Asia Stocks Fall Led by Hong Kong

Asian stocks dropped, led by losses in Hong Kong amid pro-democracy protests in the city. The dollar extended gains and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures retreated as U.S. economic data bolstered the outlook for higher interest rates.

The Hang Seng Index lost 1.9 percent by 1:41 p.m. in Tokyo, erasing its gain for the year and dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific Index toward a 0.7 percent decline. The Hong Kong dollar and Chinese yuan weakened as the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.1 percent, climbing a seventh day. New Zealand’s currency is poised for its biggest three-day drop in three years. Oil in New York slipped 0.6 percent. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3 percent. Asian bond risk rose to a one-month high.

Hong Kong’s benchmark index tumbled as much as 2.5 percent after police used tear gas to disperse protesters ahead of national holidays this week that will close the city’s markets on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace since 2011 in the second quarter, fueling speculation over Federal Reserve rate increases. Pacific Investment Management Co., whose co-founder Bill Gross departed last week, said it sees slower growth in China and downside risks in Australia.

“It’s going to spook some investors who are worried that this could drag out, affecting the business climate in Hong Kong,” Vasu Menon, vice president of wealth management at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., said on Bloomberg TV from Singapore. “It’s happening at a time when the U.S. Federal Reserve is talking about tightening monetary policy, a time when China is slowing down.”

Profit Drop

All 50 stocks on the Hang Seng Index fell today, while a gauge of Chinese shares in the city retreated 1.8 percent in a third day of decline. Profits at industrial companies in China declined last month for the first time in two years, data at the weekend showed, as a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy deepens.

The Shanghai Composite Index pared a gain of as much as 0.7 percent. The Hang Seng China AH Premium index, which measures the weighted-average price difference between dual-listed shares in the mainland versus Hong Kong, rose through the 100 level that shows the gap being erased. Mainland Chinese trading venues close for five days from Wednesday.

The Hong Kong dollar, which is allowed to trade within a tight band versus the U.S. currency, slipped for a sixth day and is at its weakest level since March. The city’s one-year interest-rate swap rose three basis points, the most in 15 months, to 0.485 percent.

Source: bloomberg.com

Rumors that circulates over the weekend!

Starboard Urges Yahoo! to Acquire AOL

The Activist Letter:
Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) surged higher Friday, as Starboard Value LP announced it has acquired a significant stake in Yahoo! and that it delivered a letter to CEO Marissa Mayer. The letter mentioned potential opportunities to unlock shareholder value.

These opportunities include: Unlocking the substantial value from Yahoo's non-core minority equity stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) and Yahoo Japan in a structure that delivers value directly to Yahoo shareholders in a tax-efficient manner, reducing expenses throughout the company, halting Yahoo's aggressive acquisition strategy and exploring a strategic combination with AOL.

Yahoo acknowledged receipt of the letter from Starboard, and said it will continue to maintain an open dialogue with all shareholders. CEO Mayer said the company will "review Starboard's letter carefully and look forward to discussing it with them.”

Yahoo shares closed Friday at $40.66, a gain of more than 4%, while AOL shares gained about 3.5%, to close at $44.56.

Report of Softbank $32.00/Share Bid for Dreamworks Animation

The Rumor:
SoftBank Corp. (OTC: SFTBY) is in talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA), according to The Hollywood Reporter and reported later by WSJ on Saturday.

SoftBank reportedly has offered $32 per share, for the company headed by CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, according to sources, valuing DWA at $3.4 billion. Spokespersons for both companies declined comment.

DreamWorks Animation closed at $22.36 on Friday, a gain of $0.13.

Alibaba Pays $459M for Stake in Beijing Shiji Information Technology Co

The Stake:
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) has acquired a 15% stake in Beijing Shiji Information Technology, a company provides IT consulting services to hotels and sells room reservation software, for $458.66 million. It is Alibaba's first large deal since its $25 billion IPO.

