Stocks News

The Euro lost its earlier gains from a five-day upward trend against the dollar and German 10-year bonds rose while the majority of European stocks fell ahead of tomorrow’s EU summit. Industrial metals turned out to be the leaders in growth among trading instruments. The 17-nation unified currency fell 0.2% to $1.3905 as of 8:11AM in London. Yields on 10-year German bonds dropped 2 basis points to 2.10%. Approximately two stocks fell for each stock that rose on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index; the index as a whole lost 0.2%. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.2%, while copper rose 1.1%, continuing its biggest two-week growth trend since 2009. Rice rose to its highest level in over a month. DT Trading analysts think that the world-wide growth in demand for products from Asian auto manufacturers is the main driving factor behind the growth in commodities prices, in spite of the market’s overall incredulity toward equity instruments and...

US stocks rose during trading in New York yesterday, forming a peak in the best eight-day growth for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 2009 amid expectations that the economy will continue to recover. However, DT Trading analysts observed that such growth still didn’t prevent speculation arising as a result of the antitrust suit the US Justice Department brought against AT&T Inc (T). Shares of the Ford Motor Co (F) and Alcoa Inc went up 2.3% each since the companies most tied to the real economy experienced growth. Joy Global Inc (JOYG) added 1.3% growth after the mining equipment producer published its income forecast which exceeds analysts’ expectations. Shares of AT&T fell 3.9%, limiting the growth of the Broad Market Index. This occurred after the US government filed a suit to prevent the company’s planned purchase of competitor T-Mobile USA Inc. The government said that the purchase would hinder competition on the wireless communications market. DT Trading analysts noted that...

US stock markets are down, and the S&P 500 Index has been in a depression for the fourth day in a row. All Treasury securities have collapsed after members of Congress failed to show any kind of progress in reaching an agreement on raising the country’s debt ceiling. The dollar appreciated, while commodities became cheaper. Deep Trust Trading Analysts observed that the S&P 500 lost 0.3%, dropping to 1,300.67 points as of 4:00PM in New York. The index’s total drop for the week is currently at 3.3%. Futures on the index fell 0.2% at 6:31PM yesterday after Speaker of the House John Boehner postponed a vote on a bill concerning the debt limit. The drop in treasury bills issued in February, payments on which should be made right after August 2, boosted their yields by four basis points to 0.15%. The dollar index rose 0.2% and the S&P GSCIproduct index fell 0.2%. Stocks lost all of the gains they made since...

Looking for a commodities play that gets you into the metals, energy and the fertilizers? BHP Billiton Limited (BHP) is it. This Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) is expected to see double digit earnings growth in both fiscal 2011 and 2012. Yet, shares are still cheap with a forward P/E of only 9.9. BHP Billiton is one of the world's largest commodities producers. Headquartered in Melbourne, it produces, aluminum, coal, copper, iron ore, uranium, nickel, silver and titanium minerals, and potash. It also has production and exploration interests in oil and gas in 6 countries which puts it in among the top 15% of the world's oil and gas producers. Buying Petrohawk Energy If BHP Billiton's name sounds familiar, it's because the company was recently in the news for its July 15 merger agreement with Petrohawk Energy, a U.S. onshore natural gas and liquids shale play. BHP Billiton will pay $12.1 billion in cash for the outstanding shares of Petrohawk plus it will assume $3...

Stocks   Global equities were lower on Monday as traders are worried about the financial conditions of European banks. Stress tests last week revealed that many banks may need to raise additional capital due to falling sovereign debt bond prices. Debt worries were also headlining losses in the US, traders continue to worry about the lack of political agreement for raising the US’s debt ceiling. As such, financial stocks were the big losers today. Bank of America was lower by 2.8% while Deutsche Bank fell over 3.2%. Overall, the S&P 500 was 0.8% lower while the Dow lost 0.76%, while in Europe the CAC 40 was slightly more than 2.0% lower with the FTSE and DAX both losing 1.55%. Looking ahead, tech stocks will be in the spotlight tomorrow as bellwethers IBM and CSCO both released earnings after the close. Commodities With the exception of precious metals commodities were lower across the board. Agricultural and Soft commodities were especially hit hard as cotton fell 2.5%,...

