Both the indices end marginally higher after touching new peak

MUMBAI: Both the indices, sensex and nifty, ended marginally higher after touching life-time high in a truncated trading week.

This was on strong buying mainly in Realty, Healthcare, Banking and IT sectors despite mild profit-booking from operators in Metal, Power, Auto and Consumer Durable.

The Sensex conquered the 28,000 mark for the first time on expectations of more reforms by the Modi government and a rate cut by the RBI.

Markets were enthused after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised reforms in labour, land acquisition and insurance laws and expressed readiness to look at privatisation of some loss-making public sector companies.

Strong foreign capital inflows coupled with higher European cues mainly boosted the domestic market sentiment, even as services sector activity in India stagnated during October amid weaker growth of new orders as per an HSBC survey.

"The fall in crude oil prices will have a positive impact on, among other things, inflation....it will embolden the RBI to cut rates," said HDFC Securities in a note.

The sensex resumed higher at 27,943.04 and shot up further to an all-time high of 28,010.39 on initial strong buying. However, it declined afterwards to 27,739.56 before concluding the week at 27,868.33, showing a marginal gain of 2.70 points or 0.01 pct.

The CNX 50-share Nifty also moved by 14.80 points or 0.18 per cent to finish at 8,337.00 after touching an all-time high level of 8,365.55 during the week.

Ssentiments were on the negative side at the fag-end of the week in reaction to the OECD report, which lowered India's GDP growth forecast to 5.4 per cent for this year from 5.7 per cent earlier.

But, the downside also remained limited, tracking continuous FIIs inflow," said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities.

BSE remained closed on November 4 for "Muharram" and November 6 on account of "Gurunanak Jayanti".

21 scrips out of the 30 Sensex companies ended lower while only nine finished higher.

Major losers from the Sensex pack were Gail India (8.34 per cent), Coal India (6.67 per cent), Hero Motocorp (5.33 per cent), M&M (4.81 per cent), Hindalco (4.38 per cent), SSLT (3.75 per cent), NTPC (3.63 per cent), Tata Steel (3.51 per cent), Tata Power (2.61 per cent), BHEL (2.60 per cent) and Reliance Ind (1.83 per cent).

However, Axis Bank rose by 6.86 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy (6.82 per cent), Sun Pharma (5.45 per cent), ICICI Bank (3.70 per cent), Infosys (2.89 per cent) and ONGC (1.04 per cent).

Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, Realty rose by 5.73 per cent, followed by HC (3.70 per cent), Bankex (1.79 per cent), IT (1.11 per cent) and Teck by 1.06 per cent while Metal fell by 4.35 per cent, Power (1.49 per cent), CD (1.30 per cent) and Auto (1.29 per cent).

Small-cap and Mid-cap indices rose by 1.70 per cent and 1.68 per cent, respectively on persistent buying from retail investors.

Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 5,042.33 crore during the week, including the provisional figure of November 7.

The total turnover at BSE and NSE fell to Rs 11,865.96 crore and Rs 59,859.41 crore, respectively from Rs 15,192.70 crore and Rs 85,382.17 crore last week.
Source : economictimes

Wall Street dips after payrolls, but uptrend seen intact

NEW YORK: US stocks receded from record levels on Friday as investors locked in profits after the October payroll report came in weaker than expected, even as the report pointed to economic resilience in the face of slowing global demand.

Employers added 214,000 new jobs last month, below the 231,000 that was expected, while the September report was revised higher. The unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent.

"It's hard to not bet on the economy, with the fundamentals looking like a full house: earnings are rock solid, we're growing at a nice pace and confidence is up," said David Kelly, chief global strategist for JPMorgan Funds in New York.

"The number was slightly weaker than expected, but until we see real weakness or higher interest rates, we'll continue to be overweight on equities."

The Dow was pressured by Walt Disney Co, which fell 3.4 percent to $88.82 a day after posting earnings that met expectations, though its cable networks were weaker. The stock closed at a record on Thursday.

Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd plummeted 35 percent to $89.21 in its biggest one-day drop a day after it slashed its full-year forecast as its inventory for key drugs piled up. The issue dissuaded Allergan Inc from acquiring the drugmaker, people familiar with the matter said. More than 5.5 million shares exchanged hands in early trading, more than twice Salix's 50-day average of almost 2 million.

Energy shares were sharply higher on the day, rising 0.8 percent alongside a 1.3 percent jump in crude oil prices.

