Optimism of Greek bailout sends Wall Street higher
February 9, 2010
Wall Street rallied Tuesday as it became increasingly likely the European Union would rescue Greece from its debt issues. Investors hunted for bargains after the three major indices had lost between 7.3% and 8.4% since a high on January 19.
In economic news, wholesale inventories unexpectedly dropped 0.8% in December, indicating manufacturers were not keeping up with demand from customers. Forecasts were for a rise of 0.5% after inventories increased 1.6% in November.
The Dow Jones climbed 150.25 points, or 1.52%, to 10,058.64, the S&P's 500 added 13.78 points, or 1.3%, to 1,070.52 and the NASDAQ rose 24.82 points, or 1.17%, to 2,150.87.
Financials made ground but still underperformed. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley advanced 1.8% and 2%, while Wells Fargo added 1.1%.
Toyota announced another global recall. This time it was for 437,000 Toyota Prius hybrids and 7,300 Camrys for problems in their anti-lock braking systems software.
Rival automaker Ford’s shares rose 1.6%
Caterpillar climbed 5.4% on reports Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the machinery manufacturer.
Airline manufacturer Boeing added 3.2%.
Coca-Cola gained 2.6% after reporting a 55% jump in fourth-quarter earnings on better than expected revenue.
Commodity prices gained as investors looked to buy at bargain prices and as the greenback weakened.
Energy majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron put on 1.3% and 1.7%.
NYMEX light crude oil for March delivery rose US$2 to US$73.89 a barrel.
COMEX gold for April delivery rose US$11 to settle at US$1,076.70 after hitting a four month low on Friday.
Barrick Gold rallied 3.2%, while aluminium producer Alcoa gained 1.7%.
European Markets
European stocks closed higher as news filtered that Germany is considering assistance for Greece in an effort to manage growing debt issues. Banks and miners led gains as investor’s preferred stocks that have been sold heavily in recent weeks.
The UK benchmark FTSE 100 put on 19.51, or 0.38% to 5,111.84 and French CAC40 added 5.49, or 0.15% to 3,612.76. The German DAX gained 13.41, or 0.24% to 5,498.26.
Lloyds and Standard Chartered led UK banks into the black to be up 2.1% and 1.2%.
Deutsche Bank rose 2.8%, while in France BNP Paribas and Societe Generale gained 1.8% and 2%.
Greek banks Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank surged 14.9% and 10.9%.
Miners tracked metals prices higher. Xstrata and Antofagasta rallied 4.5% and 4.1%.
Rio Tinto climbed 3.7%, while Aussie peer BHP Billiton rose 1.5%.
BG Group was the best of the major energy majors, adding 1.6%.
Pharmaceutical AstraZeneca advanced 1.3% after US approval for the expansion of its cholesterol drug strengthened its position in the market. However defensives elsewhere, including other drugmakers and telco’s, lost ground.
Japanese Market
The Nikkei fell for its fourth day, hitting new two-month lows. The market was pessimistic over Eurozone debt despite positive movements there overnight while Toyota’s woes continue to dominate headlines.
The Nikkei 225 fell 18.92, or 0.19% to 9,932.90.
Toyota shares were the eighth most traded stock on the exchange, however returned to positive territory with a 2.9% rise. The stock has lost around 25% of its value in the last month.
Mazda lost 2.2%, while Honda was 0.8% above the line.
Among the banks Sumitomo Mitsui added 2.1% after reporting better than expected earnings.
Smaller rival Mizuho Financial Group put on 1.2%. The country’s biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added 0.2%.
Consumer electronic stocks were mixed. Nintendo lost 1.1%. Sony and Canon rose 0.4% and 0.6% respectively.
Koito Industries was the day’s biggest loser, tumbling 335 after the company said it would need to repair as many as 150,000 seats.
Hong Kong Markets
The Hang Seng snapped a three session losing streak Tuesday. The rally came as property developers reported higher sales and commodity prices rose.
The Hang Seng rose 239.39, or 1.22% to 19,790.28.
In a wrap-up of the banks, Bank of China rallied 2.8% and Industrial and Commercial Bank put on 2%.
HSBC bucked the trend in Hong Kong losing 0.8%, even though its London and New York ADR’s both rose.
State-controlled China Overseas Land put on 2.4% and Hang Lung Properties surged 4.2%.
Esprit continued its volatile week surging 5.1% after a broker upgrade to ‘buy’ on the stock.
