World Stock Market today :Today's Big Stock Market Movers

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 are all up, with the Nasdaq leading the pack at +1.1%. Here are the six big movers in the S&P 500.

Winners:

Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD): Up 13.4% — Sears Holdings said it expected its first-quarter earnings from continuing operations to be between $1.46 to $1.84 a share, which has caused its stock to jump over 13%.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) : Up 7.4% — Aubrey McClendon has agreed to separate the role of CEO and chairman, as he is relinquishing his position as chairman but remaining CEO. Investors support this decision, as their stock has moved up rapidly.

Masco Corporation (MAS): Up 5.5% — Masco is confident that their business, which involves mostly cabinet and other home improvement products, will improve with an improving housing market.

Losers:

Avon Products (AVP): Down 7.6% — Avon's profits sunk as they sold 1% fewer items and the number of sales representatives sank, which has caused their stock to tumble.

Emerson Electric Co. (EMR): Down 5.6% —Due to economic conditions in Europe and China, Emerson Electric's Q2 profits fell 2%.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC): Down 4.9% — Jacobs announced earnings of 65 cents per share, which CEO John Prosser stated were below their expectations.

World Stock Market : Dow Jones average hits highest mark since '07

NEW YORK: The fastest growth in US manufacturing in 10 months gave stocks a lift Tuesday and pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close in more than four years.

Manufacturing expanded last month at the strongest pace since June, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Orders, hiring and production all rose.

A measure of manufacturing employment also reached a nine-month high, a hopeful sign ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report.

The manufacturing news jolted stock indexes out of a morning stupor, although the gains waned throughout the afternoon. The Dow added 65.69 points to 13,279.32, its highest closing mark since Dec. 28, 2007, during the first month of the Great Recession.

Treasury prices fell, and benchmark crude oil rose $1.29 to settle at $106.16 per barrel. Both of those things tend to happen when investors expect stronger economic growth.

In a separate report Tuesday, the Commerce Department said construction spending ticked up in March, following two months of declines.

Other indexes pushed higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose eight points to 1,406. The Nasdaq composite climbed four points to 3,050.

All 10 industry groups within the S&P 500 climbed, led by energy companies. Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped 6 per cent on reports that the company will strip CEO Aubrey McClendon of his chairman's title.

McClendon, Chesapeake's founder, was under fire for taking out more than $1 billion in loans using the company's wells as collateral. Chesapeake recently agreed to end the program that allowed McClendon to take personal stakes in the wells.

The S&P finished April in the red, its first losing month since November. The Dow managed a tiny gain.

Judging by its track record, May isn't a promising month for stocks. Since World War II, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 0.31 per cent in May. For all months, the average gain is 0.67 per cent.

Among stocks making big moves:

Sears Holdings Corp. soared 15 per cent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The operator of Kmart and Sears stores expects to post a first-quarter profit thanks to a gain from the sale of some US and Canadian stores. The company's stock has jumped 99 per cent so far this year.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. gained 7 per cent after the food conglomerate reported profits that beat analysts' expectations. Profits dropped by nearly a third over the past year, pulled down by one-time charges and lower weaker results from its ethanol and oilseeds businesses.
 
Avon Products Inc. fell 8 per cent, the largest drop in the S&P. The company said earnings plunged 82 per cent, hurt by a bigger restructuring charge, commodity costs and rising labor costs. The results were worse than analysts had expected.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex ends in red; auto, power, capital goods down

The Sensex pared intraday gains and closed in the negative territory on the back of profit booking after European peers slipped off highs. Auto, power and capital goods were the top sectoral losers while technology, FMCG and banks showed some resistance.

The Sensex ended at 17,271.45, down 47.36 points, or 0.27 percent. It touched an intraday high of 17,432.33 and a low of 17,265.48.

The Nifty closed at 5,230.55, down 17.60 points, or 0.34 percent. It touched an intraday high of 5,279.60 and a low of 5,226.45.

