Reuters - No deal yet on sale of Bouygues Telecom to Orange-sources

Orange and Bouygues will extend their talks on the future of Bouygues's telecom unit beyond the set deadline of March 31 because key issues of value and governance remain unresolved, two sources close to the matter said on Wednesday.
The companies nevertheless plan to issue a statement early on Thursday, the sources said. Both companies declined to comment.
The 10 billion-euro ($11.34 billion) potential acquisition of Bouygues Telecom by France's former state monopoly Orange would cut the number of French mobile operators from four to three.
A deal would make Bouygues the second-biggest shareholder in Orange after the French state, raising questions about the longer-term intentions of the construction and media group in the telecoms industry.
The boards of Orange and Bouygues met separately for more than three hours late on Wednesday, but the value of Bouygues Telecom, the eventual size of the stake of Bouygues in Orange, and the scale of Bouygues' representation on the enlarged board of Orange remained unresolved.
"Many important issues remain to be discussed, especially regarding governance" one source close to the matter said, adding that Bouygues' board talked about staying independent as one potential alternative to the the acquistion by Orange

>>> Konecranes still has plenty of options for Terex; company could be split bet

Konecranes still has plenty of options for Terex; company could be split between Konecranes and Zoomlion 

Konecranes, the Finnish crane equipment group, may get another chance with the Connecticut-based crane specialist Terex, according to Kauppalehti.

The Finnish-language paper wrote an unsourced analysis in which it said that Konecranes still has plenty of options when it comes to Terex. American fund managers, who own huge stakes in Terex, are still keen on merging with Konecranes, the item said. Terex could also be split between Konecranes and the Chinese Zoomlion, the item noted, citing an unnamed fund manager.

If the company was to split, Konecranes could take the harbour cranes and industrial cranes business and Zoomlion would have the heavy machinery business, such as crushers.

It is clear that the board of Terex will accept the better offer but Konecranes has plenty of alternatives if it is willing to move fast.

The funds want to hurry the sale of Terex in order to reap the profits but the Chinese are yet to leave a binding offer for Terex.

It remains to be seen when Zoomlion will make its binding offer.

Kauppalehti

>>> Asian Update

Asian Market Update: Yellen Put pauses ahead of PMIs; Slowing profits, rising bad loans weigh on China banks


***Economic Data***
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB SKILLED VACANCIES M/M: 2.7% V 4.0% PRIOR
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB PRIVATE SECTOR CREDIT M/M: 0.6% (4-month high) V 0.5%E; Y/Y: 6.6% V 6.5%E
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB HIA NEW HOME SALES M/M: -5.3% V +0.6% PRIOR; first decline in 3 months; biggest decline in 19 months
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAR ANZ ACTIVITY OUTLOOK: 29.4 V 25.5 PRIOR; BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: 3.2 V 7.1 PRIOR
- (NZ) New Zealand Feb M3 Money Supply Y/Y: 7.3% v 7.6% prior
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA FEB INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 3.3% V 0.0%E; Y/Y: +2.4% V -0.2%E
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA APR BUSINESS MANUFACTURING SURVEY: 70 V 66 PRIOR; NON-MANUFACTURING SURVEY: 71 V 67 PRIOR
- (UK) MAR GFK CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 0 V -1E

***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +0.1%, S&P/ASX +1.3%, Kospi -0.6%, Shanghai Composite +0.4%, Hang Seng -0.2%, Jun S&P500 -0.1% at 2,053

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold +0.1% at $1,229/oz, May crude oil -1.1% at $37.89/brl, May copper -0.4% at $2.18/lb
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 1.2 tonnes to 819.3 tonnes
- (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN MID POINT AT 6.4612 V 6.4841 PRIOR; 3rd straight stronger setting; Strongest Yuan setting since Dec 15th
- (CN) PBOC to inject CNY100B in 7-day reverse repos
- (JP) Japan investors bought net ¥1.16T in foreign bonds v bought ¥2.28T in prior week; Foreign investors sold net ¥359B in Japan stocks v sold ¥678B in Japan stocks in prior week

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Asian equity markets are mixed as the risk-on rally fanned by dovish Fed chair Yellen remarks appears to have run its course. The focus is turning to monthly manufacturing PMI figures in tomorrow's session, followed by March non-farm payrolls report on Friday. Australia index outperformed thanks to strength in the materials space, even as goldminers retreated from the overnight gains. In FX, USD/JPY is trading near session lows ahead of Tokyo close - falling about 40pips from the highs to 112.20. AUD/USD and NZD/USD pairs were down some 30pips to 0.7640 and 0.6890 respectively. PBoC also set Yuan much stronger in response to two straight days of weaker greenback.

