ADVFN Newsdesk - Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance In Early Trading

ADVFN III World Daily Markets Bulletin   Daily world financial news Supplied by advfn.com         Wednesday 25 Jan 2012 10:37:19     Santa Monica Wiz Kid Makes $87 Million Trading Stocks Using his same strategy you can get crazy rich – fast!  Click Here and Find Out How! US Market Report Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance In Early Trading Stocks are turning in a mixed performance in early trading on Wednesday as traders digest the latest batch of earnings news. The major averages have moved in opposite directions, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing into positive territory. In recent trading, the Nasdaq has pulled back off its high for the young session but remains up 5.95 points or 0.2 percent at 2,792.59. Meanwhile, the Dow is down 73.83 points or 0.6 percent at 12,601.92 and the S&P 500 is down 4.96 points or 0.4 percent at 1,309.69. The Nasdaq is benefiting from a strong upward move by shares of Apple (AAPL), which are up by 6.8 percent after the iPod and iPhone maker reported better than expected quarterly results. After the close of trading on Tuesday, Apple reported first quarter earnings of $13.87 per share on revenues of $46.3 billion. Analysts had expected the company to earn $10.16 per share on revenues of $38.9 billion. The company also forecast second quarter results above analyst estimates. Meanwhile, Dow components Boeing (BA) and United Technologies (UTX) are moving to the downside after releasing their fourth quarter results. While Boeing reported better than expected fourth quarter results, the aerospace giant provided disappointing guidance for full year 2012. The choppy trading also comes as some traders are staying on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement. The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision at about 12:30 pm, with the announcement due to be followed by a press conference by Fed Chairman Bern Bernanke. Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, although notable weakness is visible among railroad, networking, and health insurance stocks. On the other hand, some biotechnology and airline stocks are seeing early strength. In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Wednesday, although the markets in Hong Kong and China remained closed. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 1.1 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index advanced by 1 percent. Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.6 percent. In the bond market, treasuries are turning in a lackluster performance ahead of the Fed announcement. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 2.058 percent. Trade Free for 60 Days at ETRADE Securities Click here Canadian Market Report CADUSD Oil Gold Allbanc Please click on the images to view our interactive charts TSX May Extend Losses At Open Wednesday Canadian stocks may struggle to move higher Wednesday morning as commodities continued to move lower amid lingering concerns over the euro zone debt situation. Efforts to restructure Greek debt stalled after the EU finance ministers Tuesday rejected a proposal by creditors for a 4.25 percent coupon on new 30-year bonds. Greece is due for a euro 14.5 billion bond payment on March 20. On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index snapped its four-session winning steak to lose 126.47 points or 1.01 percent to 12,395.24. The price of crude oil was extending losses Wednesday morning as traders await cues from the 2-day FOMC meeting and official crude oil inventories data from the EIA. Today during trading hours, the EIA will come out with its U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ended January 20. Analysts expect crude oil inventories gain by 700,000 barrels and gasoline stocks are seen adding 2.2 million barrels last week. Crude for March was down $0.57 to $98.38 a barrel. The price of gold was extending losses for a second session Wednesday morning as the U.S. dollar was steady versus a basket of currencies ahead of the outcome of the outcome of a two-day FOMC meet. Gold for February shed $8.70 to $1,655.80 an ounce. In corporate news from Canada, Scotiabank reported IFRS net income for the year ended October 31, 2011 of C$5.330 billion. This was C$62 million higher than net income under CGAAP for the same period. Net income attributable to common shareholders under IFRS was C$4.965 billion versus C$4.959 billion under CGAAP. Earnings per share under IFRS were C$4.57, compared to C$4.62 for the same period under CGAAP. Canadian Western Bank  which would release its 2012 earnings report on March 08 on a IFRS basis, expects its net income to grow 10 percent from the $149.54 million reported in the prior year. Australian mining company Rio Tinto Plc said it bought 15.1 million common shares of Ivanhoe Mines from private holders at C$20.00 per share to increase its stake in the Canadian miner to 51 percent from the earlier 49 percent. Crescent Point Energy said its 2012 capital expenditures are expected to increase by $50 million to $1.15 billion and noted its average daily production in 2012 is expected to increase to 83,500 