Market Roundup (MSFT, RE, BT, PUK)
The US tech has the sector moved up, with Chief Executive Steve Ballmer of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) disclosing new mobile-phone software platform on Windows Phone 7. Investors are also awaiting the quarterly earnings reports from several companies. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) gained about 1.45%, while the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose about 0.24%.
The US dollar rose versus the euro and other currencies. Euro has surged about 9% against the dollar since the end of August. The dollar index (DXY) moved up about 0.20%. The euro lost about 0.8360% against the US dollar.
Joseph Taranto has reconsidered his decision to retire as the chairman and chief executive of Everest Re Group Ltd (NYSE: RE). Taranto will stay as the chairman and CEO of the company till December 31, 2012. The company's President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ralph Jones had resigned on October 7. RE shares are down about 3.3%.
Shares of BT Group (NYSE: BT) and Prudential Plc (NYSE: PUK) fell about 2% after a downgrade in the rating. Analysts at Bernstein downgraded BT from “market perform” to “underperform.” Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded PUK from “neutral” to “underweight.”
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