Stocks on the move Real-time Equity news
U.S. stock market report
1740 ET 30Jan2009
Earnings diary for Feb 2
Companies reporting earnings on Monday include Humana Inc, Mattel and Sandisk Corp.
For details, see
Reuters Messaging: deepa.seetharaman.reuters.com@reuters.net
1639 ET
30Jan2009 Geron call action accelerates ahead of conference
Investors have snapped up call options in biotech company Geron Corp ahead of a key Feb. 9 presentation at a BIO-CEO conference, said Frederic Ruffy, option strategist at WhatsTrading.com. Its shares slipped 6 cents to $7.84 after posting a 52-week high of $8.50. In the options market, about 29,000 calls traded overall with most of the volume in the Feb $7.50 and $10 strikes, as investors appear to be positioning for more gains. 'Geron saw a big move last Friday on news the FDA cleared the way for the company's embryonic stem cell-based therapy clinical trials,' Ruffy said. ISEE Sentiment data shows 66 percent of the calls traded on the International Securities Exchange are opening customer buy orders, he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1630 ET
30Jan2009 U.S. stocks fall as U.S. economy shrinks
U.S. stocks closed their worst January ever with another slide on Friday after data showed the economy contracted in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace in nearly 27 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 148.15 points, or 1.82 percent, to end unofficially at 8,000.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 19.26 points, or 2.28 percent, to 825.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 31.42 points, or 2.08 percent, to 1,476.42.
For the month, the Dow unofficially dropped 8.8 percent, while the S&P 500 skidded 8.6 percent and the Nasdaq shed 6.4 percent.
This marked the worst January percentage decline for the Dow and the S&P 500 ever.
Reuters Messaging: rodrigo.campos.reuters.com@reuters.net
1505 ET
30Jan2009 Broadcom options for sale as implied volatility drops-analyst
One day after chip maker Broadcom Corp posted a quarterly loss and warned current-quarter revenue would fall, its options revealed interesting trades, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note. At the Feb $13 strike, 4,980 puts were bought for 10 cents each. At the Feb $15 strike, 4,450 puts were sold for 45 cents while about 1,100 were bought at that same strike for 40 cents apiece. The March contract at the $15 strike price attracted 17,000 puts, with about 10,700 puts sold for 85 cents each, while a buyer paid 95 cents for 4,400 lots, he said. In the May $16 put strike, 6,000 lots were sold for $1.82. And on the call side, about 2,000 Feb $16 strikes were sold for an average price of 90 cents, while at the $17 strike nearly 1,600 calls were sold for 41 cents apiece. 'Much of today's premium writing is likely accounted for by the 10 percent demise in implied volatility post earnings,' he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1441 ET 30Jan2009
Gov't reviewing 'Buy American' provision: Gibbs
The Obama administration is reviewing its position on 'Buy American' steel provisions, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday. The provisions, which were approved this week by the House of Representatives, have caused concerns among major trading partners.
On Thursday, the European Commission said it may contest such provisions if they were included in the final version of an economic stimulus package. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also expressed concerns about the measure, suggesting it violates WTO rules.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1415 ET 30Jan2009
Lilly down despite FDA approval recommendation
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday recommended approval for prasugrel, an anti-clotting drug developed by Eli Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo, Despite that, Eli Lilly shares fell as investors remained concerned about safety issues related to the drug.
'It looks like the FDA is recommending for approval but with massive restrictions. It would be the most restrictive label I've ever seen, if they actually approve the thing,' said Jon LeCroy, an analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder.
Safety issues, such as cancer and bleeding, could limit the ability of prasugrel to take market share away from Plavix, a drug developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis.
Shares of Eli Lilly fell 1.3 percent to $37.46 on Friday.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1402 ET 30Jan2009
Crude pares gains as markets fall
March crude futures cut their gains on Friday, trading flat as the stock market fell and hit session lows. The decline in the market came after CNBC reported that there could be a delay in the government creation of a 'bad bank' that will take hold of toxic assets from banks.
The contract was up 0.33 percent, or 29 cents, at $41.73 a barrel. It earlier hit a high of $43.44 after OPEC signaled that it may deepen its record output cuts, countering a U.S. report that showed demand for oil falling quicker than previously thought.
The S&P Energy sector fell 0.2 percent to 378.11, also erasing early gains that came on strong results at ExxonMobil and Chevron .
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1348 ET 30Jan2009
Markets tumble after report on bad bank delay
Major U.S. indexes traded lower on Friday, hitting session lows after CNBC reported that a proposal to create a 'bad bank' might be delayed, as there is little consensus on how the operation would be run.
Under a current proposal, the bank would take over toxic assets help by banks, many of which have reported large losses recently.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.6 percent to 8,023.80 while the S&P 500 fell 1.8 percent to 829.74 and the Nasdaq was down 1.4 percent to 1,486.59.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
U.S. stock market report
1740 ET 30Jan2009
Earnings diary for Feb 2
Companies reporting earnings on Monday include Humana Inc, Mattel and Sandisk Corp.