- In key economic data, HIA housing figures from Australia saw their biggest drop in 19 months, though resident economist said the initial stage of down cycle in new home building would be moderate before possibility of more pronounced declines down the line. ANZ New Zealand confidence slowed, though the forward looking Activity Outlook showed improvement. Korean industrial output was also a welcome positive surprise amid recent speculation regarding further BOK easing with a new less hawkish Board taking reins next months.

- Among notable speakers, BOJ Gov Kuroda reiterated central bank's intentions to bring inflation to a stable 2% target before easing off the accommodative stance. Kuroda added there was no evidence in the market about concern that investors see BOJ underwriting govt debt. That sentiment was shared by Fin Min Aso. In China, an influential former PBoC adviser Yu called for more aggressive fiscal response to slowing property investment. He said fiscal deficit target could be expanded to 5% from the current 3% to stimulate demand, since the anticipated 10% slide in real estate investment may shave off about 1% of overall GDP. Separately in China, local press reported that the govt has placed a ceiling on the amount of local govt debt at below CNY17.2T at the end of 2016. Another report saw expectations of PBoC planning to offer loans targeted at boosting consumption with the focus on rural regions.

***Equities***
US equities / ADRs:
- MDVN: Reportedly has hired advisors to stave off potential takeover - press; +13.0% afterhours
- WBMD: To enter S&P400 index, replacing SUNE after the close of trading on April 1; +2.8% afterhours
- MU: Reports Q2 -$0.05 v -$0.09e, R$2.93B v $3.24Be; +1.0% afterhours
- PRGS: Reports Q1 $0.27 v $0.29e, R$89.5M v $93.0Me (1 est); authorizes new $100M share repurchase program (7% of market cap); -11.1% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer discretionary: China Eastern Airlines 670.HK +0.5% (FY15 result); China Southern Airlines Co 1055.HK +2.8% (FY15 result); China Yurun Food Group 1068.HK +0.8% (FY15 result)
- Consumer staples: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co 600887.CN +2.2% (FY15 result)
- Financials: China Construction Bank 939.HK -1.6% (FY15 result); Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) 1398.HK -1.1% (FY15 result); Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. 3699.HK +17.9% (parent considers privatization and delisting)
- Industrials: China Railway Construction Corp 1186.HK +2.6% (FY15 result); Chongqing Changan Automobile Co 000625.CN +9.5% (private placement); China Railway Group 601390.CN +1.1% (FY15 result); China Cosco Holdings Co 601919.CN +1.2% (FY15 result); China Shipping Container 601866.CN +1.3% (FY15 result); Takata Corp. 7312.JP +5.6% (airbag recall costs)
- Technology: Sharp Corp 6753.JP -4.4% (deal approved); Toshiba Corporation 6502.JP +6.8% (acquisition)
- Materials: Angang Steel 347.HK +2.0% (FY15 result)

>>> US After Hours Summary: MU +1%, PRGS -10% following earnings


After Hours Summary: MU +1%, PRGS -10% following earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ANY +7% on light volume, MU +1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: MDVN +13.7% (headlines that they are attempting to defend themselves from takeover interest ), EGLE +9.3% (reaches agreement with lenders for balance sheet recapitalization), LIFE +2.9% (announces 'encouraging' phase 1b/2 results for resolaris in its first rare myopathy trial; also reports earnings), VSTM +2.8% (presents data supporting their FAK inhibitor in combination with immunotherapy)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: PRGS -10.2%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: SLW -5.6% (announces $500 mln bought deal financing), FR -1.3% (commences 5.6 mln common stock offering)

>>> US Close Dow+0.47% S&P+0.44% Nasdaq+0.47% Russell+0.12%


Closing Market Summary: Indices Rally as Yellen's Comments Remain in Focus

The stock market ended the Wednesday affair on a higher note as cautious remarks from Fed Chair Yellen boosted risk appetite for the second day in a row. Additional focal points for today's trade included relative strength from the heavyweight technology (+0.7%) and financial (+0.6%) sectors, wavering oil trade, and a continued downturn in biotechnology. The Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%) in-line with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) and the S&P 500 (+0.4%).