Energy supplier Citic Resources Holdings put on 4.9% for the same reason.
Off-shore oil producer Cnooc climbed 3.5% and PetroChina added 2.4%.
In economic news, wholesale inventories unexpectedly dropped 0.8% in December, indicating manufacturers were not keeping up with demand from customers. Forecasts were for a rise of 0.5% after inventories increased 1.6% in November.
The Dow Jones climbed 150.25 points, or 1.52%, to 10,058.64, the S&P's 500 added 13.78 points, or 1.3%, to 1,070.52 and the NASDAQ rose 24.82 points, or 1.17%, to 2,150.87.
Financials made ground but still underperformed. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley advanced 1.8% and 2%, while Wells Fargo added 1.1%.
Toyota announced another global recall. This time it was for 437,000 Toyota Prius hybrids and 7,300 Camrys for problems in their anti-lock braking systems software.
Rival automaker Ford’s shares rose 1.6%
Caterpillar climbed 5.4% on reports Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the machinery manufacturer.
Airline manufacturer Boeing added 3.2%.
Coca-Cola gained 2.6% after reporting a 55% jump in fourth-quarter earnings on better than expected revenue.
Commodity prices gained as investors looked to buy at bargain prices and as the greenback weakened.
Energy majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron put on 1.3% and 1.7%.
NYMEX light crude oil for March delivery rose US$2 to US$73.89 a barrel.
COMEX gold for April delivery rose US$11 to settle at US$1,076.70 after hitting a four month low on Friday.
Barrick Gold rallied 3.2%, while aluminium producer Alcoa gained 1.7%.
European Markets
European stocks closed higher as news filtered that Germany is considering assistance for Greece in an effort to manage growing debt issues. Banks and miners led gains as investor’s preferred stocks that have been sold heavily in recent weeks.
The UK benchmark FTSE 100 put on 19.51, or 0.38% to 5,111.84 and French CAC40 added 5.49, or 0.15% to 3,612.76. The German DAX gained 13.41, or 0.24% to 5,498.26.
Lloyds and Standard Chartered led UK banks into the black to be up 2.1% and 1.2%.
Deutsche Bank rose 2.8%, while in France BNP Paribas and Societe Generale gained 1.8% and 2%.
Greek banks Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank surged 14.9% and 10.9%.
Miners tracked metals prices higher. Xstrata and Antofagasta rallied 4.5% and 4.1%.
Rio Tinto climbed 3.7%, while Aussie peer BHP Billiton rose 1.5%.
BG Group was the best of the major energy majors, adding 1.6%.
Pharmaceutical AstraZeneca advanced 1.3% after US approval for the expansion of its cholesterol drug strengthened its position in the market. However defensives elsewhere, including other drugmakers and telco’s, lost ground.
Japanese Market
The Nikkei fell for its fourth day, hitting new two-month lows. The market was pessimistic over Eurozone debt despite positive movements there overnight while Toyota’s woes continue to dominate headlines.
The Nikkei 225 fell 18.92, or 0.19% to 9,932.90.
Toyota shares were the eighth most traded stock on the exchange, however returned to positive territory with a 2.9% rise. The stock has lost around 25% of its value in the last month.
Mazda lost 2.2%, while Honda was 0.8% above the line.
Among the banks Sumitomo Mitsui added 2.1% after reporting better than expected earnings.
Smaller rival Mizuho Financial Group put on 1.2%. The country’s biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added 0.2%.
Consumer electronic stocks were mixed. Nintendo lost 1.1%. Sony and Canon rose 0.4% and 0.6% respectively.
Koito Industries was the day’s biggest loser, tumbling 335 after the company said it would need to repair as many as 150,000 seats.
Hong Kong Markets
The Hang Seng snapped a three session losing streak Tuesday. The rally came as property developers reported higher sales and commodity prices rose.
The Hang Seng rose 239.39, or 1.22% to 19,790.28.
In a wrap-up of the banks, Bank of China rallied 2.8% and Industrial and Commercial Bank put on 2%.
HSBC bucked the trend in Hong Kong losing 0.8%, even though its London and New York ADR’s both rose.
State-controlled China Overseas Land put on 2.4% and Hang Lung Properties surged 4.2%.
Esprit continued its volatile week surging 5.1% after a broker upgrade to ‘buy’ on the stock.
Energy supplier Citic Resources Holdings put on 4.9% for the same reason.
Off-shore oil producer Cnooc climbed 3.5% and PetroChina added 2.4%.
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