Canadian Market Reports

Northern, WI 9/20/2011 (PennyPayDay) – Bay Street stocks rebounded Tuesday morning as traders shrugged off euro zone worries, at least for now, and look to the outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting, hoping for new stimulus measures to help lift the sagging U.S. economy. Also, firm commodities prices aided trader sentiment.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 154.90 points or 1.27 percent to 12,326.94, after losing just over 250 points or 2 percent in the past two sessions.

Gold pared previous session's sharp losses, with gold for December gaining $29.70 to $1,808.60 an ounce.

In the gold space, Richmont Mines (RIC.TO) and Iamgold (IMG.TO) surged around 8 percent each.

Royal Gold (RGL.TO), Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Goldcorp. (G.TO) and Allied Nevada Gold (ANV.TO) gained around 4 percent each.

Among silver producers, Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) and Pan American Silver (PAA.TO) were up over 3 percent each.

The price of crude oil rebounded near $88 as traders shrugged off downgrade of Italy's government debt rating by the S&P. Crude for November gained $1.53 to $87.34 a barrel.

Earlier today. Standard and Poor's downgraded its rating of Italy's government debt by one notch to AA-1 and maintained its "negative" outlook, citing weakening prospects for economic growth.

In the oil patch, MEG Energy (MEG.TO) rose close to 4 percent and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) added nearly 1 percent.

China focused mineral miner New Pacific Metals (NUX.V) gained 2 percent after reporting a narrower fourth quarter net loss of C$213,000 or C$0.003 per share compared to C$463,000 or C$0.015 per share in the previous year quarter.

Meanwhile, IT stocks were trading lower, with Research In Motion (RIM.TO) losing close to 3 percent.

Healthcare services provider Centric Health (CHH.TO) slipped 0.60 percent after it said it would acquire Medical Imaging Centres Inc. and certain business assets of Rads 24/7 Teleradiology Consultants. The total consideration to be paid for the Medical Imaging Centres is comprised of C$15 million in cash and the issuance of up to C$24.2 million in Centric Health common shares.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales rose 0.8 percent in July to $48.2 billion, with most of the growth coming from the machinery, equipment and supplies, the personal and household goods, and the motor vehicle and parts subsectors.

Separately, the agency revealed that Canada's composite leading index was little changed in August for the third month in a row,

From south of the border, the U.S. Commerce Department said that housing starts in August came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000, a 5 percent drop from revised figures that showed 601,000 new housing starts in July. Economists were expecting the housing starts to come in at 592,000.

However, new building permits for August came in significantly higher than expected at 620,000, on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, 3.2 percent higher than revised July figures.Most economists had predicted new permits to come in at 590,000. Additionally, July housing permits were revised up to 601,000 from the initially reported 597,000.

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Mid-Day Market Update

Northern, WI 9/20/2011 (PennyPayDay) – After showing a lack of direction in early trading, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages have climbed firmly into positive territory, offsetting the losses posted in the previous session.

Currently, the major averages are posting strong gains, just off their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 129.84 points or 1.1 percent at 11,530.85, the Nasdaq is up 28.75 points or 1.1 percent at 2,641.58 and the S&P 500 is up 14.89 points or 1.2 percent at 1,218.98.

The markets are benefiting from optimism about the situation in Greece, with Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos due to hold another conference call with officials from the European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund.

Venizelos called Monday's discussions with the officials "productive and substantive" as Greece seeks additional aid in an effort to avoid a default.

Optimism about further stimulus from the Federal Reserve has also generated some buying interest as the Federal Open Market Committee commences its two-day meeting.

Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off news that Standard & Poor's has downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating by one notch due to weakening economic growth prospects.

News that the International Monetary Fund cut its global economic growth forecast has also not attracted much attention on Wall Street.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecast 4 percent global economic growth in both 2011 and 2012 compared to the 5 percent growth seen in 2010. The lender had previously forecast 4.3 percent growth for 2011 and a 4.5 percent expansion in 2012.

"The global economy is in a dangerous new phase," the IMF said. "Global activity has weakened and become more uneven, confidence has fallen sharply recently, and downside risks are growing."

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing a bigger than expected drop in housing starts in the month of August, although the report also showed an unexpected increase in building permits.

The report showed that housing starts in August came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000, a 5 percent drop from revised figures that showed 601,000 new housing starts in July. The housing numbers were significantly lower than the 592,000 that most economists had predicted.

However, new building permits for August, often a precursor to housing starts, came in at 620,000, on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, 3.2 percent higher than revised July figures. Most economists had expected new permits to come in at 590,000.

Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, benefiting from a notable increase by the price of the precious metal. With gold for December delivery jumping $32.60 to $1,811.50 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has surged up by 4 percent.

Significant strength has also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. NiSource (NI), Exelon (EXC), and PSEG (PEG) are turning in some of the sector's best performances.

Oil service stocks are also seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading, resulting in a 1.6 percent gain by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The strength in the sector comes amid an increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for October delivery climbing $1.38 to $87.08 a barrel.

Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the upside over the course of the trading day, with natural gas, biotechnology, and tobacco stocks posting notable gains.

