Crude prices lift stocks

MARKET OUTLOOK

- US: US markets were up at the end of last week helped by good earnings reports and rising oil prices. Stocks from house and personal production, software, utilities and commercial managed to outperform the market, while semiconductors , media, banks and energy were under pressure. Technically, US indexes should continue to rise this week. The Dow Jones and the S&P500 should bounce towards their recent highs helped by an expected 25 basis point cut in the Fed funds rate.

- EUROPE: European markets ended higher last week due to record crude oil prices. Shares from telecommunications, automobiles and parts, technology and construction and materials were the best performers, while healthcare, banks, personal and household goods and retail lost ground. From a technical point of view, September 19's gap area should still hold. Thus, an upside acceleration should be seen and new year highs should be seen soon on most indexes.

COMPANY PREVIEW

ENI (EUR 25.16 ; -2.97% ; ENI ; ENI.MI)

Today, Eni is scheduled to unveil Q3 net income of E1.92bn (E2.42bn last year). Last week, the Co said that it expected an increase in its production and refining margins helped by a new unit, Eni Trading and Shipping, which plans to expand derivatives trading and risk management operations. Besides, the Co won exploration rights for 26 new blocks (estimated reserves of 650m barrels of oil) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Procter and Gamble (USD 71.75 ; 1.34% ; PG ; PG.N)

In the US, Procter and Gamble will report Q1 EPS of $0.89 ($0.79 last year) on sales of $20.24bn ($18.78bn a year ago). On October 9, the Co started construction of its largest cosmetics plant in Poland, worth $55m. The plant will go into operation in 2009. In addition, the Co wants to raise $13.5bn to buy back shares through the sale of its Duracell, Folgers and Pringles units.

Kraft Foods (USD 33.3 ; 2.15% ; KFT ; KFT.N)

Kraft Foods is expected to post Q3 EPS of $0.41 ($0.46 last year) on sales of $8.69bn ($$8.24bn) on Wednesday. The Co was recently seeking antitrust approval for its E5.3bln acquisition of Groupe Danone's biscuit unit. At the beginning of this month, the Co was allowed to delay Procter and Gamble's lawsuit by two years. A few days earlier, the Co agreed to sell Fruit20 and Veryfine to Sunny Delight Beverages as they didn't fit the Co's long-term strategy.

ABN Amro (EUR 37.71 ; -0.05% ; AABA ; AABA.AS)

On Thursday, ABN Amro Holding will release Q3 net income of E1.01bn. On October 21, the Co's 40% stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank was expected to be sold. In addition, the Co sold E200m loans for a leasing unit of Turkiye Garanti Bankasi. The group also announced a E100m portion of the loan for Garanti Finansal Kiralama will be syndicated to a wider group of lenders.

Exxon Mobil (USD 92.21 ; 0.08% ; XOM ; XOM.N)

Finally, Exon Mobil may present Q3 earnings on the same day. Q3 EPS is expected to be at $1.73 vs $1.77 last year. In October, the Co started production from the Marimba North project off the coast of Angola, which is designed to tap 80m barrels of oil and 40,000 barrels of peak production capacity a day. Besides, the Co signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuwait Oil to help the Gulf state produce heavy crude oil.