Bloggy Business Today

LONDON |
Wed May 2, 2012 4:15am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures pointed to a steady open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the SP 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 trading flat to 0.05 percent lower.

The Dow closed at its highest level in more than four years on Tuesday after U.S. manufacturing expanded at a faster pace than expected in April, easing jitters about a slowdown in the economic recovery.

The Mortgage Bankers Association releases its Weekly Mortgage Market Index for the week ended April 27 at 1100 GMT, versus the prior week. The index read 697.7 and the refinancing index was 3,715.2 in the previous week.

At 1215 GMT, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) releases its April employment report. Economists expect 177,000 jobs were created in April, versus 209,000 new jobs in March.

Major companies announcing results included Time Warner (TWX.N), Visa (V.N), MasterCard (MA.N), Whole Foods (WFM.O), Symantec (SYMC.O) and Franklin Resources.

The Institute for Supply Management-New York releases its April index of regional business activity at 1345 GMT. In March, the index read 551.8.

U.S. auto sales rose 2.3 percent in April, helped by strong gains at Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Chrysler Group LLC, as American shoppers looked to replace their aging cars and trucks and the broader U.S. economy showed signs of strength.

The Commerce Department releases March factory orders at 10:00 a.m EDT (1400 GMT). Economists expect a 1.6 percent drop, compared with a 1.3 percent rise in February.

BSkyB (BSY.L) posted record nine-month operating profit boosted by strong broadband growth, as Britain’s dominant pay-TV group showed few side effects from problems affecting its biggest shareholder – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (NWSA.O).

The roadshow for Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) initial public offering is scheduled to start on Monday, meaning the company’s shares should begin trading on May 18, a source familiar with the process said on Tuesday.

European shares rose 0.4 percent on Wednesday as investors had their first chance to react to encouraging U.S. data after a holiday in the previous session.

Germany’s manufacturing sector shrank at the fastest pace in nearly three years in April, as export orders plunged, raising questions over whether Europe’s biggest economy can continue to drive growth in the euro zone.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 65.69 points, or 0.50 percent, to 13,279.32 at the close on Tuesday. The Standard Poor’s 500 Index .SPX rose 7.91 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,405.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 4.08 points, or 0.13

Article source: here

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK |
Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:39pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The SP 500 posted its first monthly decline since November on Monday, as stocks slipped in one of the lightest trading days of the year on signs the U.S. economy may be slowing and as a recession in Spain highlighted risks in the euro zone.

Despite Monday’s decline, the picture was not overwhelmingly negative. The SP closed out April with a decline of 0.8 percent, after four straight days of gains last week helped the index pare much steeper losses for the month.

Still, a recent string of economic data suggests the economy may slow in the summer months and has caused the market to stall just shy of the four-year highs reached earlier in the month. A much sharper-than-expected decline in Midwestern business activity in April reported on Monday by an industry group was the latest evidence of a slowdown.

“We had such a strong first quarter, and we’ve lost that momentum in the last two weeks,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive at Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The data “reinforces the ominous tone on Wall Street, along with the fears we have about Europe.”

Composite trading volume was the third lightest of the year at 5.8 billion on Monday compared with a daily average of this year of around 6.8 billion, according to preliminary data. The CBOE volatility index .VIX, or VIX, climbed 5.1 percent, after earlier hitting its highest level in more than a week.

Spain on Monday reported its economy contracted in the first quarter, dragging the country into recession as deep government spending cuts to reduce a massive deficit and troubles in the banking sector likely delayed any return to growth. Though expected, the news highlighted the serious headwinds the world economy faces.

Banks were among the top decliners on Wall Street after Standard Poor’s cut the credit ratings of 11 Spanish banks on Monday, following its downgrade of Spain last week.