Over the weekend, the news broke that Precision Castparts would buy aerospace manufacturer Primus International for $900 million. On Monday, the buyer, which engages in metal casting, was down 0.6%. Nestle purchased a 60% stake in Hsu Fu Chi, a Chinese confectioner, for $1.7 billion. Despite this deal dramatically increasing its presence in the Asian market, the Swiss food giant fell 1.1%. In pharmaceuticals, Arch Chemicals was bought for $1.2 billion by The Lonza Group. Arch was up 12.3% by the bell, exceeding the premium offered. Also that day, NCR acquired Radiant Systems, a retail and hospitality manufacturer, for $1.2 billion in an all-cash deal. This announcement was met with negative sentiment on the markets. The buyer, which produces self-service technologies, was down almost 1.9% while Radiant dropped 2.3%. Tuesday saw Gaz Metro take over Central Vermont Public Service Corporation for $472 million, bringing Vermont’s two largest public utilities companies together. Central Vermont’s price fell by 2.6%, while Valener Inc, which has a...

The euro recovered some of its recent losses on Wednesday, in spite of Ireland being downgraded to junk by Moody's. At the moment, the euro added 0.82% to its value against the U.S. dollar to trade around $1.4091. At the same time, the euro surged against the Japanese yen as well. Currently, the euro is trading around ¥111.65, up 0.84%. The big question is where do traders find optimism about the troubled European currency? The focus of investors quickly shifted from Italy to Ireland on Wednesday, as Moody's downgraded Ireland to junk. In fact, it seems incredible how investors can follow all the debt problems in the Eurozone. A week ago it was all about Greece, yesterday it was Italy, today it is Ireland. Every day a new country it seems. Ireland, only a shadow of once mighty Celtic Tiger, has been the second Eurozone member to ask for a bailout, right after Greece. Ireland's bond spread over Germany has been growing...

A European court ruled Tuesday that internet auction website eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) may be liable for trademark infringement committed by its users. eBay and French cosmetics manufacturer L'Oreal have been locked in legal proceedings for years. The cosmetics company previously sought $4.8 million in damages in 2009, accusing eBay of allowing counterfeit goods to be traded on its site. This year's ruling may translate to further legal action by L'Oreal, especially if eBay is determined to have an 'active role' in the criminal act. "When the operator has played an 'active role'..., it cannot rely on the exemption from liability which EU law confers, under certain conditions, on online service providers such as operators of Internet marketplaces," the court said in a statement. According to a Reuters report, "The court found that under EU law, member states had to ensure that national courts could order market operators to take measures that help to end trade mark infringements by users of a marketplace such as...

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are: Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) reported downbeat second-quarter profit. Alcoa posted its quarterly profit at $322 million, or $0.28 per share, up from $136 million, or $0.13 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding charges, Alcoa's income from continuing operations came in at $0.32 per share. Its revenue surged to $6.59 billion from $5.19 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.34 per share on revenue of $6.32 billion. Alcoa shares Wall Street expects Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) to report its Q2 EPS at $0.30 on revenue of $688.58 million. FAST shares gained 2.78% to $37.00 in after-hours trading session. Esterline Technologies Corp (NYSE: ESL) will replace Bucyrus International Inc in the S&P MidCap 400 index, and Rubicon Technology Inc (NASDAQ: RBCN) will replace Esterline Technologies in the S&P MidCap 400 after the closing bell on July 12. ESL shares gained 1.73% to close at $81.96 yesterday, while RBCN shares surged 3.84% to...

Bull Market or Blow Off Top for Stocks and ETFs? Recent stock market action has been remarkable, to say the least, confounding bulls and bears alike.  The former say it’s a new leg higher while the latter say the end of the world is nigh. Can the stock market and ETFs go higher or is this a blow off top like so many others that have preceded significant declines? Our view is that both the fundamental and technical picture point to significant downside risk for investors ahead. On My Wall Street Radar Below are two charts of the S&P 500 (SPY) with varying views and time frames.    Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com The above chart is a year to date view comparing three strong advances that were followed by significant downturns and you can also see how the 50 Day Moving Average has curled over from its previous upward trend. Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com This chart goes back to the March, 2009, lows and shows the uptrend that was just...