CLOSING MARKET REPORT
Wall St tumbles as Dell warns on tech spending

NEW YORK - US stocks tumbled on Friday, led lower by tech shares after computer maker Dell warned that companies worldwide are cutting back on technology spending.

Nevertheless, the market managed to end August in positive territory as oil continued a sharp slide started in July.

On Friday, all three major indexes fell more than 1 per cent, with the Nasdaq chalking up the biggest losses after Dell's comments sparked fears about weakness in the whole tech sector. Shares of Dell, the world's second-largest computer maker, fell nearly 14 per cent, and other tech shares such as International Business Machines Corp, also declined.

All 30 stocks in the Dow industrials finished in the red on Friday.

Economic data added to the market's jitters ahead of the long Labour Day weekend. A government report showed US personal income fell unexpectedly in July while spending slowed as the effects of a government stimulus package wore off. An inflation measure hit a 17-year high.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 171.63 points, or 1.47 per cent, at 11,543.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 17.86 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 1,282.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 44.12 points, or 1.83 per cent, at 2,367.52.

For the month, though, the Dow added 1.5 per cent, while the S&P rose 1.3 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 1.8 per cent.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 30 Aug 2008

US SEC to propose short sale rule in weeks

WASHINGTON - The top US securities regulator plans to propose a new short selling rule in the next few weeks which would be broader than an emergency order covering just 19 financial stocks which ended last week.

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said on Tuesday the proposal 'will focus on market-wide solutions.' He said it is not intended to have any impact on the direction of stock prices.

Mr Cox also said the agency is still considering proposing that investors be required to publicly disclose substantial short positions in stocks. Substantial long positions in stocks already have to be disclosed.

'Our proposal will be designed to ensure the smooth functioning of the markets,' Mr Cox told reporters. 'We support the equally important role of bets on the upside and on the downside.'

The SEC imposed an emergency rule on July 21 that required short sellers to pre-borrow stock in mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and 17 major Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs before executing a short trade.

Short sellers arrange to borrow shares they consider overvalued and sell them in hopes of making a profit when the price drops. It is a legitimate form of trading but often blamed when a company's shares fall.

The SEC's emergency rule was aimed at cracking down on illegal naked short selling, when an investor sells stock that has not yet been borrowed.

Mr Cox said on Tuesday that failures to deliver stock 'were reduced substantially' for the stocks covered by the emergency rule. 'It was a very effective order from that standpoint,' Mr Cox said.

He said the SEC's emergency rule was never intended to prop up the stock prices of the 19 companies. 'We expected and intended to have no impact whatsoever on the direction of prices,' Mr Cox said. 'That's not the purpose of regulations.' Investors who bet on falling stock prices also had been required to deliver the securities by the settlement date.

Short trading on the 19 stocks reverted to rules governing other shares on Aug 13.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 20 Aug 2008

CLOSING MARKET REPORT
Oil's plunge powers rally on Wall Street

* Oil slides more than US$5, falls below US$115/barrel
* Three major US indexes up more than 2%
* For the week, Dow up 3.6%, S&P 500 up 2.9%, Nasdaq up 4.5%
* Fannie Mae posts 4th straight quarterly loss

NEW YORK - US stocks soared on Friday rounding out their best week in more than three months, as oil plunged below US$115 a barrel, easing inflation concerns and improving prospects for business and consumer spending.

The slide in oil prices to their lowest level in three months powered the biggest rally in retailing shares in six years, with Home Depot gaining 7.7 per cent.

That eclipsed a steeper-than-expected quarterly loss from mortgage finance company Fannie Mae.

In fact, financials rallied, helped by the view that lower inflation will make it easier for the Federal Reserve to put off interest-rate increases, at a time when the financial sector is still struggling with tighter credit conditions.

'We're at the lowest level in oil prices in months and there is a real feeling that the trend has turned,' said Al Kugel, chief investment strategist at Atlantic Trust.

'Lower oil prices are good for businesses and good for consumers, for the inflation picture, and they will improve growth somewhere down the line. So it's 'win win.'

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 302.89 points, or 2.65 per cent, to 11,734.32, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 30.25 points, or 2.39 per cent, to 1,296.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 58.37 points, or 2.48 per cent, to 2,414.10.

For the week, the Dow gained 3.6 per cent, the S&P 500 advanced 2.9 per cent and the Nasdaq shot up 4.5 per cent. It was the best week for all three indexes since April 20.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 09 Aug 2008

Wall Street rallies on Fed rate signals and oil retreat

NEW YORK - Stocks soared on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve signalled that it is in no rush to raise interest rates and oil prices tumbled further, spurring the Dow and the S&P to their best day in four months.

