 13635.42. Nasdaq closed marginally up by 0.16 points to close at 2626.76. S&P 500 ended the day up by 2.65 points to close at 1533.7.

GE, IBM and Verizon were the major Dow winners today. GE shares soared a 5 year high to $39.29 (3.2% gain). GE accounted for 11 point gain of Dow while IBM’s 1.1% rise accounted for another 9 point gain of Dow.

Before market opened today, the Commerce Dept reported that starts of new U.S. homes fell by 2.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.47 million in May, as building permits for new construction rose 3% to 1.50 million on a jump in multifamily dwellings. The figures were slightly stronger than market expectations.

Best Buy misses Wall Street Expectations, shares slip 5.8%

When market opened in the morning, it was a sluggish start for the major indices which edged lower at the start of trading. After lingering around the flat line for most part of the day, Dow went up by almost 20 points in the final hour of trading, mainly led by GE.

The bond market, where prices have come under pressure and yields have spiked over the past couple of weeks, failed to react much to the latest housing news. The yield on 10 year Treasury notes finished at 5.08%.

Led by GE and the airline stocks, the industrials sector was the best-performing sector today. Conversely, consumer staples were the worst-performing.

Home-Depot shares today rose almost 1% after reports that it has agreed to sell its building supply unit for $10 billion.

Best Buy was a notable laggard today after coming up shy of second quarter earnings estimates and issuing full-year EPS guidance that fell below the consensus estimate. Best Buy shares slipped by almost 6%.

Eyes will be on retailers as Circuit City announces earnings report

Crude oil futures were steady today ahead of tomorrow’s weekly inventory report by Energy Department but still remained above the $69/bbl mark. But concerns still persisted about Nigerian unions planning a strike this week, threatening supplies from Africa's biggest oil producer. As per latest reports, the strike is going ahead tomorrow.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $69.10/barrel (higher by $0.01/barrel or 0.01%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract touched $69.56 during intra day trading. Prices are down just 1% from a year ago.

Trading volumes showed 1.4 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.9 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Gaining issues topped decliners by 19 to 13 on the NYSE and by 15 to 13 on the Nasdaq.

Companies that are expected to report their earnings on tomorrow include Circuit City, Morgan Stanley and FedEx. The Energy Department's weekly oil report will hit the wires at 10:30 ET.

A lackluster day for US Market

Stocks lose steam going into close as crude kisses $69 mark

US market witnessed a lackluster trading session today without any major catalyst rocking the market. Surprisingly, all the three indices ended in red in spite of the yield on the 10-year note dropping back to 5.14%. New concerns about subprime lending further made stocks stumble.

A report in a London paper that BHP Billiton is believed to be reconsidering a $40 billion bid for Dow component Alcoa cheered investors for a little time as oil prices kissing the $69/bbl mark pulled out steam from the stocks going into close.

Almost half of the 30 Dow stocks retreated into red in the final trading hour today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 26.5 points at 13612.98. Nasdaq slipped marginally by 0.11 points to close at 2626.6 and S&P 500 went down by 1.86 points to close at 1531.05.

Alcoa, Caterpillar, Walt-Disney and Coco-Cola were the major Dow winners today. Boeing, Honeywell and P&G were the main Dow laggards.

Among other merger related news, General Electric is reportedly pairing up with Financial Times publisher, Pearson to make an offer for Dow Jones.

New data shows continuing deterioration in the housing market

When market opened in the morning, the indices were sporting modest gains despite a lack of concerted leadership. Dow was up by almost 13 points at one point.

But within one hour of trading, the indices reversed their course of action and Dow remained in the red for major part of the day. Nasdaq, though crossed the flat line a couple of times, also slipped into red going into close.

New data showed continuing deterioration in the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders said the outlook for home building is the worst in 16 years. The builders' housing market index fell by two points to 28 in June, the lowest since February 1991.

The yield on the 10-year note stood at 5.17% during the first half of the day after hitting 5.14% earlier in the morning.

Energy was the best-performing sector today due to the jump in oil prices. Technology and Financials were mixed.

Yahoo shares up 8% on CEO resignation

Crude oil futures rose substantially today to their highest levels since September 2006. crude oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $69.09/barrel (higher by $1.09/barrel or 1.6%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down just 1.1% from a year ago.

Crude prices surpassed $69/bbl on news that Nigerian unions planned a strike this week, threatening supplies from Africa's biggest oil producer. The strike is called for 20 June to protest increases in taxes and domestic fuel prices.

Trading volumes showed 1.206 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.732 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues topped gainers by 17 to 15 on the NYSE and by 15 to 13 on Nasdaq.

In after market trading hours, Yahoo shares were up 8% on news that company’s CEO, Terry Semel has resigned. For tomorrow, the economic data expected before market opens is Census Bureau’s report on May Housing Starts and Building Permits. On the earnings front, Best Buy is a major name to come out with its report.

Tame inflation reports put US Market in a partying mood

In spite of $68 crude, US stocks witness best three day rally since mid-March, 2007 as bond yields stabilize

After a slow start for the week, US stocks picked up momentum during the last three trading days for the week ended Friday, 15 June, 2007. Tame inflation figures and moderate economic growth portrayed by Fed’s Beige Book lifted stocks and the three day rally between 13June and 15 June, 2007 was the best rally for the market since 19-21 March, 2007.

Rising bond yields initially checked US market’s momentum on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday, the 10 year Treasury notes hit a all time high of 5.3% after crossing the psychological 5% mark for the first time last week. At the end of the week, it closed at 5.152%. Former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, mentioning that the market might be limited for US securities also had a negative impact on stocks.

But once bond yields stabilized as the PPI and CPI report checked in better than expected, there was no looking back for the stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 215 points in its kitty for the week. Tech heavy Nasdaq gained 53 points while S&P 500 too gained 26 points.

On the economic news front, Commerce Department's May retail sales report came in better than expected. Fed's Beige Book report showed the U.S. economy continued to expand at a moderate pace in the first part of the second quarter and inflation remained under control.

Stocks continued their rally on Thursday following more good news on the inflation front. Total PPI rose a larger than expected 0.9% in May boosted by a big 4.1% increase in energy costs. But the core rate (excluding food and energy) rose 0.2%. That was in line with expectations and continued the benign trend from the previous month.

