US & World Daily Markets Financial Briefing 23-03-2006

Trade your way to Financial Fitness!
Click here to find out more.

U.S. stocks tread water; GM gains on unit stake sale

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks traded little changed Thursday after strong gains in the prior session took the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a fresh multi-year high, but General Motors Corp. rallied after an investor group bought a majority stake in its GMAC Commercial unit in a deal valued at $9 billion.
   
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last down 1 point at 11,316 after climbing to its best level in nearly 5 years in the previous session.
   
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2 points to 2,301 while the S&P 500 Index dipped 1 point to 1,303.96.
   
"Adobe Systems issued an earnings warning that is a little light of expectations," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald. "The market has shown some true resilience, but the question is, how long can the rally last if technology [stocks] refuses to participate."
   
Since the beginning of the year, the Dow industrials are up more than 5% while the S&P 500 has climbed around 4.6%. The Nasdaq's gains have been a little more modest for the year, with the tech-rich index up 4.4%. This is due in part to the semiconductor sector, which has risen only 3.75% over the last three months.

Stocks on the move
   
Shares of General Motors Corp. rose 1.7% to $22.39 after the carmaker completed a deal to sell a majority stake in GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. The company said its GMAC unit sold 78% of its equity in GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. for more than $1.5 billion. The company had previously said it was targeting the sale of a 60% stake.
   
Also, at closing, GMAC Commercial Holding, which provides real estate financing, re-paid GMAC about $7.3 billion in inter-company loans, bringing its total proceeds from the deal to nearly $9 billion.
   
Adobe Systems were down 2% at $35.88 in early dealings.
   
Late Wednesday the document software company reported a decline in quarterly profit due to acquisition costs. The share was pressured early Thursday by the fact that its earnings forecast disappointed some investors.
   
Shares of Dell Inc. were off 16 cents at $30.25. The company will buy computer maker Alienware Corp. for an undisclosed sum in a move to boost its position with consumers.
   
Advanced Micro Devices rose 2.9% to $35.39 as J.P. Morgan said the Dell deal should be positive for AMD, as it would mark the first time Dell has used AMD processors in its personal computer portfolio.
   
Shares in Liberty Global Inc. climbed 5.2% to $19.53 after the cable operator agreed to sell its French cable business, UPC France SA, for around $1.51 billion to Altice and Cinven.
   
Yahoo stock was up 2.8% at $31.60 in early trading after UBS upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, citing valuation.

VantagePoint's market forecasts are nearly 80% accurate. Take a look at actual forecasts, become eligible for a Complimentary VantagePoint Market ($750 value!) and see the difference they will make. Click here to see two recent forecasts now.

Dollar higher ahead of housing data

NEW YORK - The dollar rose to a one-week high against the euro, and was a touch higher against the yen early Thursday, with traders looking ahead to next week's Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting.
   
Earlier, the U.S. currency showed little reaction to a solid initial jobless claims report from the Labor Department, as markets eagerly awaited the 10 a.m. Eastern release of existing home sales data.
   
"There has been a lot of focus on the housing market and recent Fed speak has shown a little bit of concern over housing prices. The market is going to be sensitive to the data," said Ronald Simpson, a currency analyst at research firm Action Economics.
    
In early New York trading, the dollar was trading at 116.97 yen, up 0.03%. The euro changed hands at $1.2055, down 0.2%, after earlier falling to $1.2040, the lowest level since March 17. The U.S. currency firmed 0.1% against the British pound with one pound fetching $1.7435. The dollar was last up 0.2% at 1.3079 Swiss francs.
   
Major currency pairs have seen volatile trading within tight ranges recently, reflecting an uncertainty over future rate movements from the U.S. Federal Reserve, traders said.
   
"A 25 basis point hike is still considered as a given at next week's meeting, but precisely what happens next remains open to debate, said Tim Wilbraham, a senior currency dealer at CMC Markets.
   
