Daily News Report

Markets in a Flash
• Asian equity markets showed gains overnight except for the Japanese market which fell with the Nikkei finishing down -0.23%.
• European equity markets are trading higher this morning. The FTSE 100 is up over 1.5%.
• Oil has risen above $78 and is continuing its trend towards $80. Gold is also moving higher but is just below the $1200 mark.
• The Yen is looking strong today, and the USD/JPY is trading around the 87.00 level.
• US equity futures are following to European lead and are pointing to a higher open.


News Focus
Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has reported that its second quarter earnings have risen by 98 per cent. The rise in profits for Blackrock has been boosted by the company’s acquisition of Barclays Global Investors, this has increased the company’s assets under management and the fees for management.
Apple, the maker of the iPhone, has reported better than consensus results. The company has reported a strong revenue stream, which has broken the trend of company’s reporting strong earnings with weak revenue. These strong results come at a time when Apple is being plagued by problems with the release of its new iPhone 4.
Coca Cola has reported better than expected earnings figures for its second quarter. The company has beaten analyst’s expectations on earnings but the revenue generated has fallen slightly short of the expected figure. Profits are up 16% from the same period a year earlier at $2.37Bn.
Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. are due to report Q2 results today. The results of the company’s will have an effect on the strength of the market during the day. But prior to the open its appears that there is a bullish day for the equity markets on the horizon.


Coming up Today
1030ET – Petroleum Status Report
The weekly report by the Energy Information Administration provides data on US petroleum stocks. A reduction in stocks will show an increase in the demand for petroleum and may be taken as an indicator of an increase in spending. A low figure may put bullish pressure on oil prices and oil companies.