Alibaba closed Friday at $90.46, a gain of $1.54.

Daiichi Sankyo to Acquire Ambit Biosciences for $15/Share in Cash

The Deal:
Daiichi Sankyo Company, Ltd. (OTC: DSNKY) and Ambit Biosciences (NASDAQ: AMBI), announced Sunday that Daiichi Sankyo will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Ambit Biosciences for $15 per share in cash, or approximately $315 million on a fully diluted basis. through a tender offer followed by a merger with a subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo. Additionally, each Ambit Biosciences stockholder will receive one Contingent Value Right (CVR), entitling the holder to receive an additional cash payment of up to $4.50 for each share they own if certain commercialization related milestones are achieved. That values the total transaction at up to $410 million.

The deal is expected to close following receipt of HSR clearance and the close of the tender period.

Ambit Biosciences Friday at $8.20, a loss of $0.14.

Source: benzinga.com

Asian shares shudder under Wall Street Shadow

Asian shares got off to a rocky start on Friday after a sharp drop on Wall Street, which curbed enthusiasm for the dollar even after the U.S. unit touched multi-year highs in the previous session.

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower, as Apple Inc broke under key technical levels after the tech giant withdrew an update to its new operating system. That pushed the S&P 500 to its biggest one-day decline since July.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3 percent in early trade, poised for a weekly loss over 2 percent.

Japan's Nikkei stock average skidded 1.6 percent, on track to shed more than 1 percent for the week, as a stronger yen exacerbated the risk-averse mood.

Data released before the market opened showed Japan's annual core consumer inflation eased in August, in another sign that the Bank of Japan could be forced into additional easing steps to meet its 2 percent price goal sometime next fiscal year.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, edged down about 0.1 percent to 85.115, after it rose to a four-year high of 85.485 on Thursday. The dollar is on track for its 11th successive weekly rise, something it has not achieved in four decades.

"The dollar index strengthened to a new post-2010 high, although it gave back some of its gains amid a tech-driven sell-off in U.S. equities," strategists at Barclays wrote in a note to clients.

The yield difference between 10-year U.S. Treasuries and German Bunds widened the most in nearly 15 years on Thursday, putting pressure on the euro.

The European unit edged up about 0.1 percent to $1.2759, after falling as low as $1.26955 on trading platform EBS on Thursday, its lowest since November 2012.

The dollar was about 0.2 percent lower on the day against its Japanese counterpart at 108.56 yen, pulling away from last week's six-year peak of 109.46.

Oil edged higher after the strong dollar weighed on it overnight, with Brent slightly higher at $97.01 a barrel.

Spot gold was steady on the day at $1,223.90 an ounce, after rebounding off Thursday's session low of $1,206.85 an ounce, its weakest since Jan. 2.

Source: yahoo.com

Tokyo Stock Down

Tokyo Stocks open down 1.75%

Tokyo stocks opened 1.75 percent lower on Friday after sell-offs on Wall Street and the dollar's fall against the yen.

The key Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which closed at a seven-year high on Thursday, lost 286.19 points to 16,087.95 at the start.

US stocks sank Thursday led by Apple's 3.8 percent drop, amid a combination of worries over heady valuations and quarter-end profit taking.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.54 percent while the broad-based S&P 500 lost 1.62 percent.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.94 percent as Apple's embarrassing problems with its new operating system and criticisms that its new iPhones are too easily bent sparked its fall.

The ollar was at 108.56 yen in early Friday trade, down from 108.73 yen in New York Thursday afternoon and above 109 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

A strong yen is a negative for Japanese exporters as it erodes profits when repatriated.

The euro bought $1.2758 and 138.49 yen against $1.2750 and 138.62 yen in US trade.

Currency rates hardly moved after Japanese data showed the nation's consumer inflation rose a slower-than-expected 3.1 percent year-on-year in August.

Source: yahoo.com

Dollar Near Four Year High

US Growth Supports Fed Prospect and because of that Dollar Near Four-Year High!

