Asian shares eke out slim gains, dollar holds firm

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks drifted higher on Monday in sluggish trade as investors chose discretion over valour ahead of central bank meetings in Europe and the always-critical U.S. payrolls report.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was just a shade firmer at 479.92.

Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

Modest gains in Hong Kong and Australia were countered by losses in South Korea. Australian shares edged up 0.1 percent as another domestic bank reported record profits.

"We are bullish going into next year, but it wouldn't surprise to see some sort of breather ... We think any pullback is going to be very shallow," said Martin Lakos, division director at Macquarie Bank, of the Australian market.

Major currencies were likewise quiet with the dollar still well supported in the wake of upbeat U.S. manufacturing data that stirred speculation the Federal Reserve might scale back its bond-buying in December, rather than in March as many in the market currently anticipate.

There are no less than four Fed officials speaking on Monday, starting with Fed Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher in Sydney. Fed Governor Jerome Powell and the heads of the St. Louis and Boston Feds all appear later in the day.

The dollar index was holding firm at 80.691 having climbed to a six-week peak on Friday. It was also up on the yen at 98.76 and threatening a major chart target at 99.00.

The dollar fared best against the euro which was undermined by speculation the European Central Bank (ECB) would have to ease again given disappointing news on unemployment and a startlingly low reading of inflation.

The common currency was pinned at $1.3494 on Monday, well below its recent high of $1.3832. The ECB holds a policy meeting on Thursday and it will be under intense pressure to stimulate the economy.

"We expect the opening statement, and Q&A, to have a distinctly dovish tone," wrote analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to clients.

"For now, we think that the Governing Council will refrain from any immediate action, but we expect the downbeat tone of next week's meeting to lay the groundwork for a policy response over the next few months."

The Bank of England holds it policy meeting on Thursday and is expected to stay on hold following a run of improving economic data recently.

A bigger event for markets will be Friday's U.S. payrolls report which is expected to show a modest rise of just 125,000 in October, amid some uncertainty about the impact of the government shut down.

A soft report, and particularly any rise in the jobless rate, would lean against the Fed tapering in December.

Also of note will be the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) due on Thursday, expected to show annualised growth of 1.9 percent in the third quarter, down from 2.5 percent the previous quarter.

All the talk of Fed tapering saw U.S. Treasury yields rise for a third straight session on Friday. Yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped to 2.63 percent, leaving behind the week's low of 2.47 percent.

Cash Treasuries were not trading in Asia on Monday due to the Japanese holiday, but Treasury futures were 2 ticks lower.

In commodity markets, prices were held back by the bounce in the U.S. dollar. Spot gold was trading at $1,315.06 an ounce, having crumbled from a peak of $1,361.60 last week. Copper was a touch firmer at $7,251 a tonne.

Oil prices steadied following last week's losses as a firmer dollar and ample supplies outweighed concerns about a drop in Libyan crude exports.

Brent crude for December delivery was up 16 cents at $106.01 a barrel. U.S. oil for December delivery added 8 cents to $94.69.

(Additional reporting by Thuy Ong in Sydney; Editing by Eric Meijer)

View the original article here

Rupee weakens tracking broad dollar rally; share gains limit fall

By Swati Bhat

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee dropped to a three-week low on Friday while also posting its biggest weekly fall in two months as a sharp sell-off in the euro and broad rally in the greenback hurt amid the absence of any fresh domestic triggers.

The euro fell to a two-week low against the dollar on Friday, extending losses into a fifth straight session as slowing euro zone inflation bolstered expectations of looser monetary policy from the European Central Bank.

The rupee which has been relatively stable over the last couple of months after having seen as much as 20 percent fall to a record low in late August has been boosted mainly by robust foreign fund inflows into the stock market. Foreign funds have bought $16.5 billion worth of shares so far this year.

The BSE Sensex surged to a record high as blue chips rallied on the back of strong foreign buying.