On Friday, Labor Department showed that total CPI rose 0.7% in May, marking the second largest monthly increase in 16 years. The core rate, which excludes the 5.5% spike in energy prices, increased by just 0.1% (consensus 0.2%).

On the earnings front, Lehman Brothers kicked off earlier this week handily beating estimates. Goldman Sachs too handily beat analysts' expectations, but investors were disappointed with the paltry 1% y-o-y rise in Q2 profits. Bear Stearns missed expectations.

During the week, the acquisitions news that hit the headlines were – Penn National Gaming confirmed it will be taken private for $8.6 bln. There was also some speculation that Nymex is exploring a possible sale. Also, Financial Times parent Pearson is supposed to be seeking partners for a possible bid for Dow Jones provided some spice to investors.

Executive Summary

For the week, DJIx is up by 1.6%, S&P 500 is up by 1.7% and Nasdaq is up by 2.1%. Last week’s sell-off was contained this week as bond yields stabilized after reaching an all time high on last Tuesday. Upbeat economic reports, mainly Thursday and Friday’s inflation reports gave a major boost to stocks. For the year, the Dow is up by 9.4%, Nasdaq is up by 8.8% and S&P 500 is up by 8.1%.

During the week, the inflation data put a check on rising bond yields and the yield on the 10-year note fell and closed at 5.152%. Stocks rallied in spite of crude crossing $68/bbl and gaining 5% for the week.

Trading volume on Friday, 15 Jun 2007, was heavier than usual, which was a function of the increased trading that took place with the expiration of stock options, index options, index futures and single stock futures.

US Market rallies for second consecutive day

Stocks rise in spite of higher crude, above expected inflation figures and disappointing earning reports

US stocks rallied for the second consecutive day today, Thursday, 14 June, 2007. Investors were thrilled when bond yields did not rise much even as producer price index for May went up beyond expectation. Stocks ended higher in spite of crude settling at $67.65/bbl though this gave Exxon Mobil shares a good boost.

Total PPI rose a larger than expected 0.9% in May boosted by a big 4.1% increase in energy costs. But the core rate (excluding food and energy) rose 0.2%. The yield on the 10-year note today closed slightly higher at 5.21%

Twenty-four out of the 30 Dow stocks closed higher for the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 71.38 points at 13553.73. Nasdaq rose 17.1 points to close at 2599.41 and S&P 500 went up by 7.3 points to close at 1522.97.

GM, Caterpillar and Exxon Mobil were the major Dow winners today. Du-Pont, Wal-Mart, AIG and Merck remained the four Dow laggards.

On the earnings front, after Lehman Brothers kicked off earlier this week, Goldman Scahs and Bear Sterns reported their Q2 earnings today. Goldman Sachs handily beat analysts' expectations. However, given Goldman's first quarter results, investors were disappointed with the paltry 1% y-o-y rise in Q2 profits. Bear Stearns missed expectations. While Goldman shares dropped almost 3.5%, Bear Sterns was up marginally.

With today’s gain, Dow is up 258 points over two days, its biggest such advance since last July. But it is still about 120 points below the record close it hit on 4 June, 2007.

GM gains 4.7% on news of “deal” with United Auto Workers

When market opened in the morning, bond yields coming off their highs helped equities gain some traction. The indices extended their reach to the upside as the strength across the board in Technology acted as a source of notable support. A 3.5% advance in Intel shares gave semiconductors a lift. Financials sector also provided some influential leadership.

GM shares gained gained 4.7%. It was reported that Delphi and former parent GM are "very close" to reaching a deal with the United Auto Workers that would provide a cash payout to Delphi workers in exchange for lower hourly wages.

Bonds earlier advanced, sending yields lower, as yields in Europe seemed to stabilize in the wake of tame eurozone consumer prices. PPI rising a bigger-than-expected 0.9% in May failed to lift yields further. After trading higher earlier, the bond finished down 4/32 at 94 16/32, while its yield, which moves inversely, rose to 5.216%.

Of the eight sectors attracting buyers and providing a floor of support today, Energy paced the way.

Traders to focus on tomorrow’s CPI report

Crude oil futures rose today at their highest levels since September 2006 and gasoline futures finished near a two-week high. Violence in the oil-rich Middle East, particularly with Hamas fighters reportedly seizing control of almost all of the Gaza Strip, contributed to oil's rally. Yesterday’s weekly inventory report also contributed to some extent.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $67.65/barrel (higher by $1.39/barrel or 2.1%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. July reformulated gasoline gained 6.94 cents (3.2%) to close at $2.2247 a gallon. Natural gas for July delivery soared 20 cents (2.6%) to $7.808 per million British thermal units.

Trading volumes showed 1.4 billion shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.9 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Advancing issues topped decliners by 21 to 11 on the NYSE and by 17 to 11 on the Nasdaq.

Tomorrow, traders will focus on the CPI report, given its influence on the market's outlook for the economy. Other than that, before market opens will be the NY Empire State Index, Q1 Current Account Deficit and Industrial Production. A preliminary read on sentiment, compiled by the University of Michigan, will be released at 10:00 ET.

US Market rallies as yield falls

Dow witnesses its best day since July, 2006 on strong retail data and bullish Fed outlook

US stocks rallied today, Wednesday, 13 June, 2007 as market got a break from rising bond yields. Falling interest rate and Fed’s Beige Book portraying a moderate growth of the economy gave the stocks a major boost today erasing all of yesterday’s loss.

The yield of the 10-year Treasury note fell to 5.22% after hitting a five-year high yesterday at 5.26%. In addition, the Commerce Department came out with a much better-than-expected report on retail sales for May.

Twenty-nine out of the 30 Dow stocks closed higher for the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared by a huge 187.34 points to close at 13482.35. Nasdaq rose 32.54 points to close at 2582.31 and S&P 500 went up by 22.69 points to close at 1515.67.

Alcoa, Boeing, Intel, GM, Caterpillar and Citigroup were the major Dow winners today. All 10 economic sectors posted hefty gains while only four of the 147 S&P 500 industry groups closed lower.

In the post lunch session, The Beige Book showed that manufacturing activity was up in most districts while the majority of the 12 Fed regions also reported that overall wage pressures do not seem to be rising, even though hiring picked up in late April through May.