A gauge of the dollar against 10 major counterparts was near the highest in four years as an improving US growth outlook adds to expectations the Federal Reserve is moving toward raising borrowing costs next year.

The US currency has risen versus all of its 16 most traded peers this month as the Fed stays on track to end its bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, in October. The yen headed for its first weekly gain since the start of August as the US expanded its bombing of Islamic State militants from Iraq to neighboring Syria, spurring demand for the Japanese currency as a haven.

"The strong dollar trend across the board is continuing," said the trader at Union Bank NA in Los Angeles. "The Fed is on track to end QE in October and is likely to raise rates by middle of next year as planned, while we haven't seen much improvement in other nations."

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the US currency against 10 major peers, was little changed at 1,061.60 as of 8:41 am in Tokyo after rising to 1,062.75 yesterday, the highest close since June 2010.

 The dollar bought 108.53 yen from 108.75, after reaching 109.46 on Sept. 19, a level not seen since August 2008. The yen has gained 0.5 percent against the greenback this week. The US currency was little changed at $1.2757 per euro after gaining to $1.2697 yesterday, the strongest since November 2012.

The US gross domestic product grew an annualized 4.6 percent in the second quarter, more than the previous estimate of 4.2 percent released Aug. 28, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts before today's Commerce Department report. The Thompson Reuters/University of Michigan final consumer sentiment index rose to 84.8 this month, the highest in more than a year, a separate Bloomberg survey projected.

Source: bloomberg.com

Japan Stocks Open higher after strong US lead

Japan stocks advanced Thursday morning after an overnight rally in U.S. markets, with the Nikkei Average NIK, +1.10% up 1%. The broader Topix I0000, +0.00% rose 0.8%, while the yen USDJPY, +0.15% fell to ¥109.26 against the dollar, compared with ¥109.19 a day ago.

Auto makers benefited from the weaker yen, as Mazda Motor Corp. JP:N7261 headed up 1.9%, Toyota Motor Corp. 7203, +1.68% improved by 1%, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 7267, +0.42% tacked on 0.8%, and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. 7201, +1.02% zoomed 0.7% higher.

Tech exporters were also well bid, with top winners including industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corp. 6954, +0.85% , gaining 1.6%, electronics giant Panasonic Corporation 6752, +0.96% rising 1.2%, console maker Nintendo Co., Ltd. 7974, +1.54% adding 1%, camera maker Olympus Corp. 7733, +1.13% up 0.9%, and semiconductor firm Renesas Electronics Corporation 6723, +0.86% higher by 0.6%.

Meanwhile, Internet and telecom conglomerate SoftBank Corp. 9984, +1.28% snagged a 1.4% gain.

Source: marketwatch.com

Dollar Resumes Advance

Asia cheered by Wall Street rebound, dollar resumes advance

Asian stocks rose early on Thursday, cheered by a sizeable overnight rebound on Wall Street, while the dollar resumed its advance after upbeat economic data undercut safe-haven bids and pushed yields higher.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.1 percent, pulling away from a four-month low touched the previous day when U.S.-led air strikes in Syria stoked geopolitical concerns.

Tokyo's Nikkei rose 1 percent, heartened as the yen resumed its weakening against the dollar.
Wall Street rebounded broadly overnight, buoyed by strong U.S. housing data and with dovish statements from a top Federal Reserve official also helping.

"Risk aversion was increasing across global equities this week, but once again it was the U.S. market that helped clear uncertainty," said Junichi Ishikawa, a market strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
The dollar, rejuvenated after benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose for the first time in four days and as the euro slumped to fresh lows, edged closer to a six-year high versus the yen.

The dollar traded as high as 109.27 yen. A break above 109.46 would take the greenback to a high not seen since 2008.

The euro hovered close to a 14-month trough of 1.2774 struck overnight on poor German data and statements by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi monetary policy would be kept loose for an extended period.

