closing
Nikkei 225 +53.22 +0.4% 14,102.48
Topix +15.89 +1.2% 1,393.28
FTSE 100 +45.80 +0.74% 6,261.00
CAC 40 +34.39 +0.68% 5,075.31
Xetra Dax +59.15 +0.84% 7,076.25
DOW -207.05 -1.59% 12,813.78
NASDAQ -44.82 -1.80% 2,438.49
S&P 500 -25.69 -1.81% 1,392.57
10yr Note -0.2600 -0.067% 3.867%
NYMEX Crude Oil +1.69 +1.39% 123.53
Gold -6.50 -0.74% 871.20
Japanese
stocks rose to the highest in four months, led by Inpex Holdings Inc.
after supply concerns sent crude oil to a record and commodities prices
climbed.
Inpex, Japan's biggest oil explorer, had its
biggest gain since listing two years ago. Crude rose as much as a 10nth
to over $122 per barrel since Japan's stocks last traded on May 2,
while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said oil could reach $200. Mizuho
Financial Group Inc., with $5.4 billion in losses related to U.S.
mortgages, gained on speculation the housing slump is easing.
Inpex
soared 13 percent to 1.28 million yen, the steepest gain since its
listing in April 2006. Mitsubishi Corp., which generates more than half
of its profit from trading raw materials including oil, rose 6.7%, the
sharpest gain since Feb. 4. Idemitsu Kosan Co., the nation's
second-largest refiner, soared by a record 11%.
Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's largest brokerage, gained 2.5%. Smaller rival Daiwa Securities Group Inc. rose 4.9%. Mizuho, Japan's third-biggest bank by market value, gained
2.8%, headed for the highest close since
Dec. 26. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., the country's
biggest lender, advanced 2.6%.
European stocks rose for the first time in three days after earnings
from Lafarge SA, Deutsche Boerse AG and British American Tobacco Plc
beat analysts' estimates. U.S. index futures and shares in Asia fell.
Lafarge rallied the most this year after the world's largest cement
maker said profit rose, led by emerging markets. Deutsche Boerse
climbed after Europe's biggest exchange posted a 58 percent increase in
first-quarter profit, and British American Tobacco reached a one-week
high.
Nokian Renkaat Oyj, the Nordic region's biggest tiremaker, jumped 14%,
the most in the Stoxx 600, after sales in Russia fueled
better-than-expected earnings. TomTom NV, a maker of navigation
devices, led technology stocks higher on speculation it will receive
European approval to buy mapmaker Tele Atlas NV.
Deutsche Boerse gained 3.2 percent to 103.61 euros after first-quarter
profit rose to 304.2 million euros ($472.3 million), buoyed by
derivatives trading. The exchange was expected to report net income of
254 million euros, according to the median estimate of five analysts
surveyed. Commerzbank AG added 1.6%. Germany's
second-largest bank by assets said first-quarter profit declined 54
percent to 280 million euros as the collapse of the U.S. subprime
market led to writedowns and lower trading income. That was in line
with the 282 million-euro median estimate of 13 analysts surveyed.
France Telecom SA gained 1.4%. Europe's third-largest phone company
said first-quarter sales climbed 1.4 percent to 13 billion euros as
mobile subscriber gains in Poland and its home market more than made up
for a drop in U.K. wireless revenue. That was in line with analysts'
estimates.
Stocks fell Wednesday
as investors eyed quarterly results from Cisco and Disney,
mixed economic news and record oil prices.
Economic reports showed further weakness in housing and some strength
in worker productivity. The productivity report's inflation component
eased, but with record oil and gas prices, worries about pricing
pressure remain a drag.
The Pending home sales index,
a measure of the number of homes under contract to sell, dipped 1% in
March, according to an industry report released Wednesday. The decline
was in line with expectations.
Worker productivity rose at a
better-than-expected 2.2% annual rate in the first quarter, the
government reported Wednesday. Unit labor costs, the report's inflation
component, slowed to an annual rate of 2.2% from 2.8% in the fourth
quarter of 2007.
Walt Disney (DIS) reported earnings of $0.58 per share, topping expectations by seven cents. Cisco Systems
(CSCO) beat its earnings estimate by two cents, and guided its fiscal
fourth quarter in-line with expectations, but said the U.S. market has
softened. Sprint Nextel (S) and Clearwire (CLWR)
announced they have entered into a a definitive agreement to combine
their wireless broadband businesses to form a new wireless
communications company, named Clearwire.