Disclaimer: This report is provided for information purposes only. It is not an offer to sell or to buy any securities. This report has been prepared based on sources believed to be reliable, but there is no assurance or guarantee regarding its completeness & and accuracy. The author accepts no responsibility or liability arising from any use of the report.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Asian Markets Review – September 3rd 2010
Nikkei Higher, Esprit Slumped
Nikkei 225 Average ended up 51.29 points or 0.57% higher at 9,114.13 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index resumed its ascend to 20,971.50. Shanghai Composite fell however, to 2,655.39 as concerns over the government’s action on the property markets sent property stocks on retreat. US pending home sales data and jobless claims released overnight were the main drivers to the rise. Caution was in the air as investors braced for the widely anticipated Non-farm Payrolls data due later in US session.
Ping An jumped again for the second day in a row after it resumed trading following a long break since late June. The insurance group climbed 5.45% towards HK$69.70, lending support to the Hang Seng index performance. Deutsche Bank however, lowered its target from HK$88.00 to HK$78.89.
Following disappointing fiscal year results, Morgan Stanley revised Esprit’s target to HK$52 from HK$73, while Citigroup adjusted its target to HK59 from HK$62. Esprit plunged deeper as it settled at HK$40.65 or 5.24% lower.
In contrast, Sino Land edged up 3.24% to HK$14.02 after it reported a better-than-expected fiscal year results late on Thursday. Net profit excluding revaluation gains amounted to HK$3.51 billion which, despite falling 2.6% against prior year, were better than the consensus of HK$3.37 billion.
Top gainers in Japan on Friday were Sony Corp. - which recently opened a direct rivalry against Apple in video and photo streaming services after launching Qriocity – with 2.39% gains at ¥2,485, TDK Corp. with 2.09% rise to ¥4,640, and Toyota Motor Corp. which advanced 2.39% to ¥2,485. Languishing at the bottom were Honda Motor which shed 1.22% to ¥2,824, Nikon Corp. with 0.63% decline to ¥1,425, and Kyocera which ended 0.4% lower at ¥7,480.
On the top along with Sino Land, China Merchants Holdings rose 2.47% towards HK$27 while Cathay Pacific Airways advanced to HK$19.80 or up 2.27%. Yue Yuen Industrials and China Resources joined Esprit Holdings at the bottom, falling 0.99% and 1.35%, respectively.
Nikkei 225 Average ended up 51.29 points or 0.57% higher at 9,114.13 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index resumed its ascend to 20,971.50. Shanghai Composite fell however, to 2,655.39 as concerns over the government’s action on the property markets sent property stocks on retreat. US pending home sales data and jobless claims released overnight were the main drivers to the rise. Caution was in the air as investors braced for the widely anticipated Non-farm Payrolls data due later in US session.
Ping An jumped again for the second day in a row after it resumed trading following a long break since late June. The insurance group climbed 5.45% towards HK$69.70, lending support to the Hang Seng index performance. Deutsche Bank however, lowered its target from HK$88.00 to HK$78.89.
Following disappointing fiscal year results, Morgan Stanley revised Esprit’s target to HK$52 from HK$73, while Citigroup adjusted its target to HK59 from HK$62. Esprit plunged deeper as it settled at HK$40.65 or 5.24% lower.
In contrast, Sino Land edged up 3.24% to HK$14.02 after it reported a better-than-expected fiscal year results late on Thursday. Net profit excluding revaluation gains amounted to HK$3.51 billion which, despite falling 2.6% against prior year, were better than the consensus of HK$3.37 billion.
Top gainers in Japan on Friday were Sony Corp. - which recently opened a direct rivalry against Apple in video and photo streaming services after launching Qriocity – with 2.39% gains at ¥2,485, TDK Corp. with 2.09% rise to ¥4,640, and Toyota Motor Corp. which advanced 2.39% to ¥2,485. Languishing at the bottom were Honda Motor which shed 1.22% to ¥2,824, Nikon Corp. with 0.63% decline to ¥1,425, and Kyocera which ended 0.4% lower at ¥7,480.
