US markets ended marginally higher – 20 April 2010

The US markets ended marginally higher on better-than-expected results from Apple and Daimler. The US dollar declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 25 points at 11117. The Nasdaq Composite was up 20 points at 2500 and S&P 500 up 10 points at 1207. Advancing sectors were Energy, up 1.9%; Financials, up 1.3% and Utilities, up 1.1%.

Asian markets gained in opening trade. The Nikkei 225 was up 1.7%, Kospi was up 1.3%, Taiwan Weighted was up 1.1%, Straits Times was up 0.5% and Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%. SGX Nifty rose 0.7%.

European markets ended strong on Tuesday. The CAC was up 1.4%, DAX up 1.65% and FTSE up 1%. CBOE VIX was down 9.2% at 15.7.

Global Movers & Shakers:

Apple surged 6% in after hours trading, as its earnings jumped 90%. In European car makers, Daimler soared 7.5% after results beat street expectations.

Daimler impact: BMW and Renault rose over 4%; Fiat surged 9% and Peugeot up 5%; to report results today.

Goldman was down 2%, as its 1Q EPS was at $ 5.59/sh against estimates of $ 4.01 per share but Britain’s financial regulator started a formal enforcement investigation into Goldman Sachs. IBM was down 2%, as company reported stronger-than-expected results and raised its outlook.

Global News:

BHP faced SEC probe after possible violations of applicable anti-corruption laws regarding mining projects. There were reports that SEC is looking into accounting at 19 US biggest banks.

Currencies:

Dollar was up 43 bps versus Euro at 1.3418. Yen depreciated 60 bps versus USD at 93.17.

Commodities:

CRB Commodities Index was up nearly 1%. June crude oil futures rose 0.9% at $ 83.91/bbl. June Gold Futures gained 0.3% at $ 1139.2/ounce. May Silver Futures went up 0.5% at $ 17.82/ounce. June Natural Gas Futures gained 0.8% at $ 3.97 per MMBtu. July Wheat Futures rose 4% and July Corn Futures rose over 2%.

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