"The huge fall in the euro and a rally in the dollar index have pushed the rupee down today, but 62 is a psychological level which will be a key," said Paresh Nayar, head of foreign exchange and debt trading at First Bank Bank.

"The 61.20 support should hold for next week as well, but the overall range could be wider," he added.

The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.74/75 per dollar compared with 61.50/51 on Thursday. Financial markets will remain closed on Monday for a local holiday.

On the week, the rupee fell 0.5 percent, its biggest weekly fall since the last week of August.

The index of the dollar against six major currencies was up 0.4 percent.

Traders will monitor developments on the global front for near-term cues as there is no data or event due on the domestic front.

In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 61.36, while the three-month was at 63.38.

(Editing by Anand Basu)

View the original article here

Wall St edges lower, but Exxon gains on results

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell modestly on Thursday, with investors cautious with indexes near record levels as they digested recent comments from the Federal Reserve, though some strong corporate earnings provided a reason to buy.

Optimism about earnings was boosted by Exxon Mobil Corp , one of the largest U.S. companies by market cap, which reported adjusted third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, sending shares 1.1 percent higher to $89.78.

Expedia also advanced following its results, topping the S&P 500 percentage gainers, while Facebook Inc fluctuated between steep gains and losses.

The Fed said Wednesday it had a weaker growth outlook for the U.S. economy, though it held steady with its stimulus program, which has fueled the S&P's 23 percent surge this year. That rally has come amid weaker-than-expected economic data and an earnings season marked by weak revenue.

"Nobody was surprised by the lack of action by the Fed, but there was a lack of clarity that was disappointing," said Rex Macey, who helps oversee $20 billion as chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust in Atlanta, Georgia.

"There is reason for caution at these levels, but nobody seems to be euphoric, so I don't think people need to get too defensive at this point."

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 48.61 points, or 0.31 percent, at 15,570.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.95 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,758.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.18 points, or 0.39 percent, at 3,915.44.

The Dow has gained 2.9 percent in October, while the S&P has added 5 percent and the Nasdaq is up 3.7 percent.

Data on Thursday showed jobless claims fell slightly less than expected in the latest week, dropping 10,000 to 340,000. The Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index came in at 65.9, far ahead of expectations for a reading of 55.

While investors have been concerned by weak data pointing to slowing economic growth, strong data has also been viewed as a reason to sell, given that the Fed has said it would begin to slow its stimulus when economic growth meets its targets.

Facebook reported strong growth in its mobile advertising business late on Wednesday, though it said it didn't plan to boost the frequency of ads shown to users. Trading was volatile, with shares soaring during the premarket session but then turning sharply negative. They last traded at $48.38, down 1.3 percent.

Expedia jumped 18 percent to $59.98 a day after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, while Starbucks Corp fell 1.7 percent to $79.44 in the wake of a disappointing outlook.

Of 313 companies in the S&P 500 that reported earnings through Wednesday morning, 68.4 percent topped Wall Street expectations, above the 63 percent beat rate since 1994 and the 66 percent rate for the past four quarters, according to Thomson Reuters data. Only 53.7 percent of companies have topped revenue expectations, well below the 61 percent average since 2002.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

View the original article here

Wall Street ends session lower but posts gains for October

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished lower on Thursday as the Federal Reserve's statement the day before added to investors' anxiety about the timing of a pullback in its stimulus program.

While it was a second consecutive day of losses for the market, all three major indexes ended October with solid gains.

Dragging on the Dow and the S&P 500, Visa Inc lost 3.5 percent to $196.67 after the world's largest credit and debit card company reported a 28 percent drop in quarterly profit.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday said it will keep buying $85 billion of bonds per month, citing weaker economic signals, but it removed a phrase from a previous statement expressing worries about credit conditions, which some investors interpreted as a sign that the Fed could begin tapering earlier than expected.

"That leaves tapering on the table for December," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Before the Fed's meeting, many market participants were anticipating that the stimulus plan would not change until at least early next year.

