Stock markets set to rise after US Thanksgiving; Canadian dollar ...
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TORONTO (CP) - The Canadian dollar plunged from a 12Â½-year high early Monday while the North American stock markets seemed poised to rise as Wall Street returned to a full trading day after the US Thanksgiving break.
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With Wall Street in the year's final stretch and the Dow in record territory, investors believe this week will bring even more holiday cheer.
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(InfoWorld) - With U.S. markets closing for Thanksgiving, Google Inc.'s skyrocketing share price andÂ Dell Inc.'s earnings report are ending the fall trading season on a high note. Both developments, which pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index to rise 11.14 points and close at 2465.98 before the Thanksgiving break, highlight positive underlying trends but are shadowed by questions about long-term profits. Google (ticker symbol: GOOG), breaking the US$500 share-price mark Tuesday and staying above the magic number until Thanksgiving, has a market value greater than any media company and all IT companies except for Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. Google's lead in online search helps it grab a lion's share of online advertising revenue. Earlier this month, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) reported that companies spent about $4.2 billion on online ads in the third quarter, as the market grew for the eighth consecutive quarter. But what happens when that growth inevitably slows? Google, expected to generate $2.8 billion in profit this year, is spending enough on R&D to defend its search turf and challenge Microsoft and other software developers in a new generation of Internet-based applications. It is hiring developers at a dizzying rate, and there's no doubt its young talent is generating a wealth of ideas. Most analysts polled by Thomson First Call expect shares to go higher still. Meanwhile, analysts applauded Dell's earnings report, issued Tuesday: Research firm Bear Stearns immediately boosted its rating from "peer perform" to "outperform" while Needham & Co. upped its rating from "hold" to "buy." Shares of Dell (DELL) jumped by $2.31, to close Wednesday at $27.13 Dell said third-quarter net income was $677 million and earnings per share were $0.30. This compares with a profit of $606 million last year, and earlier expectations of $0.24 per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. At first blush, the earnings look great. Dell's gross profit margin increased to 17 percent from 15.5 percent in its disastrous second quarter. Following Hewlett-Packard Co.'s tremendous report last week, when it said it quadrupled quarterly profit, this suggests that manufacturers may not have to rely on deep discounts going forward. Dell pointed to strong sales of servers based on Advanced Micro Devices Inc. chips, suggesting that the hardware market is invigorated by competition with Intel Corp. But Dell is under investigation by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission for possible accounting misstatements. It still has not submitted a confirmed, official earnings report. The quarter's figures, as well as prior-quarter numbers, may be restated. Also, while Dell may be doing well in the server market, its notebook sales are not rising as fast as the market in general, and HP notebook sales growth is outpacing Dell's. Adding insult to injury, HP has overtaken Dell in PC sales. So while the hardware market is doing better than expected earlier this year, the spoils may not be evenly divided. Â
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U.S. stocks could face a challenge next week to bounce back from Friday's post-Thanksgiving drop unless there's some tempering of the dollar's weakness that sparked the sell-off.
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The dollar rose against the euro and  Swiss franc on Wednesday as investors awaited more clues on the  U.S. interest rate outlook from speeches by Federal Reserve  officials later in the day and U.S. jobs data due on Friday.
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Stocks rose on Monday, lifted by news Merrill Lynch  plans to sell a lending unit and with investors eyeing retailers as the busy holiday shopping season draws to a close.
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U.S. stock markets looked set to open higher on Tuesday after an extended weekend, with eyes on merger and acquisition (M&A) action as well as a raft of economic data.
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U.S. stocks looked set to rise slightly on Wednesday, with stock index futures pointing higher after Dell Inc.  reported better-than-expected earnings, setting the stage for gains by technology shares a day before the Thanksgiving holiday.
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The dollar traded near its highest level  in two months against the euro on Thursday as investors bet  interest rate rises in the United States would bolster the U.S.  currency's yield appeal in the future.
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TORONTO (CP) - There&#39;s still optimism for an end-of-year stock market rally - but whether it comes off could be up to the US Federal Reserve, which meets this week to set interest rates and give its latest assessment of the US economy.
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U.S. stocks rose on Friday before a  long, holiday weekend as Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.&#39;s   planned acquisition of Scandinavia&#39;s stock markets stoked  enthusiasm about the boom in global takeovers that has powered  a U.S. equity rally.
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U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with  investors reassured by some retailers' sales figures, while a  rise in the dollar also bolstered stocks, helping to  offset  the impact of a $2 increase in crude oil prices.
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US stocks were set for a higher open on Monday, helped by news business software maker Oracle Corp. (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) struck a deal to buy rival PeopleSoft
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Europe's bourses opened higher after Wall Street climbed late on on confirmation of the PeopleSoft/Oracle merger. In the early evening European time, the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by a further quarter of a percentage point.
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U.S. stocks rose in light trading before a holiday on Friday as takeover news, including Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.'s  plan to buy a Nordic exchanges company, revived appetite for equities.
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European stock markets climbed in early trading on a pre-Thanksgiving holiday rally by Wall Street.
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TORONTO (CP) - With oil prices receding, North American stock markets seem poised to advance Thursday, the last day of the financial third quarter for many corporations.