boe/d from 80,000 boe/d. Separately, the company announced that it would acquire Wild Stream Exploration Inc.  for about C$770 million. Each common share of Wild Stream shall be exchanged for 0.17 common shares of Crescent Point, 1.0 common share of a new light oil focused junior exploration company and 0.2 of a common share purchase warrant. In economic news from the euro zone, the U.K. economy contracted more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2011, preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed. Gross domestic product dropped 0.2 percent from a quarter ago, after expanding 0.6 percent in the third quarter. Economists had forecast a fall of 0.1 percent for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, German business confidence rose for a third month and at a faster-than-expected rate in January. The business climate index rose to 108.3 in January from 107.3 in December, the Munich-based Ifo institute said. Economists had expected the index to improve to 107.6. Trade Free for 60 Days at ETRADE Securities Click here European Market Report FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40 Please click on the images to view our interactive charts European Shares Fall On Earnings European shares reversed early gains on Wednesday as weak earnings from heavyweights Ericsson and Novartis coupled with ongoing concerns over Greece overshadowed forecast-beating Apple's quarterly earnings. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum's five-day annual meeting began in Davos, Switzerland, with business leaders and politicians from around the world gathering for the exclusive meeting to discuss the state of affairs of the global economy. Investors also await a speech by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi as well as the Federal Reserve's policy announcement for direction. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is declining 0.68 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is down a little over a percent. Around Europe, France's CAC 40 is losing 0.8 percent, the German DAX is moving down 0.44 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 is declining 0.58 percent and Switzerland's SMI is down 1.13 percent. Novartis is tumbling 3.8 percent in Frankfurt after the Swiss pharmaceuticals group posted fourth-quarter net income of $1.21 billion, lower than last year's $2.27 billion, and issued a cautious earnings outlook for 2012. EON is losing 0.7 percent after the German utility announced it is cutting 11,000 jobs worldwide, with most of the staff reductions in Germany, as the utility looks to free up funds for future investment. LM Ericsson, the world's largest network-equipment maker, also posted a worse-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, dragging its shares down about 14 percent. Roche Holding AG is losing over 2 percent after the Swiss pharma giant said it would acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina Inc. for about $5.7 billion on a fully diluted basis. Publicis Groupe SA is down 0.7 percent in Pairs after the French advertising group lost its global media planning and buying contract with General Motors to British rival Aegis Group. UniCredit is rising half a percent. The Italian lender plans to raise up to €25 billion through the issue of covered bonds to shore up its capital base and fund the group's mortgage loans business, according to a regulatory filing. Rio Tinto Plc is gaining 0.4 percent in London after the mining giant announced that it has raised its stake in Canada's Ivanhoe Mines to 51 percent from 49 percent. On the macroeconomic front, the U.K. economy contracted more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2011, preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed. Separately, a report from the statistical office Istat revealed that Italian retail sales declined more than expected in November, with retail sales down 0.3 percent month-over-month in November, reversing a 0.2 percent rise in October. Nobody analyzes Stocks like VectorVest. No Hunches.  No Guesswork.  No Opinions.   Analyze Any Stock Free! Click Here Asia Market Report Asian Shares Rise On Apple Earnings, Greece Hopes Asian shares rose on Wednesday as a weaker yen, forecast-beating earnings from Apple on the back of a huge jump in smartphone sales, and falling euro zone debt yields outweighed worries over unresolved Greece's restructuring talks. Investors also shrugged off an IMF warning about risks to the global economy as the focus has sifted to the Federal Reserve's new interest rate projection scheduled to be announced later in the global trading day. Trading activity across the region picked up somewhat as several markets resumed trading after an extended Lunar New Year holiday weekend. The markets in China and Taiwan are closed for the whole of this week, while Hong Kong will open tomorrow after the Lunar New Year holidays. Japan's Nikkei index rose 1.1 percent to a 12-week high, as the weakening of the yen against both the greenback and the euro lifted export-related stocks. The broader Topix index added 1.3 percent. Panasonic rose 2.5 percent and Sony soared 5.7 percent ahead of their results next week, while Canon climbed 2.9 percent. Toyota Motor advanced 1.9 percent on heavy trading volume, Nissan Motor added 2.5 percent and Honda Motor jumped 3.8 percent. Electric machinery parts manufacturers such as Ibiden and Foster Electric, which supply components to Apple, jumped 3.5 percent after the technology giant reported record quarterly sales and profit. However, Softbank, which sells Apple's iPhone in Japan, slipped half a percent and KDDI shed 0.6 percent. Australian shares jumped to a near seven-week high, with banks rallying as benign inflation data spurred hopes for an interest rate cut. