(MarketWatch) -- Automotive shares were among the bigger winners in the Asian markets Friday as traders bet on a continued recovery in global auto sales, but many analysts remained cautious about their outlook for the sector ahead of financial results from major Japanese carmakers.
"There was a marked difference in March auto sales growth in different countries, related to whether or not government support is in place," analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients Friday.
New vehicle sales growth was positive year-on-year in India, China, Germany and France, the analysts said.
In March, new car sales in China hit a record 1.1 million units, rising for the third-straight month and outpacing sales of new vehicles in the U.S.
However, sales "remained down substantially year-on-year in the U.S., Japan, Russia, the U.K. and Spain," the Goldman Sachs analysts said.
In late March, Japanese automakers reported sharp declines in domestic sales and exports for the month of February. See full story on Japan's car sales.
And in Western Europe, auto sales fell 8% on year in March, according to Goldman Sachs, although the decline was smaller than the fall of 17% in February.
"We think the stimulus packages are positive for automakers, lifting sluggish plant operating rates and keeping demand ticking over until an anticipated economic upturn" in the second half of 2009, the analysts said.
Still, they kept their "cautious" coverage view on the auto sector.
"Details of support measures in the U.S. are still unclear, and we are watching to see whether consumers put off purchasing vehicles in the near term," they said.
Read more here
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Dow stages late 100-point rally
(CNNMoney.com) -- Blue chips rallied late Wednesday, supporting the broader market, after a Federal Reserve report on the economy added to hopes that the pace of the slowdown is easing.
An unclear outlook from bellwether Intel late Tuesday kept the tech-fueled Nasdaq from posting similar gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 109 points, or 1.4%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 10 points, or 1.3%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 1 point, or 0.1%.
Tech shares dragged on the broad market, while consumer, housing, industrial and commodity shares kept losses in check.
Stocks roiled Monday and fell Tuesday in a choppy start to the week following a five-week run. The advance has been driven by bets that the pace of the recession is slowing. A Federal Reserve report released Wednesday afternoon added to those bets.
The Fed's "Beige Book" periodic reading on the economy showed that overall activity stayed weak or got worse. But five of the 12 districts showed a slowdown in the pace of decline and a few more districts showed certain parts of the economy were stabilizing.
"A lot of recent reports are showing that things might be flattening out and bottoming and the Beige Book seemed to indicate that too," said Stacey Shreft, director of investment strategy at The Mutual Fund Store. "That's good, but it's going to be important that the next set of data that come out reinforce it."
Despite some optimism about the economy, the speed of the stock rally has left Wall Street vulnerable to a bit of a pullback.
In five weeks, the Dow gained 22%, its biggest consecutive five-week run on a percentage basis since 1933, when it gained 31%. The run up followed a rout that left the Dow and S&P 500 at 12-year lows and the Nasdaq at 6-year lows.
This week, stocks have been seesawing.
"I think this is a necessary consolidation at the start of what is supposed to be one of the worst reporting periods in years," said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investments.
But he said that any consolidation this time is likely to be more modest than the selloffs that followed other big rallies over the last six months.
"Investor sentiment has been improving because there's more confidence about the financial sector," he said. "There could be a 10 or 15% selloff after the rally, but there isn't the sense of panic that would cause a 25% selloff."
Read more at CNNMoney
An unclear outlook from bellwether Intel late Tuesday kept the tech-fueled Nasdaq from posting similar gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 109 points, or 1.4%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 10 points, or 1.3%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 1 point, or 0.1%.
Tech shares dragged on the broad market, while consumer, housing, industrial and commodity shares kept losses in check.
Stocks roiled Monday and fell Tuesday in a choppy start to the week following a five-week run. The advance has been driven by bets that the pace of the recession is slowing. A Federal Reserve report released Wednesday afternoon added to those bets.
The Fed's "Beige Book" periodic reading on the economy showed that overall activity stayed weak or got worse. But five of the 12 districts showed a slowdown in the pace of decline and a few more districts showed certain parts of the economy were stabilizing.
"A lot of recent reports are showing that things might be flattening out and bottoming and the Beige Book seemed to indicate that too," said Stacey Shreft, director of investment strategy at The Mutual Fund Store. "That's good, but it's going to be important that the next set of data that come out reinforce it."
Despite some optimism about the economy, the speed of the stock rally has left Wall Street vulnerable to a bit of a pullback.
