Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher overnight towards the 10,000 points psychological level, helped by a market confidence on corporate earnings of blue chip companies. Energy stocks were also up on the back of a jump in crude oil prices.
Dow index hit a fresh 2009 high on Friday after the earnings season kicked off. Upbeat forecasts on IT giants IBM and Intel fueled the market's growing expectations over a profit recovery. S&P's 500 and Nasdaq both gained more than 4.5 per cent for the week.
Mitsui Fudosan Co. (TYO:8801) will partner with the Chinese apparel firm Shanshan Group Co. to open an outlet mall with famous brands as tenants in the city of Ningbo in the Zhejiang Province as early as 2011.
Mr Riad T. Al Sadik, Chairman of the Al Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG), announced that Mr Laurie Voyer has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Group.
Wall Street Monday rebounded from a three-day losing streak as investors were optimistic about the merger and acquisition market after Xerox agreed to buy business services provider Affiliated Computer Services in a US$6.4 billion deal. Analysts' upgrades also boosted Cisco, Citigroup and other firms in both the technology and financial sectors.
Overnight Wall Street was lower for a second consecutive session on a weak home sales report. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 2.7 per cent in August to an annual rate of 5.10 million units, breaking a string of four increases in six months. The surprise drop in home sales raised more concerns over the economy recovery strength.
After a modest setback on Monday, US shares climbed overnight to a fresh high as investors returned to the market on upbeat outlook on the economy. Meanwhile, positive company earnings reports also helped to lift the market sentiment.