The Fed's accommodative monetary policy in recent years has contributed to the stock market's rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 73.01 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 15,545.75. The S&P 500 <.spx> lost 6.77 points, or 0.38 percent, to finish at 1,756.54. The Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 10.91 points or 0.28 percent, to end at 3,919.71.

The S&P 500 closed near its intraday low, with a wave of end-of-session selling marked by sell-order imbalances near the close.

"This was more of an order flow thing," said Dennis Dick, proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC in Las Vegas. "Some participants, some institutions wanted out big time, and they got out."

For the month, the Dow gained 2.8 percent, the S&P 500 added 4.5 percent and the Nasdaq rose 3.9 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 23.2 percent for the year so far.

"It's already at nosebleed heights and it could go higher, but people are focusing on the rewards and not the risks," including ongoing weakness in the economy," said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York.

Among the day's gainers, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp , the world's largest publicly traded oil company, helped support the Dow and the S&P 500, rising 0.9 percent to $89.62 after the company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings that beat expectations.

Expedia jumped 18 percent to $58.97 and ranked as the S&P 500's best percentage gainer, a day after reporting third-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations.

Facebook reported strong growth in its mobile advertising business late on Wednesday, though it said it didn't plan to boost the frequency of ads shown to users. Facebook's stock rose 2.4 percent to close at $50.21.

With results in from 355 companies in the S&P 500, 68.2 percent have topped Wall Street's expectations, above both the 63 percent beat rate since 1994 and the 66 percent beat rate for the past four quarters, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Revenue performance has been weaker, however, with 53.6 percent of companies exceeding expectations, shy of the 61 percent beat rate since 2002, but above the 49 percent rate for the past four quarters.

Thursday's economic data was mixed. A gauge of business activity in the Midwest surged past expectations in October, while weekly initial jobless claims dipped in the latest week.

(Additional reporting by Luke Swiderski; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Jan Paschal)

View the original article here

Rupee weakens on dollar short-covering; gains for second month

By Swati Bhat

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee weakened on Thursday, hurt by dollar short-covering in later trade, but the local currency posted its second straight monthly gain on the back of continued buying of local shares by foreign institutional investors.

The Sensex rose on Thursday to mark a record closing high as state-run lenders such as State Bank of India rallied on hopes of stabilising asset quality and attractive valuations.

Overseas investors bought shares for a 19th consecutive session on Wednesday, taking their total buying to nearly $2.61 billion during that period and to $16.2 billion so far in 2013.

The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.50/51 per dollar compared with its close of 61.235/245 on Wednesday. On the month, the unit gained 1.8 percent, after having surged 5 percent in September.

Traders said the rupee dropped in late trade on the back of short-covering ahead of the upcoming long weekend. Markets in India will be closed on Monday for a holiday.

"Market participants are mostly in a holiday mood so volumes have been low. A 61.25 to 61.85 range should hold for Friday," said A. Ajith Kumar, a senior foreign exchange dealer with Federal Bank.

The dollar hovered near a two-week high on Thursday as some investors cut negative bets on the currency after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its stimulus programme in place and its options for tapering its bond buying open.

The fiscal deficit data released earlier in the day was largely in line and failed to have much impact, dealers said.

India's fiscal deficit was 4.12 trillion rupees during April-September, or 76 percent of the full-year target, government data showed on Thursday.

In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 61.93, while the three-month was at 62.91.

(Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)

View the original article here

Apple, Facebook options reflect hopes for stock gains

By Doris Frankel

REUTERS - The options market is reflecting a higher probability of large upside moves in Apple Inc and Facebook Inc stock when both companies report quarterly earnings next week.

Stock of Apple - the largest U.S. company by market value - is down 1 percent since January 1 while Facebook shares are up 95 percent.

Many investors appear to be speculating on a rally rather than a sell-off in both stocks and are turning to the options market, buying calls at strike prices that are far above the current share price - also known as "out-of-the-money." These are relatively more expensive than out-of-the-money puts.