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1 percent while the broader All Ordinaries index added a percent. Westpac rallied 3.5 percent to its highest level since December 8, while ANZ, Commonwealth and NAB ended up over 2 percent each. Miner Rio Tinto closed unchanged after announcing that it has taken a majority stake in Ivanhoe Mines. BHP Billiton gained 0.9 percent, but smaller rival Fortescue lost 1.2 percent. Lynas Corp soared 5.1 percent after the company raised $225 million in bonds to help fund a delayed rare earths processing plant in Malaysia. Retailers closed on a mixed note, with David Jones gaining 1.7 percent, while Myer Holdings lost 1.4 percent and JB Hi-Fi tumbled 2.8 percent. Australian consumer prices were unchanged in the December 2011 quarter, after a three-year bout of steady increases, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed. The consumer price index remained unchanged quarter-over-quarter after rising 0.6 percent in the three months to September. The benign outcome has widely triggered expectations for an interest rate cut by the central bank at its February meeting. South Korea's Kospi average finished 0.1 percent higher with concerns over stalled negotiations on Greek debt tempering gains. Tech shares gained ground, with Samsung and Hynix rising 1-2 percent, buoyed by strong first-quarter results from Apple. LG Electronics soared 4.1 percent on optimism its handset business probably staged a turnaround in the fourth quarter. Hyundai Motor, the nation's largest automaker, closed 0.9 percent higher and its affiliate Kia Motor gained 1.8 percent. Construction shares were in the limelight, with Joongang Construction climbing almost by the daily 15 percent limit. New Zealand shares posted modest gains, as investors cheered softer than expected Australian inflation numbers and Apple's strong first-quarter earnings results. The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 0.4 percent. Telecom, Steel & Tube Holdings, Rakon and Nuplex rose around 2 percent each, while exporter Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, retailers such as Pumpkin Patch and Kathmandu Holdings and stock exchange operator NZX lost 2-4 percent Air New Zealand shed 0.6 percent after its chief executive Rob Fyfe said the airline won't pull out of the loss-making London route, but will reduce the number of weekly flights. India's Sensex was last trading up 0.7 percent as the RBI's surprise 50 basis point-CRR cut prompted some short sellers to square off their positions on the expiration of F&O contracts. Elsewhere, Singapore's Straits Times index rose 1.5 percent, while Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was down 0.8 percent. Trade Free for 60 Days at ETRADE Securities Click here Forex Top Story USDCAD USDEUR USDGBP USDJPY Please click on the images to view our interactive charts Dollar Edges Higher As Fed Readies Rate Outlook The dollar was generally stronger Wednesday morning in New York, ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision. For the first time, the central bank will release the fed funds target forecast of the monetary policy committee members. No changes to record low interest rates are in the offing this month, and economists say the Fed is unlikely to make reference to another round of quantitative easing, given recent improvements in the jobs sector. The policy statement is due to be released at 12:30 pm ET and Bernanke is scheduled to hold a press briefing at 2:15 pm ET. The dollar improved to $1.2920 versus the euro, up more than a penny from yesterday's 3-week low near $1.3050. Traders expressed concerns about the stalemate between Greece and its creditors, with Athens unable to come to terms on restructuring its private debt. That and other fiscal matters are being discussed in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum today. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak amid calls for the region's largest economy to step up with more support for its neighbors. Germany reported an improvement in business sentiment morning. The dollar was steady near $1.5550 versus sterling after coming under pressure in recent days. The U.K. reported a steeper than expected contraction in fourth quarter GDP. Later, the governor of the Bank of England signaled a willingness to go ahead with addition quantitative easing in support of the economy. The dollar edged above Y78 versus the yen, extending the week's gains after data showed Japan recorded its first trade deficit since 1980.     To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click here. 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