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Wall Street rallied Tuesday after the market was buoyed by a better-than-expected existing home sales report. The Dow closed at its highest level since around the collapse of Lehmann Brothers in mid-September 2008.

Meanwhile President Obama signed into law a health care bill that would extend health care coverage to around 95% of Americans.

The Dow Jones climbed 102.94 points, or 0.95%, to 10,888.83, the S&P's 500 added 8.36 points, or 0.72%, to 1,174.17 and the NASDAQ rose 19.84 points, or 0.83%, to 2415.24.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo were the best of the major financials, with both gaining 2.2%.

Search engine Google lost 1.5% as the Chinese government blocked its Hong Kong based site from mainland China.

Rival Yahoo! fell 1.9%, while elsewhere in the tech sector Apple and Oracle rose 1.6% each.

In housing news, existing home sales dropped from a 5.05 million unit rate in January to a 5.02 million unit rate in February. Forecasts were for a decrease to 5 million.

Homebuilder Lennar jumped 4.7%.

KB Home dropped 1.7% after reporting a weaker quarterly loss than a year earlier, while also missing estimates.

Among Dow components to lead the rally, Caterpillar and Kraft advanced 4.1% and 3.5%.

Commodity prices were weighed by a strengthening greenback.

Energy heavyweight Exxon Mobil finished flat. Smaller rivals Chevron and ConocoPhillips put on 0.4% and 0.8%.

NYMEX light crude oil for May delivery was unchanged at US$81.60 a barrel.

COMEX gold for May delivery fell US$1.90 to US$1,097.40 per ounce.

European Markets

European stocks gained ground after France and Germany agreed to support International Monetary Fund aid for Greece. Shares hit better then 17-month highs following positive company outlooks and better than expected results. 

The benchmark UK FTSE 100 gained 29.09 points or 0.52% to 5,673.63, while the French CAC40 put on 24.55, or 0.63% to 3,952.55. The German DAX added 29.77, or 0.50% to 6,017.27.

UK financials Lloyds, Standard Chartered and Barclays added 3.1%, 1.7% and 1.2% respectively.

On the continent Societe Generale advanced 1.1%, while BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank gained 0.9% each.

Legal & General climbed 4.7% after beating full-year profit forecasts. The UK insurer also increased its dividend by 33%.

Carnival rose 2.2% as the cruise-line operator increased its full-year profit forecast.

British Airways gained 2.7% after reiterating its profit outlook despite three days of staff strikes over pay disputes.

Cairn Energy surged 8% after the company announced the commencement of drilling in Greenland and raised its production forecasts in Rajasthan.

Heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell added 0.9% and 0.5%.

Aussie miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton rallied 2.5% and 1.6% on a mixed day for metals prices.

Volkswagen slumped 6.1% after revealing it would sell 65 million new preferred shares to help finance the takeover of Porsche’s auto-making unit.

Porsche shares retreated 2.5%.

Japanese Markets

Japan’s Nikkei weakened after returning from the long weekend. Airline and property stocks took the most points of the index. 

The Nikkei 225 shed 50.57, or 0.47% to 10,774.15. 

Real-estate companies lost ground fore the third consecutive day after a report revealed Japan’s land prices hit its lowest level in 36 years. Mitsui Fudosan Co. and Mitsubishi Estate Co. fell 3.3% and 1.5%.

All Nippon Airways dropped 6% after the carrier doubled its net loss forecast due to a slower than anticipated recovery in domestic travel. The company also received a broker downgrade.

In the positive, Toshiba Corp. rallied 3.6% after saying it could potentially be partnering TerraPower to develop a nuclear reactor.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries climbed 3.1%.

Electronics company and major exporter Sony gained 3.6%, while automaker Toyota added 1.7%.

Hong Kong Markets

The Hang Seng was a bright spot on a mixed day for the Asian markets Tuesday. Its shares rose on the back of strength from the clothing makers and telco’s.

The Hang Seng rose 54.53, or 0.26% to 20,987.78.

Bank of China added 1.8% and is set to add more today after posting a better-than-expected profit after the close.

ICBC lost 0.5%, while HSBC, the indexes largest stock, tacked on 0.1%.

China Telecom, the largest landline carrier in the country, spiked 5.1%. Despite a slump in profit the company said earnings would rebound this year, prompting HSBC to upgrade their stock.

In the mobile space China Mobile dipped 0.1%, while smaller rival China Unicom added 1.7%.

Among the retailers, Li & Fung surged 4.7%, while the world’s largest outsource shoemaker, Yue Yuen Holdings added 0.8%.

However phone maker, Foxconn International lost 1.6%.

Among the resource stocks Jiangxi lost 0.1%, while offshore oil producer Cnooc added 0.5%.  