The situation is unusual, because investors are typically more concerned about downside risk and are willing to buy "disaster puts" - far out-of-the-money puts - at a higher relative price. This is because they do not want to lose a lot of money if the stock gets hit, said Steve Place, a founder of options analytics firm investingwithoptions.com in Austin, Texas.

"When we think about risk in the stock market, it's normally about the downside," he said. "People are scared about the downside risk."

Call options are a contract that gives the right to buy a stock at a fixed price by a certain date, while a put gives investors the right to sell a stock at a preset price.

"Both (stocks) continue to have inverted skew, indicating options traders believe a sharp move higher is more likely than a sharp move lower," said Matt Franz, investment adviser representative at Stutland Volatility Group in Chicago.

SMILE

Normally, skew is an options metric that shows out-of-the-money calls being priced at lower levels of implied volatility than both at-the-money options and out-of-the-money puts. Implied volatility is a measure of perceived risk of future stock movement.

The options of both Apple and Facebook are currently reflecting what traders call a "smile," referring to a curve or skew on the implied volatility of strike prices when one looks at a chart.

"What we are seeing right now in these tech stocks is a 'U' shape or a smile with both out-of-the-money puts and calls priced at higher levels of implied volatility than at-the-money strikes," said Jared Woodard, a principal at options research firm Condor Options in Forest, Virginia.

In Facebook, the 10 percent out-of-the-money $57.50 strike calls expiring November 16 were priced at an implied volatility of 79 percent and cost $2.20 apiece as of Friday morning.

The 10 percent out-of-the-money November $47 strike puts on Facebook were priced at 77 percent implied volatility at $1.68 as of Friday morning, according to Woodard. Facebook shares closed down 0.9 percent at $51.95 on Friday.

In Apple, the 10 percent out-of-the-money November $585 strike calls were priced at about 38 percent implied volatility and cost $3.80 and the 10 percent out-of-the-money November $480 strike puts were priced at 36 percent implied volatility and are at $3.35 on Friday morning, Woodard said. Apple shares closed down 1.1 percent at $525.96 on the Nasdaq on Friday.

Not everyone agrees that Apple's options pricing reflects bigger upside risk for the shares. "While I see the option market reflecting more upside potential for Facebook, I see elevated upside and downside risk for Apple shares in the options skew," said Ophir Gottlieb, managing director of options analytics firm Livevol.

Apple is due to report quarterly results on Monday and Facebook will report on Wednesday.

Over the past two years, the inverted skew was seen about 13 percent of the time in Apple, said Henry Schwartz, president of options analytics firm Trade Alert. For Facebook, this inverted skew has occurred 11.8 percent of the time, since the company became public in May 2012, Schwartz added.

"Demand for upside calls has outpaced that for puts, driving an inversion in the stocks' skew, which is fairly atypical," said Mandy Xu, Credit Suisse equity derivatives strategist.

Jason Goepfert, president of SentimenTrader.com, says Apple is currently ranked 10th among 1,500 stocks he tracks in terms of optimistic sentiment. His data, which goes back about two years, is based on a combination of put-to-call ratios and open interest, short interest figures, analyst recommendations and recent price momentum.

(Reporting by Doris Frankel; editing by Matthew Lewis)

View the original article here

World shares flat but Wall Street gains; S&P 500 at new high

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World equity indexes were near five-year highs on Friday as major U.S. technology companies propelled Wall Street to another day of gains, sending the S&P 500 index to close at a record.

Reversing early weakness, the euro slightly rose against the dollar, hovering close to a two-year high, as souring German business morale did little to dent bullish sentiment toward the euro zone common currency.

While equity markets in Europe and Asia were weaker, Wall Street extended its recent climb, helped by gains in technology shares after strong results from Microsoft and Amazon.com . Microsoft shares ended up 6 percent at $35.73 while Amazon.com added 9.4 percent to $363.39.

