** MORNING WRAP **
July 26th, 2006** US MARKETS **
Dow 0,48%; Nasdaq 0,58%; S&P 0,63%; Soxx 1,08%; Russel2k 0,97%; DJAIG -0,19%;
10yr Bond 0%; 10yr Yield 5,06%; Crude future 73,65; Gold 617,89
| Telecom 2,37%| Energy 1,55%| Materials 1,44%| ConsDisc 0,95%| Healthcare
0,86%| Technology 0,57%| Utilities 0,44%| ConsStaples 0,41%| Financials 0,23%|
Industrials -0,35%
** US HEADLINES **
- Citigroup’s Prince Defends Spending, Says Buying Rivals Is too Expensive
- Exxon’s Profit Likely Soared as Production Rose at Fastest Pace Since ‘99
- ConocoPhillips Profit Probably Rose as Oil Prices, Refining Margins Jumped
- Anheuser, Femsa, Beer Shares Beat World Stock Markets Even as Sales Stall
- NYSE’s Thain Fails to Stem Market-Share Losses After Archipelago Purchase
- JPMorgan Analyst Zuanic Splits With Firm’s Bankers on Heinz Profit Plan
- Google, Fighting `Click Fraud,’ Will Disclose Views on Bogus Advertisement
- Dollar May Strengthen on Speculation U.S. Debt Auctions Will Attract Funds
- U.S. Notes May Drop on Speculation Durable Goods Orders Gained in June
- Nestle’s Bottled Water Unit Springs a Leak as U.S. Activists Block Well
** US: IN PLAY TODAY **
- Sun Microsystems (+1% after hours)posted Q2 sales up 29% to $3.83bln against
sales of $3.6bln expected by analysts.
- Amazon.com (-12% after hours) lowered its forecast for FY operating income to
a range of $310m to $440m, from a prior estimate of as much as $520m.
- Dow components Boeing (BA) and General Motors (GM) head a long list that also
includes ConocoPhillips (COP), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Lucent (LU), Norfolk
Southern (NSC), Phelps Dodge (PD), Reynolds American (RAI), Supervalu (SVU), and
WellPoint (WLP). During market hours, Anheuser-Busch (BUD) and
Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) are scheduled to report while Express Scripts (ESRX),
Pulte Homes (PHM), Sanmina-SCI (SANM), Symantec (SYMC) and XL Capital are among
the biggest names out after the close. Also garnering some attention Wednesday
will be the Energy Depts weekly oil inventories report at 16:30 CET and the
20:00 CET release of the Fed’s Beige Book.
** ASIAN MARKETS **
Nikkei -0,81%; Kospi -0,05%; HSI 0,07%; Taiwan -0,23%; China 0,07%; India 0,75%;
Thailand 0,13%; Australia -1,05%
** ASIAN HEADLINES **
- Australia’s Consumer Prices Rise 1.6 Percent, Breaching Central Bank Limit
- Asian Stocks Slide, Led by Aiful; Westpac Banking and Yahoo Japan Decline
- Indonesia’s Debt Rating Is Raised by Standard & Poor’s on Budget Controls
- Japan’s Trade Surplus Shrank More Than Expected in June on High Oil Prices
- Singapore’s June Industrial Production Grows 19.3 Percent on Electronics
- Gome’s Shares Gain on $675 Million Takeover of Retailer China Paradise
- Buy Japan Machinery Makers on U.S. Outlook, Nikko Citigroup Report Says
- Indian Rising Interest Rates Won’t Curtail Record Loan Demand, Banks Say
- China’s Junk-Rated Airlines Get Better Credit Terms Than AMR, Continental
- Sawakami, Japan’s No-Load Rebel, Covets Slice of $9 Trillion Savings Hoard
** EUROPE: IN PLAT TODAY **
- PSA Peugeot Citroen reported a 60% drop in 1H profits to E 303m (E418m
expected). The group cut its 2H profit target after poor results in the 1H.
- JCDecaux reported an 11% rise in 2Q sales to E503.6m (E505.5m expected). The
group confirmed that its FY sales estimate would increase by more than 6%.
- STMicroelectronics reported 2Q results. The group posted a net income increase
to $168m ($155.4m expected) from $26m, while revenue grew 15% to $2.49bln ($2.48
expected) from $2.16bln same time last year.The group announced 3Q sales are
expected to be up 16%, to £2.62bln from $2.25bln same time last year.
- Merck KGaA reported 2Q earnings. The group announced a net income of E528.5m
(E514m expected), compared to E248m same time last year on a E397m profit from
the sale of Schering stock. Sales reached E1.52bln (E1.56bln expected) from
E1.48bln. The group expects a higher level of performance for 2006-2007.
- SGL Carbon AG reported a 2Q net loss of E11.4m (E14.5m expected), against a
net profit of E11m a year earlier. Sales grew 7.4% to E301.6m (inline) from
E280.8m a year earlier.
- Telefonica Moviles reports 2Q results. The market is expecting a 1.6% profit
decline to E488m.
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria reports 2Q results, with a market expecting a
profit rise to E2.2bln from E998m same time last year.
-Stora Enso Oyj reports reports results. The market is expecting a net income of
E106m, against a loss same time last year.
- Reuters is expected to report a 20% drop in 1H profit. Net income is expected
to fall to £101m from £126m.
- GlaxoSmithKline may report a 14% rise income to £1.31bln from £1.15bln same
time last year, with sales up 9.3% to £5.73bln.
- Air Liquide may report a 7.2% increase in 2Q sales to E2.75bln
- Hermes International may announce a 7.5% increase in 2Q sales to E348.4m on
strong demand for its leather products in the US and Asia.
** EUROPE: UPS & DOWNS **
+ BAE SYSTEMS PRICE ESTIMATE RAISED TO 400P VS 340P AT ABN AMRO
+ MITCHELLS & BUTLERS PRICE EST. RAISED 39% TO 625P AT DEUTSCHE
+ TELENOR RAISED TO `NEUTRAL’ VS `UNDERPERFORM’ AT CREDIT SUISSE
- AMAZON.COM PRICE ESTIMATE CUT 12% TO $30 AT CITIGROUP
- NOKIA PRICE ESTIMATE LOWERED TO EU19.3 FROM EU21.3 AT MERRILL
- LVMH PRICE ESTIMATE LOWERED TO EU90 FROM EU100 AT MERRILL
- TELECOM ITALIA PRICE TARGET CUT TO EU2.3 VS EU2.4 AT UBS