On the top along with Sino Land, China Merchants Holdings rose 2.47% towards HK$27 while Cathay Pacific Airways advanced to HK$19.80 or up 2.27%. Yue Yuen Industrials and China Resources joined Esprit Holdings at the bottom, falling 0.99% and 1.35%, respectively.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
European and North American Markets Review – September 2nd 2010
Europe Flat, HP Won 3Par
Europe turned flat as DAX inched lower 0.05 point to 6,083.85 while FTSE 100 edged higher by 0.09% to 5,371.04. In North American markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average resumed its advance to 10,320.10 or 0.49% higher. S&P 500 also gained 9.81 points to end at 1,090.10 while Nasdaq Composite finished at 2,200.01 or up 1.06%. Gains were limited as the markets turned cautious ahead of the release of US non-farm payrolls data on Friday. Tech rose higher after the bidding war between HP and Dell ended.
Other than the European Central Bank meeting which ended with the decision to keep the interest rates steady at 1%, the continent had its GDP data for 2Q released. Euro-Zone grew 1.9% in 2Q, higher than the previous estimate of 1.7% growth. The q/q data showed unchanged estimate at 1%. Producer Price Index was also released on Thursday. Euro-Zone PPI slowed from 0.3% in June to 0.2% in July. Year-on-year, the PPI went up 4%, faster than June’s 3%.
UK data due on Thursday include the Nationwide house price which slowed from 6.6% to 3.9% (y/y) in August. PMI for construction also declined, from 54.1 to 52.1, lower than the consensus of 53.9.
In the US, jobless claims showed a further decline in claims to 472,000 from 478,000 a week before, easing the concerns over the state of US labor market. Pending home sales data from the National Association of Realtors indicated an improvement in sales in July, rising 5.2% (m/m) against the expected 1% fall.
Friday’s focus will be set upon the non-farm payrolls for August. The August figure is expected to show a 105,000 decline in payrolls following a drop of 131,000 in July. Earlier this week, ADP reported an unexpected cut of 10,000 jobs in private sector payrolls. Private hiring was initially expected to have risen by 20,000 after it went up by 37,000 in July. As this month’s jobless claims hit 500k, the projected NFP figure would be somewhere around -100k to -150k. How the markets will respond to the report will set the path for probably the entire September. Meanwhile, unemployment rate is seen at 9.6%, inching higher from July’s 9.5%. Another piece of economic data due on Friday is ISM for the non-manufacturing industry. The index is expected at 53.5 in August, falling from 54.3.
From the i
ndustrial news, VCI Association in Germany said that the chemical industry in Germany saw a 5.2% increase in sales during 2Q from 1Q. Revenue increased €41.6 bln in 2Q, production was up 1.5% while capacity utilization went up to 85.6%. VCI Association forecast an increase in production and revenue by 11% and 18%, respectively, but warned that the growth might be slowing as companies had their inventories restocked throughout the first half of the year. BASF, one of the chemical giant inched 0.06% higher to €43.03.
Deutsche Bank was hit hardest on Thursday after the analysis from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch put DB in the list of ‘least preferred’ shares. According to the analysis the capital concern at DB and the potential purchase of Deutsche Postbank AG stakes by DB were the factors behind the analyst’s move. DB tumbled 3.2% to €49.34.
Deutsche Post won the case against the government at the European Union high court regarding the subsidy case it had since 2002. Hence, Deutsche Post was freed from paying €1.15 billion back to the government. Deutsche Post was accused of misusing the subsidy provided by the government, but the court deemed the regulators had used a wrong method during their investigation of this matter. Deutsche Post advanced 1.28% to €13.42 by the end of Thursday’s session.
BP was reportedly continuing its asset sales to reach $27.2 billion. So far the oil giant had received $7 billion from Apache and $1.9 billion from asset sales in Colombia to Ecopetrol and Talisman Energy. This week, BP also sold its chemical unit to Malaysian Petronas for $363 million. More BP’s assets will be sold in Pakistan and Vietnam.
Hewlett-Packard finally won the bidding war against Dell in the quest to acquire data storage company 3Par. HP’s bid of $33 per share sent Dell into retreat. The bid would cost HP $2.4 billion. Dell went up 1.98% to $12.36 after it folded its hand, while HP rose 1.2% to $39.68. HP was also raised to OUTPERFORM from MARKET PERFORM by JMP Securities with target price set at $50. HP’s PC business, high-growth geographic factor, as well as light laptops were the factors behind the upgrade.
