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July 31, 2006
by Elaine Frei
At midday on Monday, Wall Street was running behind due to less than desirable corporate earnings reports as well as investor uncertainty about events in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were each 0.2 percent lower at mid-session, to 11,194.88 and 1,275.46 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.3 percent to ...
by Elaine Frei
Profit-taking and not entirely positive corporate earnings reports took the FTSE Eurofirst 300 0.4 percent lower on Monday to close at 1,338.31.
Tiremakers were mixed, with Continental adding 1.8 percent to €80 but Michelin dropping 1.9 percent to €47.56. Credit Suisse upgraded Continental from “neutral” to “outperform” in anticipation of its quarterly report, which is due on Thursday. At the same ...
by Elaine Frei
Both the Nikkei 225 and the Topix index saw gains in Tokyo on Monday. The Nikkei added 0.7 percent to 15,456.81, while the Topix was up 0.8 percent to 1,572.01. Both domestic and export-focused sectors saw gains.
Not every sector was up, however. With chances of consolidation in the paper sector decreasing, Oji Paper and Hokuetsu Paper ...
by Elaine Frei
Worries about supply disruptions in Europe and comments from the defense minister of Israel that dashed hopes of an imminent ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah forces in Lebanon sent crude oil prices higher on Monday.
By late in the afternoon in London, September contracts for Brent crude had added 95 cents to $74.36 per barrel after having dropped ...
by Elaine Frei
The yen was slightly stronger on Monday as new data showed industrial production up and as the renminbi hit a new high in China. Trade was light during the day as investors waited for interest rate decisions from several regions. There are possible rate hikes coming this week in Australia, South Africa, the UK and the eurozone. Meanwhile ...
July 28, 2006
by Elaine Frei
In London this week, the FTSE 100 was up 4.5 percent for the largest weekly percentage gain since March 2003. Friday’s gain was 0.8 percent, and the 100 closed out the week at 5,974.9.
Not all companies posted gains on the week, however. In the insurance sector, Prudential lost 3 percent over the week to 577½p on an ...
by Elaine Frei
The New York equities markets were up on Friday and on track to have their best week in over six months. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.1 percent to 11,219.32, an advance of 3.2 percent during the week. The Nasdaq Composite had gained 1.3 percent to 2,081.67, gaining 3 percent on the ...
by Elaine Frei
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw gains every day this week, ending with an 0.7 percent advance on Friday to 1,344.17. Over the week, the Eurofirst added 4.2 percent, the biggest weekly gain since March 2003.
Utilities did well, especially with Spain’s provisional approval of the merger of Endsea and Eon, which added 11.4 percent to €26.85 and 10 percent to ...
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices slid on Friday when new data showed that US domestic product growth lagged behind the level predicted by analysts. So even though Israel and Hizbollah are still fighing with no hope of a diplomatic solution in sight, and Nigerian oil facilities are offline for the foreseeable future after more unrest there, oil prices ended the ...
by Elaine Frei
The US Commerce Department issued a report on Friday showing that the US economy grew less in the second quarter than analysts expected it to. Growth was at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the April/May/June quarter, lower than the 3 percent that had been expected and much lower than the 5.6 percent growth in the first quarter of ...
July 27, 2006
by Elaine Frei
Wall Street was higher at midday on Thursday despite major declines in the health insurance sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.7 percent higher at mid-session to 11,174.87, while the Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.5 percent to 2,081.01 and the S&P 500 was up by 0.4 percent to 1,272.92.
Semiconductors were higher, with National Semiconductor 4.8 percent higher to $22.55 ...
by Elaine Frei
The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.9 percent higher on Thursday, at 5,929.5. It was the fourth day of gains in a row for the blue-chip index, during which time it has gained 3.6 percent, or over 210 points. The FTSE 250 was also up on the day, gaining 0.8 percent to 9,362.
Earnings reports in several sectors helped stocks ...
by Elaine Frei
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.1 percent to 1,334.69 on Thursday, its fourth daily gain in a row and its highest closing figure in over two months. The Eurfirst has risen 8.5 percent since the middle of June. Much of the gains were credited to quarterly reports.
Utilities were up as it was announced that energy regulators in Spain have provisionally ...
by Elaine Frei
Continuing unrest in several areas of the world sent crude oil prices higher on Thursday. Brent crude for September delivery was up 84 cents to $74.84 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude September contracts added 36 cents to $74.30 per barrel. One factor in the rise of Brent crude is that the troubles in Nigeria have ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar weakened on Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” report, released on Wednesday, provided anecdotal evidence that US economic growth is beginning to slow even though a new report showed that durable goods orders were up more than expected while unemployment levels were down.
The greenback was down 1.5 percent in the past two days to ...
July 26, 2006
by Elaine Frei
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.4 percent higher on Wednesday to close at 1,320.81. Oil stocks helped the gains.
The semiconductor sector saw declines on the day. ASML dropped 0.8 percent to €14.92 and Infineon was down 2.4 percent. STMicroelectronics fell 3.1 percent to €11.63. While its second-quarter report reached expectations, forecasts for the third quarter were lower ...
by Elaine Frei
Mixed news from earnings reports kept the New York equities markets down slightly on Wednesday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was less than a point lower to 11,103.16, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3 percent to 2,067.64 and the S&P 500 also down less than a point, to 1,268.30.
In a report released after the close of trade on ...
by Elaine Frei
Lower than expected profits reports from consumer finance companies sent Tokyo equities markets lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 was 0.8 percent lower to 14,884.07, while the Topix index was down by 0.9 percent to 1,520.44
Consumer finance was not the only sector with losses, however. The electronics sector was down, with NEC falling 0.2 percent to ¥578 and ...
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were up on Wednesday after gasoline inventories in the United States were reported to have dropped more than they were expected to last week, by 3.2 million barrels. The drop was much more than the 0.2 million barrel decline that had been forecast. Crude oil inventories were unchanged, against an expected drop of 0.7 million barrels. ...
by Elaine Frei
In the Eurozone on Wednesday, government bond yields were up after the news that even though the Ifo confidence survey in Germany was still very healthy, it had fallen a bit from its June reading. In addition, a sale of 30-year bonds in Germany generated less demand than had been anticipated, which triggered selling in other issues.
The two-year Schatz added ...
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At midday on Monday, Wall Street was running behind due to less than desirable corporate earnings reports as well as investor uncertainty about events in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were each 0.2 percent lower at mid-session, to 11,194.88 and 1,275.46 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.3 percent to ...
In London this week, the FTSE 100 was up 4.5 percent for the largest weekly percentage gain since March 2003. Friday’s gain was 0.8 percent, and the 100 closed out the week at 5,974.9.
Not all companies posted gains on the week, however. In the insurance sector, Prudential lost 3 percent over the week to 577½p on an ...