The SP 500 financial sector index .GSPF fell 0.6 percent while Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) dropped 1.7 percent to $8.11. Shares of Spanish bank Santander (STD.N) traded in New York fell 2.2 percent to $6.33 and are down 16 percent this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 14.68 points, or 0.11 percent, to 13,213.63. The Standard Poor’s 500 Index .SPX fell 5.45 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,397.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 22.84 points, or 0.74 percent, to

Article source: here

By Angela Moon and Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK |
Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:58pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – It will be another battleground for SP 500 index next week. Will the bears finally give up and let the bulls have their way?

The SP 500, the market’s broadest measure, managed to close out the week above the psychologically important 1,400 mark for the first time since early April. But the index is still down 0.4 percent for the month so far even after gaining 1.8 percent for the week, with only one trading day left in April.

Brian Lazorishak, senior quantitative analyst and portfolio manager at Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia, said a close above 1,400 is positive, but the recent high, near 1,422, is a more important technical level.

“That’s what we’re looking for on the upside as confirmation there’s room to move higher,” Lazorishak said.

“A close above that would open the window to testing highs back to early 2008. The next natural area you’d see is a run to at least 1,440, the May 2008 high.”

Next week’s release of a slew of economic data on the U.S. labor market and the beginning of the latter half of corporate earnings will be keenly watched to see if they are enough to allow stocks to break above the recent trading range.

The SP 500, up 11.6 percent for the year, jumped 4.4 percent in January, 4.1 percent in February and 3.1 percent in March, but is down 0.4 percent so far this month.

“The sideways action we have seen over the past few weeks was enough to alleviate any overbought conditions that existed in the market a month ago,” said Larry McMillan, president of options research firm McMillan Analysis Corp in a report on Friday.

“Thus, the market has the potential for another leg higher in this longer term uptrend, one that began early October 2011,” he said.

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

At the top of investors’ radar screen next week will be the government’s closely watched monthly jobs report for April, to be released on Friday. Jobs growth in March slowed to 120,000, the smallest increase since October, disappointing investors even though the unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 8.2 percent.

Ahead of the government’s payrolls report, investors will be watching the ADP Employment Report due on Wednesday and weekly jobless claims data due on Thursday for indications of whether the labor market is gaining momentum.

Corporate earnings, which drove gains in stocks last week, will

Article source: here

NEW YORK |
Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:22pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Friday to post their best weekly gains in more than a month as stronger-than-expected earnings from Amazon and Expedia reinforced confidence in corporate strength.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 23.69 points, or 0.18 percent, to 13,228.31. The SP 500 Index gained 3.38 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,403.36. The Nasdaq Composite rose 18.59 points, or 0.61 percent, to 3,069.20.

For the week, the Dow rose 1.5 percent, the SP gained 1.8 percent, and the Nasdaq added 2.3 percent. The weekly gains were the largest for the Dow and SP since mid March and the best for the Nasdaq since early February.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Article source: here

LONDON |
Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:07am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) – Global shares edged higher and the dollar hit a three-week low against a basket of currencies on Thursday after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its willingness to help if the U.S. economy weakened, though it raised its growth outlook slightly.

Strong corporate profits emerging from the United States and Europe and a dip in oil prices also supported investor confidence, but markets remain cautious ahead of a key test of demand for euro zone debt on Friday when Italy will sell new bonds.

“Despite its projections that GDP growth will pick up, the FOMC expects unemployment to remain well above target by the end of 2014. This means that there is scope for further monetary easing down the road, especially if the recovery falters,” said Philip Marey, strategist at Rabobank.

The dollar index edged down to 78.96 after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments, with the U.S. unit suffering more against higher yielding currencies. It hit a seven-month low against the Canadian dollar and sterling.

The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3233, near a three-week high of $1.3237 touched on Wednesday.

The Fed’s reassuring words lifted share markets in Asia and the United States, pushing the MSCI world equity index up 0.2 percent to 326.86, making its gains for the year over 9 percent.

European equities were supported by a crop of strong corporate earnings, but political uncertainty in the region and a mixed performance in the financial sector kept a lid on gains. The FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.1 percent at 1,043.24 in early trade.

(Reporting by Richard Hubbard; Editing by Will Waterman)

Article source: here