MAJOR INDEXES CLOSING SNAPSHOT
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Major Indexes 4:53 p.m. EST 12/16/09
Chg % Chg Last
....................................
DJIA*
-10.88 -0.10 10441.12
DJ Transportation Average*
10.84 0.26 4174.63
DJ Utility Average*
-2.12 -0.52 403.38
Nasdaq*
5.86 0.27 2206.91
Nasdaq 100*
2.61 0.15 1800.82
S&P 500*
1.25 0.11 1109.18
S&P 400 Mid-Cap*
3.81 0.53 719.46
S&P 600 Small-Cap*
2.44 0.76 323.96
DJ Total Stock Market*
27.22 0.24 11412.61
NYSE Composite*
39.32 0.55 7180.76
NYSE Financial*
61.13 1.31 4733.67
Russell 2000*
4.90 0.81 611.21
Amex Composite*
10.40 0.59 1787.19
KBW Bank*
-0.18 -0.42 42.35
PHLX Gold/Silver*
2.29 1.34 173.45
PHLX Housing Sector*
2.60 2.65 100.68
PHLX Oil Service*
2.70 1.41 193.62
PHLX Semiconductor*
5.89 1.74 344.86
* at close
Major World Indexes 4:17 p.m. EST 12/16/09
Chg % Chg Last
....................................
Global Dow*
12.63 0.64 1979.33
DJ Global Index*
1.34 0.60 225.86
DJ Global exUS*
1.73 0.87 200.40
DJ Stoxx 50*
36.69 1.46 2542.51
UK: FTSE 100*
34.49 0.65 5320.26
Germany: DAX*
92.09 1.58 5903.43
DJ Asia-Pacific*
0.33 0.27 122.26
Japan: Nikkei Average*
93.93 0.93 10177.41
Hong Kong: Hang Seng*
-202.18 -0.93 21611.74
DJ Americas Index*
0.68 0.23 294.40
* at close
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Footnotes
Source: Thomson Reuters, WSJ Market Data Group
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IWAN CAHYO SURYADI, "The Trend is Your Friend"
Evening European Market
London
FTSE 100 closes higher
Market Movers
techMARK 1,538.86 +0.55%
FTSE 100 5,320.26 +0.65%
FTSE 250 9,141.35 +1.27%
Footsie ended with gains as better than expected UK unemployment figures lifted sentiment.
FTSE 100 closes higher
Market Movers
techMARK 1,538.86 +0.55%
FTSE 100 5,320.26 +0.65%
FTSE 250 9,141.35 +1.27%
Footsie ended with gains as better than expected UK unemployment figures lifted sentiment.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell for the first time since February 2008 in November amid further signs the UK economy is beginning to recover from the economic downturn.
The claimant count fell by 6,300 to 1.63m during November, figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show.
Rentokil Initial finished on top of the pile after broker Deutsche Bank raised its target on the pest control and parcel delivery group to 145p from 143p.
Insurers Resolution, Prudential and RSA were among the best performers.
Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland ended with slight gains. It is 'less risky than it used to be,' according to Citigroup analyst Leigh Goodwin.
The broker has revised its forecasts for RBS, however, and now expects underlying losses per share for full year 2009 of 12.2p, with the losses reducing to 3.7p in 2010 and then turning positive at 0.7p in 2011.
Lloyds was little changed despite positive broker comment. Cazenove reckons the lender could return to profit next year.
There is not a single quoted company in the housebuilding sector that Citigroup does not like now that the sector has seen a 20% correction in prices in the last three months. Underlying fundamentals have improved during that period, prompting Citi to upgrade Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Redrow to 'buy'.
Broker comment has also whetted appetite for Premier Foods. UBS said that despite a number of well-known drawbacks, including the stretched balance sheet and the pension liability, the business is 'fundamentally sound'. The broker has upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral', but has trimmed its price target by a couple of pence to 41p,
Overall demand at GKN has been better than predicted at its last update in October and the automotive and aerospace engineer expects to make further "significant" progress in 2010.
Retailer Kesa Electricals has reported a bigger than expected first half profit and better than forecast like for like sales at its Comet chain. The group made adjusted pre-tax profit of £14.9m in the six months to 31 October, trumping analysts' predictions for about £12m. It lost £103.8m a year ago due to a £114m charge. Like for like sales at Comet rose 2%, ahead of forecasts for 0-1.5%.
Pub chain Punch Taverns cautioned the challenging economic environment will affect profitability in the short-term and also put pressure on one of its debt measures.
Oil & gas facilities service provider Petrofac expects full year profits to be at least 25% higher than last year. The company has had a good year in the contracts front and said that with trading across most of its businesses continuing to improve, it should make profit after tax of at least $330m, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Power station operator Drax expects underlying profits to beat market forecasts this year, despite lower prices for electricity, but is more cautious on pricing going forward.
A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee has given a favourable verdict on the use of AstraZeneca's anti-cholesterol drug Crestor.
Copper prices have recovered enough for Namibian mining company Weatherly International to reopen its Otjihase and Matchless underground mines.
Electrical component maker Laird was the star performer in the FTSE 250. It is still suffering from tough conditions seen earlier in the year, but the shares advanced after it said that it is in a strong financial position and is well-placed to benefit from investment in product development and engineering. It said it expects that underlying profit before tax for the year will be in line with market forecasts.
