US & World Daily Markets Financial Briefing 05-01-2011

Click Here

Stocks Seeing Modest Weakness In Early Trading

Stocks moved lower at the start of trading on Wednesday, as some traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets. The major averages all moved to the downside after ending the previous session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

While the markets saw some initial weakness, the futures had been indicating a more substantially lower open before the release of a report from payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) showing much stronger than expected private sector job growth in December.

The report said private sector employment increased by 297,000 jobs in December following a downwardly revised increase of 92,000 jobs in November. Economists had expected an increase of about 97,000 jobs compared to the increase of 93,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

ADP said that the much stronger than expected job growth in December reflects a pace that is well above what is usually associated with a declining unemployment rate.

At 10:00 a.m. ET, the Institute for Supply Management will release the results of its service sector survey for December. Economists expect the non-manufacturing index show a reading of 56.0 for the month compared to a reading of 55.0 recorded for November.

Nonetheless, gold stocks have shown a notable move to the downside in early trading, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session. A continued decrease by the price of gold is contributing to the weakness in the sector.

Energy, software, and trucking stocks are also pulling back further off their recent highs, although selling pressure remains relatively subdued.

The major averages have moved off their lows for the young session in recent trading but currently remain in the red. The Dow is down 27.17 points or 0.2 percent at 11,664.01, the Nasdaq is down 5.73 points or 0.2 percent at 2,675.52 and the S&P 500 is down 3.97 points or 0.3 percent at 1,266.23.

Click Here to learn more

TSX Extends Losses At Open Wednesday As Commodities Dip

Toronto stocks extended losses at open Wednesday amid falling commodities prices. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 77.21 points or 0.58% to 13,325.10.

The Global Gold Index shed 1%, with Barrick Gold , Agnico-Eagle Mines and Aurizon Mines shedding over 1% each.

In the base-metals space, Ivanhoe Mines and Taseko Mines lost over 2% each. Teck Resources and Inmet Mining were down close to 2% each.

In the oil patch, Talisman Energy, NAL Oil  and Pacific Rubiales Energy slipped over 1% each.

Among financial stocks, insurer Manulife Financial was down 1.25% and IGM Financial surrendered 1.30%.

Restaurants operator Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund eased 0.10% after it said it added six new full-service restaurants to its collection

Frozen seafood products company High Liner Foods gave in over 2% after it said it has made an unsolicited offer to acquire the Icelandic Group, a seafood products dealer, for about 340 million euros.

On the positive side, Petrominerales rose over 4%.

DO YOU OWN THE RIGHT STOCKS?

Analyze Your Stocks FREE! – Click Here

French Market Notably Lower

Banks and construction stocks are dragging the French market lower in afternoon trading Wednesday, as weak Asian cues and worries about economic recovery dampened risk appetite.

On the economic front, French service sector activity rose at a robust pace in December despite poor weather conditions, new survey data showed on Wednesday. The Markit services purchasing managers' index fell to a seasonally adjusted 54.9 from 55.0 n November, but was higher than the preliminary estimate of 54.1.

A final report from Markit Economics showed that Germany's service sector posted steady growth in December. The business activity index recorded a score of 59.2, unchanged from the thirty-nine month high of November, and was higher than the flash estimate of 58.3.

UK construction sector contracted in December, mainly under the impact of poor weather conditions, a survey by Markit Economics showed. The seasonally adjusted Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply construction Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.1 in December from 51.8 in November.

Eurozone producer prices rose at a slightly faster pace in November, Eurostat said. The producer price index for total industry excluding construction rose 4.5% year-on-year, after a 4.4% increase in the previous month. The rate accelerated for a third successive month.

After opening lower at 3,904, the CAC 40 index has been witnessing volatile trading. The index is currently losing 1.35%.

Steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal is declining 3.5% and luxury goods firm LVMH is losing 2.8%. Foodmaker Danone is falling 2.5%.

Cement giant Lafarge is retreating 2.7%, and building materials maker Saint-Gobain is losing 2.4%. Builders Vinci and Bouygues are declining 2.25% and 1.1%, respectively. Real estate investment trust Unibail-Rodamco is declining 1.1%.

Lenders Societe Generale, BNP paribas, Credit Agricole and Natixis are losing between 2.5% and 1.2%. Carmakers Peugeot and Renault are on the falling side.

Oil & gas services firm Technip is gaining 2.3% and Airbus maker EADS is advancing 2.2%. Chipmaker STMicroelectronics is moderately higher.

Elsewhere in Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 is declining 0.58% and the German DAX is losing 1.64%.

Most Asian markets ended lower on the day. China's Shanghai Composite Index and Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% and 0.17%, respectively. India's BSE Sensex lost about 1% and Australia's All Ordinaries fell 0.6%. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4%.

In the U.S., futures point to a weaker open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow rose 0.2%, the Nasdaq fell 0.4% and the S&P 500 edged down 0.1%.

In commodities, crude for February delivery is trading down $1.12 at $88.26 per barrel, and gold is slipping $2.8 to $1376.0 a troy ounce.

DO YOU OWN THE RIGHT STOCKS?