First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 11,000 to 302,000 in the week ending March 18, the Labor Department said. It's down from a revised 313,000 and is the lowest since Feb. 24.
   
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting jobless claims to fall to about 305,000.
   
The four-week average of continuing claims hit a new low of 2.469 million. It's the lowest since Feb. 10, 2001.
   
Continuing claims are one indicator watched by Federal Reserve officials trying to gauge the strength of the labor market.
   
Existing home sales in February are expected to ease to 6.52 million from 6.56 million, according to MarketWatch forecast.
   
Overnight, the Japanese yen was modestly pressured by dovish comments from Bank of Japan policy board member Shin Nakahara. Nakahara said risks of deflation are still present in Japan and he saw no need to abandon the zero interest rate policy anytime soon.

HotSignals.com Inc to be featured on World Business Review for Innovative Financial Trading Technologies, hosted by Alexander Haig with industry expert Al Berkeley. Explore Hotsignals, simple yet effective scanning technology here. Example: Short 18th January on GOOG at $444.91

The European Markets at 12.00 GMT

London - Leading shares remained weaker at midday, with disappointing earnings news from William Morrison and Next and profit-taking across the property sector pulling the FTSE back below the 6,000 level, dealers said.
   
By 12.10 pm, the FTSE 100 index was 7.7 points easier at 5999.8, having hit a peak in opening deals of 6,029.4.

Frankfurt - Shares were slightly higher in midday trade following gains on Wall Street overnight and as Lufthansa sparkled as the market cheered its higher-than-expected dividend proposal, dealers said.
   
At 11.35 am, the DAX 30 index was 8.34 points or 0.14 pct higher at 5,940.65, having moved between 5,922.03 and 5,954.92 so far this session.

Paris - Shares were lower at midday on a much calmer day's trading than yesterday, as utilities stocks slid while Pernod Ricard shone on strong first quarter results, dealers said.
   
At 12.38 pm, the CAC-40 index was 12.18 points or 0.23 pct lower at 5,182.60, on light volume of 1.68 bln eur. Among CAC-40 stocks, 24 were lower and 16 were higher.

Madrid - Share prices were lower midday, as profit-taking set in particularly in the mid-sized banks, while media issues and constructors were in favour, with Ferrovial leading the gainers, dealers said.
   
At 12.04 pm, the IBEX-35 index fell 64 points to 11,887.6 after trading in a range of 11,880-11,970, on turnover of 1.37 bln eur.

Amsterdam - Share prices were slightly higher in quiet early afternoon trade amid a lack of corporate news to move the market, dealers said.
   
At 12.35 pm, the AEX was up 0.99 point or 0.21 pct at 470.02, after opening at 470.47 and trading in a narrow range of 469.30-470.65.

Milan - Share prices were lower at midday, hit by across-the-board profit-taking, with Fiat clearly outperforming on broker upgrades, dealers said.
   
At 12.29 pm, the Mibtel index fell 0.59 pct to 29,522 points and the S&P/Mib was off 0.69 pct at 38,255, while volumes stood at 2.31 bln eur.
   
Fiat rose 2.15 pct to 10 eur, after Exane raised its price target to 12.6 eur from 10 and maintained an 'outperform' recommendation.

Stockholm - Share prices remained in slightly positive territory in midday trade, little changed from earlier levels, with Trelleborg one of the few blue chips in negative territory after a downgrade, dealers said.
   
At 12.05 pm, the OMX Stockholm index was up 0.42 pct at 335.71, while the OMX Stockholm 30 index was up 0.42 pct at 1,051.55. Turnover was 9.80 bln skr.

Helsinki - Shares were slightly lower midday in light trading, led by UPM-Kymmene which was trading ex-dividend, with a sharply higher Outokumpu on reports that it will raise steel prices in the UK this year providing relief, dealers said.
   
At 12.25 pm, the OMX Helsinki 25 index was 0.43 pct weaker at 2,699.60. The OMX Helsinki index was down 0.26 pct at 9,342.06, while the Helsinki CAP portfolio index was 0.37 pct lower at 5,018.08.