Aircraft maker Boeing forecast the North American and Canadian market would need 7,200 units of commercial airplanes in the next 20 years. About $700 billion will be needed as investment to meet the demand. The focus will be on single-aisle, fuel efficient airplanes. At the end of Thursday Boeing was settled at $63.39, or up 1.77%.
Top performers in Europe were BMW (+1.6%), Daimler (+1.35%), and Deutsche Post (+1.28%). At the bottom were Deutsche Bank (-3.22%), Deutsche Boerse (-1.47%), and Bayer AG (-1.32%). In North American market, Starbucks soared 4.14%, AMD advanced 2.95% as well as Alcoa. Losers include IBM, Oracle, and Merck with losses of 0.58%, 0.62%, and 0.76%, respectively.
Europe turned flat as DAX inched lower 0.05 point to 6,083.85 while FTSE 100 edged higher by 0.09% to 5,371.04. In North American markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average resumed its advance to 10,320.10 or 0.49% higher. S&P 500 also gained 9.81 points to end at 1,090.10 while Nasdaq Composite finished at 2,200.01 or up 1.06%. Gains were limited as the markets turned cautious ahead of the release of US non-farm payrolls data on Friday. Tech rose higher after the bidding war between HP and Dell ended.
Other than the European Central Bank meeting which ended with the decision to keep the interest rates steady at 1%, the continent had its GDP data for 2Q released. Euro-Zone grew 1.9% in 2Q, higher than the previous estimate of 1.7% growth. The q/q data showed unchanged estimate at 1%. Producer Price Index was also released on Thursday. Euro-Zone PPI slowed from 0.3% in June to 0.2% in July. Year-on-year, the PPI went up 4%, faster than June’s 3%.
UK data due on Thursday include the Nationwide house price which slowed from 6.6% to 3.9% (y/y) in August. PMI for construction also declined, from 54.1 to 52.1, lower than the consensus of 53.9.
In the US, jobless claims showed a further decline in claims to 472,000 from 478,000 a week before, easing the concerns over the state of US labor market. Pending home sales data from the National Association of Realtors indicated an improvement in sales in July, rising 5.2% (m/m) against the expected 1% fall.
Friday’s focus will be set upon the non-farm payrolls for August. The August figure is expected to show a 105,000 decline in payrolls following a drop of 131,000 in July. Earlier this week, ADP reported an unexpected cut of 10,000 jobs in private sector payrolls. Private hiring was initially expected to have risen by 20,000 after it went up by 37,000 in July. As this month’s jobless claims hit 500k, the projected NFP figure would be somewhere around -100k to -150k. How the markets will respond to the report will set the path for probably the entire September. Meanwhile, unemployment rate is seen at 9.6%, inching higher from July’s 9.5%. Another piece of economic data due on Friday is ISM for the non-manufacturing industry. The index is expected at 53.5 in August, falling from 54.3.
From the i
ndustrial news, VCI Association in Germany said that the chemical industry in Germany saw a 5.2% increase in sales during 2Q from 1Q. Revenue increased €41.6 bln in 2Q, production was up 1.5% while capacity utilization went up to 85.6%. VCI Association forecast an increase in production and revenue by 11% and 18%, respectively, but warned that the growth might be slowing as companies had their inventories restocked throughout the first half of the year. BASF, one of the chemical giant inched 0.06% higher to €43.03.Deutsche Bank was hit hardest on Thursday after the analysis from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch put DB in the list of ‘least preferred’ shares. According to the analysis the capital concern at DB and the potential purchase of Deutsche Postbank AG stakes by DB were the factors behind the analyst’s move. DB tumbled 3.2% to €49.34.
Deutsche Post won the case against the government at the European Union high court regarding the subsidy case it had since 2002. Hence, Deutsche Post was freed from paying €1.15 billion back to the government. Deutsche Post was accused of misusing the subsidy provided by the government, but the court deemed the regulators had used a wrong method during their investigation of this matter. Deutsche Post advanced 1.28% to €13.42 by the end of Thursday’s session.
BP was reportedly continuing its asset sales to reach $27.2 billion. So far the oil giant had received $7 billion from Apache and $1.9 billion from asset sales in Colombia to Ecopetrol and Talisman Energy. This week, BP also sold its chemical unit to Malaysian Petronas for $363 million. More BP’s assets will be sold in Pakistan and Vietnam.
