Decliners

A profit warning weighed on Games Workshop, pulling it 20.6 per cent lower. Shares plunged after the war gaming model specialist issued a warning that full year profits are unlikely to meet market expectations on weaker than anticipated sales in continental Europe.

Carter & Carter, down 7.9%, said that non-executive chairman Rodney Westhead will become chief executive on an interim basis after the car mechanic training group said Phillip Carter is believed to have been killed in a helicopter crash on Tuesday night.

9:15AM Asian markets finish higher Thursday in a broad rally.
Asian markets rallied Thursday. Markets in Japan and China were closed for public holidays. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed 1.4% higher at 20,681.58. China Mobile led gains among Hong Kong large-caps, as the world largest cellular operator by subscribers surged 1.5%. HSBC Holdings gained e 0.9%, adding to prior-session gains.

South Korean Kospi advanced 0.4% to end at 1559.86, slightly below its all-time high of 1,565.03. Hyundai Motor, the largest auto maker in South Korea, gained 0.2%, while industrial conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries added 1.5%. Samsung Electronics Co., a leading maker of flash memory chips used in digital cameras and music players, added 0.4%.

Australian benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.1% higher at 6,245.60, adding to its record finish in the previous session as BHP Billiton and other mining shares held onto their previous gains. BHP Billiton added 0.6% and Rio Tinto climbed 0.8%. The National Australia Bank added 0.1% ahead of its first-half earnings, which are due to be released next week.

Singapore Straits Times Index added 1.4% to close at 3,463.86, while Malaysia KLSE Composite finished up 1.4% to 1,341.18.


9:00AM U.S. stock futures turned higher on robust Q1 labor productivity.
U.S. stock futures advanced Thursday after data showing a bigger-than-expected rise in labor productivity in Q1, and lower-than-anticipated unit labor costs. The Labor Department said that productivity of the U.S. non-farm business sector rose 1.7%, much higher than the expected 0.8% increase. Unit labor costs at an annual rate of 0.6%, well-below expectations of a 2.1% gain.

The well-received economic data managed to offset negative sentiment generated by highly disappointing quarterly results at GM. General Motors (GM: chart) lost 1.4% to $32 in the pre-open after it said its Q1 profit dropped to $62 million, with GMAC hurt by the subprime mortgage sector. Among other movers in the sector, Ford Motor (F: chart) fell 0.9% and DaimlerChrysler (DCX: chart) slid 1.2% in the pre-open.

Among pre-market highlights, office-supply retailer OfficeMax Inc. (OMX: chart) said it swung to a Q1 profit, but retail sales fell and results misses analyst expectations. The company posted earnings of $57.5 million, or 76 cents per share, versus a loss of $26.1 million, or 37 cents per share a year ago, missing estimates of 93 cents. Excluding a $1.1 million loss related to the sale of some operations in Mexico, net income was 77 cents per share.

Further in earnings news, RealNetworks (RNWK: chart) climbed 7.1% in the pre-open after reporting a 60% profit surge and its board approving a $100 million stock buyback. JDS Uniphase (JDSU: chart) dropped 10% after it reported a loss. CBS (CBS: chart) reported a profit decline, though its profit topped analyst estimates. S&P 500 futures erased slight earlier losses to trade up 2.90 points at 1,504.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures tacked on 4.75 points to 1,903.50. Dow industrial futures climbed 22 points to 13,270.


8:15AM General Motors Q1 profit tumbled 90%.
General Motors Corp. (GM: chart) announced Thursday a sharp decline in quarterly profit coming in far below analysts'' estimates. The auto maker said its Q1 earnings were $62 million, or 11 cents a share, down from a profit of $602 million, or $1.06 a share a year ago, missing expectations of a profit of 87 cents on revenue of $40.88 billion. Revenue in the quarter slipped to $43.91 billion from $52.38 billion in the same period a year earlier.

The latest results include charges totaling $32 million, or 6 cents a share, largely related to restructuring actions in Europe and Asia Pacific. Excluding special items, GM would have posted Q1 adjusted earnings of $94 million, or 17 cents a share.

The company attributes the disappointing results to its financial services unit''s exposure to the non-prime sector of the residential mortgage business. However, the company said its North America operations posted an adjusted loss of $85 million for Q1, narrower than a year-ago equivalent loss of $251 million. The company''s stock fell 1.6% to $31.90 in premarket trade.


8:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai Sensex rallies Thursday on robust earnings from large-caps.

The Sensex on BSE finished 205.84 points, or 1.48%, higher at 14,078.21.

The market-breadth was strong as there were three gainers for every two decliners. As 1,557 stocks advanced, 1,016 declined and 87 stocks remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 23 advanced, six declined and one remained unchanged. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,413 crore, higher than Rs 3,282.23 crore on Monday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 9,326.83 crore, much higher than Rs 7,571.21 crore on Monday.