July 6, 2012

July 6, 2012
U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as jobs data disappointed investors and reaffirmed concerns that the economy is losing momentum. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 110 points to 12,786. The S&P 500 index declined 11 points to 1,356.6 while the Nasdaq Composite declined 20 points to 2,955. The losses came after the Labor Department reported that only 80,000 jobs were created in June while the jobless rate remained at 8.2%. Limited news this morning other than the economic numbers. The energy, materials, and industrials taking it on the chin once again. Caterpillar is down 3% on a downgrade. Alcoa is lower ahead of earnings next week as one analyst cut their earnings estimates. The techs are succumbing to profit-taking. Seagate and Juniper Networks are down over 2% on downgrades. Oracle was upgraded, but the stock is lower by 2%. Even Apple, Google, and IBM are lower. The only sector trying to hold up is retail. Home Depot, Disney, and McDonalds are three of the few components in the Dow to open in the green. TJX is higher on an upgrade. Weight Watchers is lower by 5% on a downgrade. After the first hour the averages pushed lower with the Dow dropping 150 points and the Nasdaq declining 47 points. Nothing looks particularly good. Through the morning the averages pushed lower with the Dow dropping 180 points and the Nasdaq declining 50 points or 1.5%. Deutsche Bank is down 5% as they are getting dragged into the Libor scandal. Volume remains light. In the afternoon the averages slowly recovered. Utilities, consumer staples, telecom, and consumer discretionary are the best performers. In the last hour the averages kept slowly improving getting back to where we started the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 124 points, or 1%, to close at 12,772. The index finished off the session's low of 12,702 and ended down 0.8% for the week. The S&P 500 shed 13 points to 1,354, losing 0.6% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite shed 39 points, or 1.3%, to 2,937, ending the week 0.1% higher.

July 5, 2012
U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, while the dollar rallied after the president of the European Central Bank said downside risks to the euro-area growth outlook have materialized. The news seemed to overshadow positive U.S. economic data out earlier this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 72 points to 12,871. The S&P 500 index fell 6 points to 1,368 while the Nasdaq Composite declined 6 points to 2,969. A quiet day for news. The retail sector is mixed after reporting June same store sales. Target is down a percent after missing their mark. Disney and Amazon are lower as well while Walmart is modestly higher at a new all-time high. Macys is higher by a percent after reaffirming numbers. Nordstrom, TJX, and Ross Stores are higher following strong sales. At least someone is doing well. The rest of the sectors are struggling this morning. In the tech space, Google and Apple are higher, but the rest of the sector is lower. EMC is down 2% on an analyst downgrade. AMD is lower by 3% on a downgrade. AOL is lower even though it was upgraded. The financials are lower following weakness in Europe. After the first half an hour the averages pushed lower on weak economic numbers. Even the defensive sectors like utilities and healthcare are under pressure. Sanofi Aventis is lower by 3% after announcing layoffs in France. The European community can't catch a break. After the first hour the Dow had fallen 70 points with the Nasdaq declining just 10 points. The European markets have pushed lower. Through the morning the averages battled back led by Google and Apple in the Nasdaq and Disney and Walmart within the Dow. In the afternoon the Nasdaq moved into the green thanks to 2% rallies in Apple and Google. The Dow is slowly moving back to the unchanged level, but volume remains light. Entering the last hour the Dow snuck into the green only to sell back off in the last hour. I guess some investors are nervous ahead of tomorrow's monthly employment number. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 47 points at 12,896, in a session that saw the index down as much as 92 points before briefly trading in positive territory, only to give up those gains once again. The S&P 500 Index fell 6 points to close at 1,367, with financial and energy stocks as the poorest performers. The Nasdaq Composite Index barely finished higher, up 4 cents to close at 2,976.

July 4, 2012

Closed for Independence Day.