Today’s triple digit gain was the best day for Dow since July, 2006. For Nasdaq, it was the best day since March, 2007.

Boeing, Caterpillar and Alcoa - each rise more than 2%

When market opened in the morning, a sense that stocks are oversold gave buyers the green signal right out of the gate. A report showing that retail sales were surprisingly strong in May was an added good piece of news.

The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 1.4% in May - a healthy change from the revised 0.1% sales decline in April. It was also more than double what economists had predicted. Retail sales excluding automobiles rose 1.3% for the month. It was the strongest data in 16 months.

A reversal in Health Care sector removed some notable leadership during the afternoon hours. But stocks picked up momentum in the final couple hours of trading, mainly after the Beige Book release.

Among major Dow winners, Boeing surged 2.1% after raising its 20-year forecast for global aircraft deliveries. Caterpillar turned in a similar performance after backing its 2007 outlook. Alcoa was also up almost 3% after Alcan said that it might make a counteroffer for Dow component Alcoa.

Decent PPI and CPI reports expected to boost market

Of the 10 economic sectors trading closing higher today, Utilities led the charge followed by Materials.

Crude oil futures rose today after Energy Department came out with today’s weekly inventory report. The report showed a smaller than expected gain in U.S. supplies of crude for the week ended 8 June. Gasoline futures also rallied on the report after it failed to climb for first time in 6 weeks. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery today closed at $66.26/barrel (higher by $0.91/barrel or 1.34%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Trading volumes showed 1.6 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 2.1 billion trading on Nasdaq. Gaining issues topped decliners by 13 to 3 on the NYSE and by 20 to 9 on the Nasdaq.

Tomorrow PPI report will be closely watched and should help set the tone for the day's trading. Weekly Initial Claims will also be released before market opens. On the earnings front, Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns are expected before the bell while Adobe Systems will report after the close.

US Market heaves a sigh of relief on Friday

Global growth and rising interest rates in Asia and Europe put the U.S. bond market under pressure

After a modest start for the week ignoring the China stocks sell-off, US market plunged during the mid-week trading days during the past week. But at the end, it did try to recoup back some of the week’s loss. Nevertheless, all the three indices lost 1.6% - 2% going into close at the week’s end on Friday, 8 June 2007.

Unforeseen strength in the services sector and comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke about housing and the economy dashed investors' hopes for a reduction in interest rates any time soon. The rate fears coupled with rising oil and higher bond yield rattled the US market between Tuesday, 5 June and Thursday, 7 June. Yield on 10-yr note soared above psychological 5% level for the first time since August. It reached a level of 5.24% but closed the week at 5.11%.

All the three indices incurred substantial losses between Tuesday, 5 June 2007 and Thursday, 7 June 2007. DJIx itself lost 410 points between those three days. Nasdaq and S&P 500 lost 77 points and 47 points respectively. But on Friday, 8 June 2007, lower oil price and partial stabilization of bond yields powered a rally in the market and the indices closed higher for the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 244 points for the week. Tech heavy Nasdaq lost 41 points while S&P 500 lost 29 points.

On the economic news front, mixed batch of May same-store sales came out that were impacted in part by rising gasoline prices. First quarter productivity was revised down to 1% from a previous read of 1.7%, while unit labor costs were shown to have risen a higher than expected 1.8% from the 0.6% rate initially reported.

During the week, the acquisitions news that hit the headlines were – Flextronics announced that it will acquire rival electronics manufacturer Solectron for approximately $3.6 billion. Steel stocks got a major boost on Friday after ThyssenKrupp reportedly said it is interested in U.S. Steel. Avaya also confirmed during the week that it is being taken private.

Executive Summary

For the week, DJIx is down by 1.8%, S&P 500 is down by 1.9% and Nasdaq is down by 1.6%. While the interest rate action weighed heavily on investor sentiment in the past week, the deal-making that helped fuel the recent rally in stocks continued. For the year, the Dow is up by 9.7%, Nasdaq is up by 6.6% and S&P 500 is up by 6.4%.

During the week, investors became quite worried after the European Central Bank raised its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 4%. Though the same is well below Fed’s 5.25%, it bothered traders who feared that a hike, here, is imminent.

Next week has options expirations that might push stocks in either direction as investors decide whether to leave options alone or exercise them. On the economic data front, the government will report on retail sales on Wednesday, 13 June, wholesale price inflation on 14 June and issue its monthly Consumer Price Index report on 15 June.

US Market rallies as oil slips and bond yields stabilize

Dow gains almost 158 points on Friday after incurring huge losses in previous three days

After incurring three days of big losses, US Market closed substantially higher today (Friday, 8 June 2007) and tried to regain back some of its week’s loss. Some merger & acquisition chatter, lower oil price and partial stabilization of bond yields powered the day’s rally.

All but two of the 30 Dow stocks closed higher for the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by a huge 157.66 points at 13424.39. Nasdaq closed higher by 32.16 points at 2573.54 and S&P 500 closed higher by 16.95 points at 1507.67.

GM, United Technologies, Boeing and IBM were the main Dow winners. Merck and Walt Disney were the only two laggards.

Technology turned in a strong performance and was an influential leader to the upside. Financials climbing back into positive territory for the year was also noteworthy.

But it was steel sector which was most in news on Friday. Steel stocks climbed up after ThyssenKrupp reportedly said it is interested in U.S. Steel. The news earmarked Steel as the day's best performing S&P industry group and helped Materials pace the way among all 10 sectors closing higher.

For the week, Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped 1.8%, 1.6% and 1.9% respectively.

Bond yields soar to 5.24%, ends at 5.11%

When market opened in the morning, sense that stocks are oversold on a short-term basis provided a floor of buying support right out of the gate. Bond yields slipped from their morning highs and helped renew enthusiasm for equities.

The yield on the 10-year note was as high as 5.24% earlier but then fell at 5.15% in the course of the day after the trade deficit figure showed that it narrowed more than expected and this raised the likelihood that Q2 GDP forecasts will be revised upward. The 10 year note yield closed at 5.11% for the day.

Tech shares received a lift from the chip sector. National Semiconductor jumped almost 15% reaching an all-time high, after the company posted a smaller-than-expected drop in profit and said it was buying back $2 billion worth of shares.