The S&P 500 has gained about 23.4 percent so far this year, just shy of its 23.5 percent jump in 2009. Surpassing that level would give the index its biggest annual gain in a decade.

"It seems like good news is being responded to very well and bad news is just seen as more evidence the Fed won't be able to tighten anytime soon," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The market has risen following last week's deal to avoid a U.S. debt default and end a partial government shutdown, as well as increased speculation the Federal Reserve will delay scaling back its stimulus for several months. The S&P 500 had hit record finishes for four sessions until Wednesday.

MSCI's world share index, which tracks 45 countries, was flat near a five-year high, erasing early weakness.

Nikkei futures index fell 1.6 percent following news that a large earthquake struck in the ocean east of Japan, triggering a small tsunami. There were no immediate reports of damage on land from the quake, classified as magnitude 7.1 by the Japan Meteorological Agency, which struck about 370 km (230 miles) out to sea.

Japan's Nikkei stock average suffered its biggest one-day loss in 2-1/2 months on Friday, hit by the yen's strength against the dollar.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 61.07 points, or 0.39 percent, to 15,570.28, the S&P 500 gained 7.71 points or 0.44 percent, to 1,759.78 and the Nasdaq Composite added 14.401 points or 0.37 percent, to 3,943.361. For the week, the Dow rose 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 was up 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.7 percent.

European equities ended slightly lower on Friday, with Telecom Italia leading the telecoms sector down on concerns of a capital hike by the Italian company and Volvo hurting industrials after reporting a sharp drop in profits.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,284.76, but for the week was up 0.6 percent for a third straight week of gains after hitting a five-year high on Tuesday.

In the currency market, the euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3808, not far from an earlier peak of $1.3832, its highest since November 2011. Against the yen, the euro was up 0.2 percent at 134.48 yen.

The dollar was flat against a basket of six major currencies at 79.178, off a near nine-month low of 78.998.

U.S. Treasury debt prices rose, with benchmark yields hovering near three-month lows, as investors shifted their focus to the Federal Reserve meeting next week, where it might signal it will stick to the current size of its bond-purchase stimulus.

The bond market has traded in a tight range since Tuesday, when yields fell on data that showed employers hired fewer workers than expected in September, stoking fears the economy was slowing even before the government's 16-day shutdown.

The 10-year note yield was on track to fall for a second straight week, though it has struggled to decline much below the chart resistance of 2.50 percent.

After a choppy week for commodities markets, Brent crude for December settled down 6 cents at $106.93 a barrel while U.S. crude oil ended up 74 cents at $97.85.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Dan Grebler)

View the original article here

Wall St opens up, Nasdaq gains on tech results

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Friday, with the Nasdaq outperforming on the back of strong results from companies such as Amazon and Microsoft .

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 10.21 points, or 0.07 percent, at 15,519.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.10 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,755.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 24.17 points, or 0.62 percent, at 3,953.13.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

View the original article here

Sensex snaps three straight weekly gains, RBI in focus

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex fell on Friday, failing to extend their third weekly gains, as some blue chip shares such as Sun Pharmaceutical were hit by profit-taking after marking their highest level since November 2010 earlier in the week.

Shares gained nearly 5 percent in the last three weeks, benefiting from a return of global risk appetite as poor U.S. data has pushed back expectations of any tapering of the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus until 2014.

Foreign investors have continued to buy local shares, remaining net buyers for a 15th consecutive session. Provisional exchange data showed a net purchase of 9.91 billion rupees on Thursday, bringing the total to nearly 125 billion rupees during that period.

Traders expect volatility in coming days as concerns over another interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India in its policy review on October 29 and U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting outcome on October 30 take centre stage amid expiry of the October derivative contracts.

Although earnings of drug exporters including Lupin Ltd are expected to provide a relief.