The industry was the top-performing S&P 500 sector by far. Among the most active names, Chesapeake Energy rose 2.6 percent to $23.34 while Newfield Exploration was up 2.4 percent at $33.28.

At 9:49 a.m. (1449 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average fell 34.92 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,519.55, the S&P 500 lost 2.4 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,028.81 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.38 points, or 0.22 percent, to 4,628.09.

For the week, the Dow is up 0.7 percent and the S&P is up 0.5 percent in their third straight week of gains. The Nasdaq is down 0.1 percent for the week.

While political tensions abroad have largely faded from markets, a cautious note was added to the market after the Kiev military said a column of tanks had crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,537 to 1,189, for a 1.29-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,465 issues fell and 821 advanced for a 1.78-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 index posted 28 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 43 new highs and 24 new lows.
Source : Moneycontrol

Wall Street: US stocks drop amid global equity selloff

NEW YORK: US stocks dropped sharply in early trade Thursday, following international markets downward as anxiety over global growth continued to prompt selling.

About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16,062.34, down 79.40 points (0.49 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 13.75 (0.74 per cent) to 1,848.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 43.05 (1.02 per cent) to 4,172.27.

Equity markets in Britain and France were down more than 1.0 per cent. Asian markets also fell sharply, with Japan's Nikkei tumbling 2.22 per cent.

"Global risk aversion is persisting amid exacerbated global growth concerns, fueled by yesterday's surprising decline in US retail sales," said a market note from Charles Schwab.

"Moreover, a flare-up in Greek debt concerns, festering Ebola fears, and heightened geopolitical concerns are adding to the dampened global mood."

Thursday's declines move the market closer to a full-blown correction, normally considered a drop of 10-20 per cent. The S&P 500 has fallen about eight per cent since its mid-September all-time high.

Investors brushed off positive news, such as a drop in initial jobless claims to 264,000, the lowest level since April 2000, according to the Department of Labor.

Dow member Goldman Sachs fell 2.1 per cent despite reporting a 50 per cent increase in third-quarter earnings to $2.14 billion in results that bested Wall Street expectations by a wide margin.

Video-streaming company Netflix plummeted 22.7 per cent on disappointing subscriber growth figures. The video-streaming company said it gained just three million members in the past quarter, to boost its subscribers to 53.1 million worldwide.

Apple fell 1.5 per cent ahead of an event in California later Thursday at which it is expected to unveil new versions of the iPad.

Chesapeake Energy bolted 13.5 per cent higher following news it will sell shale oil and gas assets to Southwestern Energy for $5.4 billion. Southwestern lost 6.9 per cent.

EBay dropped 4.9 per cent as it projected fourth-quarter revenues of $4.85-$4.95 billion, below analyst forecasts for $5.16 billion. The profit outlook was also on the low end of expectations.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury held steady at 2.09 per cent, the same level as Wednesday, while the 30-year stood at 2.87 per cent, down from 2.88 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

Oil prices briefly dipped below $80 a barrel for the US benchmark contract, before coming back to 80.75, off $1.03 from Wednesday's close.
Source : economictimes

Wall Street bounces after 3-day slump on earnings hope

NEW YORK: US stocks were higher on Tuesday, rebounding after the S&P 500's worst three-day drop since November 2011, as bullish investors hoped a solid earnings season would ease global growth concerns.

Citigroup, up 3.2 per cent to $51.48, was among the top boosts to the benchmark S&P index after the bank posted better-than-expected quarterly results and said it would pull out of consumer banking in 11 markets.

But JPMorgan Chase shares lost 1.1 per cent to $57.54, after the biggest US bank posted third-quarter earnings. Wells Fargo, the fourth largest US bank, lost 1.6 per cent to $49.39 after its results.

The S&P financial index gained 0.7 per cent.

Johnson & Johnson shares lost 1.3 per cent to $97.82 even after the diversified healthcare company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on the back of strong sales for a new hepatitis C drug.

The index closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 16, 2012, on Monday and is now down 6.1 per cent from its record closing high on September 18.

S&P 500 companies are expected to show earnings growth of 6.4 per cent in the third quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data, with revenue growth expected at 4 per cent. After the close, Dow component and chipmaker Intel is set to post results.

At 10:58am, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 84.83 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 16,405.9, the S&P 500 gained 12.45 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 1,887.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 39.84 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 4,253.50.

