2:30PM Housing Stocks under pressure. Banks report mild rise in profit.
Retailers stock fell to the lowest level for the year and for the last eighteen months on a lowered sales guidance from Target for the current month. Home builders fell on the lowest of confidence among home builders as recorded in the industry index since December 1991. The index has fallen from the peak of 72 in June 2005 and at 39 in July of this year, and declined from 42 in June. The home builders stock fell with the news. The D.R. Horton (DHI) and Toll Brothers (TOL) fell 5%, Lennar (LEN) and Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) fell 4%.

Wells Fargo (WFC) reported quarterly profit rose 9% on revenue growth of 12%. The company reported earnings of $1.23 compared to $1.12 a year ago on revenue of $2.09 billion. U.S. Bancorp (USB) said the profit in the quarter rose to 66 cents from 60 cents a year ago. Mortgage lending losses at National City (NCC) led to a lower profit of 77 cents vs. 97 cents a year ago. Key Corp (KEY) profit rose to 75 cents vs. 70 cents a year ago. Recent merger candidate AmSouth Bancorp (ASO) said that the profit in the quarter rose to 53 cents from 52 cents a year ago. The company also said it is on track to merge with Regions Financial Corp.

11:30AM Stock markets turned to the downside.
After posting some strength, the U.S. stock markets turned lower on rising crude oil. The Dow posted modest losses only as Dow components United Technologies (UTX) and Coca-Cola (KO) provided support, rising more than 1% each after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. United Technologies also raised its full year guidance. The downward move by the tech-heavy Nasdaq was contributed to weakness in the semiconductor sector, with Marvell (MRVL) turning in one of the sector's worst performances, down 5.2%. National Semiconductor (NSM) and Broadcom (BRCM) also showed significant losses.

The health insurance sector also moved notably down, sending the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index down 4.6%. Centene (CNC) dragged the sector lower, with the health insurer currently falling 35% after the company lowered its full-year earnings guidance. Retail stocks showed significant weakness, with Target (TGT) posting a 5.3% loss after the discount retailer lowered its outlook for July same-store sales growth. Health-care company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) dropped 1.8% on worries about its growth prospects. Shares of Wal-Mart (WMT), the world's biggest retailer, hit a 10-month low, falling 1.4%. Meanwhile, the airline sector continued to move to the upside, despite rising oil prices. In late morning trading, the Dow dropped 8.33, or 0.08%. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 2.66, or 0.22%, and the Nasdaq composite index slid 9.87, or 0.48%. The rise in overall PPI had the bond market worried about inflation weakening the value of fixed-income investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 5.13% from 5.07% late Monday.


10:30AM BSE index, Sensex traded 66 points lower in India.
On a light day of trading on Mumbai Stock Exchange widely followed BSE index dropped 66 points to close at 10,226.78. With 1,712 share declining and 665 stocks rising, most stocks closed lower on the day. Trading volume was flat at rupees 2,600 crores ($510 million). Despite strong earnings reports negative bias persists in the trading.

Trading in the stock market was stock and sector specific. Investors focused on the company earnings in the absence of economic news. Earnings from Reliance industry Infrastructure, Titan Industries, Mid-Day Media, Hexaware Technologies and CMC dominated the news.

Software exporters continue to report strong revenue and earnings growth. Hexaware Technologies reported second quarter earnings rise of 53% on revenue growth of 23%. The company reported profit of rupees 30 crores ($6.5 million) on revenue of rupees 206 crores ($45 million). For the third quarter the company forecasted revenue growth of 6% to $48 million and earnings growth of 10% to $7.2 million. The company stock closed up 1.8% to close at rupees 139.50.

Another software exporter CMC, reported first quarter revenue rise to rupees 232 crores ($51.5 million) or 14% rise from a year ago and earnings of rupees 14.95 crores ($3 million), or flat earnings from a year ago. Earnings from a year ago are not comparable due to one time gain of land and property sale. The company stock gained 4% to close at rupees 442.

Titan Industries, the watch and jewelry maker reported first quarter revenue of 442.42 crores and earnings of rupees 4.09 crore. The revenue increased nearly 50% but earnings declined 20% compared to a year ago. Crompton Greaves reported revenue rise of 40% and earnings growth of 16% on strong demand from the industrial sector of the economy. The company reported first quarter revenue of rupees 745 crores and earnings of rupees 36 crores. The company stock closed unchanged.

Reliance Industrial Infrastructure stock dropped on a disappointing earnings results. The company reported first quarter operating income of rupees 13.76 crores and a net profit of rupees 4.68 crores. The stock declined 5% to close at rupees 418. Mi-Day Media swung to a loss of rupees 1.74 crores from a profit of rupees 1.38 crores a year ago. The company also reported revenue decline of 17%.

9:45AM Stocks opened higher on strong earnings.
Stocks showed a strong upward move at the start of trading as stronger-than-expected earnings from major companies offset worries about Mideast fighting, rising oil and growing inflation. Companies like Coca-Cola Co. (KO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merrill Lynch (MER), and United Technology (UTX) boosted market sentiment after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. Coca-Cola said higher sales helped its profit grow 7% to beat targets by 2 cents per share. Johnson & Johnson posted a 9% jump in earnings, helped by record sales. Merrill Lynch's earnings jumped 42% on solid trading activity. United Technologies posted 15% Q2 profit rise and boosted 2006 earnings and revenue outlook. Mild wholesale price data brought relief to investors’ worries about inflation and interest rates, as June producer price index grew 0.5%, while core PPI rose just 0.2%, in line with expectations.

