Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Equity Markets Headed Higher; Awaiting Fed Statement, Cyprus Resolution

Market futures were headed higher with all eyes still on Cyprus.

Among stocks on the move pre-market,�Fedex (FDX) shares were down 3.8% after it cut its earnings forecast below analyst estimates and reported a 31% drop in quarterly earnings. Customers are using less premium-priced overnight delivery service.

Shares of oil and gas exploration company Anadarko Petroleum (APC) were up 3.4% after it announced a large discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. It has a 30% stake, along with integrated oil-and-gas giant�ConocoPhillips (COP), whose shares were up 1.2%, �and indepdendant oil and gas company�Cobalt International Energy (CIE), whose shares were up more than 7%. It has a market value of $10 billion.

Lennar (LEN) was up 1.2% after it said earnings more than tripled in the first quarter as the housing market recovers.

Shares of�J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) were up 0.71% to $49.55 in pre-market trading.�J.P. Morgan �and MF Global Holdings�reached a settlement valued at $546 million filed in court Tuesday. J.P. Morgan will pay $100 million to reimburse customers and released claims on $417 million in MF Global funds.

The settlement, subject to approval, will help MF Global customers recover some of the more than $1 billion that disappeared as MF went bankrupt in October 2011.�MF Global was a big player in futures markets, used by farmers and other investors; J.P. Morgan helped move funds between MF Global, its customers and industry clearing houses. Former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who also was chairman of Goldman Sachs (GS), was at the helm at MF. More in the Wall Street Journal story here.

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