Hewlett-Packard finally won the bidding war against Dell in the quest to acquire data storage company 3Par. HP’s bid of $33 per share sent Dell into retreat. The bid would cost HP $2.4 billion. Dell went up 1.98% to $12.36 after it folded its hand, while HP rose 1.2% to $39.68. HP was also raised to OUTPERFORM from MARKET PERFORM by JMP Securities with target price set at $50. HP’s PC business, high-growth geographic factor, as well as light laptops were the factors behind the upgrade.
Aircraft maker Boeing forecast the North American and Canadian market would need 7,200 units of commercial airplanes in the next 20 years. About $700 billion will be needed as investment to meet the demand. The focus will be on single-aisle, fuel efficient airplanes. At the end of Thursday Boeing was settled at $63.39, or up 1.77%.
Top performers in Europe were BMW (+1.6%), Daimler (+1.35%), and Deutsche Post (+1.28%). At the bottom were Deutsche Bank (-3.22%), Deutsche Boerse (-1.47%), and Bayer AG (-1.32%). In North American market, Starbucks soared 4.14%, AMD advanced 2.95% as well as Alcoa. Losers include IBM, Oracle, and Merck with losses of 0.58%, 0.62%, and 0.76%, respectively.
Asian Markets Review – September 2nd 2010
US Data Fueled Asian Rallies
Improving global sentiment triggered by the latest ISM data for the US manufacturing sector boosted Asian shares on Thursday. Nikkei 225 Average was up 135.82 points to end 1.52% higher at 9,062.84, Hang Seng index jumped higher to 20,868.92 or 1.19%, while Shanghai Composite ended at 2,655.78 or up 1.25%.
Top gainers from Japan were Kyocera Corp. with 3.30% gains at ¥7,510, Nissan Motor Co. at ¥664 with 2.95% gains, and Nikon Corp. at ¥1,434 (+2.58%). Toyota and Nintendo were losing out with 0.25% and 0.26% declines.
Sony’s Qriocity wa
s unveiled and aimed at facing competition with Apple in video and music streaming services. The services will be available this fall in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and England. Qriocity will be accessible via Sony’s Bravia TV, Playstation 3, Blu-ray DVD player, and also Vaio PCs. Analysts were not excited with the product, citing that Sony still has a lot of catching up with Apple’s recently unveiled similar services yesterday by Steve Jobs. Sony ended at ¥2,427, up 2.19%.
US vehicle sales data revealed that Toyota sales were down 34% year-on-year in August, while Honda’s sales fell 33%, and Nissan’s declined 27%. Asian branded autos fell 29% overall in August, worse than US branded ones which slumped 14%. The August sales figures were the lowest in the last 28 years due to worries over a double dip recession in the US. Toyota ended the day at ¥2,850, Honda Motor at ¥2,859 (+1.85%).
In Hong Kong, Ping An Insurance resumed trading after being suspended since June 30th as it acquired Shenzhen Development Bank. Ping An jumped 2.7% to HK$66.10, boosting the Hang Seng index performance.
Esprit Holdings reported a net profit of HK$4.23 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2010. The figure was less than the expected HK$4.44 billion and was 11% lower than the same period last year. Esprit fell 2.82% by the end of the day at HK$43.00.
China Mobile underperformed on Thursday as the uncertainties surrounding Vodafone’s planned sale of China Mobile’s 3.2% stakes lingered. China Mobile advanced only 0.76% towards HK$79.80.
CITIC Pacific, China Shenhua, and China Overseas Land & Investment posted significant gains today: 4.41%, 3.31%, and 3.09%, respectively. Stuck at the red zone along with Esprit Holdings, China Resources fell 0.4% as well as Cheung Kong Infrastructure which declined 0.25%.
Improving global sentiment triggered by the latest ISM data for the US manufacturing sector boosted Asian shares on Thursday. Nikkei 225 Average was up 135.82 points to end 1.52% higher at 9,062.84, Hang Seng index jumped higher to 20,868.92 or 1.19%, while Shanghai Composite ended at 2,655.78 or up 1.25%.
