Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Pre-Market Round-Up for November 25, 2009
Incyte Corporation (INCY), Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SVA), and Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (SOLF) are three story stocks to watch as the market is set to open higher.
Story Stocks to Watch
- Incyte Corporation (INCY) – Shares of the drug discovery and development company rose sharply higher in premarket trading after it entered into a collaboration agreement with Novartis for two of its investigational hematology-oncology therapies in Phase I and Phase III trials, respectively. The company may receive over $1 billion in payments, including $150 million in upfront fees and an immediate $60 million milestone.
- Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SVA) – Shares of the vaccine provider moved higher in premarket trading after it executed a joint venture agreement to establish Sinovac (Dalian) Vaccine Technology Co., Ltd. The JV will research, develop, produce and commercialize human-use vaccines. Sinovac will provide its expertise and experience in developing and commercializing vaccines, while the other party will provide the infrastructure.
- Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (SOLF) – Shares of the solar manufacturer moved higher in premarket trading after it appointed Gareth Kung as its Chief Financial Officer. He is a Certified Public Accountant in three countries as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst, and brings extensive industry experience to the table. Meanwhile, he has also served other Chinese companies as well.
Market Preview
U.S. markets are set to open higher after the jobless rate dropped to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading up 41 points at 10,446, the Nasdaq is trading up 10.25 points at 1,796.75, and the S&P 500 is trading up 6.5 points at 1,109.60.
Several economic events are on the calendar for Wednesday, including jobless and durable goods data. Initial jobless claims came in at 466,000 versus market expectations of 500,000, while durable goods were down 0.6% versus market expectations of a 2% gain. Coming up this morning are New Home Sales and Crude Inventories.
The U.S. dollar continued to trend downwards during the overnight session, which helped commodities jump higher before open in the U.S. Crude oil prices advanced 39 cents to $76.40 per barrel, while gold prices increased 1.3% to $1,182.40 per ounce. Meanwhile, the dollar index declined a further 0.6%, helping to move stocks higher as well.
Overseas markets were largely higher during their respective sessions. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 moved up 33.89 points, or 0.64%, to 5,357.85, Germany’s DAX moved up 29.95 points, or 0.52%, to 5,799.26, and France’s CAC moved up 27.23 points, or 0.72%, to 3,811.85. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng moved up 188.66 points, or 0.84%, to 22,611.80, Japan’s Nikkei 225 moved up 40.06 points, or 0.43%, to 9,441.64, and China’s Shanghai Composite moved up 66.64 points, or 2.07%, to 3,290.17.
Written by David Breen