The Australian dollar managed to bounce back towards 89 U.S. cents from a seven-month low of $0.8831 plumbed on Tuesday as risk appetite improved.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens will give a brief speech at 0230 GMT that could potentially offer trading insights, but he is not scheduled to take questions.

For broader cues the financial markets are eyeing U.S. jobless claims and durable goods numbers due later in the day for potential impact on yields and currencies.

In a week filled with appearances by U.S. central bank officials, investors today await Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lochart's speech.

In commodities, Brent crude oil extended gains on escalating conflict in the Middle East and stronger-than-expected growth expectations for China helped lift the benchmark off a two-year low the previous day. Brent rose 4 cents to 96.99 a barrel.

Source: yahoo.com

Rumors on Wall Street

Yahoo Said to be Seeking Yelp Takeover

The Rumor:
Shares of Yelp, Inc. (NYSE: YELP) Spiked higher Wednesday, on renewed takeover chatter, with Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) the rumored acquirer. Yahoo has been seen as a potential acquirer of Yelp, going back to a March 2013 note from Wunderilch's Blake Harper.

Spokespersons for Yelp and Yahoo were not available for comment.

Yelp shares closed Wednesday at $72.97, a gain of $1.24.

Starz Seeking Sale, Met with Fox

The Rumor:
Executives from Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA) and 31st Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) met on Tuesday to discuss the potential acquisition of the premium cable movie service by Fox, according to the LA Times. Fox walked away from an attempt to acquire Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) in August, after the parent of HBO rejected an $85.00 per share offer.

According to a source, Fox does not have an interest in acquiring Starz.

Starz Industries shares closed Wednesday at $269.37, a gain of more than 5%.

Acorda Therapeutics to Acquire Civitas Therapeutics for $525M in Cash

The Deal:
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) announced Wednesday, that it will acquire privately-held Civitas Therapeutics for $525 million in cash. Acorda will obtain worldwide rights to CVT-301, a Phase 3 treatment candidate for OFF episodes of Parkinson's disease, and also includes rights to Civitas' proprietary ARCUSTM pulmonary delivery technology and manufacturing facility with commercial-scale capabilities in Chelsea, MA.

The deal is expected to close in Q2 of 2014.

Acorda Therapeutics shares closed Wednesday at $240.85, a gain of more than 2%.

Report of Potential Alibaba Interest in Expedia's China Holding

The Rumor:
Shares of Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) rose as high as $86.20 on Wednesday, on a report out of China, that Alibaba's (NYSE: BABA) Taobao Travel may have an interest in acquiring a stake in Chinese travel site eLong (NASDAQ: LONG), of which Expedia owns 65%. Spokespersons for Expedia and Alibaba did not respond to requests for comment.

Expedia closed Wednesday at $85.94, a gain of more than 2%. eLong shares rose 4.5% to close at $19.26.

Report Actavis in Early Talks with Salix

The Rumor:
CNBC's David Faber reported Wedneday, that Actavis plc (NYSE: ACT) was in early stage talks to acquire Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SLXP), according to sources. This follows a report on Tuesday that Allergan (NYSE: AGN) was also in talks with Salix, as part of an attempt to fight off a hostile takeover by Bill Ackman and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX).

Actavis closed Wednesday at $248.00, a gain of almost 3%. Salix Pharmaceuticals lost almost 1% to close at $167.52.

Report of GE Takeover Interest in SunEdison

The Rumor:
Shares of SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE) rose Wednesday, on a report that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) was in talks to acquire the manufacturer of silicon wafers. SunEdison shares rose as high as $21.39 on the rumor.

Bloomberg later reported that a GE spokesperson denied the report was not true.

SunEdison closed Wednesday at $20.28, a gain of 5%.

PE Firms Said to have Interest in Tibco Acquisition

The Rumor:
Shares of Tibco Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX) spiked higher Wednesday, on a report from Reuters that private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Thoma Bravo are among companies seeking to acquire Tibco. The dollar amount of the prospective offers, if any, is not known.

