Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, July 10, 2012.

NEW YORK | Sat Sep 29, 2012 4:17am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street will open October with a busy week, highlighted by low expectations for global manufacturing data and the U.S. jobs report, but that could set the stage for positive surprises that help lift the market.

The S&P 500 .INX.SPX finished its third positive quarter in the last four on Friday, despite suffering its largest weekly percentage decline since June. For the past three months, the S&P 500 gained 5.9 percent - its best third quarter since 2010. In contrast, the index was down 1.3 percent for the week.

The benchmark S&P 500 earlier this month reached its highest level since late 2007. Yet uncertainty remains over whether stocks can hold their gains against the headwinds of a struggling economy. That explains, in part, the retreat over the last several days.

The S&P 500 hit a high of 1,474.51 in mid-September before pulling back by a bit more than 2 percent. A run at 1,500 seems possible, but the flurry of economic and world events ahead probably will prevent a major advance in the coming week.

Bulls are betting this week's Spanish budget proposals will be a preamble to a bailout request by Mariano Rajoy's government. The move would be seen as a first step to get the finances of the euro zone's fourth-largest economy in order and would clear some of the market uncertainty regarding the euro zone crisis.

Monetary policy is also on the list of market catalysts next week. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak on Monday and the minutes of the latest FOMC meeting are set for release later in the week. The week's agenda includes meetings of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.

"I think we could see a rebound next week if we get some of the stars aligning and have Spain ask for a bailout, the ECB announcing favorable terms for that bailout, and if we see the Bank of Japan announce further monetary intervention," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

"If Spain and the ECB don't deliver, we could set ourselves up for a further lateral move in the markets. A negative would be if Rajoy flat-out denies that they need a bailout."

The ECB and BOJ are set to meet on Thursday, with the Bank of Japan's meeting extending until Friday.

FACTORIES, JOBS AND THE DEBATES

Chinese factory and business conditions data will kick off a numbers-heavy calendar for markets. Manufacturing PMI, due on Monday, is expected to show a second straight month of contraction.

A snapshot of U.S. manufacturing activity will be provided on Monday when the Institute for Supply Management releases its September index. The September ISM reading is expected to show another month of contraction, but at a slightly slower pace than in August. On Wednesday, the ISM will release its U.S. services-sector Purchasing Managers' Index, which could show a slight deceleration in the pace of growth in the non-manufacturing sector.

"We have Chinese economic data over the weekend, and we'll see how markets react on Monday," said Wasif Latif, vice president of equity investments at San Antonio, Texas-based USAA Investment Management.

"It seems like the market is bracing for bad numbers, meaning if they're not as bad, it could be market-positive," Latif said.

Non-farm payrolls for September, due on Friday, are seen up 115,000, while the U.S. unemployment rate is seen ticking up 0.1 percent from August to 8.2 percent in September.

The jobs data will come on the heels of the first of three U.S. presidential debates, scheduled for Wednesday night. Recent poll numbers point to a strengthening lead by President Barack Obama, but a weak payrolls reading could give some hope to Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

"If Romney doesn't turn the ship with a very strong (debate)performance, the president is going to win," said Jack de Gan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory Corp in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

He said the trend in the polls has taken away some of the market uncertainty regarding the presidential election. He added that an ECB- or Spain-related headline out of Europe on Thursday could overcome almost anything that would happen Wednesday night during the debate.

"I think the market is coming to terms with the fact the president is ahead, and unless something significant changes, (he) will prevail."

(Wall Street Week Ahead runs every Friday. Questions or comments on this column can be emailed to: rodrigo.campos(at)thomsonreuters.com)

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, September 20, 2012.

NEW YORK | Thu Sep 27, 2012 4:44pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 snapped a five-day string of declines in a broad-based rally on Thursday, as Spain's plans for economic reform eased some worries about one of the euro zone's most troubled countries.

The benchmark S&P 500 rose 1 percent, its biggest percentage gain since the Federal Reserve announced its plan for a third round of stimulus on September 13.

Spain announced a detailed timetable for economic reforms for the fiscally troubled nation and a tough 2013 budget based mostly on spending cuts.

"Any information that gives some understanding about what's going to happen is good for the market. It's small news, but more certainty is good," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

The EU's Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, said Spain's detailed timetable for economic reforms goes beyond what the European Commission has asked of Spain. Rehn said it is an ambitious step forward.

Gold stocks ranked among the day's bigger gainers in the wake of Spain's news; the PHLX gold/silver index .XAU jumped 3 percent.

Adding to the rally was a last-minute push by investors to reposition portfolios ahead of the quarter's end, with the S&P 500 on track for a gain of 6.2 percent in the third quarter. Friday will be the quarter's last trading day.

"What we've seen is broadly a consolidation, but also an attempt by fund managers to position properly for the rest of the year, to be in the best sectors," said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Asset Management in Boston.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI shot up 72.46 points, or 0.54 percent, to 13,485.97 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 13.83 points, or 0.96 percent, to finish at 1,447.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 42.90 points, or 1.39 percent, to close at 3,136.60.

While the Nasdaq led Thursday's gains, it also led the market's declines earlier this week - its volatility possibly reflecting investors' nervousness about the U.S. economic outlook, analysts said.

Apple (AAPL.O), up 2.4 percent at $681.32, gave the biggest lift to the Nasdaq. The semiconductor index .SOX gained 2.3 percent, bolstering the Nasdaq 100 .NDX. Intel Corp (INTC.O) was up 1.9 percent at $23.09.

After the bell, U.S.-listed shares of Research In Motion (RIMM.O) surged 15 percent to $8.21 after the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.