On a quiet news day, Aussie shares closed 0.9% higher on the back of a solid lead from Wall Street. The big four banks led gains, while miners gained ground despite a fall in base metals prices, except for copper, overnight.

At the close, the All Ords had put on 40.4 to 4,887.9, while the ASX/200 advanced 44.6 to 4874.8. Around 2.6 billion shares worth around $5.8 billion had changed hands.

The Materials and Resources sector was led 1% higher by major miners. BHP Billiton added 47c to $43.06, while Rio Tinto rose 69c to $75.72.

Steelmaker Bluescope added 3.6% after receiving an upgrade this morning from Macquarie along with Onesteel, which finished flat.

Iron stocks climbed, with Fortescue up 0.8% and Atlas Iron 12c stronger at $2.45.

Chemical maker Incitec Pivot put on 9c to $3.46.

OZ Minerals added 2c to $1.165.

Meanwhile, among the banks ANZ added 75c to $25.45, NAB put on 65c to $27.36. Westpac climbed 37c to $27.48, while CBA advanced 95c to $56.70.

QBE was the best of the insurers, up 1.2% to $21.18. The Banks and Financials sector put on 1.5%.

The Energy sector was 0.9% stronger. Woodside and Santos gained 68c and 17c to $47.20 and $14.25 respectively.

Among coal stocks New Hope Corporation rose 2c, or 0.4% to $4.90. The coal miner posted a $111 million profit, slightly ahead of market consensus. The company was also expected to reap $578 million from the sale of its stake in Arrow Energy to Shell and PetroChina.

Arrow shares fell 11c, or 2.2% to $4.99.

WorleyParsons added another 46c to $25.85 per share, extending recent strong gains.

Among the Healthcare sector, CSL dipped 61c, or 1.7% to $35.2549, while Sonic and Primary climbed 0.9% and 1.4% to $13.85 and $4.26 respectively.

Cochlear added 26c to $70.60.

This morning Citigroup said it believed the effect of the passage of healthcare reform in the US would have a benign effect on Australian healthcare companies.

Overall the sector lost 0.5%.

Industrial stocks were mixed, however trended 0.1% higher on average.

Asciano gained 3c, or 1.6% to $1.88, following the announcement it had secured a long-term rail haulage contract with Australian Freight forwarding company Sadleirs Transport that would generate over $150 million in revenue over the next seven years.

Toll was up 8c to $7.38.

Brambles lost 10c to $7.55, while Qantas dipped 3c, or 1.1% to $2.81.

The Consumer Discretionary was 0.4% higher, although the retailers were mixed.

Premier Investments lost a further 1% following yesterday’s losses on the back of disappointing earnings. The stock was downgraded to neutral by UBS this morning.

Among the gamers, Aristocrat rallied 3.2% to $4.48.

Fairfax and Ten gained 2% and 2.5% at $1.79 and $1.86 per share.

The Consumer Staples was up 0.5%. Wesfarmers and Woolworths added 0.6% each.

The one stock to stand out was Elders, which tumbled 7.1% to $1.375.

Telstra lost 4c, or 1.3% to $3.12, while TPG Telecom spiked 13c, or 6.1% to $2.25 after lifting its profit guidance following a strong first half result.

Overall the Telecommunications sector lost 1.2%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 retreated 36.9 to 10,787.8, while the NZSE50 edged 4.9 lower to 3,228.4. The Straits Times Index rose 16.8 to 2,906.0. The Hang Seng rose 216.1 to 21,149.4.

Spot gold was trading at US$1,105.60 per ounce, while the Aussie was buying US$0.9177.  

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New Hope agrees to off load Arrow stake
New Hope Corporation said today that it would sell off its 16.7% stake in Arrow Energy to the company that would be jointly formed by Royal Dutch Shell and Petrochina. At the end of January, New Hope held 122.6 million shares worth around $576 million based on the updated takeover offer of $4.70 per share from Shell and Petrochina.

By the close, New Hope shares were trading up 2c to $4.90.

TPG upgrades EBITDA guidance
TPG Telecom upgraded its FY10 EBITDA guidance from $140m – $150m to $152m – $158m. The company also announced group EBITDA of $77.1 million and a net profit after tax of $27.5 million for the half year ended 31 January 2010.

At the end of the day, TPG Telecom shares were up 13c to $2.25.

Mincor Resources NL (MCR) said recent drill-holes from its Miitel Nickel Mine in Kambalda intersected strong, high-grade mineralisation at both the northern and southern ends of the Miitel ore system, increasing the potential for significant new discoveries beyond the current resources. The company said the first hole in this surface-drilling program returned an intersection 420 metres beyond the boundary of the current mineral resource.

Strike Resources Limited (SRK) said that road access in the Cooper Basin had been cut by floodwaters from the Strzelecki Creek. The energy company said this would have a ‘serious impact’ on not only Strike but all companies working in the basin. The Southern Cooper CSG corehole programme in PEL 96, which was scheduled to commence in early April, would now be delayed by up to two months, the company said.