Crude falls back below $65

Mc Donalds shares rose more than 2% today after saying global same-store sales rose 8.7% in May.

Crude-oil futures fell sharply in a broad commodities sell-off as traders rushed to lock in gains, sending most energy contracts down more than 3%. Crude for July delivery closed down $2.17 (3.24%) at $64.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices plunged today on concern that rising interest rates may lead to slower growth in demand.

Trading volumes showed 1.231 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.554 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Advancing shares outpaced decliners by more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE, while gainers topped decliners by 9 to 5 on the Nasdaq.

Dow reaches another high recovering from early sell off

Fuelled by good earnings report, Dow stumbles to another high though Asian markets’ sell off leads to a shaky start

U.S. stocks initially fell today but then turned a bit higher as investors shrugged off concerns about overheating in China and global growth and turned their attention towards better-than-expected earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down as much as 69 points right after the open and up as much as 25 points this afternoon but finally closed the day marginally up at 12,803, setting another record high. U.S. stocks once again closed mixed on Thursday, with Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending in red.

Only 16 out of 30 Dow stocks closed higher today. Six out of ten economic sectors posted losses today. For the day (19 April, Thursday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 4.79 points at 12808.63, Nasdaq lower by 5.15 points at 2505.35 and S&P 500 lower by 1.77 points at 1470.73.

Asian market once again started to haunt the US market after a big Chinese sell-off (4.5%) and Nikkei 225 falling 1.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunging 2.3%. Higher than expected GDP and CPI reports from China initially renewed concerns about the Chinese government coming up with a possible rate hike to combat inflation. The Chinese economy grew 11.1% in the first quarter exceeding expectations for growth of 10.3% and was also higher than the 10.4% growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2006.

On the earnings front, eBay reported higher quarterly results that beat analysts' forecasts and provided an encouraging outlook for the year. Still, its shares traded lower, losing more than 3% during the regular trading session after Deutsche Bank issued a “sell” on that stock. Dow component Merck beat Wall Street estimates, in terms of both topline and bottomline and reaffirmed its profit outlook for the year sending shares modestly higher.

Intel pushes Dow to another record high

Stocks opened lower in the morning with all three indices trading in red. 9 out of 10 sectors were trading lower paced by a 0.7% decline in Materials.

But Health Care gave a good boost within an hour and this changed the momentum to some extent for the market. A relief rally in Amgen, following upbeat results from a study regarding its blockbuster drug Aranesp, provided the bulk of sector support.

During the lunch hours, the Philly Fed checked in and was below forecasts at 0.2% in March. But it did not disappoint investors as the report showed overall activity in the region's manufacturing sector was steady this month and that new orders edged higher.

But Tech continued to give a hard time to the market even today. While market anxiously waited for Google’s result after close, Yahoo lost another 3% today adding to yesterday’s 11%. But one bright spot for tech was Intel which surged 2.2% after being upgraded. Also, Intel was an integral reason the Dow hit a new record again today and why the tech sector's decline was minimal.

Crude prices drop by more than $1.3 on Chinese growth figures and as Enbridge resumes shipment. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $61.80/barrel (lower by $1.33/barrel or 2.1%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices fell today after Enbridge, which supplies Canadian oil to the U.S. resumed shipments through a pipeline that was shut because of a leak. The upcoming expiration of the May contract at the end of Friday's close also likely intensified oil's latest move. Prices are down 14% from a year ago.

Trading volumes showed 1.6 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 2.1 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Breadth remained negative, with declining issues topping decliners by 20 to 11 on the NYSE and by 9 to 5 on the Nasdaq.

Google handily beat Wall Street expectations and its excellent results took the stock higher in the after-market hours. Like the rest of the week, investors will once again look for corporate earnings to help set the tone of trading for tomorrow when Dow components Caterpillar, Honeywell, McDonald's, and Pfizer report their quarterly results.

Market may drift lower on subdued to weak trend in global equities

The market is likely to edge lower tracking subdued to weak global markets. In recent months, domestic bourses have closely tracked global equities. The key economic data that will be released today is February 2007 industrial production. Though the market may drift lower today, stock-specific buying may continue based on Q4 results expectations.

Asian stocks fell on Thursday (12 April), with Japan's Nikkei nursing one of the biggest declines as technology shares slid, dented by concern about the economic outlook for the United States and a rise in oil prices. Minutes of the US Federal Reserve's March meeting, released on Wednesday, hinted at the need for further interest rate increases in the United States to fight inflation. Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.09%. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan were down by between 0.02% to 0.55%.

US stocks fell on Wednesday as markets faced up to the reality that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates again to quash inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 89.23 points, or 0.71 percent, to 12,484.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 9.52 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,438.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 18.30 points, or 0.74 percent, to 2,459.31.

Rising US interest rates do not bode well for emerging markets as higher US rates may lure cash out of emerging markets.

Meanwhile, market estimates of India’s February 2007 industrial production growth range from 9% to nearly 14%. Industrial production had risen 10.9% in January 2007, lower than a 12.5% growth in December 2006. The data is expected at about 12:00 IST today.

The immediate trigger for the market is Q4 March 2007 results. Overall Q4 results are expected to be strong. More important that Q4 results is what the company managements say about the outlook for the current financial year (FY 2008). Citigroup expects overall corporate earnings growth to moderate to 15-16 percent in the current and next year, while FY 2007 (year ended 31 March 2007) could be the fifth straight year of 25-30 percent earnings growth.

IT bellwether Infosys kickstarts the earnings season on Friday 13 April. The rupee’s sharp surge in late-March 2007 - early April 2007 against the US dollar and mixed reports from the US economy, have raised concerns that the FY 2008 guidance by Infosys may turn out conservative. Infosys unveils full year guidance at the beginning of the financial year along with Q4 March results

FIIs have resumed buying ahead of the corporate earnings season. Their net inflow totaled Rs 1539.50 crore three trading sessions from 5 April to 10 April. As per provisional data, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 70 crore on Wednesday 11 April.

FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 149 crore in index-based futures on Wednesday. They were net buyers to the tune of Rs 91 crore in individual stock futures on that day.

NYMEX crude for May delivery was down 14 cents at $61.87 in Asian trading on Thursday amid lingering concern of a potential supply crunch this summer. The rising concern over fuel stocks came against the backdrop of tensions between the United States and oil exporter Iran, and production cuts by OPEC.

