Stock futures rise, suggest respite before Fed

(Reuters) - The Fed releases its decision on Tuesday and is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25 percent. Interest rate futures show traders are betting on the central bank delivering at least one rate cut by the end of this year.




By 0927 GMT September S&P futures were up 0.5 percent in Europe but still around their lowest in nearly five months.


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BG Medicine files for $80 mln IPO

(Reuters) - The company said it is seeking to list its shares on
Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext under the symbol "BGMDX."





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GM shrinks sales gap with No.1 Toyota after firm Q2

(Reuters) - Detroit-based GM said on Thursday its global sales in April-June totaled 2.4 million vehicles, up less than 10,000 vehicles from a year earlier. For the first six months, sales rose 1.7 percent to 4.674 million units.




First-half sales were just 42,000 units short of Toyota's tally of 4.716 million units for the first half, down from a difference of 90,000 units in the first quarter.


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Rand reaches 11-month high vs dollar

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday and reached its strongest level in 11 months, buoyed by firmer metals prices and the prospect of foreign inflows into the country.

The rand was trading at 6.8790 around 1450 GMT, about 0.87 percent firmer than its New York close of 6.9340 on Wednesday. The local unit reached 6.8550 earlier, its strongest level since August 20 last year according to Reuters data.


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Kenya shilling flat vs dollar in quiet trade

(Reuters) - The Kenya shilling was unchanged against the dollar on Thursday and dealers said it would remain at the same levels until the end of the month.

At 1013 GMT, commercial banks quoted the local currency at 67.05/67.15 to the greenback unchanged from Wednesday's close.


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Rand in tight range, looks to US data

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand held in a tight range versus the dollar on Tuesday, and dealers said direction was likely to hinge on the release of U.S. data later in the session.

At 0630 GMT, the rand stood at 6.9775 versus the dollar, little changed from its New York close of 6.9750 on Monday.


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Gold near 5-week high, focus on dollar and oil

(Reuters) - Spot gold was quoted at $667.10/667.70 an ounce by 1008 GMT, against $667.00/667.80 late in New York on Thursday, when it rallied to as high as $669.05 as the dollar tumbled to a record low against the euro.




"Funds have been attracted into these markets because they are in an uptrend and that gives them an opportunity to make some money. They are making the markets more volatile," said Richard Davis, director of natural resources at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.


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Oil eases from 11-month high; eyes Nigeria, N.Sea

(Reuters) - London Brent crude , currently seen as a better indicator of the global market, fell 31 cents to $75.47 a barrel by 0207 GMT, reversing Monday's 16-cent gains but still within sight of the contract's all-time high of $78.65 struck August 8.




U.S. crude inched down 7 cents to $72.12 a barrel after falling 62 cents a day ago, as traders fretted that fresh refinery troubles would keep U.S. crude oil stocks flush.


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Rand trapped in ranges vs dollar

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was trapped in a tight band versus the dollar on Monday in a quiet session lacking fresh market news and traders said the unit would likely be rangebound in the next few sessions.

The rand was trading at 6.9690 at 1520 GMT, about 0.23 percent firmer than its last New York close of 6.9850 on Friday. It firmed to 6.9565 earlier.


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Gold gains on weaker dollar, firm oil

(Reuters) - A weaker dollar and firm oil prices lifted gold prices by about $2 an ounce on Thursday, but the market largely ignored announcements by European and UK central banks on interest rates.

Gold was at $656.20/656.80 an ounce by 1238 GMT, against $654.40/655.20 in late European trade on Wednesday, when the U.S. market was closed for the Independence Day holiday.


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GM, Hilton, Huntsman, JDA, Marriott, Starwood Hotels: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 9:35 a.m. in New York.

General Motors Corp. (GM US) fell $1.69, or 4.5 percent, to
$36.29. The largest U.S. automaker was cut to ``peer perform''
from ``outperform'' by Bear Stearns & Co. after GM said June U.S.
sales declined. Separately, Deutsche Bank AG cut its full-year
earnings estimate for GM to $2 a share, a 30 percent reduction,
after ``surprisingly weak'' U.S. sales in June.


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Oil holds below $73, gasoline supply fears support

(Reuters) - London Brent crude , currently seen as more representative of global oil prices, fell 3 cents to $72.90 a barrel by 0216 GMT, although trading activity was expected to be muted due to the U.S. public holiday.




U.S. crude slipped 23 cents to $71.18 after gaining five percent over the past five days. The New York Mercantile Exchange trading floor will be shut on Wednesday, but electronic Globex trade continues as usual.


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Wall St set for firmer start ahead of data, holiday

(Reuters) - By 1011 GMT, futures on the Dow Jones industrial average
rose 0.2 percent, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.3
percent and Nasdaq added 0.4 percent.




"Activity before July 4 will be rather limited, but long
rates came in a little bit and ... economic activity
remains quite strong with quite a benign inflation component,"
said Johan Van Der Biest, fund manager at Dexia.


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US stocks set to fall post Fed, price data looms

(Reuters) - By 0916 GMT, September Dow Jones futures fell 0.1
percent, while S&P 500 futures eased 0.07 percent, and
Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.05 percent.




U.S. indexes ended little changed on Thursday as the Fed's
post-meeting statement acknowledged a recent easing in the rate
of core consumer inflation, but insisted price pressures were
the central bank's main policy concern.


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European shares rise, economic data eyed

(Reuters) - European shares tracked Asian markets higher early on Friday, supported by banks and oil stocks, as investors trained their sights on a raft of economic data after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates steady.

At 0704 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.36 percent at 1,601.57 points.


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UPDATE 1-GM selling Allison Transmission for $5.6 billion

(Reuters) - GM said the sale would include almost all of the Allison
Transmission unit's assets, including seven manufacturing
plants in Indianapolis and the unit's worldwide distribution
network.




GM had said in January that it was looking to sell Allison,
which makes transmissions for commercial trucks, buses and
military vehicles.


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Rand holds firm while stocks, bonds slip

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand held firm on Wednesday, despite faltering metals prices and equities falling as investors spurned risky assets, but bonds continued to slide.

The local currency was trading at 7.1780 to the dollar at 1515 GMT, 0.22 percent stronger than its previous New York close and well off a session low of 7.2325, touched in early trade. It was little changed against the euro, at around 9.62.


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Rand range-bound, may weaken on equities

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was trapped in ranges against the dollar on Tuesday, but dealers said there was scope for the unit to weaken given lower equity markets in the United States.

The rand was trading at 7.1795 to the dollar at 0635 GMT, close to its New York close of 7.18 on Monday.


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GM, Ford to offer month-end showroom discounts

(Reuters) - The plans are expected to include some zero-percent-financing offers for GM buyers, they said. The terms of the competing Ford discounts were not immediately available but were expected to be broadly similar, one of the persons said.




Both GM and Ford have held incentive spending largely flat this year as part of an attempt to move away from the kind of blowout sales and volatile monthly sales tallies that dogged results for the Detroit automakers earlier this decade.


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LSE confirms in merger talks with Milan bourse

(Reuters) - A source close to the situation earlier told Reuters that the talks were at an advanced stage at that Borsa's chief executive, Massimo Capuano, would outline an agreement to board members at a meeting on Thursday starting at 1300 GMT.




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