Top gainers from Japan were Kyocera Corp. with 3.30% gains at ¥7,510, Nissan Motor Co. at ¥664 with 2.95% gains, and Nikon Corp. at ¥1,434 (+2.58%). Toyota and Nintendo were losing out with 0.25% and 0.26% declines.
Sony’s Qriocity wa
s unveiled and aimed at facing competition with Apple in video and music streaming services. The services will be available this fall in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and England. Qriocity will be accessible via Sony’s Bravia TV, Playstation 3, Blu-ray DVD player, and also Vaio PCs. Analysts were not excited with the product, citing that Sony still has a lot of catching up with Apple’s recently unveiled similar services yesterday by Steve Jobs. Sony ended at ¥2,427, up 2.19%.US vehicle sales data revealed that Toyota sales were down 34% year-on-year in August, while Honda’s sales fell 33%, and Nissan’s declined 27%. Asian branded autos fell 29% overall in August, worse than US branded ones which slumped 14%. The August sales figures were the lowest in the last 28 years due to worries over a double dip recession in the US. Toyota ended the day at ¥2,850, Honda Motor at ¥2,859 (+1.85%).
In Hong Kong, Ping An Insurance resumed trading after being suspended since June 30th as it acquired Shenzhen Development Bank. Ping An jumped 2.7% to HK$66.10, boosting the Hang Seng index performance.
Esprit Holdings reported a net profit of HK$4.23 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2010. The figure was less than the expected HK$4.44 billion and was 11% lower than the same period last year. Esprit fell 2.82% by the end of the day at HK$43.00.
China Mobile underperformed on Thursday as the uncertainties surrounding Vodafone’s planned sale of China Mobile’s 3.2% stakes lingered. China Mobile advanced only 0.76% towards HK$79.80.
CITIC Pacific, China Shenhua, and China Overseas Land & Investment posted significant gains today: 4.41%, 3.31%, and 3.09%, respectively. Stuck at the red zone along with Esprit Holdings, China Resources fell 0.4% as well as Cheung Kong Infrastructure which declined 0.25%.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
European and North American Markets Review – September 1st 2010
Bulls Ruled Europe and North America
Better-than-expected economic data from China and US triggered hefty gains in Europe and North America on Wednesday. DAX index jumped 158.68 points to end at 6,083.90 or up 2.68%, while FTSE 100 rallied towards 5,366.41 or gained 2.70%. North American markets also rallied, with the Dow ended at 10,269.47 after leaping 254.75 points throughout the day, Nasdaq Composite gained 2.97% to settle at 2,176.84, while S&P 500 landed at 1,080.29 after a 2.95% rise.
Data, Data, Data …
After China PMI triggered a mood swing towards positive in Asia, the effect still lingered throughout midday Europe (for China data, read previous post). Then, US data were out, and despite the ADP report went in below the expectations, ISM data posted a better-than-expected reading and thus further powered the rally among European and North American shares.
ADP report showed that 10,000 jobs were cut in August, against a gain of 37,000 jobs in the previous month. The market had expected an addition of 20,000 jobs into the private sector in August. The missed result was unable to stop the rally that already brought over 100 points of gains on Dow Jones index.
The boost came from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index for the manufacturing sector that beat the expectation of a fall towards 53.00. Instead of falling, the index rose from 55.5 in July to 56.3 in August, indicating that manufacturing activity remained robust throughout August.
Final piece of the economic data on Wednesday was construction spending that declined 1% to $805.2 billion. June’s figure was revised down to -0.8% against prior estimate of +0.1%.
Earlier, European data showed unimpressive results. German PMI for manufacturing sector was stagnant at 58.2 in August, the same as July’s level. UK’s PMI for manufacturing unexpectedly fell from 56.9 to 54.3, below the expected rise to 57.0. Meanwhile, retail sales fell 0.3% (m/m) in Germany while on the year-on-year basis sales grew 0.8% after a 4.7% jump in prior month.
More data to come on Thursday, as US jobless claims and pending home sales will grab the market’s attention aside from other data coming from Europe. Claims were expected to rise again to 478,000 after it dropped towards 473,000. Pending home sales were expected to fall 1.5% in July, at a better pace than June’s -2.6%.
Daimler AG gained significantly to €40.46 or 5.46% higher than Tuesday’s close after UBS raised its rating from SELL to NEUTRAL.