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Indian Markets Fall On Weak Global Cues

Northern, WI 9/19/2011 (PennyPayDay) – The Indian markets fell sharply on Monday, pressured by weak global cues, on concerns that Greece's sovereign debt crisis could turn into a full-blown financial crisis after a weekend of high-level meetings failed to make any progress. A fall in rupee value versus the dollar and concerns that there could be further rate hikes also weighed on investor sentiment.

Snapping three days of gains, the benchmark 30-share Sensex ended down 188 points or 1.11 percent at 16,745, while the broader Nifty index on the NSE fell by 52 points or 1.03 percent to 5,032. Mid-cap stocks posted relatively modest losses while small-caps were largely unchanged.

State-run lender SBI lost 1.5 percent and private sector rival ICICI Bank shed 2.4 percent after the Reserve Bank of India raised its key lending rates by quarter of a percent point last Friday and reiterated its anti-inflationary stance, even at the cost of sacrificing some near-term growth. Mortgage lender HDFC ended down 1.1 percent.

Axis Bank fell 2.2 percent after the private sector bank said its board approved a revised two-stage deal to acquire the investment banking and broking units of Enam Securities.

Among other rate-sensitive stocks, property developer DLF fell 2.1 percent, automaker Bajaj Auto shed 1.5 percent and Tata Motors edged down 0.2 percent, while Maruti Suzuki climbed 3.1 percent after reports claimed the carmaker has resumed production at both Manesar and Gurgaon plants on Sunday. Mahindra & Mahindra closed up 0.3 percent and HeroMoto gained 0.4 percent.

Larsen & Toubro tumbled 3 percent despite making an announcement that it won orders worth Rs 1,015 crore in the building and factories segment in the second quarter. Sun Pharma lost 2.6 percent even as the company said it resolved regulatory issues at its Cranbury plant in the United States. Copper producer Sterlite lost 3.5 percent, state-run oil explorer ONGC fell 2 percent and power producer NTPC declined 1.7 percent. Heavyweight Reliance Industries fell 0.8 percent, extending declines for a second consecutive session.

Tata Consultancy Services closed down 1.1 percent. The IT firm today said it has bagged a multi-million dollar contract from Deutsche Bank to provide software solutions to the financial services firm's capital markets business unit across seven countries. Infosys lost 1.33 percent, while Wipro posted a modest half a percent gain.

Fortis Healthcare fell 1.9 percent on receiving board approval to buy Singapore-based Fortis International Pte., a leading integrated healthcare delivery company. GVK Power closed down 0.6 percent after the company said it would pay $1.26 billion dollars to buy a majority stake in coal assets owned by Australia's Hancock Group. Dhanlaxmi Bank eased 0.7 percent after the private sector lender hiked its lending rates.

Alfa Laval climbed almost 20 percent ahead of a board meet today to consider delisting. Everonn climbed 5 percent, extending gains for a fifth day, after plunging over the arrest of its MD P Kishore on bribery charges. Jyoti Structures, PSL and Kavveri Telecom Products rose 1-5 percent on winning new orders.

On the global front, the other Asian markets fell between 0.13 percent and 2.8 percent on Monday, with shares in Hong Kong pacing the declines, after a meeting of European policy makers over the weekend in Poland failed to come up with concrete measures to stem the region's debt crisis. China's Shanghai Composite index fell 1.8 percent to a 14-month low, dragged down by cyclical stocks in thin trading on fears over a fresh liquidity squeeze ahead of Sinohydro Group's $2.7 billion initial public offering to be launched this week. The Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.

The euro fell sharply against the dollar, the major European averages were down 2-3 percent in early trading and the U.S. stock futures pointed to an extremely weak opening on Wall Street after Europe's finance ministers warned Greece that further aid will be kept on hold unless it meets its budget targets. Bank stocks led the losses in Europe after Swiss bank UBS today raised its rogue trading loss to $2.3 billion from $2 billion.

Commodities retreated, while safe-haven gold and the dollar advanced as fresh concerns about the eurozone sovereign debt crisis curbed investor appetite for riskier assets.

Greece should not be the "scapegoat" for the debt crisis in the eurozone, the country's Finance Minister, Evangelos Venizelos, said hours before he was to hold an emergency teleconference with eurozone and IMF officials to decide whether the Greek government is on track to meet the conditions for urgently needed rescue funds.

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TSX May Open Lower Amid Falling Energy, Euro Worries

Northern, WI 9/19/2011 (PennyPayDay) – Toronto stocks may extend losses for a second session Monday morning amid weak energy prices and discouraging cues from the global equity markets. Global stocks moved lower after the cancellation of a planned trip by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to the U.S. and Swiss bank UBS' announcement that its rogue trading loss will now be as high as $2.3 billion

U.S. stock futures were pointing to a sharply lower open.

On Friday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index snapped its 3-session winning streak to shed 151.07 points or 1.22 percent to 12,273.76.

The price of crude oil slipped below $87 Monday morning as the U.S. dollar was firm versus a basket of currencies. Crude for October shed $1.31 to $86.65 a barrel.

The price of gold was extending gains for a second session, with gold for December adding $4.90 to $1,819.60 an ounce.

