昨晚美国股市有较大幅度的上涨, 但仍在徘徊区内, 未创出新高. 欧洲股市表现较美股疲弱. 今早日本股市略微高开, 仍处于短线反弹的半山腰.
Deals Help Stocks Shrug Off PfizerBank of New York, Mellon Merger
Outweigh Drug Giant's 11% Plunge;
'Santa Will Not Pass You By'
December 4, 2006 5:11 p.m.
A blockbuster bank merger was the cure investors needed Monday to recover from bad news from drug king Pfizer.
Bank of New York said it plans to merge with Mellon Financial in a $16.5 billion deal that would create a financial behemoth with a market value near $50 billion. Shares of Bank of New York, a venerable institution whose founding dates back to Alexander Hamilton, rose 12%. Mellon gained 6.8%.
Financial stocks rallied on the deal. American Express rose 2.3%, Citigroup gained 1.3% and J.P. Morgan Chase added 1.8%, helping boost the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 89.72, or 0.7%, to 12283.85. Shares of component International Business Machines gained 2.5% amid an upbeat article in Barron's to pace the Dow.
Other deals added to the enthusiasm, breathing life into stocks after two weeks of lackluster returns. Tech stocks got a boost after chip maker LSI Logic agreed to buy Agere Systems in an all-stock deal worth about $4 billion. Gold Kist agreed to be acquired for $1.1 billion by Pilgrim's Pride in a deal that will create the world's largest chicken processor.
Gaming stocks rallied after Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. unveiled plans to purchase 15 million additional shares of MGM Mirage, raising its stake in the casino operator to 61.1%. And Station Casinos received an offer from a management-led investment group that values the company at $4.69 billion.
On the downside, Pfizer tumbled 10.6% after the company halted the development of torcetrapib, a cholesterol drug, due to deaths and cardiovascular problems in patients who used the drug in clinical tries.
The drug had been heralded as a key driver of billions in revenue growth in future years for Pfizer, replacing its blockbuster drug Lipitor, set to suffer from generic competition as its patent expires as soon as 2010.
Investors decided the development was company-specific, however, and not indicative of the health of the overall market.
Technology stocks advanced broadly, helped by hopes for more mergers and renewed confidence in the economy. The Nasdaq Composite Index, heavy with tech companies, rose 35.18, or 1.5%, to 2448.39. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 12.41 points, or 0.9%, to 1409.12, a six-year closing high.
Small caps were also on a tear. The Russell 2000 Index, a small-company benchmark, rose 14.68 points, or 1.9%, to 795.85, a new record high.
Light, sweet crude, which has advanced in the past few weeks amid concerns about supplies and the sliding dollar, fell 99 cents to $62.44 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Last week, stocks declined amid jitters about the strength of the economy and signs of softening holiday sales. Friday, a closely watched report on manufacturing in November contracted for the first time in more than three years, sparking worries that weakness in the housing and automobile sectors is dragging on the broader economy. Early Monday, the National Association of Realtors said its index of pending sales of existing homes fell 1.7% in October from the previous month, and down 13.2% from a year ago.
Comments from Chicago Federal Reserve President Michael Moskow, in an interview with CNBC.com, helped ease concerns about the struggling economy Monday. Mr. Moskow said the economy "is solid" and that the central bank's bigger concern is with inflation. That view echoed comments last week by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Analysts said Mr. Moskow's endorsement of the economy calmed fears raised by last week's soft economic data. "The guys sitting at the head of the class don't buy the weakness argument," said Jim Awad, chairman of Awad Asset Management.
Monday's rally is giving investors hope that the market has regained its footing in December, typically a strong month for stocks, after stumbling at the end of November. Since 1950, the S&P 500 had risen by an average of 1.7% in December amid enthusiasm about the strength of the economy and the holiday-shopping season.
Some analysts are concerned that the market is likely to pull back this month after three straight months of advances. According to S&P, however, since 1928, after the S&P 500 has risen during the three months prior to Christmas -- an event that has occurred 14 times prior to this year -- stocks have risen 71% of the time in December, compared with an average of 73%.
"What that means is, chances are, despite having a good September, October and November, Santa will not pass you by," said Sam Stovall, chief market strategist at S&P. But stocks aren't likely to surge, added the analyst. "The market needs to digest its gains," he said. "It's like sitting down to too many Thanksgiving dinners."
In major market action:
Stocks rose. On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,559 stocks advanced and 786 declined on volume 2.7 billion shares.
Bonds were up. The 10-year Treasury note gained 2/32, or 63 cents per $1,000 invested, to yield 4.431% Monday. The 30-year bond was up 3/32, to yield 4.543%.
The dollar was mixed. The euro was at $1.3328 from $1.3336 late Friday, while the dollar was at 115.33 yen from 115.47 yen. |