U.S. MARKET AVERAGES


Mixed batch of earnings and economic news and reports awaited market in the morning.

AutoDesk reported strong earnings and raised its guidance for the year 2006 lifting the stock up 11% and American Eagle Outfitters rose 13% on sales rise of 10%.

On the economic front January construction spending rose 0.2% less than expected rise of 1.2% and less than 1.0% rise in December 2005. A manufacturing industry survey showed a widening activity base supporting a several construction and manufacturing related stocks including Caterpillar (CAT: chart), Manitowoc (MTW: chart), United Tech (UTX: chart) and others.

Personal income rose 0.7% in January according to the latest report from the Commerce Department but personal consumption also rose 0.9%. A key measure of inflation tracked by Federal Reserve showed that price index for Personal Consumption Expenditure, widely known as PCE, excluding food and energy – volatile portion – rose 0.2% in January after rising 0.1% in December.

Auto sales for the month January reflected a long-term trend in place where domestic auto makers continue to lose market shares to its Asian rivals. Unit sales at General Motors fell 2.4% in January compared to the previous month and sales at Ford dropped 1.4% however Chrysler registered gain of 2.5% in sales. Sales at Toyota rose 2.4% and at Honda gained 8.7%.

Index of semiconductor stocks Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector Index rose 4.4% as several of the 19 stocks in the index received positive comments. Semiconductor sector led the rally in tech stocks as several brokers raised price targets or upgraded ratings on stocks in the sector. Texas Instruments (TXN: chart) gained 8% on the back of positive comments from Bernstein Research, National Semi (NSM: chart) rose 5% after Morgan Stanley analyst hoped for an earnings surprise in the next earnings report and Altera (ALTR: chart) rose 5.69% after Bear Stearns upgraded the stock to “outperform”.

Weekly Crude oil inventory data did not surprise the market sparking a mild rally in the commodity and in the energy stocks. Drillers, explorers and refiners gained during the day. Crude futures rose 56 cents to close at $61.97 per barrel. Rown Companies (RDC: chart), Valero (VLO: chart) and Schlumberger (SLB: chart) were some of the leaders at close.



MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Joy Global (JOYG: chart) said Q1 net profit surged to $60 million, or 48 cents a share, from $22 million, or 18 cents a share a year ago. Revenue jumped 48% to $553.3 million. It predicted revenue between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion for the year. The company’s shares rose 11%.

Altera (ALTR: chart), semiconductor maker, was upgraded at Bear Stearns to outperform from peer perform, citing the belief that the company will raise its revenue outlook during its mid-quarter update on March 6. The broker introduced a year-end 2006 stock price target of $25. The stock gained 4.2%.

HouseValues (SOLD: chart) reported net income increase of 15 cents a share from 8 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $25.2 million from $14.4 million. Analysts expected per-share earnings of 14 cents on revenue of $29 million. The stock slipped 26%.

Cogent Systems (COGT: chart), provider of fingerprint biometric solutions, reported Q4 net income per share doubled from the year-earlier period to 22 cents, beating estimates of 20 cents. Revenue rose 46% to $46.2 million. The company’s shares fell 19.2%.

Hedrick & Struggles (HSII: chart), human-resources consulting firm, reported Q4 net income drop of 36 cents a share against 44 cents in the year-earlier period, citing higher tax rate. Earnings for the quarter failed to meet estimate of 50 cents per share. Revenue rose 2.1% to $100.7 million. The stock dropped 11%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Crude oil inventories advanced in the latest week, according to government statistics released Wednesday, adding to a recent string of gains. Meanwhile, stocks of gasoline recorded another rise as well.

The Department of Energy''s Energy Information Administration revealed that crude oil inventories climbed by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended February 24, rising to 328.3 million barrels from the prior week''s level of 326.7 million barrels. This followed an advance of 1.1 million barrels in the previous week. Oil inventories were 9.1% higher than their levels of the same time last year.