For details, see
Reuters Messaging: deepa.seetharaman.reuters.com@reuters.net
1639 ET
30Jan2009 Geron call action accelerates ahead of conference
Investors have snapped up call options in biotech company Geron Corp ahead of a key Feb. 9 presentation at a BIO-CEO conference, said Frederic Ruffy, option strategist at WhatsTrading.com. Its shares slipped 6 cents to $7.84 after posting a 52-week high of $8.50. In the options market, about 29,000 calls traded overall with most of the volume in the Feb $7.50 and $10 strikes, as investors appear to be positioning for more gains. 'Geron saw a big move last Friday on news the FDA cleared the way for the company's embryonic stem cell-based therapy clinical trials,' Ruffy said. ISEE Sentiment data shows 66 percent of the calls traded on the International Securities Exchange are opening customer buy orders, he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1630 ET
30Jan2009 U.S. stocks fall as U.S. economy shrinks
U.S. stocks closed their worst January ever with another slide on Friday after data showed the economy contracted in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace in nearly 27 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 148.15 points, or 1.82 percent, to end unofficially at 8,000.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 19.26 points, or 2.28 percent, to 825.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 31.42 points, or 2.08 percent, to 1,476.42.
For the month, the Dow unofficially dropped 8.8 percent, while the S&P 500 skidded 8.6 percent and the Nasdaq shed 6.4 percent.
This marked the worst January percentage decline for the Dow and the S&P 500 ever.
Reuters Messaging: rodrigo.campos.reuters.com@reuters.net
1505 ET
30Jan2009 Broadcom options for sale as implied volatility drops-analyst
One day after chip maker Broadcom Corp posted a quarterly loss and warned current-quarter revenue would fall, its options revealed interesting trades, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note. At the Feb $13 strike, 4,980 puts were bought for 10 cents each. At the Feb $15 strike, 4,450 puts were sold for 45 cents while about 1,100 were bought at that same strike for 40 cents apiece. The March contract at the $15 strike price attracted 17,000 puts, with about 10,700 puts sold for 85 cents each, while a buyer paid 95 cents for 4,400 lots, he said. In the May $16 put strike, 6,000 lots were sold for $1.82. And on the call side, about 2,000 Feb $16 strikes were sold for an average price of 90 cents, while at the $17 strike nearly 1,600 calls were sold for 41 cents apiece. 'Much of today's premium writing is likely accounted for by the 10 percent demise in implied volatility post earnings,' he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1441 ET 30Jan2009
Gov't reviewing 'Buy American' provision: Gibbs
The Obama administration is reviewing its position on 'Buy American' steel provisions, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday. The provisions, which were approved this week by the House of Representatives, have caused concerns among major trading partners.
On Thursday, the European Commission said it may contest such provisions if they were included in the final version of an economic stimulus package. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also expressed concerns about the measure, suggesting it violates WTO rules.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1415 ET 30Jan2009
Lilly down despite FDA approval recommendation
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday recommended approval for prasugrel, an anti-clotting drug developed by Eli Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo, Despite that, Eli Lilly shares fell as investors remained concerned about safety issues related to the drug.
'It looks like the FDA is recommending for approval but with massive restrictions. It would be the most restrictive label I've ever seen, if they actually approve the thing,' said Jon LeCroy, an analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder.
Safety issues, such as cancer and bleeding, could limit the ability of prasugrel to take market share away from Plavix, a drug developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis.
Shares of Eli Lilly fell 1.3 percent to $37.46 on Friday.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1402 ET 30Jan2009
Crude pares gains as markets fall
March crude futures cut their gains on Friday, trading flat as the stock market fell and hit session lows. The decline in the market came after CNBC reported that there could be a delay in the government creation of a 'bad bank' that will take hold of toxic assets from banks.
The contract was up 0.33 percent, or 29 cents, at $41.73 a barrel. It earlier hit a high of $43.44 after OPEC signaled that it may deepen its record output cuts, countering a U.S. report that showed demand for oil falling quicker than previously thought.
The S&P Energy sector fell 0.2 percent to 378.11, also erasing early gains that came on strong results at ExxonMobil and Chevron .
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1348 ET 30Jan2009
Markets tumble after report on bad bank delay
Major U.S. indexes traded lower on Friday, hitting session lows after CNBC reported that a proposal to create a 'bad bank' might be delayed, as there is little consensus on how the operation would be run.
Under a current proposal, the bank would take over toxic assets help by banks, many of which have reported large losses recently.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.6 percent to 8,023.80 while the S&P 500 fell 1.8 percent to 829.74 and the Nasdaq was down 1.4 percent to 1,486.59.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.