| US GDP disapointing − waiting on the move from the FED
With a strong ADP Employment report from the US and weak GDP figures we are waiting on the FED to direct markets. MAJOR HEADLINES - PREVIOUS SESSION The S&P 500 added 8.33, or 0.6 percent, to 1,362.3. The benchmark is still down 7.6 percent in 2008 on concern the U.S. economy will contract. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.41, or 0.8 percent, to 12,480.3. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 8.15, or 0.4 percent, to 2,358.06.Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.7 percent. Ambac, the second-biggest U.S. bond insurer, added $1.80, or 16 percent, to $12.93 in New York Stock Exchange trading for the top gain in the S&P 500. MBIA, the largest, gained $1.13 to $15.98. JPMorgan, the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, rose $1.88 to $47.45.
Tech Is Walking the Bear-Market Walk
WHEN THE MARKET LIMPED into the weekend after a dreary start to the new year, one of the biggest casualties was the computer hardware sector. Considering that the high-flying Apple is one of its more prominent members, that is saying something. Technology in general is starting to walk the bear-market walk. Computer hardware was thumped last week. Semiconductors have been sliding since July. And networking has confirmed a major technical topping pattern. Clearly, something is not well and risk levels remain high. In technical analysis and trading in general we are often advised to trade what we see and not what we think. While many still believe the economy is sound or at least not heading towards recession the tech sector is walking a different walk. I won't pretend to know where the economy is heading but if a growth-stock area such as technology is heading south then I've got to believe that the stock market is trying to tell us something.
Williams Pipeline Partners stay flat in first-day public trading
Williams Pipeline units, each priced at $20, ended their first day of trading at $20 apiece. In after-hours trading, the units shed 4 cents. That's relatively good news on a day when stocks dipped at the end of one of Wall Street's weakest weeks. "On a down day, they ended up not down," Tulsa portfolio manager Jake Dollarhide said. "I think it further reinforces Williams' reputation." Williams Pipeline is the first major initial public offering of the year. Bad economic news has pushed share prices down and sent other fledgling issues to the sidelines. In fact, Williams was the only one of three initial public offerings planned for this week that made it to market. "It's a very skittish market, and there are no do-overs," Dollarhide said. "When you do an IPO, you have one chance to raise money." Williams initially said it expected to price its new units between $19 and $21.
Fall & rise of Sensex
US stock index futures sank indicating Wall Street was likely to join a global equity markets plunge that may usher in a bear market when trading resumes on Tuesday.
January 21, 2008
Blood-bath on Dalal Street; Sensex ends 1400 points down
It was one trading day that investors will take a long time to forget. Fears of recession in the US becoming a reality saw global indices tumble. The worst to get affected in this mayhem was the Indian market.
The bears went berserk on Dalal Street creating panic to such an extent that trading in Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex was halted briefly.
The moment trading resumed, the index recovered some lost ground. According to dealers, "government funds are trying to bring in some stability to the already crumbling market."
Sensex saw the biggest absolute fall in history by falling 2062 points intra-day.
Bonds rise; Hedge fund rumor circulates
Treasury prices threw off early weakness and advanced Friday after a rumor that another hedge fund is in financial trouble circulated through trading rooms. "There are a number of names of hedge funds being bandied about as possibly being in trouble," said Tom di Galoma, head of Treasurys trading at Jefferies & Co. It is impossible to discern whether the stories have any basis in fact, he said. Problems at hedge funds in recent months have contributed to the massive declines on Wall Street, and in turn benefited the government bond market. Problems at two funds operated by Bear, Stearns & Co. last fall brought home to the markets the reality that the housing and mortgage crisis was spreading throughout the financial sector. Although the rumor was not verified, it affected the markets, sending the major stock indexes well below their best levels and pushing Treasurys higher.
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