BMW bea
t Toyota’s Lexus at the American market for luxury cars in August as the sales climbed to 19,540. 1 Series and 7 Series had their sales up by 53% and 42%, respectively. Lexus however, declined 15% to 19,465. Daimler’s Mercedes sales were up 10% to 18,826 units, as the E-Class contributed a month-on-month increase of 26% in August while since the start of the year its sales were up 71%. BMW gained 2.99% at €42.91 while Volkswagen advanced 2.24% to €73.36.
Among the three, Lexus was on top with 145,490 units (+11%), Mercedes in the second place with 139,867 units (+18%), and BMW next at 139,236 units (+7.8%). Further down, Ford Motor Co. had 6,428 units of Lincoln models sold (+9.4%), Volkswagen’s Audi with 9,182 units (+14%) along with its Porsche’s sales of 2,032 units (+33%). Honda’s Acura and Nissan’s Infiniti sales were a 11,534 units (+20%) and 9,428 units (+22%), respectively.
BP will resume the work of plugging of its well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday which had been held by rough seas since August 30th. BP’s shares hovered at 388.75 pence at the end of the session.
Shares with significant gains in Europe were Daimler at the top (+5.46%), Barclays Plc. (+4.33%) and Deutsche Boerse (+3.69%).
Eyes on Apple
Apple demonstrated its new iPods, iTunes and Apple TV. It also introduced iTunes software with more social-networking features that enable users to see their friends’ downloading activities. Apple TV’s set-top box was revamped, video rentals fees were lowered, and Netflix’s content was made available for streaming. Apple unveiled iOS 4.1 at the event, which would be available next week for iPhone and iPod touch via free download. The OS will include GameCenter for multiplayer gaming. Subsequent version, iOS 4.2 will be launched later in November and it would be for iPad, with features like wireless printing, streaming videos and photos. The new iPod Nano will be 46% smaller, 42% lighter, with 24 hour audio playback battery life. The new iTunes 10 will include Ping, as music social network. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs also said that Disney’s ABC and News Corp’s Fox are available on Apple TV. The new Apple TV will cost $99, has no storage management, and can stream content from computer. It will be available in four weeks time. Apple was placed with an OUTPERFORM rating at MP Securities with price target at $290. Apple gained nearly 3% and ended the day at $250.33.
Amazon.co
m led the North American gainers on Wednesday as it leaped to $132.49 - over 6% gains – as the company was reportedly approaching media companies to start an online video-subscription service to compete with Netflix. One of them was Time Warner Inc.
From Citigroup, the bank will lower the balance requirements of its basic account to reach more customers. The Citigold customers can now be free from monthly fees if the balance requirements are met, which was set at $50,000. Citigroup was up 3.73% at $3.85.
Other ratings revisions were Wal-Mart which was downgraded to SELL from BUY at Crowell Weeden, while Siemens AG downgraded to HOLD from BUY by Deutsche Bank. Wal-Mart ended up 2.11% at $51.20 and Siemens ended at €73.89 or up 2.94%.
Other top gainers were Bank of America with 6.08% jump to $13.21 and Halliburton Co. at $29.73 or up 5.39%.
Better-than-expected economic data from China and US triggered hefty gains in Europe and North America on Wednesday. DAX index jumped 158.68 points to end at 6,083.90 or up 2.68%, while FTSE 100 rallied towards 5,366.41 or gained 2.70%. North American markets also rallied, with the Dow ended at 10,269.47 after leaping 254.75 points throughout the day, Nasdaq Composite gained 2.97% to settle at 2,176.84, while S&P 500 landed at 1,080.29 after a 2.95% rise.
Data, Data, Data …
After China PMI triggered a mood swing towards positive in Asia, the effect still lingered throughout midday Europe (for China data, read previous post). Then, US data were out, and despite the ADP report went in below the expectations, ISM data posted a better-than-expected reading and thus further powered the rally among European and North American shares.
ADP report showed that 10,000 jobs were cut in August, against a gain of 37,000 jobs in the previous month. The market had expected an addition of 20,000 jobs into the private sector in August. The missed result was unable to stop the rally that already brought over 100 points of gains on Dow Jones index.
