Mark Androvich
06:14 (BST)
05/04/2008
Stock Report: March 31 - April 4
The week ended on a negative note, with the US Labor Department releasing its job report showing higher than expected job cuts for March and an unemployment rate higher than economists anticipated.
Stock markets closed the first week of the new quarter mixed, with the S&P 500 up 0.1 per cent to 1,370.40 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1 per cent to 12,609.42. NASDAQ, meanwhile, was up 0.32 per cent to 2,370.98.
Reutersreported that Microsoft was re-evaluating its offer to purchase Yahoo! in light of current economic conditions. It's stock was up slightly.
SCi saw the biggest gain this week, with its shares increasing more than 20 per cent on Friday alone - leading to speculation that it had resumed the acquisition negotiations which had ceased back in January.
Although no companies have made an offer for SCi public, Ubisoft, Infogrames and Time Warner are the three companies most often mentioned as potential suitors.
Selected stock movements in the past week (at time of writing):
| SCi | 43.5 - 60.5 | +39.08 % |
|---|---|---|
| Sega | 10.73 - 12.71 | +18.45% |
| Midway | 2.46 - 2.90 | +17.89% |
| Konami | 38.88 - 42.40 | +9.05% |
| Ubisoft | 53.77 - 58.24 | +8.31% |
| EA | 49.34 - 51.94 | +5.27% |
| Microsoft | 27.91 - 29.16 | +4.48% |
| Namco Bandai | 13.50 - 14.10 | +4.44% |
| THQ | 21.31 - 22.22 | +4.27% |
| Nintendo | 523 - 544 | +4.02% |
| Sony | 40.64 - 41.90 | +3.10% |
| Take-Two | 25.33 - 25.61 | +1.11% |
| Activision | 27.29 - 27.40 | +0.4% |
| Infogrames | 13.49 - 13.05 | -3.26% |
Please note that stock prices on differing markets may be influenced by separate local events, and shouldn't necessarily be compared like for like. This list is not a ranking of total market valuation; selected stocks only. Prices given in local exchange currency, except Tokyo stocks, which are converted into USD.
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