Morning Market News - March 27, 2012

Every morning ValueWalk puts out a news report with the latest news in global stock markets, company news, and global economic news.

Market Levels

US: Dow Futures: 13208.00 (0.06%), S&P 500 Futures: 1413.10 (-0.14%), NASDAQ Futures: 2774.50 (-0.09%)
Europe: CAC: 3495.59 (-0.18%), DAX: 7124.99 (0.64%), FTSE: 5901.69 (-0.02%).

Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4301.30 (0.90%), China: 2347.18 (-0.15%), Hong Kong: 21046.91 (1.80%), India: 5243.15 (1.14%), Japan: 10255.15 (2.31%).
Metals: Gold: 1686.60 (0.06%), Silver: 32.82 (0.23%), Copper: 3.87 (-0.55%)
Energy: Crude Oil: 106.90 (-0.12%), Natural Gas: 2.22 (-0.40%)
Commodities: Corn: 6.43 (-0.93%), Soya Bean: 13.85 (1.10%), Wheat: 6.63 (1.15%)
Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3337 (-0.16%), GBP/USD: 1.5978 (0.04%), USD/JPY: 83.1500 (0.39%)
10 year US Treasury: 2.228% (-0.020)

Market and Economy News Update

U.S. stock-index futures flat: Following a sharp rally that sent the S&P 500 to its best level in almost four years, stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures were all trading flat..

European markets advance for the third day: Markets were trading higher on Tuesday with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index up 0.7 percent. The FTSE was up 0.5 percent, while the CAC 40 gained 0.7 percent and the German DAX increased 0.8 percent.

French consumer confidence jumps in March: The French national statistics office Insee, said in Paris today that a measure of consumer confidence rose to 87 from 82 in February, the most in almost five years. Insee said that though the economy will stagnate in the current quarter, it expects euro region’s second-largest economy to return to growth in the following quarters.

Asian markets end higher: Asian markets ended higher on Tuesday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said interest rates in the United States may continue to remain at the current ultra-low levels. Japan’s Nikkei average recorded its biggest percentage gain in more than five months and rallied 2.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite underperforming the rest of Asia and was down 0.15 percent, while the Hang Seng Index ended 1.83 percent higher. The Australian market closed above the key psychological level of 4,300, up 0.9 percent.

China’s industrial profits fall: According to the industrial profitability indicator, published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China’s industrial companies suffered an annual drop in profits in the first two months of 2012 as a slowdown in exports, and government’s property tightening measures, damped earnings.

Company News Update

U.S.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN), the third- largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, gained 2.5 percent in pre-market trading, after reporting better than expected first-quarter earnings.
The largest US drugstore chain, Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) rose 1.5 percent in early morning trading after it posted earnings of 78 cents a share which was slightly better than analyst estimates. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company however saw its second-quarter profit fall 7.6 percent.
Eye care company, Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ISTA), rallied 7.6 percent in morning trade after Bausch & Lomb agreed to buy the company for about $500 million in cash. Bausch & Lomb is looking to widen its portfolio of eye health products and will pay $9.10 a share in cash.
Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL), the biggest U.S. for-profit college company, fell 6.7 percent after it was cut to “neutral” from “outperform” at Credit Suisse Group AG..
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ:BWLD) slumped 1.7 percent after Deutsche Bank AG downgraded the sports bar chain to “hold” from “buy” citing valuation concerns.
Polymer products company, Landec Corp. (NASDAQ:LNDC) reported a sharp increase in profit for the third quarter on account of higher income from other investments and businesses. The stock was trading 8 percent higher.

Europe

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) soared 4.3 percent following reports that the U.K. government is in talks with Middle Eastern sovereign-wealth funds to sell part of its stake in the lender.
Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), the world’s third-largest miner, joined rival BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), in looking at options for exiting its diamond business. The stock was up 1.8 percent in London.
Europe’s biggest airline by sales, Lufthansa AG (FRA:LHA), surged 3.6 percent after the stock was raised to “overweight” from “neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Accor SA (EPA:AC), Europe’s biggest hotel operator, gained 3.6 percent in Paris after Societe Generale SA upgraded the stock to buy from hold.
Air France-KLM Group (EPA:AF) slid 1.6 percent after French daily La Tribune reported that auditors have called for recapitalization of the airline’s Air France unit by the end of 2013 to comply with French accounting rules.

Asia-Pacific

Honda Motor (TYO:7267) jumped 3.5 percent in Tokyo trading on news the car maker is planning to build a new plant in Thailand. Honda’s existing facility in Thailand was last year shut down due to flooding, and the car-maker will build the new automobile factory in an area that is less prone to floods.
Sumitomo Metal Mining (TYO:5713) soared 5.9 percent in Tokyo after news reports revealed it had discovered a gold deposit estimated at 40 tonnes at its mine in Alaska.
China Minsheng Banking (HKG:1988), the nation’s first non-state lender, fell 1.8 percent after the mid-sized bank said it plans to raise about HK$11.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in a Hong Kong share sale to boost its balance sheet.
China Life Insurance Co Ltd (HKG:2628), the country’s largest insurer, gained 2.7 percent despite reporting weak 2011 numbers that some analysts said were not as bad as previously expected. Credit Suisse maintained its “neutral” rating on the Beijing- based company.
Indian state-controlled lender to power projects, Rural Electrification Corp. (NSE:RECLTD), will raise 300 billion rupees ($5.9 billion) from bonds and loans in the next financial year to fund future power projects.