The largest per centage gainer on the S&P 500 was Delta Air Lines, up 5.6 per cent, while the largest per centage decliner was ONEOK Inc, down 3.3 per cent.

The largest per centage gainer on the Nasdaq 100 was NXP Semiconductors, up 5.1 per cent, while the largest per centage decliner was Autodesk, down 2.1 per cent.

Among the most active stocks on the NYSE were Bank Of America, up 0.67 per cent to $16.51; Petrobras, up 0.23 per cent to $17.31; and Advanced Micro Devices, down 1.09 per cent to $2.71.

On the Nasdaq, APPLE, up 0.3 per cent to $100.08, and Facebook, up 0.5 per cent to $73.34, were among the most actively traded.

Advancing issues were outnumbering declining ones on the NYSE by 2,020 to 953, for a 2.12-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,862 issues were rising and 690 falling for a 2.70-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 6 new 52-week highs and 23 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 16 new highs and 121 new lows.

Wall Street falls, Dow in negative territory for 2014

NEW YORK: US stocks fell on Friday, with the Dow ending in negative territory for the year and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting their worst weeks since May 2012.

Technology shares led the day's decline after a chipmaker warned of a major pullback in the industry.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 115.15 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 16,544.1, the S&P 500 lost 22.08 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 1,906.13 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 102.10 points, or 2.33 per cent, to 4,276.24.

Source : economictimes

Wall Street dips on growth concerns after massive rally

US stocks edged lower on Thursday as concerns over global growth spurred investors to take profits following a massive advance in the previous session.

While domestic news - including job data and corporate earnings - was encouraging, investors continued taking their trading cues from abroad.

German exports dropped by 5.8 per cent in August, their biggest fall since January 2009. The data was the latest indication, following bearish reads on industrial output and industrial orders, that Europe's largest economy was faltering amid broader weakness in the euro zone. Separately, data this week showed growth in the Chinese services sector weakened slightly in September.

The third-quarter earnings season got off to a strong start, with both Alcoa Inc and PepsiCo Inc rallying after results topped expectations.

Alcoa rose 0.8 per cent to $16.19 while PepsiCo was up 0.9 per cent at $94.79.

On the downside, Gap Inc plunged 12 per cent to $36.94 as the S&P 500's biggest decliner a day after it reported weaker-than-expected same-store sales for September and said its chief executive would retire in February.

Jobless claims dropped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 287,000 in the latest week. The report supported September jobs data, which also pointed to improving conditions in the labor market.

Wall Street soared on Wednesday, with major indexes posting their biggest one-day jump of the year after the Federal Reserve reassured investors its first rate hike would come when economic data pointed to an economy that could grow without Fed stimulus, rather than on a specific schedule. With the day's advance, the S&P 500 jumped back above its 100-day moving average, a sign of improving near-term momentum.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 45.98 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 16,948.24, the S&P 500 lost 5.75 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 1,963.14 and the Nasdaq Composite

dropped 13.41 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 4,455.19.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,801 to 888, for a 2.03-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,616 issues were fell and 573 advanced for a 2.82-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The benchmark S&P 500 index posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 14 new highs and 33 new lows.
Source : economictimes

Wall Street gains, S&P edges above 50-day moving average

NEW YORK: US stocks rose on Monday, extending a rally from the previous session as investors grew more confident in the economy's strength and Federal Reserve policy.

Merger activity and corporate restructuring also boosted equities, with the S&P 500 advancing above its 50-day moving average for the first time since Sept. 29, a sign that near-term momentum is improving.

Tech shares were among the strongest of the day after Hewlett-Packard Co said it would split into two public companies, sending shares up 4.2 per cent to $36.68 on heavy volume.

Separately, Becton Dickinson & Co agreed to buy CareFusion Corp for $12.2 billion in cash and stock.

Becton jumped 6.8 per cent to $123.52 while CareFusion was up 23 per cent to $56.96 as the S&P 500's biggest gainer.

The S&P 500 index had posted its best day since August on Friday, lifted by a stronger-than-expected jobs report that boosted optimism about the economy, while the Federal Reserve was not seen as speeding up its timeline for raising interest rates. 

Market volatility has been higher of late, with equities notching big swings amid unrest in Hong Kong and concerns about Ebola in the United States. Those issues could continue to drive trading. The CBOE Volatility index fell 1.6 per cent to 14.32, well below its long-term average of 20.

