Stocks: Earnings help, economy hurts

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 12 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost just over 1 point. The Nasdaq (COMP) composite lost 8 points, or 0.4%.

Consumer confidence declined in July, according to the Conference Board's closely watched index, which fell to 50.4 from an upwardly revised 54.3 in June. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought the index would decline, but only to 51. The report served to underscore the weak outlook for consumer spending heading into the fall, and caused stocks to erase early gains.

"The consumer confidence index was below expectations but not surprising," said David Chalupnik head of equities at First American Funds. "We had a down market in May, June and early July, and that weighs on consumer spending and confidence."

Better-than-expected results from a number of companies had propelled markets in the morning, extending the recent rally. But that advance lost steam, with technology and consumer stocks hit the most.

Stocks gained Monday after FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) lifted its profit forecast and new home sales grew more than expected in June. The advance built on last week's rally, pushing the Dow into positive territory for the year, along with the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 moved into positive territory for the year on Tuesday morning, before retreating.

Company results: Dow component DuPont (DD, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates, thanks to higher prices and increased demand. The chemical maker also boost its earnings forecast for the year. Shares gained 3.6%.

Swiss bank UBS (UBS) reported higher quarterly profit that topped estimates, thanks to the stock market rally and currency trading gains. U.S.-traded shares gained 9%.

Swiss rival Credit Suisse (CS) also reported a better-than-expected profit as tax and accounting gains tempered the impact of investment banking losses. Shares gained 4.4%.

German competitor Deutsche Bank (DB) reported higher quarterly earnings. But revenue was weaker due to a decline in its investment banking profit. Shares gained 2.8%.

Tellabs (TLAB) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that beat estimates and lifted its fiscal second-quarter outlook. But shares of the communications gear maker dropped on concerns that it will lose some of its business building wireless networks for AT&T to a rival vendor. Shares fell 5.9%.

With just over one-third of the S&P 500 having reported, Earnings are currently on track to have risen 34% from a year ago, according to earnings tracker Thomson Reuters.

Chalupnik said the gap between economic and earnings news reflects that U.S. companies benefit from exposure to strong emerging markets and a not-yet slowing European economy, offsetting the weakness in the U.S. economy.

BP: BP posted a huge quarterly loss of $17.2 billion due to costs connected to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company also said that British CEO Tony Hayward will be replaced by American Robert Dudley Oct. 1. BP (BP) shares fell 1.7%.

Housing: The Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 1.3% in May versus April and up 4.6% from a year earlier, suggesting pricing has stabilized.

World markets: European shares rose. The CAC 40 in France gained 0.8%, Germany's DAX rose 0.2% and the FTSE 100 added 0.3%.

Asian markets finished mixed. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index edged down 0.1% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended 0.6% higher.

Currencies and commodities: The euro fell against the dollar, while the U.S. currency gained versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery settled down $1.48 to $77.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold's August contract fell $25.10 to $1,158 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, and the yield on the 10-year note climbed to 3.05% from 2.99% late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth: Breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by eight to seven on volume of 1.11 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners edged advancers by seven to six on volume of 2.07 billion shares. 

Stocks try to extend rally

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 18 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose 2 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 4 points, or 0.2%.

After ending the previous week higher, stocks climbed again Monday,rising after FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) boosted its forecast and better-than-expected housing data eased worries about the economic outlook.

"Seeing that we've been rallying for so many days now, a pullback today wouldn't be out of the question, but overall the market is heading higher," said Rick Fier, an equity trader at Conifer Securities. "As long as earnings and revenue continue to come in like this, stocks look like they are going to continue to chug away through earnings season."

Company results: Dow component DuPont (DD, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates, thanks to higher prices and increased demand. The chemical maker also boost its earnings forecast for the year. Shares gained 3.6%.

Swiss bank UBS (UBS) reported higher quarterly profit that topped estimates, thanks to the stock market rally and currency trading gains. U.S. traded shares gained 7%.

Swiss rival Credit Suisse (CS) also reported a better-than-expected profit as tax and accounting gains tempered the impact of investment banking losses. Shares gained 4%.

German competitor Deutsche Bank (DB) reported higher quarterly earnings. But revenue was weaker due to a decline in its investment banking profit.

BP: BP (BP) booked a massive quarterly loss of $17.2 billion due to costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company also announced early Tuesday that Tony Hayward will step down as chief executive and be replaced by American Robert Dudley effective Oct. 1.

BP shares fell slightly in morning trading.

Earnings are currently on track to have risen 34% from a year ago, according to earnings tracker Thomson Reuters.

Economy: The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 50.4 in July from 54.3 in June. The decline was bigger than economists expected.

The Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 1.3% in May versus a year ago after rising 3.8% in April.

