Stocks are higher in mid-day trading as investors cheer the
European leaders' move to forge closer fiscal ties in an effort to
address the continent's debt crisis. Meanwhile, U.S purchases in
overseas markets fell to the lowest level since April, thanks to
declining demand for crude.
First, consumers have a more positive outlook, according to a
gauge of consumer sentiment that reached 67.7 in a preliminary
December reading. That compares with 64.1 in November, according to
data from the University of Michigan / Thomson Reuters survey. The
December reading is the highest since June.
Across the pond, European leaders were unable to secure the
backing of all 27 EU members for treaty changes. As a result, the
17 euro-zone nations plus six others will participate in a new
inter-governmental agreement on tougher fiscal rules. Britain has
already announced that it will not be participating; whereas
Hungary, Sweden and the Czech Republic have yet to commit.
The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit
narrowed by 1.6% in October to $43.5 billion. The deficit has
narrowed for four straight months to the lowest monthly trade gap
this year. Underlying the report was a sharp upward revision to the
trade deficit in September to $44.2 billion from the initial
estimate of $43.1 billion. The October trade deficit was close to
the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists of $43.6
billion.
In company news:
Often volatile Cell Therapeutics (
CTIC
) shares are down 13% after the company today announced that it has
entered into an agreement to sell, subject to customary closing
conditions, $20 million of shares of its Series 14 Preferred Stock
and warrants to purchase shares of its common stock in a registered
offering to two institutional investors.
Shares of Chevron (
CVX
) are higher while Bloomberg reports the Kazakh oil venture led by
the U.S. oil company has returned production to normal rates. The
news came after a fire at one of its processing plants, the report
said.
Wal-Mart Stores (
WMT
) shares are higher while The Wall Street Journal reports the
company has started an internal investigation into whether its
workers violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Act
prevents bribery overseas. The discount retailer said it had found
some possible improper conduct as part of an internal review, the
report said.
Shares of Citigroup (
C
) are higher while while Bloomberg reports that the bank is
trimming a team of traders who deal in hybrid securities as Chief
Executive Officer Vikram Pandit cuts investment jobs at the bank,
citing two people familiar with the situation.
Shares of Texas Instruments (
TXN
) are lower after the chipmaker said in its mid-quarter update it
expects Q4 revenue in the range of $3.19 to $3.33 bln, lower than
its previous view of $3.26 to $3.54 bln. EPS is seen in the range
of $0.21 to $0.25 per share, below its previous view of $0.28 to
$0.36 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the
company to post Q4 earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $3.40
billion. TXN shares are down 4.8%.
Commodities are down as February gold contracts are up 0.06% to
$1,716 an ounce while January crude oil contacts are up 0.07% to
$98.40 a barrel.
In energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund (USO) is up 0.69% to
$38.03 and the United States Natural Gas fund (UNG) is down 2.97%,
to $7.36.
In precious metal ETFs, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is up 0.51% to
$166.81. Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) is up 0.87% to $57.31.
iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is up 1.6% to $31.19.
Here's where markets stand at mid-day:
-NYSE up 115.44 (+1.57%) to 7,484.96
-DJIA up 161.17 (+1.34%) to 12,158.87
-S&P 500 up 18.19 (+1.47%) to 1,252.54
-Nasdaq up 38.70 (+1.49%) to 2,635.13
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Nikkei down 1.43%
Hang Seng down 2.73%
Shanghai Composite down 0.63%
FTSE-100 up 0.28%
DAX-30 up 0.91%
MID-DAY NYSE INDEX WATCH
NYSE Energy up 1.8% at 12,428.44
NYSE Financial up 2.2% at 4,098.97
NYSE Health Care up 1.1% at 6,837.34
NYSE Arca Tech 100 up 1.2% at 1,101.50
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+)BCSI, (+44%) Inks deal to be acquired by private equity
firm
(+)YUM, (+1.1%) Upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at
Bernstein
(+)PRGO, (+2.2%) Shares to be added to S&P 500 Index
(+)SIRI, (+6.2%) Sirius XM Radio Initiated with a Buy at
Citigroup
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-)WFR, (-1.2%) Upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Collins
Stewart
(-)IVR, (-6.7%) Downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at
FBR Capital
(-)SHLD, (-2.2%) Initiated with an Underperform at Imperial
Capital
(-)TXN, (-1.9%) lowered Q4 revenue forecast
(-)LSCC, (-3.5%) sees Deeper Q4 Revenue Drop than Previous
Outlook
(-)DD, (-4.9%) Cuts 2011 Earnings View to Below Street