Equity indices opened their day sharply above their flat lines as global bourses rallied in response to yesterday's dovish remarks from Fed Chair Yellen. Ms. Yellen's cautious tone boosted risk appetite overseas and at home as she advocated a more gradual path to interest rate normalization. Furthermore, an early rally in crude oil worked to buttress the opening move higher.

However, risk appetite waned when WTI crude slipped from its session high. The slide in oil corresponded to the release of a better than expected reading from the Department of Energy's weekly inventory report. Despite a smaller than expected build in crude stockpiles (2.30 million barrels; expected 3.30 million) and a larger than estimated draw from gasoline inventories (2.51 million barrels; expected 2.17 million), the energy component folded to selling pressure at its session high ($39.80/bbl). However, WTI crude was able to end its day in positive territory, settling up 0.2% at $32.86/bbl.

The major averages moved higher following the conclusion of oil's pit session and seven of ten sectors were able to end their day in the green. On the top of the leaderboard, the heavily-weighted technology (+0.7%) and financial (+0.6%) sectors led while consumer discretionary (+0.6%) and materials (+0.5%) followed.

In the influential technology space (+0.7%), Apple (AAPL 109.56, +1.88) extended its March gain to 12.2% after the tech giant received an upgrade to "Outperform" and a price target increase ($135) at Cowen. Elsewhere in the group, Salesforce.com (CRM 74.30, +2.00) jumped 2.8% after announcing a blank purchase agreement with various departments of the U.S. government that totaled $603 million.

Insurance names gained in the financial sector (+0.6%) after MetLife (MET 44.73, +2.27) had its "Too Big to Fail" designation removed by a district court. The company rallied 5.4% while Prudential (PRU 72.95, +1.43) and American International Group (AIG 54.52, +1.13) traded higher in sympathy with the name.

In the consumer discretionary space (+0.6%), above-consensus bottom-line results from Carnival (CCL 52.37, +2.73) helped lift the resort and leisure sub-group. Elsewhere, Amazon (AMZN 598.69, +4.83) extended its week to date advance to 2.5% while Netflix (NFLX 102.19, -1.94) fell 1.9%.

On the bottom of the leaderboard, countercyclical utilities (-0.2%), health care (-0.1%), and telecom services (UNCH) underperformed.

Biotechnology continued to weigh on the broader health care sector (-0.1%) as the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 254.94, -1.67) slipped 0.7%. Today's decline in the broader ETF followed a leg lower for Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX 27.07, -1.91). The pharmaceutical company dove 6.6% after requesting another extension to file its 10-K form.

The U.S. Dollar Index (94.84, -0.32) slipped further today as the euro and the yen extended their recent gain over the greenback. The euro/dollar pair gained 0.4% and ended at 1.1334 while the dollar lost 0.2% (112.45) against the yen.

The Treasury complex fell to session lows during the height of the rally in equities and slowly marched off those levels as the major averages slipped from their highs. The yield on the 10-yr note ended its day higher by two basis points at 1.82%.

Today's participation fell beneath the recent average as fewer than 700 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Today's economic data included the weekly MBA Mortgage Index and the the ADP Employment Change for March: 

  • The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 1.0% to follow last week's 3.3% drop
  • The ADP Employment report for March came in just ahead of expectations (200K; consensus 196K).
    • This report is a prelude to the more influential March Employment Situation report, which will be released on Friday morning (consensus 200K).

Tomorrow's economic data will include March's Challenger Job Cuts and weekly initial claims (consensus 265k), which will cross the wires at 7:30 ET and 8:30 ET, respectively. The day's data will be capped off with the 9:45 ET release of the Chicago PMI for March (consensus 49.9). 

  • Nasdaq Composite -2.8% YTD
  • Russell 2000 -2.0% YTD
  • S&P 500 +1.0% YTD
  • Dow Jones +1.7% YTD