Monday, November 9th, 2009
Pre-Market Round-Up for November 9, 2009
East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC), SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SCLN), and Clearwire Corporation (CLWR) are three story stocks to watch as the market is set to open higher.
Story Stocks to Watch
- East West Bancorp, Inc. [[EWBC]] – Shares of the bank holding company rose higher in pre-market trading after announcing that it acquired the banking operations of San Francisco, California based United Commercial Bank in a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation assisted transaction. Under the terms, East West will receive $10.4 billion in assets and a loss sharing agreement will cover substantially all acquired loans.
- SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. [[SCLN]] – Shares of the biopharmaceutical company rose higher in pre-market trading after reporting better-than-expected third quarter results and providing commercial and pipeline updates. The company earned $2.1 million, or $0.04 per share, on revenues that grew 20% to $17.2 million. Meanwhile, it sees full year revenues of between $70-72 million and earnings per share of between $0.18-0.22.
- Clearwire Corporation [[CLWR]] – Shares of the broadband network company rose higher in pre-market trading after a WSJ report on Sunday suggested that Sprint Nextel Corp. [[S]] and its partners are prepared to provide at least $1.5 billion in additional financing to the company in order to aid the build out of its next-generation network. An announcement of the new investment is expected as soon as this week.
Market Preview
U.S. markets are set to open higher after overseas markets posted another day of spectacular gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading up 89 points; the S&P 500 is trading up 9.8 points; and the Nasdaq is trading up 15.5 points during pre-market hours. Investors will be closely watching the healthcare sector after the House approved reform over the weekend.
The U.S. dollar dropped versus most other major currencies, with the exception of the Japanese Yen, while crude oil future rose on concerns that Hurricane Ida could disrupt oil and gas output in the Gulf of Mexico. While no major economic reports are due out, investors will be watching $40 billion in 3-year Treasury auctions for guidance on U.S. risk.
Overseas markets were largely higher on the day. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 is trading up 1.36%; Germany’s DAX is trading up 1.59%; and France’s CAC 40 is trading up 1.42%. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading up 1.73%; Japan’s Nikkei is up 0.2%; and China’s Shanghai index is up 0.36% during their respective sessions.
Written by David Breen
