Post Market Report
Market Action
- US: Dow: 12632.91 (-0.16%), S&P 500: 1312.41 (-0.05%), NASDAQ: 2813.84 (0.07%)
- Europe: CAC: 3298.55 (1.00%), DAX: 6458.91 (0.22%), FTSE: 5681.61 (0.19%).
- Asia:China: 2292.61 (0.00%),Hong Kong: 20390.49 (1.13%),India: 5199.25 (2.20%), Japan: 8802.51 (0.11%)
- Metals: Gold: 1739.80 (0.12%), Silver: 33.16 (-0.31%), Copper: 3.79 (-0.95%)
- Energy: Crude Oil: 98.40 (-0.08%), Natural Gas: 2.47 (-1.44%)
- Commodities: Corn: 6.39 (1.15%), Soya Bean: 11.99 (1.16%), Wheat: 6.66 (3.30%)
- Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3083 (-0.0040%), GBP/USD: 1.5758 (-0.0075%), USD/JPY: 76.2655 (-0.1080%)
- 10 year US Treasury: 1.797% (-0.047)
Market News Update
US markets end flat: U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range Tuesday, after worse-than-expected U.S. housing and manufacturing data tempered the modest enthusiasm over Europe’s progress on a new fiscal pact. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20.8 points, or 0.16%, to 12633, the S&P 500 dipped 0.61 point, or 0.05%, to 1312 and the NASDAQ Composite rose 1.9 points, or 0.07%, to 2814. http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/31/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm
Home prices tumble: Home prices posted a steep, month-over-month drop in November, falling 1.3%, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city report. Prices fell in 19 of the 20 cities the index covers. Prices are down 3.7% from a year ago, and off 32.8% since they peaked in the summer of 2006. The index is currently only 0.6% above its March, 2011 low. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577194752102528744.html?mod=WSJ_Markets_MIDDLTopStories
Consumer confidence posts surprise decline: U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January as more Americans worried about the country’s weak job market, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes dropped to 61.1 from an upwardly revised 64.8 the month before. Economists had expected a reading of 68.0, according to a Reuters poll. December was originally reported as 64.5. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-31/consumer-confidence-in-u-s-unexpectedly-drops-on-fuel-costs-job-concerns.html
US set for fourth year of $1 trillion plus deficit: The United States is headed for a fourth straight year with a $1 trillion-plus budget deficit, congressional forecasters said on Tuesday, giving Republicans ammunition to hammer President Barack Obama’s spending record in November’s elections.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/31/us-usa-budget-idUSTRE80U28820120131
Euro falls: The euro fell to its weakest level in almost a week versus the dollar as investors speculated European policy makers won’t be able to reach an agreement regarding Greece’s debt obligations. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577194641264251380.html?mod=WSJ_Markets_MIDDLTopStories
Company News Update
- Amazon.com (AMZN) reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, but its revenue fell short of forecasts on Tuesday, sending its shares lower in extended trading. The online retail giant posted fourth-quarter earnings excluding items of 38 cents per share, down from 91 cents in the year-earlier period.
- Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares dropped 2%, after the oil giant reported its quarterly earnings climbed to $9.4 billion on revenue of $121.6 billion.
- Pfizer (PFE) unveiled adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 50 cents per share on revenue of $16.7 billion. Analysts were expecting the pharmaceutical giant to earn 47 cents per share on $16.61 billion.
- United Parcel Service (UPS) posted adjusted fourth-quarter profits of $1.28 per share, beating analysts’ forecasts by two cents. The shipping company, seen as a bellwether of the economy, said its sales came in at $14.2 billion for the quarter, shy of estimates of $14.46 billion.
- Mattel (MAT) shares closed up 1.3%, after the toymaker beat Wall Street estimates on quarterly earnings and raised its annual dividend 35%. Worldwide sales of Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and American Girl toys posted solid gains, although revenue overall fell short of analysts’ expectations.
- U.S. Steel (X) posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by falling steel prices and weak demand inEurope, but it said it expects improvement in the first quarter.
- RadioShack (RSH) shares plunged 29%, after the electronics retailer warned late Monday that its fourth quarter earnings will fall far short of expectations.
- Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) rose 6.1 percent to $83.02 for the biggest increase in the S&P 500. Elderly patients getting the company’s Sapien heart valve implanted through the ribs as part of an expanded access program reaped more benefit than those observed in the initial trials, a study found.
- Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) fell the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, erasing 6.5 percent to $26.83. The world’s largest label maker forecast 2012 earnings excluding some items of $2.15 a share at most. That trailed the average analyst estimate of $2.27.
Hedge Fund News Update
- The commodities hedge fund industry has suffered its worst year in more than a decade as the sector’s top managers recorded heavy losses amid volatile markets. The average commodity hedge fund fell 1.7 per cent in 2011, according to a closely watched index compiled by Newedge.
- Around a third of hedge fund managers and institutional investors believe all 17 members will remain in the eurozone. Over a quarter think there will be 17 separate currencies by the end of 2013. The beleaguered 17-member eurozone will maintain its integrity over the next two years, say hedge fund managers and their investors.
- Two former senior traders at Credit Suisse Group AG plan to start a hedge fund this year that will invest in stocks and derivatives tied to Asian companies, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Carlo Ramirez, Credit Suisse’s former head of Asian trading for equity and equity derivatives, and Olivier Garcia, the Swiss bank’s former head of Asia-Pacific exotic trading, intend to start trading in the second quarter
- Geoffrey Sherry, co-founder of Lucidus Capital Partners LLP, a London-based hedge fund, said the European Central Bank’s injection of 489 billion euros ($644 billion) of cash into the financial system hasn’t made banks solvent.
- GlobeOp Financial Services has added a hedge fund administration and data centre facility in Airoli in Mumbai. The new office is located in the same Airoli business complex as GlobeOp’s third Mumbai office, opened in 2009.More than 1,675 of GlobeOp’s 2,000 global employees are based in Mumbai.
- The head of U.S.distressed-debt trading at Deutsche Bank is planning a hedge fund. C.J. Lanktree left the German bank last week with another director on his desk, Scott Martin. The two will launch a distressed-debt hedge fund, The Wall Street Journal reports.
- New York-based hedge fund firm Southpoint Capital Advisors has raised $233 million since it opened to investors on Jan. 1, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday.
- Federal prosecutors have boosted their case against Rajat Gupta, a former board member of Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble Co, accused of participating in inside trades that stretched over a two-year period.
