Sharechat Logo

While you were sleeping: Caution follows records

Thursday 9th February 2017

Text too small?

US Treasuries advanced, while Wall Street was mixed, as investors weighed the impact of political uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic on corporate profits.

Gold, another safe-haven investment, also gained.

Wall Street fluctuated even as the latest round of corporate earnings has generally exceeded expectations. Both the Dow and the Nasdaq touched record highs the previous day.

In 1.22pm trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent, while, in 1.06pm trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index inched 0.01 percent lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index eked out a 0.03 percent gain.

It’s the first quarter in eight that S&P 500 Index profits will rise fast enough to pronounce an end to the earnings recession, according to Bloomberg. However, investors have been cautious.

“Companies that have beaten expectations haven’t been rewarded as much as usual, at least so far this earnings season,” Dan Suzuki, senior equity strategist at Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit, told Bloomberg.

In the Dow, declines in shares of JPMorgan Chase and those of Caterpillar, recently down 1.4 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, outweighed gains in shares of Nike and those of Verizon, which recently traded 1.4 percent and 0.9 percent higher respectively.

In the latest deal news, shares of Tesaro jumed, trading 13.4 percent higher as of 1.25pm in New York. The US biopharmaceutical company is discussing its options with investment banks after receiving acquisition interest from several drugmakers, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Tesaro is not actively exploring a sale, the people said this week, noting that there is a significant gap over the company's valuation between Tesaro and potential acquirers, according to Reuters. However, Tesaro is speaking to investment banks, including Citigroup about its strategy and how to best respond to such overtures, the people added.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the day with a 0.3 percent gain from the previous close. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index edged 0.04 percent higher, while France’s CAC 40 Index added 0.3 percent.

Germany’s DAX Index slipped 0.05 percent.

Shares of Syngenta rose after the Swiss seeds and pesticide maker that is being bought by China National Chemical for US$43 billion said both companies are confident the deal will close.

“ChemChina and Syngenta have made significant progress towards achieving the necessary regulatory approvals and closing the transaction,” Syngenta said in a statement discussing its latest earnings.

Both companies “are confident of its closure,” Syngenta said, adding its expects it to close in the second quarter.

Syngenta shares closed 1.1 percent higher in Zurich.

BusinessDesk.co.nz



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

SML - Synlait Milk Limited - Trading Halt of Securities
AIA - Auckland Airport announces board chair changes
AIA - Auckland Airport announces board chair changes
CEN - Tauhara commissioning progress update
FPH initiates voluntary limited recall
March 28th Morning Report
KFL Celebrates 20 Years of Excellence in Investment Mgmt.
SVR - Savor FY24 Earnings Guidance & Change in Banking Partner
NZK - NZ King Salmon Investments Limited FY24 Results
March 27th Morning Report