The Dow rose more than 300 points.

The Fed, as expected, left benchmark lending rates unchanged at 2 per cent, and its accompanying statement soothed investors who had worried that inflation headwinds would force the central bank to drive up borrowing costs in coming months.

Oil prices fell more than 2 per cent, closing below the US$120 a barrel mark for the first time in three months. That provided further relief on the inflation front and offered hope for consumer spending, which has been pressured by record gasoline prices.

Big winners on the day included retailers, banks and airlines, while commodity-related shares extended their retreat along with the drop in price of crude oil and gold.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 331.21 points, or 2.94 per cent, to 11,615.36, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 35.59 points, or 2.85 per cent, at 1,284.60.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 64.27 points, or 2.81 per cent, to 2,349.83.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 06 Aug 2008

Financials and energy shares weigh on Wall Street

NEW YORK - Stocks fell on Monday as shares of energy and commodity-related companies tumbled on falling oil and metals prices and investors worried the housing slump could fuel further losses at financial companies.

The drop in the price of oil and other commodities was partly on concern that a global slowdown would blunt demand. Exxon Mobil shares dropped nearly 4 per cent, while miner Freeport McMoran's shares slid 12 per cent.

The tone for the financial sector was set early in the session, after HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, reported a 28 per cent drop in first-half profit as it took a US$14 billion hit from bad debts on US home loans and asset write-downs. Wachovia Corp fell almost 10 per cent after a Wall Street analyst suggested investors unload shares of the fourth-largest US bank.

US economic data pointing to mounting inflation pressures added to the market's concerns, as did news that WCI Communities, a major US home builder, had filed for bankruptcy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.17 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 11,284.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 11.30 points, or 0.90 per cent, to 1,249.01, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 25.40 points, or 1.10 per cent, to 2,285.56.

US crude fell US$3.69, or 2.95 per cent, to settle at US$121.41 a barrel after earlier slipping below US$120.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 05 Aug 2008

CLOSING MARKET REPORT
Wall Street dips on GM loss, oil, jobs data

NEW YORK - US stocks fell on Friday as a US$15.5 billion quarterly loss from General Motors (GM) and a rise in oil prices added to fears the economy could slip into recession and concerns about corporate earnings.

A government report showing US employers cut jobs for the seventh straight month in July added to market worries, though the decline in payrolls was not as severe as had been feared.

The report also showed the jobless rate jumped to its highest level in four years.

GM's second-quarter loss was the latest example of how rising oil prices are hurting consumer spending. Its shares slumped 7.6 per cent to US$10.23 and weighed on the Dow and S&P.

Crude oil settled up US$1.02 at US$125.10 a barrel in New York after Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said Iran was heading toward a major breakthrough in its nuclear program, fanning concerns of a potential confrontation that could disrupt supply from the Opec nation.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 51.70 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 11,326.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 7.07 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 1,260.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 14.59 points, or 0.63 per cent, at 2,310.96.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 02 Aug 2008

Wall Street tumbles, led by financials

NEW YORK - Stocks tumbled more than 2 per cent on Thursday after a report showing yet another drop in US home sales prompted investors to take profits in financial shares, which had rallied over the past week.

The Dow fell the most in a month, as the rising price of oil compounded worries about the economy. The jump in crude spurred unease that the recent sharp declines may have run their course. Shares of companies particularly vulnerable to higher fuel costs, such as airlines and retailers, sank.

Financial companies, which have been incurring huge losses from the housing slump, slid after the data from the National Association of Realtors showed June sales of existing homes hit a 10-year low. An index of bank stocks fell 6.7 per cent - after rising about 40 per cent over the past week.

Trading has been very volatile in recent weeks and the market has been on tenterhooks, given a flood of serious setbacks stretching from a high-profile bank failure to the cobbling together of a last-minute rescue plan of the two pillars of the US housing market - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The plan was passed by the House on Wednesday night, and is expected to be approved by the Senate on Saturday.

'The bailout plan restored enough confidence in the sector to take some pressure off the stocks, but the pretty nice bounce we saw seems to have run its course,' said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago.

'When people take another look at the underlying economics, they see that the overhang in housing has gotten a bit worse.'

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 283.10 points, or 2.43 per cent, to close at 11,349.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 29.65 points, or 2.31 per cent, to 1,252.54, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 45.77 points, or 1.97 per cent, to 2,280.11.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 25 Jul 2008