The New York Stock Exchange began the week as badly as he had finished the previous one. The debt crisis in Europe and the United States and the gloomy outlook for global growth still hovering in the markets. At the close, Wall Street lost 2.37% to 10,655.30 points, the Nasdaq 3.29% to 2335.83 loose points and the S & P 500 drops 2.85% to 1099.23 points. Friday, Wall Street had already been a difficult session.
On the macroeconomic front, the ISM manufacturing index in the United States has, however, unexpectedly increased to 51.6% in September (the consensus of analysts expected 50.5%) and construction spending rebounded in the month of August 1.4% (against 0.5% expected).These publications serve to mitigate the concerns about U.S. growth occurred even as the markets again questioned the ability of Greece to meet its budgetary commitments.
But the crisis of public finances continues to produce its harmful effects on the markets. Bad news yesterday in Europe, where Greece has announced that it would lack its budget deficit targets. The second Country Assistance Plan will be the focus of several summit meetings this week: Monday, finance ministers of the euro area were meeting in Luxembourg hours from 5:30 p.m. and Tuesday, those of the entire European Union.This will then be the turn of the Franco-German debate the future of Greece and "ways and means to accelerate economic integration in the euro area".
A new week promises to be tense on Wall Street, where investors are worried more about a possible erosion of corporate earnings, without the support of foreign demand. Past two years, export sales have averaged 30% of the turnover of listed companies in the S & P 500, allowing the results of many of them to exceed the expectations of analysts. In addition, many U.S. multinationals have benefited in recent months the relative weakness of the dollar to support exports.But the euro shows a quarterly decline of more than 7% against the greenback, depriving companies of the damper.
The U.S. ISM better than expected
Most analysts have already lowered their expectations of results. According to Thomson Reuters data, earnings for the third quarter are expected up 13.3% over the same period of 2010, against an expected increase to 17% in early July.
On the macroeconomic front, the manufacturing sector has grown stronger than expected in September in the United States, according to the purchasing managers' index released Monday. This index, calculated by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), stood at 51.6 against 50.6 last month in August and 50.5 expected.
Construction spending rebounded against all odds in August after falling in July, according to official figures released Monday by the Commerce Department.They rose 1.4% year on year to stand at 799.15 billion dollars, while analysts expected a decline of 0.3% following a decline (revised) 1.4% the previous month.
Oil continues to fall and the dollar to strengthen
Oil prices have closed lower in New York lundisoir in the wake of the stock markets, despite the encouraging figures on manufacturing and sales of automobiles in the United States. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, a barrel of "light sweet crude" for delivery in November lost $ 1.59 from Friday's close, and accounted for 77.61 dollars.
On the currency markets, the dollar continued its rise against the euro, the euro falling by 1.46% to 1.3192 dollar.
Also note, the protest movement against the excesses of Wall Street gains momentum.The New York police said on Sunday that most of the more than 700 demonstrators arrested Saturday as they marched down the Brooklyn Bridge to protest against the excesses and other finance had been released. Further rallies are planned.
Yahoo! Alibaba in the crosshairs
Alibaba China Internet group would be "interested" in acquiring a large U.S. shareholder Yahoo! (2.73% to 13.53 dollars) and has been approached by private equity firms interested in mounting such an operation, said on Monday the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo! is the main shareholder in Alibaba, with 40.5% of its capital, but relations between the two companies are very tense for months.Alibaba has in the past tried to buy this participation, but the direction of Yahoo! there is still refused, partly because of the importance of the contribution for its own market capitalization. The group, which has dismissed its CEO, Carol Bartz, is valued around $ 17 billion in stock. Alibaba is not listed but the whole group is valued around $ 30 billion.
Intel (-3.35% to 20.62 dollars) will acquire Telmap, an Israeli company that designs software for mobile browsing. Details of the agreement were not disclosed, but Israeli media reported that the semiconductor giant would pay between 300 and 350 million dollars (224 euros 261 million).Telmap will become a 100% subsidiary of Intel, retaining its brand, its management and 210 employees.
For its part, Citigroup (-9.78% to 23.11 dollars) would be subject to an investigation by Japanese authorities for lack of information on financial products, according to Reuters. The Japanese Financial Services Agency seeks in particular to know if Citi did not breach disclosure requirements. It also attempts to determine whether the bank is not involved in laundering operations.
Also note, WellPoint (-4.53% to 62.32 dollars) has increased its budget share repurchases of $ 5 billion more.