FOMC minutes slam US Market ending its 8 day winning streak

US Stocks end lower with Dow sinking 102 points at one point as Fed minutes highlight inflation and slims rate cuts hopes

It was a dismal day on Wall Street today and US Market had to be satisfied with its eight-straight day gains as US stocks were slammed today by minutes from the 20-21 March FOMC meeting. It slashed all hopes of a rate cut in the summer and on the contrary, spoke of tightening policies to curb inflation. The Dow was down as much as 102 points before recovering partly before going to close. IMF cutting the economic forecast for US economic growth and National Association of Realtors saying that existing home prices are down in 2007 just added further salt to injury.

25 out of 30 stocks closed lower on Wednesday. For the day (11 April, Wednesday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 89.23 points at 12484.62, Nasdaq lower by 18.3 points at 2459.31 and S&P 500 lower by 9.52 points at 1438.87. Citigroup, IBM, Honeywell and Boeing were the main Dow laggards. Alcoa, Mc Donalds and Johnson & Johnson were some of the few stocks that closed higher for the day.

All 10 economic sectors closed lower for the day paced by a 1% decline in Telecom. But market was more influentially impacted by a pullback in the rate-sensitive and heavily-weighted Financials sector. The weekly energy inventory report saying gasoline supplies fell for 9th consecutive week and drop was more than expectation also took its toll on broader market.

While most of the nine-page report of the 20-21 March FOMC meeting brought few surprises, the minutes stating that "further policy firming might be necessary," even if offset by economic concerns, showed that there was no chance of a rate cut.

Prior to that, market tried to find some comfort from remarks from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Even though Bernanke recently made no comments on current economic conditions or monetary policy, he said that a "light regulatory touch'' on hedge funds is largely justified and seems to have "worked well" and this appeared to please investors.

NAR sees median U.S. existing home prices down in 2007; Citigroup falters on job cut report; IMF cuts US growth forecast

When market opened in the morning, stocks opened under pressure after the International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global growth, while a drop in gasoline supplies briefly boosted crude oil prices. International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth this year by almost a full percentage point to 2.2%, the weakest in five years, citing a weaker housing market than previously estimated.

Alcoa’s better-than-expected report was not having a broad impact on the market. The absence of leadership from Financials and Tech, the two most heavily-weighted economic sectors, also acted as an overhanging factor. Sellers remained in complete control of the morning's action with all 10 sectors trading lower.

On top of it, National Association of Realtors said it sees median U.S. existing home prices down 0.7% in 2007, the first decline in nearly 40 years, versus a 1% rise in 2006 worsened situation further. This led to homebuilding stocks plunging. Situation worsened as KB Home CEO said that he sees housing market getting worse before better.

Market toiled for entire day slipping by 102 points both in morning and afternoon sessions. Stocks were succumbing to selling efforts before the 2:00 ET release of the FOMC minutes.

Among major blue chips, Citigroup fell 1.2% to $51.8 after the bank said it was cutting 17,000 jobs worldwide in a bid to save $4.6 billion a year by 2009. Alcoa shares rose 0.5% after it beat Wall Street expectations after market closed yesterday.

In the broad market for equities, 1.569 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange while 1.976 billion shares exchanged hands on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues outpaced gainers by 11 to 5 on the NYSE and by 19 to 10 on the Nasdaq.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $62.01/barrel (higher by $0.12/barrel or 0.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices were almost steady throughout the day today. Prices eked up marginally after today’s Energy Dept Inventory report showed that gasoline stockpiles plunged 5.5 million barrels to 199.7 million barrels last week, much more than expected drawdown (1.5 million) and also the biggest drop since 22 Aug, 2003.

After today’s close, Genentech and RIMM came out with earnings report. While Genetech surpassed expectation, RIMM missed on both topline and bottomline fronts. For tomorrow, other than a few earnings report, on the economic front, Initial Claims and Import/Export Prices will be released at 8:30 ET

Market may see stock-specific activity

Select side counter surged on Tuesday (10 April) even as Sensex ended little changed on that day. If this is any indication, stock specific activity has started based on Q4 results expectations.

Overall Q4 results are expected to be strong. More important that Q4 results is what the company managements say about the outlook for the current financial year (FY 2008). Citigroup expects overall corporate earnings growth to moderate to 15-16 percent in the current and next year, while FY 2007 (year ended 31 March 2007) could be the fifth straight year of 25-30 percent earnings growth.

IT bellwether Infosys kickstarts the earnings season on Friday 13 April. The rupee’s sharp surge in late-March 2007 - early April 2007 against the US dollar and mixed reports from the US economy, have raised concerns that the FY 2008 guidance by Infosys may turn out conservative. Infosys unveils full year guidance at the beginning of the financial year along with Q4 March results.

Firm global markets and FII inflow may keep domestic bourses firm in the near term. Asian stocks edged higher on Wednesday (11 April), with Seoul hitting a record high for the sixth straight session, but Tokyo's Nikkei lagged gainers after weak Japanese manufacturing data cast doubt on capital spending. Nikkei was up 0.08%. The data reinforced expectations that the Bank of Japan will not be in a hurry to raise rates.

Other Asian stock markets were encouraged by gains on Wall Street. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Singapore were up by between 0.06% to 1.1%.

US stocks edged higher on Tuesday (10 April) as a rebound in oil prices lifted energy shares and Citigroup gained on expectations of big job cuts. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.71 points, or 0.04 percent, to end at 12,573.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 3.78 points, or 0.26 percent, to 1,448.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 8.43 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,477.61.

FIIs have resumed buying ahead of the corporate earnings season. They were net buyers to the tune of Rs 569.40 crore on Monday (9 April), the day when Sensex had surged 322 points on firm global bourses. They were net buyers to the tune of Rs 567.50 crore on 5 April. As per provisional data, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 350 crore on Tuesday 10 April, the day when Sensex had gained 12 points.

FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 114 crore in index-based futures on Tuesday. They were net buyers to the tune of Rs 60 crore in individual stock futures on that day.

Oil prices steadied on Wednesday after gains on Tuesday as investors turned attention to Iran's nuclear activities and dwindling gasoline stocks in the United States, the top consumer. US crude for May delivery was down 2 cents at $61.87 a barrel.

