15-03-2012 17:51 March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Pimm Fox and Deborah Kostroun report on the performance of the US equity market today. US stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index above 1400 for the first time in almost four years, as data showed manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly increased and jobless claims declined. (Source: Bloomberg)
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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African stocks edged down on Thursday, as shares of Assore and other commodities firms were hit by concerns of overheated valuations, while Investec slumped after it said it expected lower full-year earnings.
Shares of media and e-commerce firm Naspers jumped for a second day, hitting a record high, after Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, in which Naspers holds a 30 percent stake, posted a rise in fourth-quarter net profit.
"Futures investors, who are trader types, probably are rather happy to stay on the sidelines at this stage because of what has happened over the last few days," said Byron Lotter, a portfolio manager at Vestact Asset Management.
"I think this rally is sustainable long term. Equities still have quite a long way to go, there is still a lot of liquidity out there that still needs to be pumped into the equity markets."
South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 index fell 0.61 percent to 30,334.04. The broader All-share index also edged 0.61 percent lower to 34,215.30.
Shares of base metals miner Assore fell 1.6 percent to 250 rand. Its shares have jumped 23 percent over the last three months.
Shares of Investec, which is also listed in London, fell 3.28 percent to 47.55 rand, making it the top loser on the Top-40 index.
The $2 billion bank said full-year earnings probably fell as much as 27 percent, hurt by a poorly performing investment bank and a loss in its Australian unit.
Shares of Harmony Gold fell 2.62 percent to 85.06 rand and brewer SABMiller shed 2.08 percent to close at 311.41 rand.
Decliners outnumbered advancers by 172 to 118. A total of 67 stocks were unchanged.
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S.Africa stocks retreat from two-day gains
By Chris Moore - March 15, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, BIDU, GOOG, INTC, SINA, SOHU, TUDO, VZ, YOKU | 0 Comments
Chris is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.
China is a huge country by almost any metric you choose. Theyre the second largest economy, have the largest total population, the greatest number of cell phone users, internet users, and rank in the top 5 in terms of total landmass. What makes investing in China particularly interesting is the fact that its people are achieving greater and greater wealth across the board and the middle class is growing rapidly and so is demand for the internet and web services of all sorts. Given my personal preference for tech stocks, I've been spurred to take a look at what China has to offer, weighing the pros and cons of investment.
First the pros:
The math is pretty enticing, a large number of people in China have yet to obtain access to the internet, and when they do, companies like Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), Renren, Sohu.com, and Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) are likely to be the places they frequent. This is particularly appealing given the fact that each of these companies already boasts millions of users on top of being poised to gain more.
Total Number of Internet Users in China and the US
Even though the chart above ends at 2010, it is clear Chinas current population with internet access is on pace to more than double that of the U.S. and likely already has. According to Analysys International the number of Chinese mobile internet users was 400 million in the third quarter of 2011, where the global total for mobile internet users is somewhere around 1.2 billion for 2011, according to the International Telecommunication Union. The Chinese market is already very large, but even more importantly; the major Chinese internet companies have control of the market, thanks in part to their restrictive government. Companies like Baidu and Sina benefit enormously from the absence of their U.S. counterparts. For instance, in the global search market, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is the leader by a wide margin, with Baidu in second place with just 11% of the market.
In China, however, the tables are turned, due to Googles smaller presence within the borders.
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - 03/13/2012 - Zacks highlights commentary from People and Picks Trader " inthemoneystocks " .
For more Voice of the People, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=5851
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Chinese Internet Stocks Signal Trouble
As of Monday afternoon, many of the leading Chinese internet stocks are coming under some distribution. Last night, China reported some economic data that was below analysts' expectations. This tells us that the world's hottest economy could be cooling off. Any slowdown in China could be problematic for the global economy.
Sina Corp ( SINA ) is a leading Chinese internet stock that started the session very strong. The stock traded as high as $80.80 a share at the open. This afternoon, SINA is trading lower by $2.51 to $74.89 a share. This is a reversal of nearly $6.00 a share from the intra-day high. If the stock closes at this level it will have formed a bearish outside reversal day on the charts.
The volume is also slightly higher than most of the past trading days and this tells us that the sell-off has institutional conviction. The stock will have very good daily chart support around the $61.00 level. Short term traders can watch for intra-day support around the $73.00, and $70.66 levels.
Other leading Chinese internet stocks that are coming under intra-day selling pressure include Baidu Inc ( BIDU ), Netease.com Inc ( NTES ) and Sohu.com Inc ( SOHU ). These leading Chinese internet stocks should be followed very closely over the next week or so. Further reversal days in the Chinese ADR's could be signal future problems ahead for the Chinese economy.
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Zacks' Voice of the People highlights opportunities with Sina, Baidu, Netease.com and Sohu.com - Press Releases
CHICAGO, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Zacks highlights commentary from People and Picks Trader "inthemoneystocks".
For more Voice of the People, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=5851
Featured Post
Chinese Internet Stocks Signal Trouble
As of Monday afternoon, many of the leading Chinese internet stocks are coming under some distribution. Last night, China reported some economic data that was below analysts' expectations. This tells us that the world's hottest economy could be cooling off. Any slowdown in China could be problematic for the global economy.
Sina Corp (Nasdaq: SINA) is a leading Chinese internet stock that started the session very strong. The stock traded as high as $80.80 a share at the open. This afternoon, SINA is trading lower by $2.51 to $74.89 a share. This is a reversal of nearly $6.00 a share from the intra-day high. If the stock closes at this level it will have formed a bearish outside reversal day on the charts.
The volume is also slightly higher than most of the past trading days and this tells us that the sell-off has institutional conviction. The stock will have very good daily chart support around the $61.00 level. Short term traders can watch for intra-day support around the $73.00, and $70.66 levels.
Other leading Chinese internet stocks that are coming under intra-day selling pressure include Baidu Inc (Nasdaq: BIDU), Netease.com Inc (Nasdaq: NTES) and Sohu.com Inc (Nasdaq: SOHU). These leading Chinese internet stocks should be followed very closely over the next week or so. Further reversal days in the Chinese ADR's could be signal future problems ahead for the Chinese economy.
About the Zacks Community
In 2008, Zacks Investment Research launched PeopleAndPicks.com, a stock-picking website where members of the Zacks community can test their strategies and share ideas with other members. Each user is scored on the accuracy of his or her picks, and top users are rewarded with free products from Zacks. Registration is free. To learn more about People And Picks, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=5957
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Zacks' Voice of the People highlights opportunities with Sina, Baidu, Netease.com and Sohu.com