July 3, 2012
U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday in a pre-holiday shortened session, as investors awaited data on factory orders for more clues on the health of the nation's economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points to 12,859. The S&P 500 index dropped nearly a point to 1,364 while the Nasdaq Composite gained marginally to 2,951. A quiet start to the day, but it didn't take long for the bulls to come back in. The price of oil is shooting higher helping lift the energy sector. Hess and Transocean are both up over 3%. The other beaten down sectors industrials and materials are also performing well. Freeport is jumping 4%. Caterpillar is up 2.3%. Alcoa had their numbers cut ahead of earnings next week, but the stock is higher by 3%. Agrium and Potash are both up over 2% on upgrades. The beaten up auto sector is also witnessing a nice bound thanks to better than expected June sales. Ford and GM are up over 3% while Toyota is higher by 2%. The rest of the retail sector is under pressure. Lowes and Home Depot are lower by 2% on cautious analyst comments. Surprisingly, the housing sector keeps pushing higher. Lennar made a new 52 week high. Through the first hour the averages slowly improved with a bounce in the currencies. The Dow rose 40 points while the Nasdaq improved by 14 points. A nice rally in this holiday abbreviated session. The techs are being led once again by Apple nearly $600 a share once again. The other big caps also look good. Research in Motion keeps moving in the opposite direction. The risk on sectors are not participating in the rally. Utilities are quiet except for Duke Energy which completed its' merger with Progress Energy and instituted a 3 for 1 reverse split. In the healthcare space, the HMOs keep pushing lower following the Supreme Court decision last week. Through the morning into the lunch hour (the last hour) the averages held on to gains. Dow component Walmart rallied 2% to new all-time highs. Into the close the bulls gave the market an added boost, rallying to new highs for the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 72 points to 12,943. The S&P 500 Index rose 8 points to close at 1,374 while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 24 points to close at 2,976. Energy and materials stocks led the rally on higher oil and gold prices.

July 2, 2012
Stocks on Wall Street opened slightly lower on Monday after the previous session's rally as investors awaited U.S. data on the manufacturing sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19 points to 12,862 while and the S&P 500 index slipped a point to 1,360. The Nasdaq Composite declined 3 points to 2,931. A great end to the second quarter, but July may be a little tougher. The three beaten down sectors for 2012, materials, energy, and industrials, performed well last week, but are trading back down this morning. DuPont is lower by 2% on a downgrade. The transports are also under pressure this morning. The defensive sectors are perking up with utilities in the lead. Consumer staples and healthcare are also modestly higher. Amylin Pharma is jumping 9% after agreeing to be bought out by Bristol Myers. Quest Diagnostic and Lab Corp are higher thanks to upgrades at Goldman Sachs. Both companies look to benefit from the Supreme Court decision last week. Speaking of Goldman Sachs, the financials are modestly higher this morning. In the tech space Apple keeps pushing higher as the rest of the big cap techs are modestly lower. Micron is jumping 6% after agreeing to buy a defunct Asian chip company. Brightpoint is jumping 63% after agreeing to be bought out by Ingram Micro. Dell is buying Quest Software, but the stock had run up in anticipation. Analog Devices and Cree are modestly lower on downgrades. In the retail space plenty of upgrades. Costco, Tiffany, and American Eagle are higher on upgrades. Anheuser Busch InBev had a nice write up in Barrons and an upgrade this morning, but the stock is lower. Best Buy is jumping 9% on takeover rumors. Through the first hour the Dow pushed lower falling 50 points on a weak manufacturing number. The Nasdaq held the unchanged level thanks to a one percent rally in Apple. Through the morning the averages remained quiet and weak. In the afternoon the averages slowly improved with the Nasdaq returning to the green as many of the big cap techs gave up their losses. The Dow slowly improved thanks to the banks and the defensive sectors like utilities, consumer staples, and healthcare. In the last hour the averages slowly grinded higher with the Dow fighting to get back to the unchanged level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 8 points to 12,871, while the S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,365. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 16 points to 2,951.