US Market closes higher for straight eighth session

Dow's 8 day winning streak could have been snapped if not for 1.6% and 1% rise in Exxon Mobil and Citigroup shares

US Market posted its first eight-straight day gains in current year on Tuesday. While Dow was up for the 8th consecutive day, S&P 500 was up for the 6th consecutive day. Dow recorded its longest winning streak since March 2003. With a lack of corporate news and scheduled economic data, a sense of caution prevailed among investors that typically precede the start of earnings season. But market gains were modest at the day’s close. But Dow's streak would have been snapped if not for 1.6% and 1% rise in Exxon Mobil and Citigroup shares respectively.

Among the nine sectors finishing in positive territory, Energy was the only one posting a respectable gain though its 1.4% advance was mainly due to a rebound in oil prices.

17 out of 30 stocks closed higher on Tuesday. For the day (10 April, Tuesday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 4.71 points at 12573.85, Nasdaq higher by 8.43 points at 2477.61 and S&P 500 higher by 3.78 points at 1448.39. Exxon Mobil, Citigroup, Intel and Boeing were the main Dow winners while H-P, United Technologies, Wal-Mart and Du-Pont were the main Dow losers.

With this continuous 8 days of winning streak, Dow is up by 0.9% for 2007. Nasdaq is up by 2.6% and S&P 500 is up by 2.1%.

Among blue chips, Alcoa rose 0.09% before its results after the close. Alcoa was the best performing Dow component during the first quarter. Alcoa is up more than 16% so far in 2007 and tops among the 30 Dow stocks. Citigroup rose 1.6% ahead of a presentation tomorrow on job cuts. The New York Times reported that the bank will cut or reassign 26,000 positions.

Warning from Seagate Technologies leaves investors questioning Tech sector’s growth prospects

When market opened in the morning, stocks opened with little fanfare. Of the six sectors trading higher, Energy was the only one posting a respectable gain; but its modest 0.5% advance was also at the expense of rising oil prices. Absence of leadership from the influential Tech sector minimized market gains.

But within an hour of trading, market improved its stance and the same came from a turnaround in Technology. It was fueled primarily by several analyst upgrades (Oracle).

However, Seagate Technology warning that Q3 revenue will miss forecasts left investors questioning the Tech sector’s growth prospects. Tech is expected to be one of the S&P 500's biggest earnings drivers this year. A 37% drop in Q2 net sales orders at D.R. Horton also imparted some sort of nervousness among investors. Seagate Tech shares fell 6.2% to $22.

After witnessing their biggest slide in 3 months yesterday, crude futures gained marginally today. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $61.89/barrel (higher by $0.38/barrel or 0.62%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices were mainly pulled up higher today by gasoline prices, on speculation that the weekly government report tomorrow will show U.S. gasoline stockpiles declined for a ninth week. A surge in natural-gas futures, which followed comments from the U.S. Department of Energy that demand would remain strong through the summer, also boosted energy prices.

In the broad market for equities, there were 1.331 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.867 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Advancing issues outpaced decliners by 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by 16 to 13 on the Nasdaq.

After the close, Alcoa came out with its earnings report beating Wall Street estimates with a 9% earnings gain. The company earned 79 cents a share after excluding restructuring charges as against Wall Street’s expectations of 77 cents a share. Revenue was up 11% to $7.9 billion. Earnings were driven by higher metal prices and sales in the aerospace, building and construction and industrial product markets.

US Market closes higher on deal news and job data

Friday’s job data ease concerns of significant slowdown in economic growth giving market the required boost

US Market posted its first seven-straight day gains in current year on Monday. While Dow was up for the 7th consecutive day, S&P 500 was up for the 5th consecutive day. Crude oil futures tanked almost 4.3% in a single day but the Energy sector's resilience in the face of falling oil prices for a fourth consecutive session acted as a source of market support. Ongoing mergers and acquisition activity also remained the key factor behind the market's momentum.

After today’s close, Dow is 220 points below its record close on 20 February. The last time the Dow had seven higher closes in a row was in June, 2005.

20 out of 30 stocks closed higher on Monday. For the day (9 April, Friday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 8.94 points at 12539.14, Nasdaq lower by 2.16 points at 2469.18 and S&P 500 higher by 0.86 points at 1444.61. Mc Donalads, Intel, DuPont, Alcoa and American Express were the main Dow winners while Altria, H-P, Exxon Mobil and Boeing were the main Dow losers.

With this continuous 7 days of winning streak, Dow is up by 2.2% on these 7 days. S&P 500 is up by 1.7%.

Of the six sectors closing higher today, Materials paced the way following reports that Dow Chemical was being acquired by private investors at a $50 bln offer. The stock jumped 4.9% to close at $49.63. Among other major stocks, Exxon Mobil closed lower by 0.5% as crude oil plunged.

Tech shares were hit early after Advanced Micro Devices lowered its first-quarter revenue forecast and said it would aim to cut $500 million in capital spending in 2007. The scrip which has already shed almost 40% since 2007 rebounded 3.8% today to close at $13.35. Wall Street's enthusiasm for AMD also helped arch-rival Intel whose shares were up 2.7% to $20.10. Intel was responsible for almost 5 point gain of Dow.

Friday’s upbeat jobs data gives an early boost to market but reminds that rate cut is far away

When market opened in the morning, stocks got the pending lift from Friday’s job market report. The Labor Department released a surprisingly positive March jobs report on Friday where it said 180,000 jobs were added in March, more than the expected 168,000, and the jobless rate fell to 4.4% from 4.5% in February. But the data also served as another reminder that the Fed won't be cutting interest rates anytime soon,

The Industrials sector was in focus after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it took a 10.9% stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe. The news earmarked Railroads as the day's best performer and also charged up transportation stocks which also benefited from oil's biggest decline in three months.

Crude futures witnessed their biggest slide in 3 months as risk premium unwounded on the first trading day at Nymex after Iran released the British hostages last Thursday. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $61.51/barrel (lower by $2.77/barrel or 4.31%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices fell today on speculation that an Energy Department report will show U.S. inventories jumped last week as refiners unexpectedly shut units. The rollover from the May contract to the June contract is believed to have started early and is further weakening crude prices.