World markets: European shares were higher. The CAC 40 in France gained 1%, Germany's DAX rose 0.7% and the FTSE 100 added 0.8%.

Asian markets finished mixed. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index edged down 0.1% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended 0.6% higher.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar was flat versus the euro, up versus the Japanese yen, but down against the British pound .

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery edged up 12 cents to $79.10 a barrel.

COMEX gold's August contract gained 50 cents to $1,183.60 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, and the yield on the 10-year note edged up to 3.02% from 3% late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

Ionescu trial begins today, Singapore envoy to attend

Singapore says the trial of former Charge d’Affaires Silviu Ionescu in Romania, which begins today, is an important step forward in ensuring that justice is served.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement yesterday that its Special Envoy to Romania, Ambassador Anil Kumar Nayar, will attend the start of the trial.

Ionescu has been indicted by Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office for homicide, and is also accused of causing physical injuries and making false statements.

He was arrested by the Romanian authorities in May, for allegedly hitting three pedestrians while driving a car belonging to the Romanian Embassy in Singapore. One of the victims died. Ionescu has publicly denied he was the driver, claiming the car was stolen.

The MFA has repeatedly called on the Romanian government to “ensure that justice is served and seen to be served” in the case.

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CASINO  is  BETTER  than  ANOTHER MAN'S  WIFE

Stocks rally on housing, FedEx

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 100 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose 12 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 27 points, or 1.2%.

Stocks gained in the morning and built on those gains as the session wore on, with investors scooping up a variety of shares. 29 of 30 Dow shares gained, led by oil stocks Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) and Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500).

"The new home sales was a bright point but it was really FedEx's earnings and outlook that gave the market some buoyancy," said Matthew Kaufler, equity market strategist at Federated Clover Investment Advisors.

"The company represents a broad take on the economy and that's given investors some optimism today," he said.

FedEx: Package shipper FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) lifted its fiscal first-quarter earnings-per-share guidance to a range of $1.05 to $1.25, from 58 cents per share a year ago. Analysts are currently expecting earnings of $1.10 per share, according to Thomson Reuters. The company also boosted its forecast for fiscal year 2011, citing improved demand particularly for international shipments.

Like UPS (UPS, Fortune 500), FedEx is seen as a proxy for the economy, due to the nature of its business. Last week, UPS reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings and also boosted its full-year forecast.

FedEx gained over 5.6% and UPS gained 1.2%.

Housing: New home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual unit rate of 330,000 in June, bouncing from a revised 267,000 unit rate in May, the lowest reading on record, dating to 1963. Sales were expected to rise to 310,000, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

While the pace was an improvement from the previous month, it was still the second-lowest on record, reflecting the end of the homebuyer tax credit. The slow pace also reflects the slow speed of the economic recovery.

Quarterly results: Roughly 157 major companies, or 31% of the S&P 500, reports results this week. Standouts include Dow companies Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), DuPont (DD, Fortune 500), Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Merck (MRK, Fortune 500).

Also, BP (BP) reports on Tuesday, providing the first snapshot of the company's performance during the quarter in which the oil spill began. Separately, BP CEO Tony Hayward will step down in October and be offered a job with the company's joint venture in Russia, according to published reports Monday.

World markets: European markets rose as investors mulled the results of the bank stress tests released after European markets closed Friday. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%, Germany's DAX rose 0.5% and France's CAC 40 added 0.8%.

Asian markets ended the session higher, with Japan's Nikkei index up 0.8%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng up 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite up 0.7%.

Currencies: The euro fell versus the dollar, giving up earlier gains, while the dollar gained versus the Japanese yen.

Commodities: U.S. light crude oil for September delivery fell 6 cents to $78.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for August delivery fell $2.70 to $1,185.10 an ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, boosting the yield on the 10-year note to 3.00% from 2.99% late Friday. Debt prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth: Breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by almost three to one on volume of 470 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by over two to one on volume of 1.22 billion shares. 

Stocks set for tepid start

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were narrowly lower ahead of the opening bell.

U.S. stocks finished higher last week, boosted by strong financial results, which offset worries about the European debt crisis and pace of the global economic recovery.

Earnings: It's still early in the reporting period, and 157 companies are on tap to post their results this week.

Earnings are currently on track to have risen 34% from a year ago, according to earnings tracker Thomson Reuters.

This week, Dow components Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), DuPont (DD, Fortune 500), Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) are on deck. Also, BP (BP) reports Tuesday, the first snapshot of the company's performance during the quarter in which the oil spill began.

Economy: A report on new home sales will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect that sales rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 310,000 last month.

"If we get good housing data this morning, we could see a continuation of last week's rally," said Rovelli.

Companies: BP's (BP) board is planning to meet in London Monday evening. The meeting comes amid reports that the company is planning to announce the departure of CEO Tony Hayward.