"It is going to get volatile as expiry of derivatives contracts and RBI policy are coming at a time when we are almost virtually at lifetime highs," said Vivek Mahajan, head of research at Aditya Birla Money.

The Sensex fell 0.2 percent, or 41.91 points, to end at 20,683.52, also marking a weekly fall of 0.95 percent, snapping a three-week winning streak.

The Nifty fell 0.32 percent, or 19.45 points, to end at 6,144.90, marking its fourth consecutive day of falls, also ending 0.7 percent lower for the week.

However, Deutsche Bank raised its December 2013 target for the Sensex to a record high at 22,000 points from 21,000, saying investor pessimism earlier this year was receding amid positive developments such as a good monsoon.

Among blue chip shares, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd fell 1.7 percent, while Tata Motors Ltd ended 0.8 percent down.

ITC Ltd shares fell 0.8 percent on concerns over the company's volume growth, dealers said.

The company said its September-quarter net profit rose 21.7 percent to 22.31 billion rupees.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd also lost 2.6 percent a day ahead of its July-September results.

Bharti Airtel Ltd's shares fell 1.8 percent after rival Idea Cellular Ltd on Thursday reported lower voice volumes in the July-September quarter from the previous quarter. Idea shares also ended down 3 percent.

Idea shares also ended 1.9 percent lower.

Wockhardt Ltd shares fell 1.1 percent after the company posted its smallest profit in six quarters, hurt by curbs on shipping medicines to the United States and Britain from one of its factories after their health regulators identified deficiencies at the plant.

GAIL (India) Ltd fell 2.4 percent after its July-September profit fell by 7 percent to 9.16 billion rupees.

However among stocks that gained, ICICI Bank Ltd ended 0.13 percent higher after India's largest private-sector lender by assets, beat analyst estimates by posting quarterly profit gain of around 20.1 percent, as an appetite for cars and homes led to higher credit growth.

(Editing by Anand Basu)

View the original article here

Wall Street gains on Fed hopes; Amazon.com up after the bell

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks resumed their upward move on Thursday as economic data underscored views U.S. monetary stimulus will be in place for the foreseeable future and as earnings offered some upbeat news.

Shares of PulteGroup Inc jumped after the homebuilder reported results and said a slowdown in new home orders would be "short-lived." Its shares jumped 7 percent to $17.85 and were the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P 500, while shares of D.R. Horton Inc rose 2.1 percent to $19.87 and Beazer Homes Inc added 1.5 percent to $19.41.

Economic data showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell less than expected in the latest week, though analysts noted a backlog of applications in California. On Tuesday, data showed that employers added fewer jobs than expected in September.

The day's data also included a preliminary look at Markit's October Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, which grew at its slowest pace in a year while factory output contracted for the first time since late 2009.

Expectations the Fed will continue its stimulus have helped stocks all year, with the S&P 500 index up 22.8 percent so far for 2013.

The S&P 500 declined on Wednesday, ending its four-session streak of record high finishes. Last week's legislation to avoid a debt default and end a partial government shutdown gave way to a relief rally and speculation that the Federal Reserve will delay scaling back its stimulus for several months.

"You've got this underlying liquidity surge that's propping prices up, and earnings season hasn't been poor," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 95.88 points, or 0.62 percent, at 15,509.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.69 points, or 0.33 percent, at 1,752.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 21.89 points, or 0.56 percent, at 3,928.96.

After the bell, Twitter said it intends to sell 70 million shares priced between $17 and $20 in an initial public offering that will value the company at as much as $10.9 billion.

Ford shares rose 1.4 percent to $17.76 after the automaker boosted its full-year global earnings and margin outlook, helped by an improved forecast in Europe and better-than-expected third quarter results.

Also on the rise were Apple shares , up 1.3 percent at $531.91, after investor Carl Icahn, in a public letter to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, called on Apple to commence a $150 billion share buyback immediately.

