Market News

LONDON (ShareCast) - Chip maker AMD (NYSE: AMD - news) surged after agreeing a 5-year cross licensing deal with rival Intel (NASDAQ: INTC - news) and settling all outstanding legal issues in return for a $1.25bn payment from Intel.

AMD shares rose by more than one-fifth following the news. Intel will report the $1.25bn payment as an exceptional expense in the fourth quarter of 2009. The lititgation has gone on for a number of years and has been costly to both parties.

AMD will drop all pending cases, including one before a federal district court in Delaware and two cases pending in Japan. AMD also agrees to "withdraw all of its regulatory complaints worldwide".

The settlement may not mean an end to ongoing investigations and cases, including one recently filed by New York's Attorney General, but analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates argues that "without their star witness/plaintiff, these legal bodies won't have much".

"Particularly suits that have not gone very far, like the NYAG's, are likely to collapse. Others, like the appeal in Europe, will likely travel under their own steam for a while."

US shares lost their early gains suggesting that the six day upward trend may be coming to an end.

The Dow Jones is down 39 at 10,252, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: news) is 5 lower at 2,161, while the broader S&P 500 dropped 6 points to 1,092.

Retail behemoth Wal-Mart's third quarter earnings of 84 cents a share beat estimates of 81 cents. Sales were just shy of $99bn, up from $97.62bn a year ago.

"The sales environment continued to be difficult this quarter, but customer traffic is up throughout the company," said president and chief executive Mike Duke.

The Wal-Mart share price reached its highest level for more than six months and it is still the best performer on the Dow.

Late last night, Hewlett-Packard said it will buy network equipment group 3Com for $2.7bn in cash. Shares in 3Com have risen by nearly one-third.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO - news) is the Dow's biggest loser as traders feel the deal allows HP to challenge the company in its own backyard.

Medical devices group Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH - news) has launched a $1bn two-part debt sale.

On the economic front, the latest unemployment data reinforced expectations that the recovery will be a slow one.

Jobless claims fell 12,000 to 502,000 last week, their lowest level since January and a bigger fall than the drop to 510,000, predicted by economists. Continuing claims fell to 5.6m from 5.7m the week before.

S&P 500 - Risers Adv Micro Devices (AMD) $6.48 +21.80% Jds Uniphase Corp (NASDAQ: JDSU - news) . (JDSU) $8.03 +11.53% Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW - news) (DOW) $28.50 +6.70% NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) $19.33 +3.20% Goodyear Tire Rubber (GT) $13.93 +2.96% Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $31.14 +1.90% Ingersoll Rand Ltd. (IR) $36.32 +1.88% Regions Financial Corp (NYSE: RF - news) . (RF) $4.91 +1.87% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $67.72 +1.77% McGraw Hill Cos (MHP) $30.81 +1.68%

S&P 500 - Fallers Manitowoc Co. (MTW) $10.84 -5.33% Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $54.73 -4.15% Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN - news) (SWN) $42.90 -4.02% Range Res Corp. (RRC) $49.20 -3.91% Sprint Nxtel Corp. (S) $3.07 -3.79% Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $14.57 -3.64% KB Home (NYSE: KBH - news) (KBH) $15.11 -3.51% Nabors Inds Inc. (NBR) $22.03 -3.42% Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC - news) (APC (LSE: APC.L - news) ) $62.76 -3.42% Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW - news) (GNW) $11.21 -3.36%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $53.49 +0.98% Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT - news) . (MSFT) $29.39 +0.93% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $17.76 +0.79% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $61.23 +0.59% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $56.26 +0.23% Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $26.87 +0.19% Merck (MERK.JK - news) & Co. Inc. (MRK) $33.28 +0.18% Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.87 +0.15% Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD - news) . (HD) $27.34 +0.11%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.36 -2.34% Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT - news) . (CAT) $58.94 -1.87% Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA - news) . (AA) $13.24 -1.41% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $43.73 -1.33% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $62.02 -1.29% Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX - news) . (CVX) $77.58 -1.18% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $53.68 -1.16% Bank Of America Corp (NYSE: IKJ - news) . (BAC) $16.24 -1.16% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $61.61 -1.00% Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM - news) . (XOM) $72.28 -0.86%

Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: news) - Risers Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX - news) (STX (011810.KS - news) ) $16.81 +3.13% Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $33.01 +2.29% Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI - news) . (ATVI) $11.61 +2.02% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $67.72 +1.77% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $55.50 +1.31% Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD) $15.02 +1.18% Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD - news) . (SHLD) $70.56 +1.05% Genzyme Corp (NASDAQ: GENZ - news) . (GENZ) $53.42 +1.04% IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) $19.92 +1.04% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $15.25 +0.99%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $32.23 -3.18% Joy Global Inc (NASDAQ: JOYG - news) . (JOYG) $55.35 -3.17% Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT - news) . (AMAT) $12.88 -2.83% First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR - news) . (FSLR) $116.69 -2.64% Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) $32.27 -2.54% Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $24.73 -2.45% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $39.30 -2.38% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.36 -2.34% Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $37.11 -1.98% Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $45.92 -1.75%