World stocks, oil rise; dollar falls broadly...

22 Sep 2009, 1706 hrs IST, AGENCIES

LONDON: World stocks and oil climbed on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, while investors' search for higher returns pushed the dollar down to a one-year low against the euro. European equities and U.S. stock futures followed Asia markets higher, while safe-haven U.S. and German government bond prices and the low-yielding dollar all retreated. The latest leg of the rally in risk assets, which helped world stocks recoup more than half of last year's losses, stemmed from repeated pledges by G20 policymakers to keep emergency economic support in place. The G20 summit in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday is expected to underline that commitment while the Fed's Open Market Committee is expected to do likewise when its latest meeting ends on Wednesday. "The fundamental position for all equity markets has just been improving and we know that the central banks, particularly the UK and, importantly, the Federal Reserve, are committed to keep intrest rates low for a long period of time," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin. MSCI world equity index rose 0.9 percent, closing in on last week's 11-month high. The index has risen over 27 percent since January. The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose more than 1 percent while emerging stocks rose 0.9 percent. U.S. stock futures were up 0.7 percent. The dollar fell as low as $1.4821 per euro, while the New Zealand dollar -- often seen as a bellwether of global risk appetite -- surged to a 13-month high above $0.7230. Energy stocks advanced as crude oil gained 1.6 percent to $70.87 a barrel, bouncing back after its 3 percent decline on Monday. The Fed is expected to keep its benchmark Fed Fund rate unchanged at 0.25 percent. Investors are looking for signs of how quickly it might remove its extraordinary programmes to revive lending and economic activity. DOLLAR WARY OF G20 Although trading volumes in Asia were capped by public holidays in Japan, G20 discussions on plans to rebalance the world economy were read by traders as dollar negative there and this sentiment spilled over to Europe. A document outlining the U.S. position ahead of the summit said exporters, which include China, Germany and Japan, should consume more, while debtors like the United States ought to boost savings. "Without greater confidence that the U.S. recovery is robust, any pro-cyclical support for the dollar may be delayed," Simona Paravani, global investment strategist at HSBC Global Asset Management, said in a note to clients. "The Federal Reserve is likely to err on the side of caution and keep rates low for longer than current forward money market rates suggest, another factor that counterbalances support from the recently more positive economic picture. We retain our neutral view on the dollar." Government debt markets were weighed down by a fresh wave of new debt sales this week. A substantial $112 billion in two-year, five-year and seven year U.S. notes is due to come on stream this week, with a record $43 billion two-year bond sale on Tuesday.

Wall Street resumes rise recovery optimism...

23 Sep 2009, 0601 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW YORK: US shares climbed Tuesday to fresh 2009 highs on economic recovery optimism and company earnings prospects as the Federal Reserve's policymakers met to review steps aimed at restoring growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51.01 points (0.52 percent) to 9,829.87 in final trades. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 8.26 points (0.39 percent) to 2,146.30 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index added 7.00 points (0.66 percent) to 1,071.66. "Wall Street appears to have shaken off Monday's blues in favor of a more upbeat outlook on the economy," said Joseph Hargett of Schaeffer's Investment Research. The added confidence, he said, had pressured the US dollar lower, pushing greenback-priced commodities such as oil and gold higher. "The dollar's continued weakness is boosting commodity prices that are denominated in the US currency, helping the major markets rebound from yesterday's modest declines," analysts at Charles Schwab & Co said in a note to clients. The greenback fell to a one-year low against the euro to below the 1.48 level Tuesday as many investors sold the safe-haven dollar to put their money in relatively risky stock and other investments on the back of growing economic optimism, dealers said. Upbeat company earnings reports also helped lift sentiment in early Wall Street action, they said. The two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting began in Washington Tuesday and a summit of the Group of 20 developing and developed nations convenes in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. The Fed is widely expected to leave unchanged its near-zero base interest rate but may make minor changes to the array of liquidity programs to keep credit flowing as the economy struggles to emerge from recession. G20 leaders are expected to discuss ways to unwind their unprecedented support to fight the global economic crisis although they remain cautious for fear of jeopardizing a return to growth.

