Coca Cola reported moon landing Australian time -- Stocks

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Subject: Coca Cola reported moon landing Australian time

Author:
Ernest Hemingway 1899 21/7/2009 Tuesday

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Date Posted: 16:34:30 07/21/09 Tue

World Market Report Help

US Stocks Rise, Caterpillar & Merck DJIA Standouts

US stocks rose on an afternoon upswing as Caterpillar and Merck helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its seventh straight gain despite Coca-Cola's fizzle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.79 points (0.8%) to 8,915.94, its highest close since Jan. 6. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.91 points (0.4%) to 1,916.20, its highest close of the year. The session marked the Nasdaq's 10th straight winning session, its longest run in 12 years. The S&P 500 index gained 3.45 points (0.4%) to 954.58, its highest close of the year.

Caterpillar rose $2.81 (7.7%) to $39.46, the best percentage gainer on the Dow industrial average and the S&P 500. The world's largest construction and mining equipment maker by sales reported a 66% fall in second-quarter profit, but raised its full-year guidance as aggressive cost-cutting is starting to yield results.

Merck gained $1.71 (6.1%) to $29.65. Second-quarter profit fell 12% on merger costs and lower vaccine sales, but the drug maker's earnings and revenue did exceed Wall Street's expectations.

Schering-Plough, which Merck is in the process of purchasing, gained 96 cents (3.8%) to $26.53. Second-quarter profit rose 45% on prior-year charges while the company saw an 8% drop in sales of the cholesterol drugs it sells jointly with Merck.

Coca-Cola fell 68 cents (1.3%) to $50.35. Second-quarter earnings rose 43% aided by strength in such international markets as India and China, but the beverage maker's revenue fell and came in below Wall Street's expectations, hurt by the stronger dollar and continued fluctuations in foreign currencies.

Lockheed-Martin fell $6.98 (8.5%) to $75.13. The US Senate voted down an effort to insert $1.75bn into the 2010 defence budget for seven additional F-22 Raptor fighter planes beyond the 187 sought by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

TD Ameritrade gained 97 cents (5.5%) to $18.69. Fiscal third-quarter profit declined 17% amid costs from the recent acquisition of options company thinkorswim, but the results topped expectations as client trading surged.

Comerica lost $2.31 (10%) to $20.51. The regional bank's second-quarter profit dropped 68% on weak loan demand, and its credit-loss provision came in at $312m, up 84% from a year earlier.

Legg Mason advanced $1.05 (4.2%) to $25.99. The asset manager swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit, with results coming in above analysts' expectations amid a 33% drop in operating costs and prior-year support to money-market funds.

Texas Instruments fell 54 cents (2.3%) to $23.07. Second-quarter profit dropped 56% on lower sales and margins, but revenue grew from the first quarter on strong analogue chip sales and a seasonal increase in calculator sales.

Southwest Airlines fell 43 cents (5.9%) to $6.87. The air carrier produced a second-quarter profit, reversing three uncharacteristic quarters of red ink. But the discount giant said the tough operating climate makes it impossible to predict a profitable third quarter, normally the strongest period for the industry.

For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton increased 16 cents (0.27%) to US$59.56, Rio Tinto Plc lost $1.78 (1.17%) to US$149.93, ResMed added 20 cents (0.51%) to US$39.50, Telstra Corporation dipped 31 cents (2.22%) to US$13.64, Telecom Corporation of NZ gained 13 cents (1.45%) to US$9.07 and Westpac advanced 19 cents (0.23%) to US$83.12.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said an uptick in production and income indicators lifted the National Activity Index to -1.80 last month from -2.30 in May, providing another signal of stabilisation in the US economy.

Treasury prices rallied as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reassured investors that key interest rates will stay low for some time in order to help the economy heal. At 7:45 AM (AEST), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 3.48% and the five year yield was 2.34%.

European shares gained ground on Tuesday, rising for the seventh session in a row, as investors welcomed corporate updates from both sides of the Atlantic.

The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 0.8% to close at 215.02, bringing gains made since the start the week to 2.1% and to 4.5% for the month.

On a regional level, the UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.8% to close at 4,481.17, the German DAX index climbed 1.3% to end at 5,093.97 and the French CAC-40 index gained 1% to settle at 3,302.89.

Of companies updating in Europe on Tuesday, shares of UK supermarket group William Morrison rose 8.2% in London after it said that it's expecting fiscal-year results to top market expectations.

Luxury-goods firm Hermes International advanced 4% in Paris after it said first-half sales rose 7.6% to EUR874.9m, driven by consistent demand for its leather bags.

Industrial stocks were firm in Europe, with Siemens shares up 3.1%.

Technology stocks were also in focus after Texas Instruments reported a steep drop in second-quarter profit, which nonetheless exceeded Wall Street projections. It also said it expects "solid sequential growth" in the current quarter.

Shares of microchip maker Infineon Technologies jumped 5.4% in Frankfurt while competitor STMicroelectronics advanced 0.4%.

In the banking sector, lender Svenska Handelsbanken saw early gains after beating earnings expectations but traded flat in late afternoon action. Rival Nordea, fell 0.5% after also posting a second-quarter profit that exceeded analyst forecasts. Both firms outperformed rivals that have taken big losses from their exposure to the Baltic region.

On the FTSE 100, Rio Tinto increased 51.00 pence (2.28%) to 2,286.06 pence and BHP Billiton improved 38.00 pence (2.55%) to 1,534.54 pence.

Asian markets finished mixed on Tuesday, despite Wall Street's advance and reassuring news on US lender CIT, as mild profit-taking emerged after the recent rally. Container shippers lost ground, though technology stocks were higher after Texas Instruments reported earnings.

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 2.7% after the market reopened after a long holiday weekend. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished flat.

China's Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.6% as profit-taking in automakers and steel companies after the benchmark index hit a 13-month high on Monday exacerbated liquidity pressure stemming from China State Construction Engineering's mega initial public offering. The listing could raise as much as 50.16bn yuan (US$7.3bn), which would make it the world's biggest primary-market issue this year.

New Zealand share prices closed 1.85 percent higher on Tuesday following solid gains in US stocks and a big rise locally in casino operator Sky City, dealers said. The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 52.28 points to 2,873.19 on turnover worth NZ$94.4m.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ended mixed after easing in the afternoon as the US dollar strengthened.

Base metals on the LME finished down. Aluminium fell $15 (0.87%) to $1,705 while copper weakened $40 (0.74%) to $5,360 and nickel dropped $345 (2.13%) to $15,880. Zinc shed $21 (1.23%) to $1,650 and lead lost $28 (1.61%) to $1,678. Comex copper was last quoted at 244.35 US cents per pound.

Comex gold slipped late in the day as the US dollar moved higher, analysts said. Spot gold was last quoted at $948.15. Comex gold futures slipped $2.10 (0.22%) to $946.70. Spot silver was last quoted at $13.54.

West Texas Intermediate was last quoted at US$64.72 per barrel.

The euro reached its highest level in seven weeks earlier on Tuesday and then retreated to end lower against the US dollar after risk-sensitive currencies in general reversed direction and ceded ground to the greenback.

At 08:05 a.m. (AET) the US dollar was quoted at 0.7036 euros, 93.62 yen, 1.224 AUD and 60.79 pence.

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