Stocks are higher at the session's half as optimism grows over
the potential that European leaders will reach an agreement on the
debt crisis there. Meanwhile, new data showed slowing in the U.S.
service sector along with slipping orders for durable goods, which
served to check any Europe-inspired gains.
In U.S. economic data, new orders for factory goods fell 0.4% in
October following a drop of 0.1% in September, according to the
Commerce Department. That met economists expectations Durable goods
orders fell 0.5%.
Also, the Institute for Supply Management services index fell to
52% last month from 52.9% in October. Economists had expected a
reading of 54%, according to a MarketWatch poll. The reading was
the worst since January of 2010, MarketWatch noted.
Overseas, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is set to propose a
$40 billion slate of austerity and growth measures that will cut
Italy's debt, notes Bloomberg in a report. Also, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed a news
conference where the two leaders pushed a plan for better
enforcement of the eurozone's deficit rules. European banks traded
higher:
RBS: +5.9%
UBS: +1.7%
DB: +1.4%
CS: +3.0%
BCS: +2.0%
In mid-day company news:
Exxon Mobil (
XOM
) shares are higher as the U.S. oil major is expected to sign a
pact on liquefied natural gas with Qatar tomorrow, Bloomberg
reports. Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson and Qatar's Minister of Energy and
Industry Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada will be on hand for the
signing, the report said.
Affymax (
AFFY
) shares rallied nearly 20%, the most in 16-months after U.S.
regulators announced that AFFY's experimental anemia medicine works
as well as treatments marketed by Amgen Inc. (
AMGN
) and Johnson & Johnson (
JNJ
) for patients with chronic kidney disease, as reported by
Bloomberg.
Shares of Citigroup (
C
) briefly crossed $30 a share as the bank made gains topping 6% on
optimism about perceived progress in solving Europe's debt
crisis.
Shares of Abbott Laboratories (ABT) are flat while Miles White,
the company's chief executive officer, said he is looking to invest
more in research and development in emerging markets, according to
a Bloomberg report. The comments came at a pharmaceutical industry
conference.
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) shares hit a new 52-week high of $36.90
before slipping back after the Board of Directors released the
names of the the people who will run its future global snacks and
North American grocery companies. As previously announced, the
company expects to complete the spin-off by the end of 2012.
SAP AG (SAP) and SuccessFactors, Inc. (SFSF) announced Saturday
they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. A subsidiary
of SAP will offer to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock
of SuccessFactors for $40.00/per share in cash, representing an
enterprise value of approximately $3.4 billion. SFSF shares are up
51.8%.
Commodities are higher as February gold contracts are down 0.59%
to $1,741 an ounce while January crude oil contacts are up 0.54% to
$101.50 a barrel.
In energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund (USO) is up 0.49% to
$39.22 and the United States Natural Gas fund (UNG) is down 3.35%,
to $7.64.
In precious metal ETFs, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is down 0.38%
to $169.18. Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) is up 0.94% to $58.80.
iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is up 0.36% to $31.76.
Here's where markets stand at mid-day:
-NYSE up 121.95 (+1.64%) to 7,575.61
-DJIA up 145.28 (+1.21%) to 12,164.70
-S&P 500 up 19.96 (+1.6%) to 1,264.16
-Nasdaq up 42.44 (+1.91%) to 2,669.28
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Nikkei up 0.6%
Hang Seng up 0.7%
Shanghai Composite down 1.1%
FTSE-100 up 0.7%
DAX-30 up 0.9%
MID-DAY NYSE INDEX WATCH
NYSE Energy up 1.92% at 12,693.01
NYSE Financial up 2.34% at 4,147.28
NYSE Health Care down 1.01% at 6,826.01
NYSE Arca Tech 100 up 2.03% at 1,120.31
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) ULTI, (+6.3%) Downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord
Genuity
(+)LLEN, ( +5.0%) Inks Joint Sale Deal with China Chengtong
Metal
(+)GM, (+2.6%) Initiated with a Neutral at Piper Jaffray
(+)SFSF, (+51.2%) Co. to be acquired by SAP for $40 Per
Share
(+)TIVO,( +3.5%) Initiated with a Buy at UBS
(+)CLF,(+4.6%) Announced Anticipated Production Curtailment at
Empire Mine
(+)AEO, (+3.4%) Upgraded to Equalweight from Underweight at
Morgan Stanley
(+)DG, (+1.6%) Beats With Q3 Results, Raises FY View, Sets
Buyback
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-)SAP, (-1.0%) Acquiring SuccessFactors