Markets Rally on Strong Job Data – Market News

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Markets Rally on Strong Job Data - Market News
Every afternoon ValueWalk provides an update on global market levels, economic news, and hedge fund news.
  • US:  Dow: 12944.42 (0.28%), S&P 500: 1373.54 (0.56%), NASDAQ: 2992.09 (0.73%)
  • Europe: CAC: 3487.48 (0.26%), DAX: 6880.21 (0.66%), FTSE: 5887.49 (0.47%).
  • Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4212.00 (0.98%), China: 2439.46 (0.79%), Hong Kong: 21086.00 (0.88%), India: 5333.55 (2.17%), Japan: 9929.74 (1.62%).
  • Metals: Gold: 1712.00 (0.78%), Silver: 34.25 (1.24%), Copper: 3.86 (1.82%)
  • Energy: Crude Oil: 107.34 (0.71%), Natural Gas: 2.30 (1.41%)
  • Commodities: Corn: 6.43 (1.26%), Soya Bean: 13.36 (-0.15%), Wheat: 6.40 (0.95%)
  • Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3108 (-1.25%), GBP/USD: 1.5670 (-1.02%), USD/JPY: 82.4800 (1.14%)
  • 10 year US Treasury: 2.049% (0.040)

Market News Update


U.S. markets rise after strong jobs report: Positive news out of Greece and a better-than-expected jobs report lifted stocks for the third consecutive day on Friday. The gains were led by financial and material stocks, with all 10 S&P 500 sectors moving up. As of 12:20 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35%, to 12953, the S&P 500 gained 0.59%, to 1374 and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.74%, to 2993.

 

Sturdy job creation for third straight month: According to the Labor Department report on Friday, nonfarm payrolls increased 227,000 last month. In a sign that the economy was strengthening, the jobless rate held at a three-year low of 8.3 percent, and the economy created 61,000 more jobs in December and January than previously thought.

Oil increases for the third day: Oil prices rose for the third consecutive day in New York, as a better than expected jobs data increased optimism that the world’s largest economy and fuel demand will grow. Oil for April delivery climbed 94 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $107.52 a barrel at 12:41 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold turns higher: Reversing early losses, gold prices rose above $1,700 an ounce on Friday. U.S. gold futures were up $12.60 at $1,711.30 an ounce, with trading volume in line to be one of the highest for the week. Spot gold gained 0.7 percent on the day to $1,711.30 an ounce, having fallen to a session low of $1,677.34.

 Company News Update

 

  • Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) slumped after Starbucks (SBUX) revealed it will start selling a single-service coffee machine of its own.
  • Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), the world’s largest maker of analog semiconductors, lost 1.1 percent after it reduced its first-quarter sales and profit forecasts.
  • Pall Corp. (PLL) was cut to neutral by Wedbush Securities, citing softness in markets including China. The supplier of filters for drugmakers and refineries fell 3.1 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $59.28.
  • The largest U.S. independent oil and natural-gas producer by market value, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), gained 3.3 percent to $86.33 after it reached an agreement with Sonatrach Petroleum Corp. over taxes in Algeria
  • Molycorp Inc. (MCP) rose 12 percent after yesterday agreeing to buy Neo Material (NEM) Technologies Inc. for C$1.3 billion ($1.3 billion) in cash and stock. The owner of the largest rare-earth deposit outside China is trying to boost shareholder returns with its biggest takeover till date.
  • Credit Suisse Group AG increased the ratings of Lennar Corp. (LEN) and D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI), both of which gained more than 4.8 percent.
  • Apple Inc (AAPL) is building a new $304 million campus in Austin, Texas which will, over the next decade, more than double its workforce in the city.
  • Vegetable-juice maker Bolthouse Farms, owned by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, is considering a sale or an initial public offer, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Hedge Fund News Update

 

  • Former Citco managing director, Stephanie Miller, was today appointed as global head of alternative investment services at J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services. Miller will be in charge of direction and strategy for WSS’ hedge fund, private equity and real estate services.
  • According to the InvestHedge’s Billion Dollar Fund of Hedge Fund Club survey, Blackstone emerged as the largest fund of hedge funds last year overtaking banking groups HSBC and UBS. The survey showed that amid criticisms of high fees, the total assets managed by these types of investors failed to grow.
  • Michael Dell’s energy-focused hedge fund, MSD Energy Partners LP, raised a whopping $953 million in 2011. In a regulatory filing filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York-based MSD said that funds came from a total of 73 investors.
  • Two years after leaving hedge fund manager BlueCrest, Steve Ilott, the former head of fixed income at Aberdeen and Deutsche Asset Management has been named head of multi-strategy investments at F&C Investments. Ilott will oversee multi-strategy investments within the asset manager’s investment and institutional business.
  • Regal Funds Management, the hedge fund partly owned by Westapc Banking Corp Ltd, has acquired a stake of almost four per cent in wealth manager Perpetual Ltd.
  • The $30 million Morrocroft Diversified Fund managed by Gorelick Brothers Capital has merged with the San Francisco-based Access Fund Management Co. managed The Access Fund. The new $100 million investment vehicle will be known as The Access Fund, but will be pre-dominantly run by Gorelick Brothers.
  • Inspite of slowing economic growth, hedge fund CSV Capital Partners is positive about the Chinese domestic sectors. According to Earl Yen, founder and managing director of the Shanghai-based alternative investment manager, Chinese domestic stocks will continue to benefit from the expansion of consumer demand, and the resultant growth in retail sales.

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