Third-quarter earnings overall has had its disappointments, including some weak outlooks and just 53 percent of companies so far beating analysts' revenue expectations, below the long-term average of 61 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

About 68 percent of companies are beating analysts' earnings expectations, above the 63 percent long-term average.

Among the day's decliners were Dow Chemical Co , Xerox Corp , which all fell following results or outlooks.

AT&T, a Dow component, fell 1.8 percent to $34.63 while Dow Chemical lost 1 percent to $40.62. Xerox slumped 10.4 percent to $9.61 after a weak outlook.

Shares of Symantec Corp dropped 12.7 percent to $21.49 after it reported lower-than-expected second-quarter revenue and forecast current-quarter results below expectations.

Also after the bell, shares of both Amazon.com and Microsoft jumped after posting results. Amazon.com gained 7.8 percent to $358.10 after it posted a narrower quarterly loss and stronger-than-expected sales.

Shares of Microsoft rose 5.6 percent to $35.60 after its profit rose more than expected.

DuPont

shares climbed 3 percent to $63.20 after the bell. The company said it will spin off its titanium dioxide unit and related businesses.

(Editing by Nick Zieminski and Kenneth Barry)

View the original article here

Asia shares pare gains, dollar pressured after U.S. jobs data

By Lisa Twaronite

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares pared gains and the dollar plumbed a fresh two-year low against the euro on Wednesday after disappointing U.S. jobs data vanquished any expectations that the Federal Reserve will taper its stimulus before next year.

Japan's Nikkei share average dropped 1 percent as a stronger yen took a heavy toll, but earlier touched a 3-1/2 week high.

Australian shares were slightly higher after hitting five-year peaks, though they pared gains after stronger-than-expected inflation data reduced expectations for another interest rate cut.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off its session highs but holding narrowly in positive territory, while profit-taking pushed Seoul shares off their highest level in more than 26 months.

"Slow growth in the U.S. economy is worrisome for global markets in the long term," said IM Investment & Securities analyst Kang Hyun-gee. "But in the near term, extended liquidity will work in favour of equities."

U.S. S&P 500 E-mini futures were slightly down, after the S&P 500 Index closed at a record high in New York on Tuesday.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 148,000 workers in September, less than expected. While the employment gain in August was revised up, the July figure was revised down to be the weakest since June 2012.

The report suggested the economy was losing momentum even before the U.S. fiscal standoff that partially shut down the government for more than two weeks, lending credence to the central bank's decision to hold off on reducing its stimulus.

"In light of the moderate tone of the September employment report, we have pushed out our expectation for the first Fed tapering in the pace of asset purchases to March 2014 from December 2013," strategists at Barclays wrote in a note to clients.

Nine of 15 U.S. primary dealers surveyed by Reuters on Tuesday expect the Fed to begin tapering its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying programme in March.

DOLLAR UNDER PRESSURE

The dollar tumbled 0.6 percent against its Japanese counterpart to 97.55 yen, with Japanese exporters said to have sold the U.S. unit, triggering stop-loss orders at 97.70 yen.

The euro was at $1.3786, after rising as high as $1.3793 on the EBS trading platform, its strongest since November 2011.

The dollar index last stood at 79.157, after it fell to its weakest in eight months at 79.141 earlier, within sight of its 2013 low of 78.918 touched in February.

The Australian dollar was slightly lower, after jumping about a quarter of a U.S. cent after the CPI report.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes edged down to 2.494 percent, its lowest since late July, after closing U.S. trade at 2.512 percent.

On the commodities front, concerns about a near-term U.S. crude surplus helped push U.S. crude prices down about 0.5 percent to $97.86 a barrel.

Copper slipped from near one-month highs as traders booked profits after the U.S. jobs report reinforced the metal's weak fundamental outlook, falling 1.0 percent to $7,260.

Gold inched 0.1 percent lower to $1,338.54 an ounce, having risen to a four-week high after the payrolls data.

(Additional reporting by Jungmin Jang in Seoul; Editing by John Mair & Kim Coghill)

View the original article here