World markets get another lift from US earnings

21 Jul 2009, 2137 hrs IST, AGENCIES

LONDON: European stocks
closed higher on Tuesday after more strong US corporate earnings and indications from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that borrowing costs will remain at record lows for some time to come. But ongoing unease about whether U.S. markets could break through recent highs capped gains on Wall Street. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 37.55 points, or 0.9 percent, at 4,481.17 while Germany's DAX rose 63.82 points, or 1.3 percent, to 5,093.97. The CAC-40 in France was 31.95 points, or 1 percent, higher at 3,302.89. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 36.36 points, or 0.4 percent, at 8,884.41 around midday New York time, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was rose a minuscule 0.12 point to 951.25. More upbeat earnings reports from a number of big-name companies on Tuesday added to investors' recent optimism, which has helped stocks around the world rally for the last seven sessions. Analysts noted markets around the world are approaching levels that could trigger a bout of profit-taking. Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest beverage maker, said its earnings jumped by 43 percent in the second quarter even though sales fell, while chemical maker DuPont Co. and drug company Merck & Co. reported better than expected results despite drops in their quarterly profit. Since last Monday, most of the world's major indexes have jumped around 8 percent amid hopes that the negative impact on earnings from the recession and the financial crisis has diminished.

Wall Street sinks on mixed earnings reports

22 Jul 2009, 1946 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW YORK: US stocks fell on Wednesday as the market sized up a mixed batch of earnings reports and traders banked profits from the recent robust Wall Street rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 21.53 points (0.24 per cent) to 8,894.41 in opening trades. The technology-heavy Nasdaq shed 4.39 points (0.23 per cent) to 1,911.81 and the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index pulled back 4.90 points (0.51 per cent) to 949.68. "Traders are taking the opportunity to books some profits from the steep rally seen on Wall Street recently, which is overshadowing better-than-expected profit reports from Apple, Boeing, and Pfizer," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said in a client note. The action came after stocks rose Tuesday as the market weighed improved earnings reports and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's economic update to Congress. The Dow rose 0.77 per cent, its seventh straight session of gains, the Nasdaq added 0.36 per cent, its 10th consecutive increase, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.36 per cent. Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com said that Wednesday's trading could in part be chalked up "to an underlying sense that the latest rally effort is hitting an exhaustion phase where it is now being concluded that the better-than-expected earnings results have been priced into stocks." "In many cases, the pricing activity got carried away," he said. "It is only natural that some of the excessive enthusiasm gets unwound as the market starts to pay closer attention to the overall quality of earnings being reported as opposed simply to the quality of the headline trumpeting positive earnings surprises."

Wall Street higher as recovery hopes grow

10 Jun 2009, 1942 hrs IST, AFP
NEW YORK: Wall Street opened higher Wednesday after upbeat comments from key retailer Home Depot and strong demand for commodities bolstered confidence that the economy is poised to rebound from its slump. In early action, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 71.26 points (0.81 per cent) to 8,834.32 after a mixed session a day earlier. The Nasdaq composite added 12.47 points (0.67 per cent) to 1,872.60 while the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index rose 7.34 points (0.78 per cent) to 949.77. Analysts said Wall Street took a cue from overseas markets, after upbeat comments about the Chinese economy that fueled gained in commodities. In the US, key home improvement retailer Home Depot's increased guidance boosted hopes that housing and the overall economy were improving. Stocks are nicely higher in morning action, buoyed by solid advances in the overseas markets and following updated guidance from Home Depot -- the Dow member and world's largest home improvement retailer," said analysts at Charles Schwab & Co. in a note to clients. "Commodity-related stocks are leading the charge, led by energy issues amid the continued strength in curde oil prices. " "Adding to the positive atmosphere were two reports from Chinese papers, which predicted that the country's industrial production and retail sales reports should come in better than expected later in the week," said Joseph Hargett at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