The boost came from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index for the manufacturing sector that beat the expectation of a fall towards 53.00. Instead of falling, the index rose from 55.5 in July to 56.3 in August, indicating that manufacturing activity remained robust throughout August.
Final piece of the economic data on Wednesday was construction spending that declined 1% to $805.2 billion. June’s figure was revised down to -0.8% against prior estimate of +0.1%.
Earlier, European data showed unimpressive results. German PMI for manufacturing sector was stagnant at 58.2 in August, the same as July’s level. UK’s PMI for manufacturing unexpectedly fell from 56.9 to 54.3, below the expected rise to 57.0. Meanwhile, retail sales fell 0.3% (m/m) in Germany while on the year-on-year basis sales grew 0.8% after a 4.7% jump in prior month.
More data to come on Thursday, as US jobless claims and pending home sales will grab the market’s attention aside from other data coming from Europe. Claims were expected to rise again to 478,000 after it dropped towards 473,000. Pending home sales were expected to fall 1.5% in July, at a better pace than June’s -2.6%.
Daimler AG gained significantly to €40.46 or 5.46% higher than Tuesday’s close after UBS raised its rating from SELL to NEUTRAL.
BMW bea
t Toyota’s Lexus at the American market for luxury cars in August as the sales climbed to 19,540. 1 Series and 7 Series had their sales up by 53% and 42%, respectively. Lexus however, declined 15% to 19,465. Daimler’s Mercedes sales were up 10% to 18,826 units, as the E-Class contributed a month-on-month increase of 26% in August while since the start of the year its sales were up 71%. BMW gained 2.99% at €42.91 while Volkswagen advanced 2.24% to €73.36.Among the three, Lexus was on top with 145,490 units (+11%), Mercedes in the second place with 139,867 units (+18%), and BMW next at 139,236 units (+7.8%). Further down, Ford Motor Co. had 6,428 units of Lincoln models sold (+9.4%), Volkswagen’s Audi with 9,182 units (+14%) along with its Porsche’s sales of 2,032 units (+33%). Honda’s Acura and Nissan’s Infiniti sales were a 11,534 units (+20%) and 9,428 units (+22%), respectively.
BP will resume the work of plugging of its well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday which had been held by rough seas since August 30th. BP’s shares hovered at 388.75 pence at the end of the session.
Shares with significant gains in Europe were Daimler at the top (+5.46%), Barclays Plc. (+4.33%) and Deutsche Boerse (+3.69%).
Eyes on Apple
Apple demonstrated its new iPods, iTunes and Apple TV. It also introduced iTunes software with more social-networking features that enable users to see their friends’ downloading activities. Apple TV’s set-top box was revamped, video rentals fees were lowered, and Netflix’s content was made available for streaming. Apple unveiled iOS 4.1 at the event, which would be available next week for iPhone and iPod touch via free download. The OS will include GameCenter for multiplayer gaming. Subsequent version, iOS 4.2 will be launched later in November and it would be for iPad, with features like wireless printing, streaming videos and photos. The new iPod Nano will be 46% smaller, 42% lighter, with 24 hour audio playback battery life. The new iTunes 10 will include Ping, as music social network. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs also said that Disney’s ABC and News Corp’s Fox are available on Apple TV. The new Apple TV will cost $99, has no storage management, and can stream content from computer. It will be available in four weeks time. Apple was placed with an OUTPERFORM rating at MP Securities with price target at $290. Apple gained nearly 3% and ended the day at $250.33.
Amazon.co
m led the North American gainers on Wednesday as it leaped to $132.49 - over 6% gains – as the company was reportedly approaching media companies to start an online video-subscription service to compete with Netflix. One of them was Time Warner Inc.From Citigroup, the bank will lower the balance requirements of its basic account to reach more customers. The Citigold customers can now be free from monthly fees if the balance requirements are met, which was set at $50,000. Citigroup was up 3.73% at $3.85.
Other ratings revisions were Wal-Mart which was downgraded to SELL from BUY at Crowell Weeden, while Siemens AG downgraded to HOLD from BUY by Deutsche Bank. Wal-Mart ended up 2.11% at $51.20 and Siemens ended at €73.89 or up 2.94%.
Other top gainers were Bank of America with 6.08% jump to $13.21 and Halliburton Co. at $29.73 or up 5.39%.
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