A surge by Wall St shares spurred by Intel's earnings overnight faded within an hour of trading despite relatively positive economic data. By mid-morning, the Dow Jones was down 21.70 points to 9,791.71 and the Nasdaq dropped 2.04 points to 1,941.15. Opening deals saw shares surge as investors greeted Intel's strong earnings results. The Nasdaq rose by 35 points while the Dow gained 85 in early deals. The gains, however, evaporated even after the New York Empire State manufacturing index rose to a higher than expected 33.7 in October from 18.4 in September.
Retail sales declined last month, according to figures from the Commerce Department, but this was due to a slump in demand for autos and analysts said the underlying trend remains positive. Shares in Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, rose 3.4pc after it reported better than expected earnings after the bell last night and issued fourth quarter sales guidance that was seen as a positive. Fellow chip manufacturer Novellus surged 4pc after it reported earnings of 4c a share, better than the breakeven results analysts were expecting but down from a profit of 11c a share a year earlier. //www.fxcentre.com