US stocks open higher as report says job losses slow

6 May 2009, 1911 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW YORK: Stock are higher in early trading following data indicating job losses are slowing. A big improvement on Wednesday in the ADP National Employment Report is buoying the mood on Wall Street and easing worries that banks will need to raise more capital than previously thought. The ADP National Employment Report, an unofficial gauge that stock trades have been increasingly monitoring, said private sector employment fell by 491,000 in April. That's much better than ADP's report last month that said 708,000 jobs were lost in March. In the early going, the Dow Jones industrials are up 90 at 8,500, their highest level since January. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 10 at 914, and the Nasdaq composite index is up 15 at 1,769.

US stocks open higher on G20 optimism

2 Apr 2009, 1920 hrs IST, AGENCIES
NEW YORK: US stocks opened higher on Thursday on confidence that a Group of 20 summit of developing and developed nations will make some headway in dealing with the global financial and economic crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154.12 points (1.99 percent) in the first trades to 7,915.72, setting the stage for what could be a third consecutive Wall Street rally this week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 28.20 points (1.82 percent) to 1,579.80 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 18.39 points (2.27 percent) to 829.47. Traders said the market was boosted by what was being seen as a more optimistic scenario emerging from the G20 summit in London, while reminding however that market rebounds had been typically volatile. "Early reports from the G20 meeting focused on dissension and difficulties in global coordination for dealing with economic issues," analysts at Briefing.com said in a note to clients.

"The reports now stress words like 'headway' and 'progress' on issues such as providing more liquidity to the IMF and regulation of hedge funds. "Whether any resulting pronouncements will result in stronger global economies can be questioned, but the markets are encouraged that nations are at least attempting to coordinate actions," the note said. After sharp differences over how to restore confidence, G20 summit officials have agreed that the International Monetary Fund could get up to 500 billion dollars in extra funding and a tax-haven blacklist could be drawn up as part of financial reforms. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in his opening speech to the summit that there was a "very high degree of consensus."

2009 among worst years for equities

Hindustan Times,Mumbai, April 01, 2009

Weak GLOBAL markets, heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), slowdown in the domestic economy and a tight monetary policy in the first half of 2008-09 have worked towards making 2009 the second worst year for Indian equities in three decades. In 2009, the 30-share sensitive index, Sensex, fell 36 per cent. The index recorded its worst fall in 1993 when it crashed 47 per cent, according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL). The index, however, recovered 66 per cent in 1994. Another highlight of 2009 has been a 27 per cent depreciation of rupee’s value against the US dollar.

The report said the company expects oil refining and marketing companies to report profits due to the issuance of oil bonds. The company predicts most sectors to report either a decline or single-digit growth in earnings, with just 3 out of 16 sectors reporting double-digit earnings growth.

The report also said that the estimated real GDP growth of 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 is led by a strong domestic consumption. Sectors that had reported significant drops in business momentum in the third quarter of 2008-09, have witnessed strong recovery in the fourth quarter.

Wall Street shrugs off January job losses of 598K

7 Feb 2009, 0320 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW YORK: Wall Street has had another big rally as investors bet the government will take some big steps to help the economy.
Investors are awaiting a Senate vote on its version of an economic stimulus plan that would include a mix of spending and tax cuts. A vote on the bill, which stands at $937 billion, could come late Friday. Financial stocks led the market higher as investors also awaited the government's latest revisions to its lifeline for banks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to announce them on Monday. The Dow Jones industrials rose 217 to 8,280, bringing their two-day advance to more than 220. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 22 at 868, and theNasdaq composite is up 45 at 1,591. Advancing stocks were ahead of losers by 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.61 billion shares.

