Foreign Markets
Most markets in Asia were closed to start the year, however Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 655.33 points, or 4.6%, to 15,042.81. In Europe, 2009 started green as well, with the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 39.70 points, or 0.9%, at 4,473.87, while Germany’s DAX was 68.80, or 1.4%, higher at 4,878.00. France’s CAC-40 rose 41.90 points, or 1.3%, to 3,259.87.
Volume remains extremely light as investor’s pessimism about the economy still stands.
U.S. Futures
Ahead of the market’s open, stocks are pointing to continue the global trend cautiously. . Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 40 points, or 0.46%, to 8,767. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.5 points, or 0.5%, to 904.60, while Nasdaq 100 index futures were relatively flat, falling 0.75 points, or 0.06%, to 1211.75.
Currencies and Commodities
The dollar traded at 91.409 yen, up 0.72%. The euro advanced to $1.389, a 1.09% depreciation against the dollar. The pound dropped 1.68% to $1.44. As the dollar strengthened, gold fell $14 to $870.30 an ounce. Crude lost $2.75, or 6.17% to $41.85.
Corporate News
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) said Thursday it has completed its $19.4 billion all-stock purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. Shareholders of Merrill Lynch received 0.8595 shares of Bank of America common stock for each common share of Merrill Lynch they owned.
Wells Fargo & Co.(WFC) said it has completed its $12.7 billion all-stock purchase of Wachovia Corp. Wachovia shareholders received 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo common stock in exchange for each share of Wachovia common stock they owned.
Economic News
10:00 AM
The ISM Manufacturing Index: The Institute for Supply Management surveys more than 300 manufacturing firms on employment, production, new orders, supplier deliveries, and inventories. The index gives a great look at the state of manufacturing and the direction it is heading. The cyclical nature of manufacturing could signal further economic downturn, and also can send off serious inflationary pressures in the economy on a higher than expected number.
The consensus figure is 35.5 for the month of December, down from November’s reading of 36.2.
Share This Article