Residential property specialist Grainger's recent 2 for 1 rights issue received an acceptance rate of 92.66%, leaving the underwriters to find buyers for 20.3m shares in the market.
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IWAN CAHYO SURYADI, "The Trend is Your Friend"
Barchart.com U.S. Morning Call
Overnight Developments
* The European DJ Stoxx 50 this morning is up +0.83% and Mar S&Ps are up +5.30 points. European stocks gained as better-than-expected economic data continues to point to a strengthening economy. Dec Euro-Zone PMI composite rose a more than expected +0.5 to a 2-year high of 54.2, while the Dec German PMI manufacturing index rose a more-than-expected +0.7 to a 19-month high of 53.1. European bank stocks rallied after Reuters reported that global regulators will give banks an unspecified grace period to adopt new capital rules, which eases worries that they would have to raise money hurriedly through share sales. The new rules are being drawn up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of central bankers and regulators from 30 countries, who will implement the new regulations starting 2012. Deutsche Bank AG rose nearly 5% when CA Cheuvreux upgraded Germany's biggest lender to "selected list" from "outperform," while BNP Paribas SA gained 2.4% after WestLB raised its recommendation on France's largest bank to "buy" from "add. Rounding out the bullish factors for today's gains was the smaller-than-expected increase in Nov Euro-Zone CPI which rose +0.1% m/m and +0.5% y/y with the +1.0% y/y gain in the Nov core CPI the smallest increase in nine years. Undercutting some of the bullish enthusiasm was the 4.8% drop in Bank of Ireland Plc after Irish central bank Governor Honohan said it's "quite possible" the government may end up with 50% of one or both of the country's biggest banks and that the lenders may need significant new capital after the country's so-called bad bank buys loans from them at a discount.
* The Asian markets today closed mostly lower with Japan up +0.93%, Hong Kong -0.93%, China -0.63%, Taiwan -0.72%, Australia -0.25%, Singapore +0.54%, South Korea -0.13%, India +0.21%. Japanese banks surged and led Japan's stock market higher after the Nikkei newspaper said lenders would be given at least 10 years to comply with stricter international capital rules being drawn up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Chinese stocks closed lower after a commissioner from the China Banking Regulatory Commission said at a forum in Beijing that China's banks will face risks from bad loans and lending concentration to certain industries and big customers for a "long period of time." Foreign investors continue to pour money into China after Nov foreign direct investment in China surged +32% y/y to $7.02 billion, the fastest pace of growth in 16 months, although total investment through the first 11 months of the year is still down 9.9%. China's Q4 GDP is estimated to grow 10.5% q/q and China's Ministry of Commerce predicts that foreign direct investment will grow steadily in the next few months and may stay within the $7 billion to $8 billion monthly range attracted since Aug.
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IWAN CAHYO SURYADI, "The Trend is Your Friend"
* The European DJ Stoxx 50 this morning is up +0.83% and Mar S&Ps are up +5.30 points. European stocks gained as better-than-expected economic data continues to point to a strengthening economy. Dec Euro-Zone PMI composite rose a more than expected +0.5 to a 2-year high of 54.2, while the Dec German PMI manufacturing index rose a more-than-expected +0.7 to a 19-month high of 53.1. European bank stocks rallied after Reuters reported that global regulators will give banks an unspecified grace period to adopt new capital rules, which eases worries that they would have to raise money hurriedly through share sales. The new rules are being drawn up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of central bankers and regulators from 30 countries, who will implement the new regulations starting 2012. Deutsche Bank AG rose nearly 5% when CA Cheuvreux upgraded Germany's biggest lender to "selected list" from "outperform," while BNP Paribas SA gained 2.4% after WestLB raised its recommendation on France's largest bank to "buy" from "add. Rounding out the bullish factors for today's gains was the smaller-than-expected increase in Nov Euro-Zone CPI which rose +0.1% m/m and +0.5% y/y with the +1.0% y/y gain in the Nov core CPI the smallest increase in nine years. Undercutting some of the bullish enthusiasm was the 4.8% drop in Bank of Ireland Plc after Irish central bank Governor Honohan said it's "quite possible" the government may end up with 50% of one or both of the country's biggest banks and that the lenders may need significant new capital after the country's so-called bad bank buys loans from them at a discount.
* The Asian markets today closed mostly lower with Japan up +0.93%, Hong Kong -0.93%, China -0.63%, Taiwan -0.72%, Australia -0.25%, Singapore +0.54%, South Korea -0.13%, India +0.21%. Japanese banks surged and led Japan's stock market higher after the Nikkei newspaper said lenders would be given at least 10 years to comply with stricter international capital rules being drawn up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Chinese stocks closed lower after a commissioner from the China Banking Regulatory Commission said at a forum in Beijing that China's banks will face risks from bad loans and lending concentration to certain industries and big customers for a "long period of time." Foreign investors continue to pour money into China after Nov foreign direct investment in China surged +32% y/y to $7.02 billion, the fastest pace of growth in 16 months, although total investment through the first 11 months of the year is still down 9.9%. China's Q4 GDP is estimated to grow 10.5% q/q and China's Ministry of Commerce predicts that foreign direct investment will grow steadily in the next few months and may stay within the $7 billion to $8 billion monthly range attracted since Aug.
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IWAN CAHYO SURYADI, "The Trend is Your Friend"
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