| 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.
French bank Societe Generale's board keeps CEO, orders probe of ...
Analysts say France's largest bank and Societe Generale's chief competitor, BNP Paribas, would be the most likely buyer of all or part of the struggling bank. Other names mentioned include French rival Credit Agricole, Britain's HSBC Holdings, Germany's Deutsche Bank AG, Spain's Banco Santander SA and Italy's UniCredit SpA. BNP chief financial officer Philippe Bordenave, speaking as the bank announced a drop in fourth-quarter profits for 2007 on Wednesday, refused to comment on Societe Generale's future. Shares of Societe Generale closed up 4.3 percent Wednesday afternoon at €81.8 (US$121.15) on the Paris stock exchange. The stock, which has lost half its value since the middle of last year, has bobbed up and down since the announcement of the trading loss Jan.
S&P sees over $265 billion losses for financial firms
S&P 500 stock index futures dropped further in after-hours trading on news of the statement. S&P 500 futures were down 16 points and traded below fair value -- a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. The credit ratings agency said its latest action is unlikely to add significantly to more than $90 billion of losses already reported by large financial institutions, but smaller players might have to realize write-downs. .
Apple earns $1.58 billion in first quarter but stock falls on outlook
Apple beat Wall Street expectations with its earnings report Tuesday, but shares of its stock fell more than 11 percent in after-hours trading as investors fretted over its future. Apple earned $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, compared to $1 billion, or $1.14 a share, in the same period in 2007. Revenue was $9.6 billion, up from $7.1 billion. But while Apple executives touted those as record-setting figures, investors focused on projections for the next quarter which were lower than what analysts had expected. Apple said it expected revenue of about $6.8 billion for the second quarter, or diluted earnings of 94 cents a share. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, gave two reasons for the lower forecast: a decline in software sales and the normal slowdown in business after Christmas.
Wall St set to start higher
US STOCK index futures pointed to a higher market open as investors bet the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates. Shares of several big US banks, including Citigroup and Bank of America, rose in European trading. "The anticipation of a rate cut is putting in a floor under the financial stocks and moving many of them higher in Europe as rate cuts generally help the financial sector of the market," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont. Fed funds futures are pricing in a quarter point cut in the benchmark rate to 4.5 per cent. Markets were rattled on Tuesday, however, after the Wall Street Journal's Fed watcher wrote a cut was not a "sure thing." "Any surprises could quickly move things off centre," Mr Mendelsohn said.
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