Hopes of stimulus plan push US stocks higher

6 Feb 2009, 2130 hrs IST, PTI

NEW YORK: The Wall Street soared in the first hour of trading, as the gloomy job data spurred hopes of the Federal government speeding up the stimulus package. Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 137 points, setting the pace for the other two benchmark indices -- Nasdaq Compositee and S&P 500. In another sign of the worsening labour market, the unemployment numbers for the month of January reached 5,98,000 while the jobless rate touched 7.6 per cent. Dow jumped 137.79 points or 1.71 per cent to 8,200.86 points. Nasdaq Composite grew 1.63 per cent to 1,570.97 points and S&P 500 rose 1.38 per cent to 857.53 points. The more than 800-billion dollar plan mooted by President Barack Obama is to come up in the Senate for discussion. The package aimed at kick starting the nation's recession-hit economy has been approved by the House of Representatives. As the hopes of stimulus gained momentum,shares of financial institutions -- Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan -- surged in the early morning session. Bank of America skyrocketed nearly 17 per cent to 5.65 dollars while the scrip of Citi went up 6.23 per cent to 3.75 dollars. JPMorgan too was trading higher at 26.22 dollars.

Euro falls against dollar to $1.2718

2 Feb 2009, 1420 hrs IST, AGENCIES

FRANKFURT: The Euro fell against the dollar Monday as investors expected the European Central Bank to hold interest rates steady this week. The 16-nation euro fell to $1.2718 in European morning trading, down from $1.2794 late Friday in New York. The British pound also fell to $1.4307 from $1.4456 Friday. ``The new month has got under way with both the pound and euro slipping amid mounting speculation as to how the respective rate verdicts from central banks will influence values later in the week,'' currency analyst James Hughes wrote in a research note. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has indicated the bank will likely hold rates steady at 2 percent at Thursday's meeting. ''Our next important rendezvous will be in March, even if we are not precommitted,'' he said at the bank's January meeting . The dollar will likely gain against other currencies as a ``safe-haven'' as world economies continue into recession, analysts said. Lower interest rates can also drive investors from a currency as they move funds where they earn better returns. The dollar was slightly lower against the Japanese yen Monday, at 89.34 compared with 89.88 yen late Friday in New York.

Treasurer says Australia will fall into deficit

2 Feb 2009, 0700 hrs IST, AP

CANBERRA: Australia's government plans to break an election campaign pledge by spending its budget into a deficit this year because of the global recession, Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Monday. Swan met his Cabinet colleagues on Monday to discuss a second multibillion-dollar stimulus package aimed at curbing the economic decline. No details were immediately announced. The government has already injected 36 billion Australian dollars ($23 billion) into the economy since September, including cash bonuses in welfare checks, funds for residential mortgage backed securities, car industry assistance plus infrastructure projects. Swan had previously forecast a slim surplus this year despite the massive injection. But the worsening economic climate has eroded that. ``Certainly it means that the budget is going into temporary deficit and because of the size of this global recession and the size of the demand shock which is being transmitted to the Australian economy, it does have a fairly dramatic impact on the budget bottom line,'' Swan told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. ``We plan to return the budget to surplus when global conditions normalize,'' he added. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's center-left Labour Party was elected in 2007 on a promise to maintain surpluses in the nation's annual budgets. The preceding center-right government had delivered 10 surpluses in 12 annual budgets. Late last year, the International Monetary Fund predicted Australia would be one of the few developed countries to avoid recession in 2009. But on Saturday, the IMF told Australian officials the country's economy was likely to contract by 0.2 percent, delivering Australia's first recession since 1991. Rudd responded by accusing unregulated free market economics of ``turbo charging greed.''

Dollar up, gold falls in morning trading

30 Jan 2009, 1757 hrs IST, AGENCIES

LONDON: The US dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies in European trading Friday morning. Gold fell. The euro traded at $1.2820, down from $1.2964 late Thursday in New York. Other dollar rates: 89.66 Japanese yen, down from 89.85. 1.1597 Swiss francs, up from 1.1519. 1.2327 Canadian dollars, up from 1.2213 The British pound was quoted at $1.4310 down from $1.4317. Gold traded in London at $918.50 per troy ounce, down from $892.25 late Thursday.