Tibco announced on September 3, it had hired Goldman Sachs to assist it in exploring strategic alternatives. A note from Mizuho Securities on September 16, said the acquisition potential for Tibco was likely overstated.

Tibco Software closed Wednesday at $20.26, a gain of 6.5%.

Source: benzinga.com

The Richest Person in China

The largest stock offer in history has made Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, China's richest person with a fortune of $25 billion, an annual wealth ranking in the world's second largest economy showed Tuesday.

"It has been an amazing year for China's best tycoons despite the jitters about the Chinese economy," said China-based luxury magazine publisher Hurun Report in its annual rich list.

Ma reaped more than $800 million selling shares in the company he set up 15 years ago as Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, based on company filings, with the value of his remaining stake of 7.8 percent surging to more than $17 billion by Monday.

Last year, the estimated wealth of the former English teacher turned Internet entrepreneur was just over $4.0 billion, which did not even place him in the top 20.

Alibaba's listing raised a total of $25 billion.

But only one other Alibaba co-founder, now vice president of its China investment team Simon Xie, made the rich list, Hurun Report said.

Property tycoon Wang Jianlin, whose Wanda company bought US cinema chain AMC Entertainment, dropped to second place from first last year with a fortune of $24.2 billion as the deflating of China's real estate bubble chased most developers out of the top 10.

A new face, Li Hejun of renewable energy firm Hanergy, tied for third place with $20.8 billion, alongside beverage magnate Zong Qinghou of Wahaha.

Completing the top five was Pony Ma of Tencent, operator of China's most popular instant messaging application WeChat, with $18.1 billion.

Technology commanded half of the top 10. Robin Li of China's dominant search engine Baidu was sixth; Richard Liu of Alibaba competitor JD.com took ninth, and Lei Jun of upstart mobile phone producer Xiaomi was 10th.

Rounding out the top 10 were father and son team Yan Jiehe and Yan Hao of road-builder China Pacific Construction in seventh position and another real estate mogul, Yan Bin of Reignwood in eighth.

China's real estate and infrastructure industries have been hit by the slowing economy.
The economy grew an annual 7.7 percent in 2013, the same as in 2012 -- which was the slowest rate of expansion since 1999. Gross domestic product growth was 7.5 in the second quarter this year.
Still, Hurun Report said the number of US dollar billionaires in China hit 354 this year, up 39 from last year.

Source: yahoo.com

Dollar Gauge Set for Highest Close

Yen Drops

The dollar was set for the highest closing level in four years versus major peers after Federal Reserve officials raised their target-rate forecast. The yen slid to a six-year low before the Bank of Japan governor speaks.

The greenback returned to levels unseen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. after Fed policy makers increased their median estimate for the key rate to 1.375 percent at the end of 2015 versus June's forecast for 1.125 percent. The pound remained higher as Scotland votes today on independence. The euro touched its weakest since July 2013 with the European Central Bank preparing to allot the first funds under its so-called targeted longer-term refinancing operations.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major currencies, rose 0.2 percent to 1,055.71 as of 1:33 p.m. in Tokyo, poised for the highest closing level since June 2010.

The U.S. currency climbed to 108.75 yen, the strongest since Sept. 8, 2008, before trading 0.3 percent higher at 108.67. It was little changed at $1.2864 per euro and touched $1.2835, the most since July 2013.

Considerable Time

The Federal Open Market Committee retained a commitment to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” after winding down a bond-purchase program under the quantitative-easing stimulus strategy. It said in a statement a “significant underutilization of labor resources” remains.

Policy makers tapered monthly bond buying to $15 billion in their seventh consecutive $10 billion cut, staying on course to end the program in October.

Yellen, at a press conference after the two-day meeting, said the language of the low-rate pledge isn’t a form of calendar-based guidance. The odds the central bank will increase its benchmark interest-rate target to at least 0.5 percent by July 2015 were 78 percent, up from 73 percent at the end of last month, federal fund futures showed.

