STOCKS NEWS US-Food companies up after Tyson Foods results

Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS] Real-time Equity news [U E] [RESF/US]

U.S. stock market report [.N]
1424 ET 26Jan2009-Food companies up after Tyson Foods results
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Shares of food companies rose on Monday after Tyson Foods (TSN.N) said
results at its chicken unit improved because of higher meat prices and lower
costs. It also posted a first-quarter loss that was wider than expected.
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The stock rose 2.7 percent to $8.89. Among its peers, Dean Foods (DF.N) was
up 1.7 percent to $19.54, McCormick & Co (MKC.N) added 2.4 percent to $31.16
and Ralcorp (RAH.N) was up 1.2 percent to $59.08.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1418 ET 26Jan2009-Wells Fargo attracts put sellers - analyst
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Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) has attracted some aggressive put selling in front
of Wednesday's earnings as some traders may be cashing in their positions. The
bank's shares dipped 1.51 percent to $15.63 in afternoon trade. According to
Trade Alert, nearly 32,000 Feb $15 puts have traded, with most the volume on
the bid and implied volatility at the strike dropping nearly 16 points to 135
percent, Trade Alert president Henry Schwartz said. With 41,000 contracts of
open interest, Schwartz surmised the seller or sellers may be closing out
positions and taking money off the table ahead of the news. Most of the open
interest was put on earlier this month when Wells Fargo shares were near $20,
he said.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1408 ET 26Jan2009-General Motors to lay off 2,000 workers, idle plants
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General Motors (GM.N) on Monday said it would lay off 2,000 workers at
plants in Michigan and Ohio, and temporarily idle another nine North American
assembly plants in response to weak demand.

"We're just continuing to bring our production in line with market demand,"
said GM spokeswoman Susan Waun.

The moves come as the recession has heavily weighed on U.S. car sales.
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Shares of GM, a Dow component, tumbled 4.9 percent to $3.32 on Monday while
the Dow Jones U.S. Automobile Index .DJUSAU gained 2.2 percent to 33.06.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1404 ET 26Jan2009-Morgan Stanley downgrades General Dynamics
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Morgan Stanley on Monday downgraded defense contractor General Dynamics
(GD.N) to equal weight from overweight, seeing a deep cut of business jet
deliveries in 2009 and 2010.

"While 2009 is challenging, we believe 2010 could be the trough year in the
cycle, absorbing the full impact of this recession," the firm wrote.

Shares of General Dynamics rose 1 percent to $53.83 on Monday.
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Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1359 ET 26Jan2009-Merrill sees trouble for material, financial groups
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Merrill Lynch on Monday said it saw trouble ahead for the small-cap sectors
it currently rates as underweight: consumer discretionary, financials and
materials, forecasting "significant problems ahead" for the three.

"Despite carrying cheap valuations, Consumer Discretionary tends to lag
behind when unemployment claims rise and the Street is still expecting earnings
to be up significantly in 2009, which we doubt," the firm wrote.

Merrill added that financial stocks have held up better than most investors
expected in 2008, "and thus it does not look as cheap as the other groups. We
also think their will be considerable risks to earnings in
2009."

As for the materials group, Merrill said the Baltic Dry Bulk index had
stabilized, "which is good for the sector; however, earnings have fallen faster
for this group than any other sector over the last two months."

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net