Equities Update: Stocks End Broadly Higher

4:08 PM, Dec 1, 2009 --

• NYSE up 119.7 (1.69%) to 7,212.05.
• DJIA up 126.6 (1.22%) to 10,471.
• S&P 500 up 13.19 (1.2%) to 1,109.
• Nasdaq up 31 (1.5%) to 2,176.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• Hang Seng up 1.34%
• Nikkei up 2.43%
• FTSE up 1.92%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) AIG closes transaction with New York Fed, cutting debt.

(+) GES beats with Q3, guides for Q4 above Street.

(+) SPLS beats with Q3.

(+) GE reportedly strikes deal with Vivendi for NBC Universal stake.

(+) PFE inks deal with Protalix (PLX) on taliglucerase. PLX down 8.2%.

(+) CPST inks European deal.

(+) ANX reports positive study data for ANX-514 and Taxotere.

(+) CTDC secures pact with Russian energy group.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) NLST down as Inphi files patent suit against company.

(-) MDCO turns lower despite getting European approval for Angiox.

(-) AHR defaults on unsecured debt payment.

MARKET DIRECTION

The Nasdaq led the major averages, finishing up 1.6% and in the upper end of the day's range. The DJIA and S&P 500 both finished up around 1%. Commodity gains supported stocks after the dollar hit a 15-month low. Crude closed up 1.4% at $78.37 a barrel. Gold probed new record territory above $1,200 an ounce as the dollar weakened. Global markets grew more confident that the Dubai debt situation can be contained.

Mostly positive economic news added to the upbeat mood among market bulls.

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity fell to 53.6 in November from 55.7 in October. The figure was short of the 55 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected, but still signaled growth.
New orders, an indicator of future production, rose and the index's employment measure grew for the second straight month after sliding for more than a year.

Also out today, the National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose 3.7 percent in October from September. It was the strongest level since March 2006 and a gain of nearly 32 percent from a year earlier. Economists had expected the index would fall.

The government said construction spending rose 0.04 percent in October, the first increase in six months.

Auto sales for November indicated the worst may be past. Ford (F) sold 123,167 vehicles last month, near the 123,222 sold a year ago. Ford said it plans to build 550,000 new cars and trucks in the first quarter of 2010, a 58% surge from the same quarter a year earlier. Fourth-quarter plans remained unchanged at 570,000 vehicles.

News of a tentative deal between GE (GE) and Vivendi that opens the way for NBC Universal to be sold to Comcast (CMCSA) helped support broader market gains.

American International Group (AIG) was an active gainer after saying it has closed two previously announced transactions with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY). The move reduced the debt AIG owes the FRBNY by $25 billion in exchange for the FRBNY's acquisition of preferred equity interests in certain newly formed subsidiaries. As a result of these transactions, the total amount available under the facility has been reduced from $60 billion to $35 billion.

Guess (GES) was sharply higher after topping the Street view with Q4 guidance late Monday.

Comments

[robert.b.ferguson]

Midnight: Greetings. AIG seems to have acquired a new skill. It must have been difficult to make $billions vanish like that. Oh well I guess it's no surprise they have been making $ billions appear out of thin air just as easily.

2009 Dec 01 06:23 PM

[Options Trading]

stocks rally but major indices are still within tight short term neutral channels. We should see a breakout soon.

2009 Dec 01 08:53 PM