Wall Street swings lower on GDP contraction

30 Jan 2009, 2225 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW YORK: US stocks swung lower on Friday, wiping out opening gains as investors digested government data showing the economy shrank less than expected in the 2008 fourth quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 70.33 points (0.86 percent) to 8,078.68 at 1603 GMT and the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 11.56 points (0.77 percent) to 1,496.28. The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated 8.02 points (0.95 percent) to 837.12. Wall Street dived Thursday as investors booked profits amid a series of weak data and poor corporate earnings. The Dow slid 2.70 percent and the Nasdaq 3.24 percent. Stocks had opened with modest gains after the Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at a 3.8 percent pace in the 2008 fourth quarter. It was the sharpest quarterly decline since 1982 but far less than the consensus forecast of a 5.5 percent annualized drop. The estimate of fourth-quarter GDP suggests "that the difficult recession the US economy is experiencing may not be as severe as some analysts had been anticipating," said analysts at Charles Schwab & Co. But some analysts pointed to grim data lurking beneath the headline figure. "The headline on this GDP report is not as bad as feared, but the breakdown doesn't provide much encouragement," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com. Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the figure was "very much an illusion" created by an unexpected increase in business inventories. He predicted the 2009 first quarter could contract more sharply. Christina Romer, chair of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, warned the recession had spread to all sectors of the economy and highlights the need for a quick stimulus plan. "This widespread decline emphasizes that the problems that began in our housing and financial sector have spread to nearly all areas of the economy," Romer said in a statement. "Immediate action to support both the financial sector and overall demand is essential." Among stocks in focus, Exxon Mobil, the Dow's biggest component, rose 1.21 percent to 77.93 dollars. The oil and gas giant posted a 2008 net profit of 45.22 billion dollars, the largest annual profit ever declared by any publicly listed company in the world, despite a 33 percent fourth-quarter profit plunge amid falling oil prices. Exxon rival Chevron climbed 1.13 percent to 71.42 after reporting 2008 net profit up 28 percent from the prior year. Procter & Gamble fell 3.95 percent to 55.92. The consumer products maker announced in-line quarterly earnings but warned of tough conditions ahead. Amazon vaulted 18.20 percent higher to 59.10. The online retailer reported after Thursday's market close fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Bonds fell back. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond edged up to 2.819 percent from 2.815 percent Thursday and that on the 30-year bond rose to 3.575 percent from 3.559 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Dollar gains as UK enters recession, earnings fall

24 Jan 2009, 0228 hrs IST, AP

NEW YORK: The dollar notched a new 23 1/2-year high against the pound and gained on the euro, but slipped versus the yen as a British recession was confirmed and more blue chips posted declining profits. The 16-nation euro fell to $1.2974 in late trading on Friday from $1.3021 late on Thursday. The British pound traded at $1.3768, having rallied moderately after earlier sinking to a 23 1/2-year low of $1.3501 after the British government confirmed a second consecutive quarter of economic contraction. Thursday, the pound was worth $1.3876. A standard definition of recession is two quarters of shrinking economic activity. Analysts see more interest-rate cuts coming from the Bank of England, which could help support the dollar. Cutting rates theoretically gives a boost to economic activity, but can undermine acurrency as investors transfer funds elsewhere for better returns. Meanwhile, the dollar slipped to 88.76 Japanese yen from 89.09 yen late on Thursday. The U.S., Japan and Germany, Europe's biggest economy, are already officially in recession. In the U.S., market sentiment was poor as a string of brand-name corporations reported shrinking profits. General Electric Co., one of the world's largest companies, said Friday it had a 46 percent drop in profit and forecast a difficult year. It was forced to defend its top-notch ``AAA''credit rating to investors worried about the vulnerabilities of its financing unit and slowing orders in its industrial segment. Earnings at a diverse selection of companies - motorcycle-maker Harley-Davidson Inc., office-equipment company Xerox Corp. and oilfield services provider Schlumberger Ltd. - also sank. Companies overseas are taking a hit as well. South Korea's Samsung Electronics posted its first-ever quarterly loss on Friday. In other New York trading, the dollar rose to 1.1568 Swiss francs from 1.1541 francs late Thursday, but dropped to 1.2340 Canadian dollars from 1.2532.