Automated Forex Alerts to your email or Cell phone.  Finally a system that works! Come and see it live today.  Free Automated Trading, get your complimentary trial here

Asian shares close mixed, Tokyo down on profit-taking ahead of land survey

HONG KONG - Share prices across the Asia-Pacific region ended mixed, with Tokyo lower as investors opted to cash-in profits ahead of the release of the results of a national land price survey, dealers said.
   
They added that players want to wait to see if the survey provides evidence that the country's economic recovery has now spread to land prices.
   
The blue-chip Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed down 6.11 points at 16,489.37 while the broader TOPIX index of all first-section issues fell 6.29 points to 1,680.09.
   
Share prices got an initial boost from gains on Wall Street overnight, dealers said.
   
"However, after the Nikkei (index) rose above the 16,600 points mark, investors chose to pocket gains ahead of the outcome of the land price survey," said Masayoshi Yano, a senior market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
   
Among sectors that came under pressure were banks, securities brokers, property developers, steelmakers, utility firms, marine transport operators and machinery manufacturers.
   
In Australia, share prices finished at a fresh record high with investor sentiment boosted by overnight rises on Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange showing more confidence in the world economy, dealers said.
   
The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 21.9 points or 0.44 pct to close at a fresh record high of 5,035.3, the third plus-5,000 record level set this week and overtaking yesterday's record close of 5,013.4.
   
Dealers said gains by index-leading resource stocks BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto helped the market break fresh record highs, rising on analysts' forecasts of higher export earnings for the miners due to a falling Australian dollar.
   
Share prices in Hong Kong were higher in the afternoon on bargain-hunting after yesterday's sharp falls, with gains on Wall Street providing encouragement, dealers said.
   
At 3:25 pm, the Hang Seng Index was up 83.02 points or 0.53 pct at 15,725.83.
   
In mainland China, A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen finished higher on late afternoon buying in market heavyweight petrochemical producers with metal companies remaining in favor, dealers said.
   
The Shanghai A-share Index added 6.0 points to 1,365.81 on turnover of 12.52 bln yuan and the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 1.42 points at 328.09 on turnover of 8.09 bln yuan.
   
Share prices in Seoul closed mixed in turbulent trade, with continued declines in Samsung Electronics and Hynix offsetting solid gains by banks, dealers said.
   
Wall Street's overnight advance and easing oil prices brought on a firm start, sustained by strong retail and foreign investor support.
   
In late trade, however, a massive institutional investor sell-off along with program selling dampened overall sentiment, with the index once threatening 1,300 points.
   
The KOSPI index closed up 2.43 points or 0.19 pct at 1,312.26.

Asian Bourse Round-Up

For a full list of closing figures, click here

How? By using new trading system by a 15 year market veteran designed for swing trading and day trading.  Learn how to trade any market, even if you are a novice. Manuals and videos provide a step by step blue-print to make learning easy. ADVFN subscribers save $50.00 - Only $147. Click here

NEW YORK - Treasury prices were trending higher in a continuation of the gains seen the day before, putting a bit of pressure on yields. Heavy selling earlier in the week drove yields up to attractive levels. Buyers often appear when the yield on the benchmark 10-year note approaches 4.7%.
   
The benchmark yield last stood at 4.70%, little changed from Wednesday's close.
   
The Treasury Department will make an announcement at 1 p.m. about upcoming issuances of 2-year and 5-year notes.

Crude was trending higher in the early going. The May futures contract last was up 48 cents at $62.25 a barrel. The market remains focused on inventory levels, after data released Wednesday showed the first decline in supply in six weeks.
   
Gold futures were backing lower, with the front-month contract last trading down $4.90 at $546.80 an ounce.

A 24/7 real-time Forex Dealing room service - Forwards, Options, Day Trading and Limit Order deals. Open an account with $25 minimum. 24/7 broker support. No commissions. No software download required. Special terms for frequent traders. Click here