Every morning we put out a news report with the latest news in global stock markets, company news, and global economic news.
Morning Market Update
Market Levels
• US: Dow: 12800.00 (0.28%), S&P 500: 1380.10 (0.32%), NASDAQ: 2593.53 (0.50%)
• Europe: CAC: 3420.29 (-0.09%), DAX: 7187.47 (0.33%), FTSE: 5792.03 (0.39%).
• Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4448.00 (-0.31%), China: 2079.27 (0.49%), Hong Kong: 21430.30 (0.21%), India: 5683.70 (-0.04%), Japan: 8676.44 (-0.94%).
• Metals: Gold: 1734.40 (0.20%), Silver: 32.54 (-0.17%), Copper: 3.46 (0.30%)
• Energy: Crude Oil: 85.57 (-0.58%), Natural Gas: 3.52 (0.34%)
• Commodities: Corn: 7.40 (-0.10%), Soya Bean: 14.26 (-2.98%), Wheat: 8.77 (-1.58%)
• Currency: EUR/USD: 1.2722 (0.09%), GBP/USD: 1.5876 (-0.13%), USD/JPY: 79.3800 (-0.14%)
• 10 year US Treasury: 1.606% (-0.000)
Financial and Economic News Update
U.S. stock-index futures rise: U.S. stock-index futures are pointing to a higher open on Monday following better than expected economic data from China. Chinese exports hit a five-month high of in October, rising 11.6 percent year on year, topping expectations for a 9 percent rise. Trading volume is expected to be light during the session with the bond market and banks closed for Veteran’s Day.
European markets trading mixed: European markets are mixed in trade today, with the German DAX (INDEXDB:DAX) gaining 0.3 percent to 7187.47, the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) up 0.4 percent to 5792.03 and the CAC 40 (INDEXEURO:PX1) edging 0.1 percent lower to 3420.29. The euro zone blue-chip ESTX 50 PR.EUR (INDEXSTOXX:SX5E) (Euro Stoxx 50) was trading largely unchanged.
Asian markets end mostly lower; Chinese shares post modest gains: Asian markets closed lower on Monday with the HANG SENG INDEX (INDEXHANGSENG:HIS) up 0.2 percent at 21,430.3, while the SSE Composite Index (SHA:000001) (Shanghai Composite Index) gained 0.5 percent. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 (INDEXNIKKEI:NI225) lost 0.9 percent to 8,676.4. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) index fell 14 points to 4,448. The benchmark Indian 30-share BSE SENSITIVE (INDEXBOM:SENSEX) index fell 0.1 percent.
Company News Update
U.S.
• D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) said fourth quarter profit nearly tripled to $100.1 million, or 30 cents a share, from $35.7 million, or 11 cents, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.3 billion from $1.07 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting the homebuilder to earn 28 cents a share on revenue of $1.37 billion.
• Paint maker Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) will buy privately held Mexican company Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V. for about $2.34 billion in cash, including debt.
• Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH) said fourth quarter loss widened to $66.2 million, or $2.82 a share, from a year-ago loss of $43.2 million, or $2.91 a share. Revenue increased 11 percent to $370.9 million. Analysts had projected a loss of $1.22 a share on revenue of $335.1 million.
• Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK) has agreed to buy investment bank Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE:JEF) for about $2.6 billion in stock.
• Research In Motion Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) said it will unveil its BlackBerry 10 smart phones on January 30.
• Real estate investment trust Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) has offered to buy the rest of Crexus Investment Corp (NYSE:CXS) in a cash deal that values the specialty finance company at about $958 million.
• Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) in settlement talks with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission over allegations of concealing an $8.3 billion futures position, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
• Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is planning to open its stores at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving, three hours earlier than a year ago, to offer extended hours during the holiday season.
• Texas billionaire Harold Simmons’s Titanium Metals Corp (NYSE:TIE) surged 43 percent in early morning trade after Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE:PCP) agreed to buy the industrial parts maker for $2.9 billion in cash.
• Energy company Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) is exploring the sale of its Russian subsidiary Samara-Nafta.
• Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) said its pancreatic cancer drug Abraxene improved survival rates in a phase III study.
• Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB) lowered its current quarter and full-year outlook citing the impact from super storm Sandy. The company now expects adjusted funds from operations of between 24 cents to 28 cents for the fourth quarter, and between $1.09 to $1.12 for the year.
• Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) jumped 10 percent in pre-market trading after reporting positive results for a drug combination designed to treat genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) dropped 0.6 percent in early morning trade after analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut the stock to “neutral” from “overweight.”
• Morgan Stanley has upgraded travel website operator Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) to “overweight” from “underweight.”
• The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is up 1.4 percent in pre-market trading after analysts at Citigroup raised the stock to “buy” from “neutral.”
• Goldman Sachs has downgraded Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) to “sell” from “neutral.”
Europe
• British bank Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) (LON:BARC) is being probed by US authorities into whether it made improper payments to secure a banking licence in Saudi Arabia, according to a report in The Financial Times
• Rio Tinto plc (ADR) (NYSE:RIO) (LON:RIO) (ASX:RIO) dropped 0.5 percent in London after workers at a mine in eastern Australia threatened to go on a 36-hour strike from Tuesday morning.
• Telecom Italia S.p.A (ADR) (NYSE:TI) (BIT:TIT), Italy’s biggest telecom group, soared 5 percent after the company confirmed Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris offered to purchase a stake in the company
• Daimler AG (ETR:DAI) (FRA:DAI) said Chinese sales of its Mercedes-Benz vehicles increased 8 percent to 169,070 units in the January-October period from a year earlier.
• Deutsche Telekom AG (ETR:DTE) (FRA:DTE) said private equity firm The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) has cut its stake in the German telecoms firm to 2.93 percent on November 6 from 4.44 percent in early August.
• French advertising firm Publicis Groupe SA (EPA:PUB) jumped 3 percent after organic revenue growth in October rose by more than 7 percent, helped by strong performance in the U.S.
• Deutsche Wohnen AG (ETR:DWN) (FRA:DWN), Germany’s largest residential landlord by market value, reported better than expected earnings and raised its forecast for full-year funds from operations.
• Nordic airline SAS AB (STO:SAS) swung to third-quarter profit of 1.32 Swedish kronor (20 cents) a share from a loss of 0.65 kronor in the year-ago period. The company also outlined plans to cut jobs and sell assets as part of a restructuring program.
• Cobham plc (LON:COB), the world’s largest maker of airborne-refueling equipment, plunged 8 percent in London after forecasting weaker sales and profitability next year.
Asia-Pacific
• Taiwanese smart phone maker HTC Corp (TPE:2498) jumped 6.9 percent after announcing a global patent settlement and licensing agreement with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
• QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX:QBE), Australian biggest insurer by market value, tumbled 8.3 percent after cutting its full-year profit outlook on super storm Sandy and large catastrophe claims. The insurer said it expects profit margin to drop to around 8 percent this year, down from an earlier forecast of about 12 percent.
• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (HKG:1398) (SHA:601398), the world’s biggest lender by market value, has secured approval from Argentina’s central bank to take control of the local operations of South Africa’s Standard Bank following a $600 million deal last year.
• Hon Kong-listed United Company Rusal Plc (HKG:0486), the world’s top aluminum producer, swung to a third-quarter net loss, but said it expects orders to pick up towards the year-end amid signs of turnaround in China.
• Japan’s Mazda Motor Corporation (TYO:7261) gained 1 percent after the carmaker and Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) (TYO:7203) said Mazda would produce Toyota vehicles for the North American market at a plant currently under construction in Guanajuato, Mexico.
• Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) fell 2.6 percent in Tokyo trading after Moody’s Investors Service lowered the consumer electronics maker’s debt rating citing tepid demand for its products.
• Li & Fung Limited (HKG:0494), a supplier of toys and clothes to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), climbed 1.1 percent in Hong Kong as China’s exports grew at the fastest pace since May.
• Oil Search Limited (ASX:OSH) and Santos Limited (ASX:STO) closed significantly lower in Sydney after Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) raised cost and schedule estimates for a massive natural gas-export project in Papua New Guinea. Oil Search Ltd. and Santos Ltd. hold a stake of 29 percent and 13.5 percent in the project, respectively.