World markets: European shares edged lower in the early going as investors digested the results of stress tests published after European markets closed Friday.

Asian markets finished the session in positive territory. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index rose 0.8%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.7%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar was up against the euro, but down versus the British pound and the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery fell 64 cents to $78.34 a barrel.

COMEX gold's August contract lost $1 to $1,186.80 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, and the yield on the 10-year note edged lower to 2.99%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

By combining transparency regarding the results of stress tests with appropriate measures ... European authorities will send a clear message to market participants about the resilience of the financial system.

European Central Bank executive board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell

Clear message that banks are resilient: ECB

Special measures to help Spanish, Portuguese lenders extended

LONDON

“Stress tests contribute to the effectiveness of financial intermediation by providing more information about the condition of financial institutions and of the financial system as a whole.

“By combining transparency regarding the results of stress tests with appropriate measures to deal with potential weaknesses, European authorities will send a clear message to market participants about the resilience of the financial system,” she said.

The markets were a shade higher as investors awaited the findings. About one hour after the opening bell in New York on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 per cent at 10,351. Europe’s Stoxx 600 benchmark was up 0.2 per cent at 254.93.

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) was set to publish the results of stress tests on 91 European lenders after the close of regional markets on Friday (

Regulators are scrutinising banks to assess if they have enough capital, defined as a Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 6 per cent, to withstand a recession and sovereign debt crisis, according to a CEBS document.

Although most of the banks were expected to get the all-clear, there was concern that the tests were not as stringent as they should be, or even as rigorous as those in the United States a year ago.

“Given the recalcitrant and rather secretive way in which it has been prepared, the release of bank stress tests results is unlikely to be the silver bullet that guarantees a rapid normalisation of the financial system,’’ said UniCredit London’s chief economist Marco Annunziata.

A

A survey by Goldman Sachs forecast that 10 of the 91 banks would fail, the

On Friday, hours before the release of the findings, European authorities announced the extension of special measures to help the Spanish and Portuguese banking sectors until the end of this year.

The European Commission said it had prolonged authorisation of schemes in both countries originally set up in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Among the banks subjected to the tests were 27 Spanish and four Portuguese lenders. In Spain, permission was extended for an amended system allowing individual banks in trouble to be recapitalised with state involvement. A Portuguese scheme obliging banks to pay extra premiums in exchange for public guarantees in the event of collapse was also extended.

Anxiety about Europe’s banks in recent months mounted in tandem with the sovereign debt crisis, which eventually led to a €110 billion ($193.5 billion) bailout of Greece and a €750 billion backstop for the region’s troubled governments.— Stress test results of 91 banks in 20 countries in Europe will send a “clear message” about the resilience of the continent’s financial system, European Central Bank executive board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell said on Friday a few hours before the release of the findings.early Saturday morning, Singapore time).Guardian report had earlier cited analysts saying they expected that a few banks — located in Spain, Portugal, Germany and Slovenia —might not pass the tests.BBC reported.

AGENCIES

Futures want to extend the rally

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were narrowly higher.

U.S. stocks leapt Thursday after a slew of companies reported earnings that topped Wall Street's estimates. The Dow gained nearly 2%, the Nasdaq soared 2.7% and the S&P 500 surged 2.3%.

Markets looked to hold on to gains Friday, as investors awaited results of stress tests of major European banks and a fresh batch of quarterly earnings from corporate America.

"All eyes will be on the European stress tests and earnings, so if we get good news out of Europe today than I think the markets will continue to focus on earnings, which are coming in much better than expected," said Peter Cardillo, chief market strategist at Avalon Partners.

Earnings: Before the market open on Friday, Ford (F, Fortune 500) posted second-quarter earnings that easily beat estimates, and shares of the company rose 1.7%.

Other companies on tap to release their results ahead of the opening bell Friday include Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) and McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500).

After U.S. markets closed Thursday, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) posteda jump in quarterly sales and profits.

Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) also reported a sharp rise in sales and profit, but analysts had hoped for better. Shares of the Internet retailer sank more than 11% in pre-market trading Friday.

Banks: Pay czar Kenneth Feinberg is due to release a report on how much bank executives were paid after their firms received taxpayer bailout funds.

In Europe, report cards on the health of big banks are due to be released at noon ET. The tests are aimed at determining how well European financial firms would fare in the case of another economic downturn.

World markets: European shares were mixed in the early going. The CAC 40 in France and Germany's DAX rose more than 0.5% in morning trading, while the FTSE 100 edged slightly lower.

Asian markets finished the session with solid gains. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index gained 2.3% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended 1.1% higher.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar was down against the euro and the British pound, but up versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery fell 29 cents to $79.01 a barrel.

COMEX gold's August contract gained $2 to $1,197.60 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year note up to 2.97% from 2.93% late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

STI higher at midday

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