GLOBAL MARKETS-Weak Chinese data hurts copper, stocks
* Copper, equities fall after soft Chinese data* Global stocks fall after six days of gainsBy Rodrigo CamposNEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Rising Italian debt yields
forced the European Central Bank back into buying bonds on
Thursday, while global stocks and copper edged lower, pressured
by weak data from China.The rise in Italian yields underscored investor uncertainty
on whether current measures will be effective in preventing the
spread of a debt crisis in the euro zone. Bund and U.S.
Treasury prices rose as investors sought relative safety.”Even though the (Italian) auctions went relatively
smoothly, investors still remain reluctant to put money into
that country because of doubts about the commitment of fiscal
policy and political risk,” said Nick Stamenkovic, strategist
at RIA Capital Markets.Italy sold 6.2 billion euros of debt, split across four
bonds, including the first sale of debt with maturities
different than those which the ECB will buy.The Italian 10-year BTP yield was up to 5.815
percent from 5.738 percent late on Wednesday.U.S. and European shares fell after recent gains following
data showing China’s trade surplus narrowed for a second
straight month in September, with both imports and exports
lower than expected.It reflected global economic weakness, which along with the
euro zone debt crisis, has kept investors from taking
aggressive risk taking over the past months.Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co’s , the first major
U.S. bank to report earnings for the latest quarter, fell 5
percent to $31.47. An index of U.S. bank shares slid 3.4
percent.”This is a news driven market, probably overly sensitive to
China data. JPMorgan is a good indicator of what is happening
in the banking industry and a little bit of an insight into
where consumer banking is headed,” said Kim Forrest, senior
equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in
Pittsburgh.”That is kind of the news that would want you to make some
money off the table.”In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average
was down 104.40 points, or 0.91 percent, at 11,414.45. The S&P
500 was down 12.63 points, or 1.05 percent, at 1,194.62.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 8.38 points, or 0.32
percent, at 2,596.35.The S&P 500 has run up more than 10 percent from its
intraday low hit last week on Tuesday and had its largest
seven-day rally since March 2009 on growing optimism European
leaders were making progress in tackling the region’s debt
problems.World stocks as measured by MSCI were down
0.8 percent.The euro fell broadly, pulling back from a one-month high
versus the dollar after the ECB warned about the impact on the
currency and the region’s banks of involving bondholders in
euro zone bailouts.The single currency hit a New York session low of
$1.3686, according to Reuters data. It last traded at $1.3698,
down 0.6 percent on the day. The euro on Wednesday touched its
highest versus the greenback since Sept. 16.The soft data from China also pressured copper prices . The industrial metal, often taken as a proxy for
growth expectations, fell 3.2 percent.
Wall Street eager for Google mobile, ad business update
Analysts expect Google to deliver solid financial results in the recently ended quarter, with revenue up more than 30 percent year-on-year at $7.21 billion.But the darkening economic picture is raising concerns that advertisers could pull back on spending in the months ahead, cutting into revenue and profit margins at Google, which derived 96 percent of its revenue last year from advertising.”We’ll see some of those concerns if we start to see pricing come down a little bit,” said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung, referring to the cost per click that Google charges advertisers.Still, he noted that Google’s online search advertising should fare better than other types of ad businesses in a slowing economy.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S expect Google to post earnings of $8.74 per share, excluding certain items, during the third quarter.Google has been on a spending spree for the past year, boosting its headcount and acquiring dozens of companies as it seeks to counter competitive pressure from the likes of Facebook and Apple Inc.In August, Google announced plans to acquire mobile phone vendor Motorola Mobility Holdings for $12.5 billion. The deal, which Google expects to close late this year or early 2012, will give it one of the wireless industry’s largest patent libraries, as well as hardware manufacturing operations that will allow Google to develop its own line of smartphones.But analysts and investors worry that Google is entering a low-margin business in which it has no experience. A move to build its own phones could also jeopardize support for Google’s free Android mobile software from other phone manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp.Google’s stock is down 2.7 percent since mid-August when it announced plans to acquire Motorola, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up roughly 2.2 percent during that time.Investors are eager for more details about Google’s mobile strategy, as well as for an update on the health of its mobile advertising and its online display advertising.Google does not disclose results for either of those businesses, although it provided investors with a peek in the third quarter of 2010. The company said at the time that its mobile business was generating revenue at a $1 billion annual run rate and that its display business was generating revenue at a $2.5 billion run rate.Google’s recently launched social networking service, Google+, is also on investor radars. Its effort to challenge Facebook’s dominance in the red-hot social networking market got off to a fast start in June, collecting 10 million users in the first two weeks.But Google has not provided an update on the service since then, and some media reports have suggested that user interest in the service is flagging.Google will report its third-quarter results after the market closes on Thursday.
Wall Street eager for Google mobile, ad business update
Analysts expect Google to deliver solid financial results in the recently ended quarter, with revenue up more than 30 percent year-on-year at $7.21 billion.But the darkening economic picture is raising concerns that advertisers could pull back on spending in the months ahead, cutting into revenue and profit margins at Google, which derived 96 percent of its revenue last year from advertising.”We’ll see some of those concerns if we start to see pricing come down a little bit,” said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung, referring to the cost per click that Google charges advertisers.Still, he noted that Google’s online search advertising should fare better than other types of ad businesses in a slowing economy.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S expect Google to post earnings of $8.74 per share, excluding certain items, during the third quarter.Google has been on a spending spree for the past year, boosting its headcount and acquiring dozens of companies as it seeks to counter competitive pressure from the likes of Facebook and Apple Inc.In August, Google announced plans to acquire mobile phone vendor Motorola Mobility Holdings for $12.5 billion. The deal, which Google expects to close late this year or early 2012, will give it one of the wireless industry’s largest patent libraries, as well as hardware manufacturing operations that will allow Google to develop its own line of smartphones.But analysts and investors worry that Google is entering a low-margin business in which it has no experience. A move to build its own phones could also jeopardize support for Google’s free Android mobile software from other phone manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp.Google’s stock is down 2.7 percent since mid-August when it announced plans to acquire Motorola, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up roughly 2.2 percent during that time.Investors are eager for more details about Google’s mobile strategy, as well as for an update on the health of its mobile advertising and its online display advertising.Google does not disclose results for either of those businesses, although it provided investors with a peek in the third quarter of 2010. The company said at the time that its mobile business was generating revenue at a $1 billion annual run rate and that its display business was generating revenue at a $2.5 billion run rate.Google’s recently launched social networking service, Google+, is also on investor radars. Its effort to challenge Facebook’s dominance in the red-hot social networking market got off to a fast start in June, collecting 10 million users in the first two weeks.But Google has not provided an update on the service since then, and some media reports have suggested that user interest in the service is flagging.Google will report its third-quarter results after the market closes on Thursday.