Cape Lambert Resources Limited (CFE) announced its intention to make an off-market takeover for shares in DMC Mining Limited (DMM). The company said under the terms of the offer, it would offer 40c for every one DMC Mining share. Cape Lambert said the offer represents a 33% to the closing price of DMC’s shares of 30c on 22 March 2010, the last trading day prior to this announcement. Cape Lambert currently holds an interest in DMC Mining of 36.2%.

Local stocks gained ground Tuesday following a solid lead from Wall Street. However the main drivers across the two countries markets were very different with Wall Street led higher by health stocks, while Australian healthcare companies were relatively muted, with banks and the miners showing strength.

At noon, the All Ords put on 33.2 to 4,880.7, while the ASX/200 advanced 36.3 to 4866.5. Around 1 billion shares worth around $1.7 billion had changed hands.

The Materials and Resources sector was led 1% higher by major miners. BHP Billiton added 52c to $43.11, while Rio Tinto rose 82c to $75.85.

Steel makers Bluescope and Onesteel added 2.9% and 0.5% respectively after getting upgrades this morning from Macquarie.

Iron stocks climbed, with Fortescue up 1.1% and Atlas Iron 10c stronger $2.43.

Chemical maker Incitec Pivot put on 9c to $3.46.

OZ Minerals added 1.5c to $1.16.

The big four banks posted strong gains. ANZ added 51c to $25.21, NAB put on 38c to $27.09. Westpac climbed 24c to $27.35, while CBA advanced 68c to $56.43.

The insurers were all between 0% and 1% stronger. The Banks and Financials sector put on 1.1%.

The Energy sector was 1.2% stronger. Woodside and Santos gained 67c and 24c to $47.19 and $14.32 respectively.

Among coal stocks New Hope Corporation rallied 11c, or 2.3% to $4.99. The coal miner posted a $111 million profit, slightly ahead of market consensus. The company was also expected to reap $578 million from the sale of its stake in Arrow Energy to Shell and Petrochina.

Arrow shares fell 8c, or 1.6% to $5.02.

WorleyParsons added another 56c to $25.95 per share, extending recent strong gains.

Among the Healthcare sector, CSL dipped 37c, or 1% to $35.49, while Sonic and Primary climbed 1.4% and 1% to $13.91 and $4.24 respectively.

Cochlear added 16c to $70.50. This morning Citigroup said it believed the effect of the passage of healthcare reform in the US would have a benign effect on Australian healthcare companies.

Overall the sector lost 0.5%.

Industrial stocks were mixed, however trended 0.1% higher on average.

Asciano gained 2.5c, or 1.4% to $1.875, following the announcement it had secured a long-term rail haulage contract with Australian Freight forwarding company Sadleirs Transport that would generate over $150 million in revenue over the next seven years.

Meanwhile Toll was up 6c to $7.36.

Brambles lost 11c to $7.54, while Qantas dipped 4c, or 1.4% to $2.80.

The Consumer Discretionary was 0.6% higher, although the retailers were mixed.

Premier Investments lost a further 2% following yesterday’s losses on the back of disappointing earnings. The stock was downgraded to neutral by UBS this morning.

Among the gamers, Crown and Aristocrat were 1.3% and 1.8% stronger respectively.

Fairfax and Ten were 2% and 2.2% dearer, costing $1.79 and $1.855 per share.

The Consumer Staples was down 0.4%, although none of the sector’s major stocks moved more than 0.4% either side of the gain line.

The one stock to stand out in there was Elders, which tumbled 7c to $1.41.

Telstra lost 2c, or 0.6% to $3.14, while TPG Telecom spiked 16c, or 7.5% to $2.28, which lifted its profit guidance following a strong first half result.

Overall the Telecommunications sector lost 0.3%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 retreated 24.3 to 10,800.5, while the NZSE50 eked out a 0.7 point gain to 3,234.01.1. The Straits Times Index rose 17.5 to 2,906.7.

Spot gold was trading at US$1,104.30 per ounce, while the Aussie was buying US$0.9171.

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New Hope agrees to off load Arrow stake
New Hope Corporation said today that it would sell off its 16.7% stake in Arrow Energy to the company that would be jointly formed by Royal Dutch Shell and Petrochina. At the end of January, New Hope held 122.6 million shares worth around $576 million based on the updated takeover offer of $4.70 per share from Shell and Petrochina.

At midday, New Hope shares were trading up 11c to $4.99.

TPG upgrades EBITDA guidance
TPG Telecom upgraded its FY10 EBITDA guidance from $140m – $150m to $152m – $158m. The company also announced group EBITDA of $77.1 million and a net profit after tax of $27.5 million for the half year ended 31 January 2010.

At lunch, TPG Telecom shares were up 16c to $2.28.