In corporate news from Canada, gold miner Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) said it would acquire Grayd Resource Corp. (GYD.V) for around $275 million or $2.80 per share, which represents a premium of 65.7 percent to the volume weighted average price of Grayd shares on the TSX Venture Exchange for the 20-day period ended September 16, 2011.

Electric power generation company Alterra Power Corp. (AXY.TO) reported a wider fourth quarter net loss of $20.7 million or $0.07 per share, compared to a net loss of $8.7 million or $0.04 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Infra-red thermal imaging and night vision systems maker Cantronic Systems (CTS.V) said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cantronic Security Systems Co. Ltd. of Shanghai, China agreed to sell its 51 percent stake in Shenzhen Huanghe Digital Technology Co. Ltd. to an arms-length private purchaser for about $1.65 million.

Traders will be closely watching an interest rate policy announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve, scheduled Wednesday.

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Stocks Moving Sharply Lower On Renewed Europe Concerns

Oxford, MS 9/19/2011 (PennyPayDay) – With traders expressing renewed concerns about the financial situation in Europe, stocks have moved sharply lower in early trading on Monday. The major averages have fallen firmly into negative territory, giving back ground after showing a strong upward move last week.

In the past few minutes, the major averages have seen some further downside, hitting new lows for the young session. The Dow is down 225.39 points or 2 percent at 11,283.70, the Nasdaq is down 54.07 points or 2.1 percent at 2,568.24 and the S&P 500 is down 25.78 points or 2.1 percent at 1,190.23.

The initial weakness on Wall Street comes as worries about the ongoing Greek debt crisis have emerged once again amid indications that the debt-plagued nation could be forced to default.

With officials failing to make progress at a weekend meeting on dealing with Greece's mountain of debt, traders are cashing in on last week's gains.

Traders are also digesting reports that President Barack Obama plans to unveil a proposal calling for $1.5 trillion in tax increases mostly targeting the wealthy as part of an effort to reduce the U.S. deficit.

Steel stocks have shown substantial downward move in early trading, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 4.2 percent. The weakness in the steel sector reflects renewed concerns about the outlook for global demand.

Considerable weakness has also emerged among energy stocks, which are moving sharply lower along with the price of crude oil. Networking, banking, and software stocks are also posting notable losses, moving lower along with most of the major sectors amid a broad based sell-off.

Meanwhile, gold stocks are bucking the downward trend by the broader markets amid a significant increase by the price of the precious metal.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw considerable weakness on Monday, although the Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 2.8 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index fell by 1.6 percent.

The major European markets have also come under significant selling pressure on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is falling by 2.1 percent, while the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are plunging by 3.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing considerable strength amid the sell-off on Wall Street. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 11.5 basis points at 1.961 percent.

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Mid-day Market Update

Shawshank, VA 9/7/2011 (PennyPayDay) – Stocks moved sharply higher at the start of trading on Wednesday, regaining some ground after closing lower in the three previous sessions. The major averages climbed firmly into positive territory, partly offsetting the recent losses.

The major averages have seen some further upside in the past few minutes, reaching new highs for the young session. The Dow is up 155.30 points or 1.4 percent at 11,294.60, the Nasdaq is up 44.34 points or 1.8 percent at 2,518.17 and the S&P 500 is up 18.62 points or 1.6 percent at 1,183.86.

The early strength on Wall Street is partly due to developments overseas that have contributed to rallies by the global stock markets. Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region saw considerable strength amid reports suggesting that China and India are considering easing monetary policy in the near future.

Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, said, "The possibility that both China and India may take their foot off the tightening pedal helped lift their stock markets and the rest of Asia followed."

Buying interest has also been generated by news that Germany's high court ruled that the country's contributions to the bailouts of Greece and other European countries are constitutional. However, the court said that the German parliament should be consulted regarding further aid.

Semiconductor stocks are seeing considerable strength in early trading, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 3.6 percent. Graphics chip maker Nvidia (NVDA) is leading the sector higher after providing upbeat revenue guidance.

Notable strength has also emerged among steel, networking, and telecom stocks, which turned in some of the market's worst performances in the previous session. Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the upside, although gold stocks are bucking the uptrend.

Among individual stocks, shares of Yahoo! (YHOO) are up by 6.9 percent after the internet media giant announced that Carol Bartz has been removed from her role as Chief Executive Officer. Yahoo said Timothy Morse has been named interim CEO.

Financial services giant Bank of America (BAC) is also trading higher after announcing a reorganization of its management, appointing David Darnell and Tom Montag to the newly-created positions of co-chief operating officers.

Bank of America noted that Joe Price, president of Global Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Sallie Krawcheck, president of Global Wealth and Investment Management, will be leaving the company.

Later in the day, trading could be impacted by the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. The report, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions from each of the 12 Fed districts, is due to be released at 2 pm ET.

As mentioned above, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region showed a notable move to the upside on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.7 percent.

The major European markets are also seeing significant strength on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is advancing by 2.1 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index have shot up by 2.8 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure amid the rally on Wall Street. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its prices, is up by 4.7 basis points at 2.026 percent after ending the previous session at a record closing low.

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