An interest-rate increase would be the first since 2006. The rate has been in a range of zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008.

Kuroda Speaks

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is scheduled to speak today at the National Securities Industry Convention in Tokyo. A stronger dollar isn’t negative for Japan’s economy and the central bank will continue unprecedented monetary stimulus as long as necessary to achieve its target of 2 percent inflation “in a stable manner,” Kuroda said Sept. 16 in Osaka.

The pound held a gain since Sept. 15 before voters in Scotland decide today on the future of a political union that dates back to 1707. Voting ends at 10 p.m. local time. A final batch of opinion polls before the referendum showed the “no” campaign remained in the lead by a slim margin.

“Uncertainty around the final result is mounting,” Shinichiro Kadota, a foreign-exchange strategist at Barclays Plc in Tokyo, wrote in an e-mailed note to clients today. “GBP will likely rebound further in case of a ‘No’ vote, though it has already seen some rebound in the past few days, while a ‘Yes’ vote would likely exert further downward pressure.”

ECB Loans

Sterling was little changed at $1.6265 after climbing 0.3 percent since Sept. 15 through yesterday to $1.6276.

The ECB will announce today the allotment of its first targeted lending program as part of its effort to stave off deflation in the euro area. Banks will receive 150 billion euros ($193 billion), according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

New Zealand’s currency added 0.2 percent to 81.09 U.S. cents. The nation’s economy grew at the fastest pace in 10 years in the second quarter, outperforming most major developed markets. Gross domestic product increased 3.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, Statistics New Zealand said today. That beat the 3.8 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 10 economists.

Source: bloomberg.com

Stocks Gain On Federal Reserve Update

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee restated rates will remain low for a "considerable time," sending volatility into equity, debt and currency markets. Treasury buying was reduced by $5 billion per month, and the 2015 GDP estimate was cut to a range of 2.6 percent to 3 percent.

Major Averages

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.9 points, or 0.15 percent, to 17, 157.
• The S&P 500 climbed 2.6 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,002.
• The Nasdaq Composite gained 9.4 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 4,562.

Top Stories

Homebuilder stocks gained Wednesday after the NAHB monthly survey showed homebuilders are more confident than they have been since 2005. The report stated that first time home buyers are still reluctant to enter the market.

The already strong steel sector continued to pick up ground after United States Steel (NYSE: X) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) told Wall Street third quarter results will be better than initially expected. US Steel shares gained 10.1 percent while Nucor shares gained 3.9 percent.

To ease U.S. dependence on Russia, NASA granted Boeing (NYSE: BA) a $4.2 billion contract to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. Elon Musk’s SpaceEx has a similar $2.6 billion contract.

Stock Movers

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AUXL) shares shot up 44.9 percent to $31.18 after the company received an unsolicited bid to be acquired for $28.10 per share from Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP).

Lennar (NYSE: LEN) shares were also up, gaining 5.8 percent to $41.40 after the company reported better than expected fiscal third-quarter earnings.

Shares of Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) were down 17.7 percent to $32.39 after the company said it will remain independent despite "entertaining various proposals" from suitors.

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) shares tumbled 4.4 percent to $50.83 after the company reported weaker than expected fiscal first quarter results.

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) was down, falling 4.9 percent to $67.30 after the company issued a weak fiscal fourth quarter forecast. Adobe reported its third quarter earnings of $0.28 per share on revenue of $1.01 billion.

Commodities

Some profit taking kicked in Wednesday for crude oil futures. WTI was last down 0.77 percent to $94.15 after Tuesday’s 2 percent gain.

After a three day rally, gold fell below its previous low to $1,222.30 following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Gold contracts are now the cheapest they have been since January.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar shot to a new 52-week high on news that the Federal Reserve will reduce bond buying by $5 billion a month while keeping rates low. The PowerShares ETF (NYSE: UUP) that tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies gained 0.63 percent to 22.53.