In five weeks, the Dow gained 22%, its biggest consecutive five-week run on a percentage basis since 1933, when it gained 31%. The run up followed a rout that left the Dow and S&P 500 at 12-year lows and the Nasdaq at 6-year lows.
This week, stocks have been seesawing.
"I think this is a necessary consolidation at the start of what is supposed to be one of the worst reporting periods in years," said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investments.
But he said that any consolidation this time is likely to be more modest than the selloffs that followed other big rallies over the last six months.
"Investor sentiment has been improving because there's more confidence about the financial sector," he said. "There could be a 10 or 15% selloff after the rally, but there isn't the sense of panic that would cause a 25% selloff."
Read more at CNNMoney
UBS faces $1.8 bln loss and steps up job cuts
(MarketWatch) -- UBS shares fell as much as 9% Wednesday after the struggling Swiss bank said it expects to post a loss of nearly 2 billion Swiss francs ($1.8 billion) for the first three months of 2009 and added that nearly 9,000 more staff will lose their jobs.
The group said it will reduce its workforce to around 67,500 in 2010, from the current 76,200, which will help it slash costs by between 3.5 billion francs and 4 billion francs. Roughly 2,500 of the cuts will be in Switzerland.
In a statement UBS's newly appointed chief executive, Oswald Gruebel, also said that despite positive early signs, clients continued to withdraw their cash in the quarter.
Gruebel, a former head of arch-rival Credit Suisse, was hired in January to try and turn around the bank, but he told shareholders at the annual meeting Wednesday that there will be no quick fix.
Investors weighed the worse-than-expected quarterly loss against the group's deep cost-cutting plans, pushing the stock down around 9% in early trading before it recovered to trade down 3.2%.
Read more at MarketWatch
The group said it will reduce its workforce to around 67,500 in 2010, from the current 76,200, which will help it slash costs by between 3.5 billion francs and 4 billion francs. Roughly 2,500 of the cuts will be in Switzerland.
In a statement UBS's newly appointed chief executive, Oswald Gruebel, also said that despite positive early signs, clients continued to withdraw their cash in the quarter.
Gruebel, a former head of arch-rival Credit Suisse, was hired in January to try and turn around the bank, but he told shareholders at the annual meeting Wednesday that there will be no quick fix.
Investors weighed the worse-than-expected quarterly loss against the group's deep cost-cutting plans, pushing the stock down around 9% in early trading before it recovered to trade down 3.2%.
Read more at MarketWatch
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
S.Africa's Assmang shuts ferromanganese furnace
(Reuters) - South Africa's African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) said on Tuesday that due to the ongoing low levels of carbon steel production subsidiary Assmang had shut down its No. 5 ferromanganese furnace.
The high carbon ferromanganese furnace with a capacity of about 55,000 tonnes per year was shut last Tuesday.
Furnaces 3 and 4 had already been closed, it said.
"These furnaces will be kept out of operation until market conditions warrant start up," ARM said in a statement.
The group's convertor for production of refined alloys, which has not produced since December 2008, would also remain closed and would be restarted as demand increases.
Assmang is jointly owned by ARM and Assore.
Read more at Reuters
The high carbon ferromanganese furnace with a capacity of about 55,000 tonnes per year was shut last Tuesday.
Furnaces 3 and 4 had already been closed, it said.
"These furnaces will be kept out of operation until market conditions warrant start up," ARM said in a statement.
The group's convertor for production of refined alloys, which has not produced since December 2008, would also remain closed and would be restarted as demand increases.
Assmang is jointly owned by ARM and Assore.
Read more at Reuters
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Forex - US dollar lower against yen in early Asian trade on weak US data UPDATE
... Forex - US dollar lower against yen in ... downside support on looming concerns about the Japanese economy ahead of the release Tuesday of the Bank of Japans quarterly Tankan survey of business sentiment. Ten ...
Deutsche Bank Says Challenging Economic Conditions May Weigh-down FY08 Profit; Warns Of Write-downs - Update
... profitability target for the year 2008. The German bank is expecting a pre-tax profit of ... the market turbulence and uncertainties in global equity markets. Meanwhile, the bank anticipates that its Private ...
Egyptian editor jailed
... AFP. CAIRO. Outspoken Egyptian editor Ibrahim Eissa was sentenced to six ... worth more than US$350 million from the stock exchange. AFP. ...
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