On the deal-making front, Tempur-Pedic International Inc (TPX.N) agreed to buy rival mattress maker Sealy Corp (ZZ.N) for about $242 million and assume about $750 million in debt. Tempur-Pedic shares jumped 14.4 percent to $30.64, while Sealy's stock rose 2.3 percent to $2.19.

In the earnings realm, Discover Financial Services (DFS.N) reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations - and its shares climbed 7.3 percent to $39.71.

Stocks were rising before Spain's announcement on hopes that China would take steps to spur its slowing economy.

China has severely underestimated this year's global economic slowdown, and further cuts to Chinese interest rates or bank reserve requirements will hinge on any new deterioration in the external environment, a central bank adviser said on Thursday.

U.S. economic data was mixed. A report showed initial jobless claims dropped by 23,000 to 359,000, sharply exceeding the decline of 4,000 that had been expected.

But the final read on second-quarter gross domestic product showed growth of just 1.3 percent, weaker than an expected 1.7 percent. And August durable goods orders tumbled 13.2 percent, much more than the expected drop of 5 percent.

Volume was below average at roughly 5.74 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the Amex, compared with the year-to-date average daily closing volume of 6.53 billion.

Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of slightly more than 3 to 1,and on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every one that fell.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

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Aug 02 - Fitch Ratings has downgraded by one notch the ratings of Spanish integrated utilities Iberdrola, S.A., Endesa, S.A., Gas Natural SDG, S.A. and also that of Enel, S.p.A., which has sizeable exposure to Spain through its ownership of Endesa, and their related entities. All ratings are also maintained on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). A full list of rating actions is provided below. Fitch will shortly publish a separate rating action on EDP- Energias de Portugal and its Spanish business Hidroelectrica del Cantabrico.

The rating actions follow Fitch's review of the Spanish utility sector that is suffering from persisting weak fundamentals, a more hostile and uncertain regulatory framework, signs of political intervention and a stressed financial environment caused by the combined effect of pressure on sovereign debt and on the domestic banking sector. All these factors, in Fitch's view, contribute to an increased overall business risk profile for the sector, which also translates into weakened earnings visibility and a possible further deterioration of companies' financial profiles. Critically, utility ratings typically permit higher leverage for a given rating category as recognition of the greater level of predictability of utility cash flows. The erosion of this predictability, as much as the direct financial impact, therefore has a negative impact on the rating calculus. As a result Fitch's view of the companies affected by this rating action is no longer commensurate with an 'A-' rating level, where they were previously placed.

The increasing signs of political interference are partially driven by the government's struggle to eliminate the tariff deficit ahead of its scheduled termination from 2013. The actions implemented so far in order to offset the generation of additional tariff deficits and to repay the outstanding tariff deficit have only been partially sufficient to address the issue. Regulatory changes introduced in April 2012 had only a relatively limited direct financial significance for the companies affected. However, today's rating actions also reflect the uncertainty related to potential further measures that the government is likely to announce shortly and which Fitch anticipates to have a more severe effect on companies' credit profiles. Ongoing delays in the formal announcement of such measures add to the climate of uncertainty.

The rating actions also capture the further delay in the securitisation process of past tariff deficits as the environment of a spiralling public deficit unbalance and domestic banking sector crisis seriously challenges any efforts to reduce the tariff deficit stock. These delays have led the agency to focus on leverage calculations that include the tariff deficit as part of the debt component. Fitch has incorporated no further securitisations in the rating horizon. Given this conservative approach, even the potential for a partial or full write-off of past deficits - still viewed as highly unlikely - would have a neutral financial impact in view of Fitch's calculation of leverage, albeit represent a further step change in the predictability of the regulatory framework more generally. Based on our currently revised projections, which also incorporate some headroom for further adverse regulatory findings in the autumn, the issuers' financial profiles would allow ratings to remain at their new level absent any additional challenges.

The RWN has been maintained given the prolonged opacity on the type of additional measures that may be taken in order to solve the tariff deficit and also reflects the tail risk that a fundamental challenge to the tariff deficit system arises which may exceed even these conservative projections. Once the measures are announced, Fitch will analyse their implications for each issuer to resolve the RWNs, in conjunction with possible adjustments that companies may make to their strategies.

Fitch placed all Spanish utilities on RWN on 3 April 2012 following the announcement of the first set of measures. Enagas (A-/Negative) and Red Electrica (A-/Negative) were also placed on RWN at that time but following Spain's subsequent downgrade by three notches to 'BBB' with a Negative Outlook their ratings are constrained at two notches above the sovereign given their primarily domestic business profile. Fitch does not expect that the new measures will affect the current ratings of Enagas and Red Electrica.

WHAT COULD TRIGGER A RATING ACTION?

All issuers remain on RWN. As a result, Fitch's sensitivities do not currently anticipate developments with a material likelihood, individually or collectively, of leading to a rating upgrade. Future developments that may nonetheless potentially lead to a positive rating action include:

POSITIVE:

- Limited impact of the future regulatory measures and FFO net leverage below 3.5x on a sustained basis and interest coverage above 5.0x in the case of Iberdrola and Enel, both benefiting from a good degree of geographical diversification. For Gas Natural somewhat stronger ratio levels would be required due to its higher exposure to the domestic market.

Future developments that may, individually or collectively, lead to negative pressure on the issuers' ratings include:

NEGATIVE:

- Significant impact of the new regulatory measures leading to a FFO net leverage above 4.5x on a sustained basis and interest coverage below 4.0x in the case of Iberdrola and Enel. For Gas Natural somewhat tighter ratio levels are applicable given its higher exposure to Spain.

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