Trading volumes were light with 1.260 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.761 billion on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues slightly outpaced gainers on the NYSE, and by 16 to 13 on the Nasdaq.

No major economic reports are on the schedule for this week. Market's focus will be on quarterly results with Alcoa's earning report after Tuesday's closing bell.

Microsoft and Altria help Dow to register modest gains

While jobs survey and factory orders come out weaker than expected, Microsoft and Altria give the required boost to the market

US Market eked out modest gains on Wednesday after the indices were a bit hit after a slew of weaker than expected economic reports. ISM Services unexpectedly fell to lowest level since April 2003 and smaller than expected rise in factory orders further set weak pace for 2007 manufacturing activity. But the news that made headlines today was Iran-UK relations where Iran President announced that all 15 Britons were to be set free. The news improved overall sentiment and pushed oil prices lower. Dow and Nasdaq poised to close higher for a fifth straight day.

16 out of 30 stocks closed higher today. For the day (4 April, Wednesday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 19.75 points at 12530.05, Nasdaq higher by 8.36 points at 2458.69 and S&P 500 higher by 1.6 points at 1439.37. Altria, Home Depot, Microsoft and Honeywell were the main Dow winners. GM and AT&T were the biggest Dow laggards. With today’s gain, Dow is 0.5% higher for the year. On a sectoral basis, Telecom and Utilities were the day's biggest laggards

Microsoft was responsible for 5 points of the Dow's gain. The software giant was up 2.3% to $28.50 due to boost in third-quarter profit estimates from analysts at Citigroup. Higher demand for Vistas was the major reason behind this upgrade. An analyst upgrade on Semiconductor Equipment, the day's seventh best performing S&P industry group, provided additional sector support. Cigarette giant Altria generated 6 points of the blue-chip index's gain with a 1.1% gain to $70.44.

On the earnings front, Best Buy today reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $1.55 per share, 3 cents ahead of expectations. But the stock was down 2.5% to $47.89 as Wall Street worried about the guidance issued by the company. Rival Circuit City reported a fiscal-fourth-quarter loss of 7 cents per share, down from a profit of 81 cents per share a year ago, blaming discounts the company had made during the holiday shopping season. Circuit City shares were down 0.4% to $18.21.

Good housing erases subprime worries for the moment, chain store sales data boosts Retailers

The market received an early boost from stumbling oil prices after Iran said it will release 15 British naval personnel it had captured in Gulf waters. Iran is the world's fourth largest producer of crude oil. Though market opened in a split mode with Dow in the red, the indices improved within half an hour to inch the Dow and S&P 500 into positive territory. Of the four sectors trading higher, Technology was pacing the way.

At 10.30ET, some economic data came out and ISM Services unexpectedly fell to 52.4 in March, the lowest reading since April 2003, while employment slumped to just above growth at 50.8. The prices paid component climbed to 63.3 from 53.8 a month earlier. Split industry leadership continues to dictate this morning's market action, with strength in Tech, Health Care and Staples providing the bulk of support.

GM, the worst performer on the Dow, lost 1.4% after DaimlerChrysler said it's in talks with "interested parties regarding future options" for its unit Chrysler division. AT&T fell 1.3% amid reports that it's acquiring a stake in the parent company of Italian carrier Telecom Italia SpA for roughly $1.74 billion.

Meanwhile, in a testimony before mortgage bankers in Autin, Texas, Dallas Fed President Fisher said that he did not discuss the outlook for interest rates or inflation in his prepared remarks. Fisher did say, however, that the economy is "strong enough to weather the storm" and that subprime problems may be "blessing in disguise.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $64.38/barrel (lower by $0.26/barrel or 0.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices fell today for the second consecutive day after tensions between Iran and UK eased to a large extent. But crude prices pared losses today after an Energy Department report showed that U.S. gasoline supplies plunged for an eighth week. Prices are down 2.8% from a year ago.

Trading volumes showed 1.4 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.7 billion on the Nasdaq stock market. Advancing issues outpaced decliners by 17 to 14 on the NYSE, while decliners outpaced gainers by 15 to 14 on the Nasdaq.

Tomorrow, weekly initial jobless claims data and March Nonfarm Payrolls data will be released before market opens. Trading will be closed Friday in observance of the Good Friday holiday.

Wall Street rallies on lower oil price and strong consumer data

Dow’s 128 point gain erases its lackluster Q1 performance taking it to positive territory for the year

Wall Street rallied on Tuesday with US stocks getting a good lift from lower oil prices and strong consumer data. Apparent easing tension between UK and Iran led to crude prices below $65/bbl today, a 2% drop. This, coupled with reassurance about stabilization in the housing market, lifted market sentiments today after the second quarter made a slow start yesterday. Airline stocks were the biggest beneficiaries of the oil price drop. Financial stocks, a group that also struggled in the first quarter, were higher on the day. Technology, which also turned positive for the year, was another source of notable support.

29 out of 30 stocks closed higher today. P&G was the sole loser with a tiny drop of 12 cents. For the day (3 April, Tuesday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 128 points at 12510.3, Nasdaq higher by 28.07 points at 2450.33 and S&P 500 higher by 13.22 points at 1437.77. Altria, Home Depot, Boeing and 3M were the main Dow winners. With today’s gain, Dow is positive for the year.

Stocks extended early gains after the National Association of Realtors said that its pending home sales index, a measure of future U.S. home buying, rose 0.7% in February. However, the index is down 8.5% year on year, and the NAR said that sales may be experiencing "some fallout from a decline in subprime lending." Early sentiment also got a boost from rallies in overseas market.

Good housing erases subprime worries for the moment, chain store sales data boosts Retailers

After the second quarter kicked off slowly yesterday, after a discouraging ISM report, today stocks rallied within an hour after market opened today. The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rose 0.7% in February to 109.3 following a revised 4.2% drop in January. The report eased the worst of fears that a housing crisis will develop and the same also alleviated concerns that the subprime mortgage meltdown will add to the huge inventory of properties already on the market.

Of the nine other sectors trading higher, Consumer Discretionary was paced the way as its 1.5% advance lifted the sector into positive territory for the year. Retailers got a big boost following a report that showed chain store sales for the week ending 31 March rose 4.9%, the fastest pace in two months. Homebuilders which this year's worst performing S&P industry group was among today's biggest winners following the upbeat housing report.