Global Markets

Asian markets traded higher last night after Tuesday’s sell off. The Shanghai index gained 0.5 percent with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 1 percent. Japanese markets gave up 0.1 percent.

European markets were mixed on the day. The Euro Stoxx index, which tracks 50 eurozone blue chips, gained 0.5 percent. London's FTSE gave up 0.2 percent, and France's CAC added 0.5 percent.

Source: benzinga.com

Stocks to Watch for Today!

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

Wall Street expects Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) to report its Q2 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $1.57 billion. Foot Locker shares rose 0.82% to $53.00 in after-hours trading.

The Gap (NYSE: GPS) reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings. Gap shares rose 0.74% to $43.50 in the after-hours trading session.

Analysts are expecting ANN (NYSE: ANN) to have earned $0.68 per share on revenue of $648.09 million in the second quarter. ANN shares gained 0.54% to close at $38.81 yesterday.

Aéropostale (NYSE: ARO) issued a downbeat third-quarter outlook. However, the company reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results. Aéropostale shares dipped 7.16% to $3.63 in the after-hours trading session.

Analysts expect Hibbett Sports (NASDAQ: HIBB) to report its Q2 earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $201.05 million. Hibbett Sports shares declined 0.02% to $46.82 in after-hours trading.

GameStop (NYSE: GME) reported upbeat results for its fiscal second-quarter. GameStop shares jumped 5.09% to $42.55 in the after-hours trading session.

Source: benzinga.com

Forex market closed today for Parsi New Year

The forex and money market will remain closed on Monday on account of 'Parsi New Year'.

The rupee appreciated for the second week in a row last week and closed up by 39 paise to end at two-week high of 60.76 against the US dollar during the shortened week under review following sustained dollar selling by exporters and some banks amid bullish local equities.

The forex market was closed on Friday, August 15, on account of 'Independence Day'.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit commenced the week better at 61.09 a dollar from last weekend's close of 61.15 and dropped to a low of 61.30 on Wednesday on fresh dollar demand from importers, amid uptick in retail inflation and slowing industrial production growth.

Later, it bounced back to settle the week at its highest level of 60.76, showing a rise of 39 paise, or 0.64 per cent.

On Thursday, it gained 45 paise -- its best single day gain in three months -- amid fall in wholesale inflation to five-month low in July.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex snapped its two-week losses and closed the week sharply higher by 774.09 points, or 3.06 per cent, while FIIs bought shares worth Rs 1,595.72 crore during last week, including provisional data of August 13 and 14.

Meanwhile, the country's industrial production (IIP) slowed to 3.4 per cent in June as against 5 per cent in May, while retail inflation, as measured by consumer price index (CPI) rose to 7.96 per cent in July from 7.46 per cent in June, as per government data announced on Tuesday.

Source: zeenews.com

Shrinking a little less than forecast

Japan's economy contracted by an annualized 6.8% in the April-July quarter, data out Wednesday showed, slowing after the nation's second-ever increase to its consumption tax the start of the period. 

The result was down 1.7% from the previous quarter, slightly better than a consensus forecast for a drop of 1.9% in gross domestic product, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of economists. In January-March, the economy had jumped by an annualized 6.7%, or 1.5% on a quarterly basis, revised data showed, due in large part to the front-loading of purchases and other activity ahead of the tax hike. 

Among other details in the report, private consumption swung to a 5% fall during the three months, after growing 2% in the first quarter. Capital investment excluding real estate fell 2.5% during the quarter, after rising 7.7% during the January-March period. The markets showed little reaction to the data, in part due to the backward-looking nature of the numbers. Singapore-listed Nikkei Average JP:NIK +0.07% futures held on to a 0.3% loss, while the dollar USDJPY +0.01% eased to ¥102.28 from ¥102.30 seconds ahead of the release.

Source: marketwatch.com