Among sectors, the disk drive and computer hardware sectors moved higher by more than 1%. The Dow Jones Transportation sector advanced about 1.1%, helped by a gain in the airline group, up 1.5%, despite renewed strength in oil prices. The HMO sector stood out among losers, falling about 4.2%. Molina Healthcare (MOH) led the group lower with a decline of more than 8%, and Amerigroup (AGP) falling by more than 7% as Deutsche Securities initiated the stocks with Hold rating. Meanwhile, Unitedhealth Group (UNH) and CIGNA (CI), posting gains in the early going, were initiated with Buy ratings. Retail stocks were also weak due to lowered monthly sales guidance from Target (TGT). In the first hour of trading, the Dow rose 42.26, or 0.39%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 3.36, or 0.27%, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 7.87, or 0.39%. The PPI report pushed bonds lower, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumping to 5.11% from 5.07% late Monday.


Price producer index growth in June exceeded expectations.
Tuesday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on wholesale prices in the month of June. The report showed that prices rose more than economists had expected due in part to a significant increase in food prices. The Labor Department said that its producer price index rose 0.5 percent in June following an unrevised increase of 0.2 percent in May. Economists had been expecting a much more modest increase of about 0.2 percent. The increase was partly due to a surge in food prices, which rose 1.4 percent in June after falling 0.5 percent in May. The sharp rise in food prices reflected a 12.1 percent increase in prices for processed young chickens as well as higher prices for eggs, fruit, and dairy products. The report also showed that energy prices continued higher in June, rising 0.7 percent following a 0.4 percent increase in the previous month. Still, the pace of growth was far slower than the 4.0 percent increase seen in April. A sharp rise in gasoline prices contributed to the increase in energy prices, with the gasoline index rising 6.3 percent in June following a 2.2 percent increase in May. Prices for home heating oil and diesel fuel also rose more in June than they had a month earlier. Excluding food and energy prices, wholesale prices rose by a more modest 0.2 percent, coming in line with economist estimates. The increase in core prices compares to the 0.3 percent increase that was seen in May.


9:00AM Stock futures pointed to a lower opening on PPI.
U.S. stock futures moved lower after government data showed a steeper-than-expected growth in U.S. producer prices, raising concerns of higher interest rates. The 0.5% rise in the PPI beat expectations for just a 0.3% gain, but the increase in the core index matched forecasts. Negative sentiment was also generated by the ongoing violent conflict in the Middle East and a notable rise by the price of oil, up $0.70 at $76 a barrel. Nonetheless, strong earnings helped limit losses. Merrill Lynch (MER), Dow components United Technologies (UTX) and Coca-Cola (KO) reported quarterly earnings above expectations. Shares of Target Corp. (TGT) are expected to be in focus as the retailer lowered its July sales forecast to 3% to 4% increase from previous forecast of 4% to 6% rise. Standard & Poor's 500 futures were down 1 point, about even with fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 12 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.50 points.

Charles Schwab (SCHW), online financial services company said Q2 profit rose 35% as higher asset-based fees offset the lower trading activity. Charles Schwab earned $251 million or 19 cents a share in the most recent quarter on revenue of $1.31 billion versus profit of $186 million, or 14 cents a share on revenue of $1.01 billion a year ago. The management said that the total client assets of the firm reached $1.278 trillion as of the end of the second quarter, up 16% than a year ago.

The Coca-Cola Co. (KO), the world’s biggest beverage maker, reported a 7% increase in Q2 profit on a modest rise in sales, beating expectations. The beverage maker said it earned $1.84 billion, or 78 cents a share, up from $1.72 billion, or 72 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose 3% to $6.48 billion, compared to $6.31 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Merrill Lynch (MER) posted 42% profit growth in Q2 as the company managed a strong performance in its proprietary stock trading. The company reported a profit of $1.63 per diluted share, compared with $1.14 per share last year on 29% revenue increase to $8.2 billion. The results surpassed projections for earnings of $1.52 per share on revenue of $7.53 billion.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported second-quarter earnings of $2.82 billion, or 95 cents a share, vs. $2.59 billion, or 86 cents a share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, excluding a charge of $87 million tied to Vascular Control Systems acquisition, earnings were $2.91 billion, or 98 cents a share in the second quarter. Sales advanced 4.7% from a year ago to $13.36 billion. Domestic sales grew 4.4% while international sales jumped 5.1%.

Jefferies Group (JEF) second-quarter earnings increased to $45.6 million or 32 cents a share, from $35.4 million, or 26 cents a share a year ago. Revenue advanced 33% to $457.1 million as investment banking revenue grew 20% and trading revenue jumped 16% from last year.

WFC	$39.88	1.58%
USB	$34.67	1.05%
KEY	$10.80	2.18%
NYT	$9.95	2.47%
BZH	$22.25	3.63%
HOV	$6.02	2.56%
NVR	$1,006.00	0.42%
DHI	$27.23	1.60%

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