The BSE Midcap Index was down 0.38 percent, while the BSE Smallcap Index edged 0.17 percent higher.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Auto Index was down 1.87 percent, the BSE Power Index slipped 1.38 percent and the BSE Capital Goods Index declined 1.09 percent. The BSE IT Index was up 0.48 percent, the BSE FMCG Index moved 0.17 percent higher and the BSE Bankex advanced 0.07 percent.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex rangebound; FMCG, tech, banks advance

The Sensex is rangebound after shedding some of intraday gains. FMCG, technology and banks continue to remain firm while a weakness emerged in auto, power and oil & gas stocks.

At 12:30 p.m., the Sensex was at 17,380.46, up 61.65 points, or 0.36 percent. It has touched a high of 17,432.33 and a low of 17,363.26 in trade today.

The Nifty was at 5,264.95, up 16.80 points, or 0.32 percent. It has touched a high of 5,279.60 and a low of 5,254.30 in trade today.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.32 percent and the BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.61 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE FMCG Index was up 0.88 percent, the BSE IT Index advanced 0.84 percent and the BSE Bankex gained 0.74 percent. The BSE Auto Index was down 0.66 percent, the BSE Power Index slipped 0.39 percent and the BSE Oil & Gas Index declined 0.35 percent.

Hindustan Unilever (2.92%), DLF (2.54%), Bharti Airtel (2.16%), Jindal Steel (1.94%) and TCS (1.85%) are among the top Sensex gainers.

Bharti Airtel reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,006 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 against Rs 1,400 crore a year ago. Total income was at Rs 18,738.8 crore compared to Rs 18,507.8 crore in the same period last fiscal. The company recommended a dividend of Re 1 per equity share of face valued Rs 5 each for the financial year 2011-12.

Shares of Hindustan Unilever gained momentum after the company announced quarterly results a day ago. The company's net profit increased nearly 21 percent to Rs 686.61 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 against Rs 569.18 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Total income increased to Rs 5,835.86 crore for the quarter compared to Rs 5,028.71 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Tata Motors (1.94%), Coal India (1.63%), Bajaj Auto (1.55%), Maruti Suzuki (1.49%) and ONGC (1.35%) are among the losers.

Foreign institutional investors seem to be selling Tata Motors. Analysts expect JLR figures to slow down going forward.

Bajaj Auto's sales in April 2012 rose 4 percent to 381,580 units compared to 367,309 units in the same period a year ago.

The market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1,361 gainers against 1,166 losers.

Indian Stock Market : Nifty ends below 5,250 as weak rupee hurts sentiment

The Nifty snapped a three-day upmove and closed in the negative terrain as a weak rupee and lack of conviction among investors hurt sentiment.

The rupee closed near the 53-per-dollar mark on demand for the greenback from importers. Widening current account deficit, slowing domestic economic growth and exit of foreign institutional investors on concerns of tax policies have been putting pressure on the rupee.

India's exports in March fell for the first time since the 2009 global financial crisis. They fell 5.7 percent to $28.7 billion in March 2012 while imports rose 24.3 percent to $42.6 billion.

The partially convertible rupee ended at 52.95 per dollar, down 22 paise, against a previous close of 52.73. It slipped to a low of Rs 53.02 per dollar earlier in the day.

The market had opened on a positive note taking cues from Asian peers, but failed to hold above intermediate resistance levels and gave away gains as the session progressed. The Nifty has been moving in the range of 5,200-5,300 for the past few sessions. It has been lacking strength to break out on the either side.

Once the issues on GAAR and tax policies are clarified by the government, the market may break out on the upside, analysts said.

The GAAR issue would probably be resolved before the finance bill is implemented. A clarification should help people stay back in India and not withdraw money which would ultimately bring down the pressure on rupee as well.

The Sensex ended at 17,301.91, down 16.90 points, or 0.10 percent. It touched an intraday high of 17,432.33 and a low of 17,265.48.

The Nifty closed at 5,239.15, down 9 points, or 0.17 percent. It touched an intraday high of 5,279.60 and a low of 5,226.45.

The BSE Midcap Index was down 0.27 percent while the BSE Smallcap Index edged 0.20 percent higher.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Auto Index was down 1.72 percent, the BSE Power Index slipped 1.25 percent and the BSE Capital Goods Index declined 0.94 percent. The BSE IT Index was up 0.73 percent, the BSE Bankex moved 0.27 percent higher and the BSE FMCG Index advanced 0.21 percent.

