(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks gained on Tuesday as weaker dollar lifted commodity shares.
Below we highlight few stocks that witnessed heightened activity on Tuesday.
Citigroup (NYSE:
C):Shares of Citigroup surged almost 5% on Tuesday after Singapore's sovereign wealth fund- the Government of Singapore Investment Corp.- reduced its stake in Citigroup Inc. to below 5 percent from 9 percent. GIC made a $6.9-billion investment in Citi preferred shares in January 2008, which were convertible into common stock at a conversion price of $3.25 each. Early this month, GIC increased its stake over 9 percent after it exchanged $6.88 billion of preferred shares for common stock as part of a broader debt exchange program Citigroup launched to bolster its capital position. In a statement, the fund said it made a $1.6 billion gain on stock sale, and it also has a $1.6 billion paper profit on 5 percent stake it now holds in Citigroup. According to media reports, the bank is also in talks with the U.S. government to reduce its stake. So far, Citigroup has received $45 billion in loans from the U.S. government — a portion of which was converted to the 34 percent ownership stake — and guarantees to protect against losses on more than $300 billion in risky assets.
Carnival Corp. (NYSE:
CCL): The cruise-line operator said Tuesday that its third-quarter net income fell to $1.07 billion, or $1.33 a share, from $1.33 billion, or $1.65 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue dropped to $4.14 billion from $4.81 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to earn $1.18 a share. Net revenue yields, or revenue per-bed per-day, fell a less-than-expected 12%. The company also boosted its 2009 earnings guidance. Carnival Corp. said that it now expects to report full-year earnings of $2.16 to $2.20 a share, compared to its prior forecast of $2 to $2.10 a share. Analysts, on average, were looking for $2.05 a share. "It is clear that we've kind of stabilized here, and that we have been able to tweak pricing up at a price point that people find very attractive," said Chief Operating Officer Howard Frank during a conference call with analysts. He added further that "pricing continues to be stable, and for a limited number of itineraries...we have been moving pricing up." Shares of the company were up 5% in midday trade.