Analyze Your Stocks FREE! – Click Here

Global Cues Drag Indian Market Lower For Second Day

Tepid global cues ahead of closely watched Portugal's Treasury bill auction and a stronger dollar that drove commodity prices lower weighed on the Indian market on Wednesday. Extending losses for the second straight day, the benchmark 30-share Sensex ended down about 200 points or 0.96% lower at 20,301, with 24 of its components declining.

The 50-share Nifty and the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes followed suit, falling over a percent each. In the broader market, losing shares outpaced gaining ones in the ratio of 1.82:1 on the BSE. Sector-wise, banking, realty, auto, capital goods and public sector stocks bore the brunt of the selling, while FMCG and IT stocks witnessed selective buying.

In the FMCG sector, Hindustan Unilever and ITC rose about 1.5% each on defensive buying. Among software exporters, TCS added 1.25% and Wipro posted a modest 0.20% gain, as the rupee weakened to more than a week low following broad dollar gains overnight, bolstered by recent data showing further improvement in the U.S. economy.

Aluminum maker Hindalco Industries rose to a record high before paring gains and ending up 1.36% at Rs.246.55. Tata Power, which recently called off an agreement with private equity firm Olympus Capital, closed up 1.17%.

On the losing side, banking stocks continued to reel under selling pressure, as more cash-strapped banks announced increases in deposit rates. ICICI Bank tumbled over 3%, HDFC Bank fell 1.58% and SBI eased 1.33%. Mortgage lender HDFC ended down 2.75%.

State-run coal producer Coal India tumbled 3.21% on a brokerage downgrade. Hindustan Copper slumped nearly 5% on reports that its follow-on issue would be priced at a huge discount to its current market price. Engineering & construction giant Larsen & Toubro fell 2% on reports about a business restructuring.

In the auto sector, Ashok Leyland fell nearly 3% despite reporting a 24% rise in its December vehicle sales. Tata Motors declined 1.39%, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda Motors  fell around 4% each, Mahindra & Mahindra lost 1.17% and Maruti Suzuki ended down 1.21%.

DLF (down 3.28%), Reliance Communication (down 2.81%), Reliance Infrastructure (down 2.34%), and Bharti Airtel (down 1.52%) were the other prominent decliners.

In the oil/gas sector, state-run oil explorer ONGC fell 1.62% on divestment-related reports. Oil firms such as HPCL, BPCL and IOC closed mixed, while private sector refiner Reliance Industries ended down 0.25%.

In the healthcare sector, Ranbaxy Laboratories eased 0.89% after it reportedly called off a deal for anti-infectives with Merck. Dr Reddy's Laboratories added a percent after Argenta, a service division of Galapagos NV, announced an integrated drug discovery collaboration with Reddy's Labs.

UltraTech Cement fell 1.17% after reporting flat sales growth in December. ACC, Ambuja Cements, India Cement and Madras Cement fell between 0.34% and 2.29%. RPG Life Sciences slipped 0.40% after it commercialized its first indigenously developed medicinal grade ketoanalogue under 'Alfalog' brand.

Lanco Infratech plunged 4.30% on reports that it is seeking loans from Chinese banks to fund equipment contracts. Unitech lost a percent after its arm Uninor moved telecom tribunal TDSAT against the department of telecom's damage claim from the company for not meeting roll-out obligations.

Shipping stocks lost ground after the Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the worldwide international shipping price of various dry bulk cargoes, slumped to its lowest point in 20 months in London on Tuesday. GE Shipping fell 1.82%, Essar Shipping slipped 0.28% and Shipping Corporation of India ended down 1.59%.

Shares of Welspun India rose 2.72% amid a huge volume. Fame India hit the 20% upper circuit limit after Reliance MediaWorks reportedly hiked its stake in the multiplex company.

In economic news, growth in India's service sector activity slowed in December, data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. The HSBC Markit Business Activity Index, based on a survey of around 400 firms, eased to 57.7 during the month from 60.1 in the previous month.

Elsewhere, other Asian markets closed on a mixed note Wednesday, European stocks saw broad-based losses and the Dow futures signaled a tepid start for Wall Street, as profit taking hit resource stocks and investors remained cautious ahead of Portugal's EUR500 million bond auction due later in the day. The euro was a tad weaker against the dollar as investors awaited U.S. ADP employment  data before Friday's non-farm payrolls  report.

We Have Two Picks for September Premium Newsletter Free to join! Click here

Dollar Gaining Traction Ahead Of Employment Data

The dollar was steady Wednesday morning in New York ahead of a key prelude to Friday's pivotal jobs report from the federal government.

The ADP National Employment report, which sheds light on non-farm private employment, fro December will be released at 8:15 a.m ET.

At 10.00 a.m. ET, the ISM will release the results of its non-manufacturing survey for December. Economists expect that the non-manufacturing index show a reading of 56 for the month, slightly higher than 55 reported for the previous month.

The buck improved to $1.3250 versus the euro, picking up 0.5 percent. The pair has waffled back and forth around that mark for the past two months.

The buck continued its comeback against the Swiss franc, rising to CHF 0.9535 after hitting a record low of 0.92 last week.

There was little movement against the yen, with the dollar holding above Y82. Last week the dollar edged toward its recent 15-year low of 80.22 before finding its footing.

Our "Value Packed" online trading seminar will show you how you can.

Click Here To Find Out More

Investors Hub Services