The Dow Jones industrial average was rising 76.01 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 17,085.7, the S&P 500 was gaining 8.18 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 1,976.08 and the Nasdaq Composite was adding 13.42 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 4,489.05.

Advancing issues were outnumbering declining ones on the NYSE by 2,066 to 674, for a 3.07-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,356 issues were rising and 899 falling for a 1.51-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 16 new highs and 21 new lows.
Source : economictimes

Strong US jobs data boosts dollar and world stocks

The dollar climbed to a more than four-year peak and global equity markets surged on Friday after data showed U.S. employers stepped up hiring in September and the jobless rate fell to a six-year low, further signs of a relatively strong economy.

The strong dollar pushed gold below USD 1,200 an ounce for the first time this year after the Labor Department reported that US nonfarm payrolls rose by 248,000 last month and the jobless rate fell two-tenths of a point to 5.9 percent.

The better-than-expected report knocked the euro to a more than two-year low against the dollar, which hit a 15-month high against the Swiss franc. The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against six major currencies, headed toward its biggest yearly gain in nine years, up 8 percent so far in 2014.

Stocks on Wall Street rose more than 1 percent, and European shares finished with a gain just under that level.

The dollar index hit a high of 86.746, its strongest level since June 2010, and was last up 1.24 percent at 86.663.

Against the yen, the greenback jumped 1.31 percent to 109.83 yen, while the euro slid 1.23 percent to USD 1.2512.

MSCI's all-country world index of stock performance in 45 countries rose 0.51 percent.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed up 0.9 percent at 1,347.14. Shares of European airlines rallied as the price of oil dropped, and exporters suchas Airbus got a lift from the euro's renewed slide.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 214.3 points, or 1.28 percent, to 17,015.35. The S&P 500 gained 23.56 points, or 1.21 percent, to 1,969.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 54.83 points, or 1.24 percent, to 4,485.03.

German Bund yields rose a day after the European Central Bank showed little willingness to stimulate the economy through the purchase of sovereign debt. Markets could be in for a rough fourth quarter as investors anticipate tighter Fed monetary policy and if the ECB stands pat.

Bund yields rose 2 basis points to 0.93 percent. Treasuries prices fell. The 10-year Treasury note fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.4466 percent.

Brent crude oil futures fell below $92 a barrel at one point, down for a fourth consecutive day in a slide that has pushed prices to their lowest levels since 2012. Abundant supplies and a strong dollar continue to weigh on the market.

Brent for November delivery settled down USD 1.11 at USD 92.31 a barrel. US November crude slipped USD 1.27 to settle at USD 89.74.
Source : Moneycontrol

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.

World Stock Market : World stocks up on hopes of new Fed stimulus move

World stock markets were modestly higher Monday as sluggish U.S. growth boosted hopes for more measures from the Federal Reserve to help the world's No. 1 economy.

The Fed has already carried out two massive rounds of bond-buying known as quantitative easing to drive down long-term interest rates and stimulate spending and business investment. Low bond yields also encourage investors to shift money to stocks.

European stocks were mostly higher in early trading. Britain's FTSE rose 0.2 percent to 5,759.82 and Germany's DAX added 0.2 percent to 6,815.04. France's CAC-40 fell 0.6 percent to 3,246.79.

U.S. stocks were headed for a neutral opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures nearly unchanged at 13,168. S&P 500 futures were flat at 1,398.

Asian stocks were higher in trading thinned by holidays in Japan and mainland China. All major Asian markets except Tokyo will be closed for holidays on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.7 percent to 21,094.21, with banking shares racking up solid gains.

South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,981.99 amid improving business sentiment among manufacturers. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 percent to 4,396.60 as rising commodities prices helped push up its mining sector.

Benchmarks in New Zealand, Taiwan and the Philippines also gained, while Singapore and Indonesia fell. Markets in mainland China and Japan were closed for public holidays.

Traders are also awaiting U.S. monthly jobs figures for April, to be released Friday, and the second round of France's presidential election on Sunday.

U.S. stock markets rose Friday despite a report that the U.S. economy grew at annual rate of 2.2 percent, below the 2.5 percent that economist had expected. It grew at a faster rate, 3 percent, in the final three months of 2011.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 20 cents to $104.73 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 38 cents to settle at $104.93 in New York on Friday.

In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.3239 from $1.3259 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 80.14 yen from 80.39 yen.