Home Depot was the leading blue-chip with a 2.4% gain among Dow components as signs of stability in housing lured bargain hunters to the beaten-down retailer. Among technology shares, Google rose 3% after news the Internet search giant will sell television ads through a partnership with EchoStar Satellite and Astound Cable, a small Internet provider in Northern California. eBay jumped 2.4% after Bear Stearns raised its earnings estimate for the online auctioneer.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $64.64/barrel (lower by $ 1.3/barrel or 1.97%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices fell today as tensions between Iran and UK eased partially. Today’s closing prices were lowest in almost a week.

Trading volumes showed 1.6 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.9 billion on the Nasdaq stock market. Advancing issues outpaced decliners by 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by 19 to 9 on the Nasdaq.

February Factory Orders and March ISM Services data are expected tomorrow. On the earnings front, Best Buy and Circuit City feature among the main companies that will come out with earnings report.

US Stocks end higher despite weak ISM data

A slurry of deals imparts momentum in market which starts day amid weak economic data

A slew of deals, including a $29 billion leveraged buyout of First Data weighed against a weak manufacturing report and higher oil prices but pushed stocks higher at the US Market going into close for the day. Stocks lingered throughout the day on Wall Street but ultimately rebounded off session lows. After climbing as high as $66.69/bbl earlier, oil prices closed relatively flat on the day near $66/bbl. Utilities was the day's best performer following a couple of analyst upgrades.

13 put of 30 stocks closed higher today. For the day (2 April, Monday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 27.95 points at 12382.3, Nasdaq higher by 0.62 points at 2422.26 and S&P 500 higher by 3.69 points at 1424.55. Altria, Exxon Mobil, IBM and Merck were the main Dow winners while American Express, Citigroup and Du-Pont were the main Dow laggards.

A slurry of deals tried to impart some momentum into the market. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has offered to take First Data private for $29 bln while Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell has won the bidding war for Tribune. Xerox buying Global Imaging Systems for $1.5 bln was the other news. The first deal deal pushed First Data up nearly 21% to $32.45, the best percentage gain on the S&P 500.

Health Care got a lift from Merck which won FDA approval for its diabetes drug Janumet. Among technology shares, Apple gained 0.7% after it reached a deal with EMI to make music available without antipiracy software. Major Dow winner, Altria surged 3.5% as shareholders applauded its spin off of Kraft Foods.

Weak ISM weighs on market; Alt-A Mortgage concerns attack market

The second quarter kicked off slowly after a discouraging ISM report. The ISM index fell to 50.9 (consensus 51.0) from 52.3 in February as inventories, employment and order backlogs were all below the 50 mark that defines contraction. The prices paid index rose to 65.5, the highest since August. Market reacted negatively and indices were mostly in the red for the first half of the day.

Sun Microsystems dragged on the technology sector. Software and Internet were the weakest sections of Nasdaq today.

The broader telecom sector was weighed down after Nokia-Siemens, a venture between Nokia and Siemens said there were signs of a slowing in equipment spending over the last few months, resulting in a downgrade of its 2007 industry-wide spending forecast.

M&T Bank lowered its Q1 guidance citing weakness in the secondary market for Alt-A loans and this once again showed signs of housing problems in the economy and acted as an overhang all day. Investors were also worried with some commentary from St. Louis Fed President William Poole who said the Fed isn't likely to cut interest rates even as the economy slows.

Trading volumes showed 1.5 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.75 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Advancing issues topped decliners by 17 to 12 on the NYSE, while decliners led gainers by 15 to 12 on the Nasdaq.

March Auto Sales and March Truck Sales are the only major economic data on the schedule for tomorrow.

A Volatile US Market ends first quarter on a mixed note

A Volatile US Market ends first quarter on a mixed note

Wall Street experiences its worst quarterly performance since past couple of years

It was a volatile market day on Friday but ultimately US Market ended the day in a mixed note after Dow traded in a 174 point range for the day. While the day’s trading marked the end of first quarter of 2007, it was Dow’s worst quarterly performance since Q2 2005. For Nasdaq and S&P 500, it was the worst quarterly performance since Q2 2006. Dow ended the quarter down by 0.9%. Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended the quarter up by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.

On Friday, after opening on a good note following a couple of good economic reports, the market initially took a sharp downturn after news that the U.S. has imposed trade sanctions on China and as tensions over a stand-off between Iran and the UK kept oil prices near $66 a barrel. But stocks recovered some ground in the final hour of trading as oil fell.

For the day (30 March, Friday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 5.6 points at 12354.35, Nasdaq higher by 3.76 points at 2421.64 but S&P 500 lower by 1.67 points at 1420.86. Caterpillar, Altria, Verizon, 3M and AT&T were the main Dow winners while Boeing, Exxon Mobil, General Motors and GE were the major Dow laggards.

For the quarter, the sectors that performed well were utilities, energy, cyclical and materials. On the flip side were homebuilders, airliners and Financials.

Market overlooks inflation report; pays more heed to Chicago Index and oil

The stock market started the day on a positive note following news that the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, a regional manufacturing report, was a much stronger than expected 61.7% in March as against Wall Street economists ‘expectation of 50%. There was also a boost from key inflation data for February. February income and spending were both up 0.6% versus the market's expectations for a gain of 0.3% in each. Core inflation matched economists' expectations.

But the core-PCE component of the Personal Income and Spending report, which is the Fed's favorite inflation gauge was up 0.3% (consensus 0.2%) which pushed the annual rate up to 2.4% from 2.2% in January. The Fed's target range for core-PCE is 1% to 2%. Market overlooked this report.

Telecom services were the only economic sector showing a gain during the first half of the day. Utilities and Energy were the loss leaders, but the lack of participation from the financial and technology sectors were also weighing heavily on the broader market.

For the day and week ending 30 March, Friday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $65.87/barrel (lower by $ 0.16/barrel or 0.24%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices fell today after rising for 8 straight sessions amid tensions between Iran and UK. The benchmark May crude contract finished nearly 5.7% higher for the week and 4% higher for the month. Prices are down 1.8% from a year ago.

Trading volumes picked up, with 1.6 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 2.1 billion trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Rising shares outpaced decliners by 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by 4 to 3 on the Nasdaq.