Daily Data Flow: Normal Open Tomorrow; Global Shares See Modest Rise

NYSE Expects Normal Open Tomorrow After Storm (Bloomberg)
U.S. equity markets will reopen tomorrow after the longest weather-related shutdown in more than a century, resuming after the New York Stock Exchange was spared by Hurricane Sandy as it swept through New York yesterday. Brokers and trading firms may experience “spotty connectivity problems” when they access markets tomorrow, said Larry Leibowitz, CEO of NYSE Euronext. He predicted some firms may have trouble finding fuel if they are running from backup systems or using generators.

Sandy’s Economics Impact Could Reach $20 Billion (CNNMoney)
The total cost of property damage and lost business is estimated to run between $10 billion to $20 billion, according to Eqecat, which provides loss estimates to the insurance industry. Insured losses, excluding those covered by National Flood Insurance, are expected to be between $5 billion to $10 billion. And total losses could go as high as $25 billion including interruption to business, according to estimates by Kinetic Analysis Corp. But economists surveying the immediate aftermath of the storm say there may be little if any impact on the nation’s overall economy.

Global Shares See Modest Rise as U.S. Storm Impact Assessed (Reuters)
World shares rose modestly in subdued trading on Tuesday as investors waited to see the full impact of a massive storm that wrought destruction across the eastern United States. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.75% at 1,101.75 points and, after gains earlier in Asia, the MSCI world equity index had risen 0.3% to 328.86 points. “We’re a bit lost without Wall Street, frankly,” said Alexandre Tixier, technical analyst at TradingSat, in Paris. Britain’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.75%, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.9% and Switzerland’s SMI index gained 0.5%.