World Stock Market : Wall Street week ahead: In battle of the S&P, can bulls gain the edge

It will be another battleground for S&P 500 index next week. Will the bears finally give up and let the bulls have their way?

The S&P 500, the market's broadest measure, managed to close out the week above the psychologically important 1,400 mark for the first time since early April. But the index is still down 0.4 per cent for the month so far even after gaining 1.8 per cent for the week, with only one trading day left in April.

Brian Lazorishak, senior quantitative analyst and portfolio manager at Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia, said a close above 1,400 is positive, but the recent high, near 1,422, is a more important technical level.

"That's what we're looking for on the upside as confirmation there's room to move higher," Lazorishak said.

"A close above that would open the window to testing highs back to early 2008. The next natural area you'd see is a run to at least 1,440, the May 2008 high."

Next week's release of a slew of economic data on the U.S. labor market and the beginning of the latter half of corporate earnings will be keenly watched to see if they are enough to allow stocks to break above the recent trading range.

The S&P 500, up 11.6 per cent for the year, jumped 4.4 per cent in January, 4.1 per cent in February and 3.1 per cent in March, but is down 0.4 per cent so far this month.

"The sideways action we have seen over the past few weeks was enough to alleviate any overbought conditions that existed in the market a month ago," said Larry McMillan, president of options research firm McMillan Analysis Corp in a report on Friday.

"Thus, the market has the potential for another leg higher in this longer term uptrend, one that began early October 2011," he said.

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS At the top of investors' radar screen next week will be the government's closely watched monthly jobs report for April, to be released on Friday. Jobs growth in March slowed to 120,000, the smallest increase since October, disappointing investors even though the unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 8.2 per cent.

Ahead of the government's payrolls report, investors will be watching the ADP Employment Report due on Wednesday and weekly jobless claims data due on Thursday for indications of whether the labor market is gaining momentum.

Corporate earnings, which drove gains in stocks last week, will also be in focus.

As of Friday, 57 per cent of the S&P 500 companies had reported first-quarter results. Of those 287 in the S&P 500 that had reported earnings, 72.8 per cent posted results that topped analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Companies due to report earnings next week include Chesapeake Energy and Pfizer Inc on Tuesday; Prudential Financial, Time Warner and Visa Inc

on Wednesday; and Kraft Foods and Viacom Inc on Thursday. Also on agenda next week, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co, has organized a meeting of major bank chief executives with Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo, the central bank's point man on regulation, according to The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

The meeting, slated for Wednesday in New York, is expected to focus on a Fed proposal to limit banks' exposure to other firms and governments, though other regulatory concerns likely will be discussed.

Asian shares head higher despite weak Wall Street

Source : Economicstimes
TOKYO: Asian stock markets rose Wednesday, reversing course after an indecisive opening following a sluggish day on Wall Street .

Oil prices rose to near $85 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude supplies unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting demand may be improving.

The Nikkei 225 stock average in Tokyo added 0.4 percent to 10,788.13. Exporters, including electronics makers, generally rose as the dollar hovered in the upper 83-yen range. Toshiba Corp. was up 2.8 percent, Pioneer Corp. rose 2.6 percent, and Sharp Corp. rose 0.9 percent. Financial issues also advanced, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. up 2.3 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent to 22,996.87, and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1 percent to 2,902.59. South Korea's Kospi index was nearly flat at 2,011.36, while benchmarks in Singapore and Indonesia retreated.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up narrowly to 4,932.60. Among the day's worst performers, BHP Billiton Ltd. shed 1.8 percent despite reporting robust earnings. The world's biggest mining company said its first half net profit soared more than 71 percent in the six months through December.

In New York Tuesday, a surprisingly weak retail sales report drove stocks lower on Tuesday, giving the Dow Jones industrial average its second straight day of losses.

The Dow fell 41.55, or 0.3 percent, to close at 12,226.64. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.31, or 0.3 percent, to 1,328.01. The Nasdaq composite index fell 12.83, or 0.5 percent, to 2,804.35.

In currencies, the dollar eased to 83.75 yen from 83.82 yen late Tuesday. The dollar rose from the lower-83 yen level overnight, at one point hitting a two-month high of 83.91 yen. The euro stood at $1.3532 from $1.3492.

Benchmark crude oil for March delivery was up 35 cents at $84.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 49 cents to settle at $84.32 a barrel Tuesday.