Tata Motors (3.65%), Maruti Suzuki (3.20%), ACC (2.59%), Coal India (2.58%) and Tata Power (2.41%) led the Nifty losers.

Foreign institutional investors seem to be selling Tata Motors. Analysts expect JLR figures to slow down going forward.

DLF (2.78%), Bharti Airtel (2.42%), SAIL (1.95%), Punjab National Bank (1.95%) and Cipla (1.92%) were among the top Nifty gainers.

Bharti Airtel reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,006 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 against Rs 1,400 crore a year ago. The company recommended a dividend of Re 1 per equity share of a face value of Rs 5 each for the financial year 2011-12.
The market breadth was negative on the NSE with 662 gainers against 793 losers.

The European markets were mixed. The CAC 40 gained 1.04 percent and the DAX moved 0.83 percent higher. The FTSE 100 was down 0.18 percent.

Indian Stock Market : Nifty slips in red; Tata Motors, Maruti, Coal India down

The National Stock Exchange's Nifty failed to hold above intermediate resistance levels and slipped in the negative territory as profit booking intensified in auto, power, capital goods and oil & gas sectors.

At 2:30 p.m., the Nifty was at 5,244.05, down 4.10 points or 0.08 percent. It touched intraday high of 5,279.60 and a low of 5,240.75.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 17,335.09, up 16.28 points or 0.09 percent. It touched intraday high of 17,432.33 and a low of 17,309.69.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.07 percent and the BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.35 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Auto Index was down 1.23 percent, the BSE Power Index slipped 0.82 percent, the BSE Capital Goods Index declined 0.57 percent and the BSE Oil & Gas Index slipped 0.31 percent. The BSE IT Index was up 0.90 percent, the BSE Bankex advanced 0.47 percent and the BSE Healthcare Index gained 0.25 percent.

Tata Motors (-3.33%), Tata Power (-2.65%), Maruti Suzuki (-2.58%), Coal India (-1.93%) and Siemens (-1.63%) led the Nifty losers pack.

Foreign institutional investors seem to be selling Tata Motors. Analysts expect JLR figures to slow down going forward.

Bharti Airtel (2.58%), DLF (2.51%), Punjab National Bank (2.06%), SAIL (1.95%) and Cipla (1.92%) were among the top Nifty gainers.

Bharti Airtel reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1006 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 against Rs 1400 crore a year ago. Total income was at Rs 18,738.8 crore compared to Rs 18507.8 crore in the same period last fiscal. The company recommended a dividend of Re 1 per equity share of face valued Rs 5 each for the financial year 2011-12.

The market breadth was flat on the NSE with 739 gainers against 719 losers.

The European markets were mixed. CAC 40 gained 1.04 percent and DAX moved 0.83 percent higher. FTSE 100 was down 0.18 percent.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex gains 0.6% in early trade; Hindustan Unilever up 3%

The Sensex rose as much as 0.6 percent early on Wednesday with ICICI Bank, HUL and ITC leading the gains. The broader 50-share NSE index was up 0.5 percent to 5,275.40.

Shares of Hindustan Unilever surged over 3% to Rs 429 in early trade after the FMCG major reported a net profit of Rs 686.61 crore, up 20.63 percent for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012.

Shares of Tata Motors slipped over 2% to Rs 310.40 after the automaker reported a 7 percent fall in total sales, including exports, in April to 60,086 units from 64,383 units in the corresponding period of last year.

Pantaloon Retail Ltd dropped over 1% to hit its day's low of Rs 182.55 on reports that the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group will spin off the branded apparel business under Pantaloon Retail into a separate entity into which Aditya Birla Nuvo will infuse Rs 1,600 crore to acquire a controlling stake.

Shares of Future Capital Holdings tanked over 5% in early trade to hit their day's low of Rs 133.00.

At 9:20 a.m., the 30-share Sensex was trading 0.4% higher at 17,386.16 led by gains in ICICI Bank (up 0.8%), HUL (up 2.5%) and ITC (up 0.6%).

The BSE consumer durable index gained 1.2%, the BSE FMCG index advanced 1.2% and the BSE metal index rose 0.9%.

Top Sensex losers include Tata Motors, which was trading 2.1% lower at Rs 310.10, and ONGC, which was trading 0.8% lower.