Dollar's rise shrinks forex kitty by $2.6 bn to $252 bn

Mumbai: The greenback’s rise against other currencies has resulted in the country’s forex shrinking in dollar terms. The fall in the value of non-dollar investments, including euro and the pound, has resulted in forex reserves coming down by $2.6 billion to $252 billion. Last week, the dollar appreciated sharply against other currencies as funds sought out safe havens in the wake of uncertainty in the stock markets. Forex reserves have three constituents — foreign currency assets, gold and reserves with IMF. While foreign currency assets dipped $2,570 million, reserves with IMF dipped $11 million, taking the total dip in reserves during the week to $2,581 million. The value of gold in reserves, however, remained unchanged during the week. Analysts said the decline was not on account of dollars going out of the country as RBI has not intervened significantly in the currency markets during the week. In the other developments, the Centre still resorted to ways and means advances (WMA) — a temporary overdraft to meet revenue mismatches. The Centre’s outstanding WMA with the central bank amounted to Rs 9,263 crore as on January 16, down by Rs 6,391 crore over the previous week’s levels. While the outstanding WMA by state governments amounted to Rs 400 crore, down Rs 55 crore over the previous week’s levels. Reliance on the central bank, to meet its day-to-day administrative expenditure, reflects the poor state of the fisc. This is largely because the government has announced a series of expenditure programmes and tax sops to revive the economy’s growth pace. This in turn has strained the government finances.

US stocks open lower on disappointing retail sales

14 Jan 2009, 2020 hrs IST, AGENCIES
Wall Street's anxiety about the US economy and the health of the banking industry is sending stocks down sharply in early trading.
The Commerce Department has reported that retail sales fell twice as much as expected during December. Investors were already well aware that consumers have curtailed their spending, but the data still came as an unpleasant surprise. And Citigroup Inc.'s announcement of a deal to give up control of its brokerage to Morgan Stanley for $2.7 billion is a reminder of the cash shortages facing some banks. The Dow Jones industrial average is down 154 at the 8,294 level. All the major indexes are down more than 1.5 percent.

Dollar mostly down, gold up in morning trading

14 Jan 2009, 1920 hrs IST, AGENCIES
The US dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies in European trading on Wednesday morning. Gold rose The euro traded at $1.3231, up from $1.3177 late Tuesday in New York. Other dollar rates: 89.44 Japanese yen, up from 89.13, 1.1167 Swiss francs, down from 1.1197, 1.2203 Canadian dollars, down from 1.2267. The British pound was quoted at $1.4543, up from $1.4493. Gold traded in London at $827.25 per troy ounce, up from $826.50 late Tuesday.

US stocks rises, Dow up 2.93 percent

3 Jan 2009, 0251 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW YORK: US stocks rallied on Friday in the first trades of 2009, as investors pinned their hopes on a better year after a horrendous 2008 that slashed up to 40 percent off the major indexes. Building on modest opening gains in thin trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 257.58 points (2.93 percent) to 9,033.97 at the market close and the tech-studded Nasdaq leapt 55.18 points (3.50 percent) to 1,632.21. The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 27.97 points (3.10 percent) to 931.22, according to preliminary closing figures. "Hope for much better returns in 2009 has permeated the marketplace," said Patrick O'Hare, an analyst at Briefing.com. "Unless there is a sea-change in sentiment over the course of the next two trading sessions, it looks as if we'll be able to say there was indeed a Santa Claus rally."