August 14, 2009

August 14, 2009
U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 poised to snap a four-week winning streak, after benign economic data failed to bolster sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35 points to 9,362. The S&P 500 Index shed 3 points to 1,009 while the Nasdaq Composite shed 8 points to 2,000. A few earnings are coming in from a number of retailers like Blockbuster, Nordstrom, DeVry, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, JC Penney, and Abercrombie & Fitch. Blockbuster is down 14% and Nordstrom, DeVry, Red Robin, and JC Penney are also lower. Urban Outfitters, Cheesecake Factory, Gap, Lowes, and Depot were all upgraded, but all five are modestly lower. Abercrombie is bucking the trend, trading up 5%. The financials are lower after another nice run. Genworth is down 5% on a downgrade. Citigroup is bucking the trend, trading higher on an upgrade from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. After the first half an hour the averages pushed lower on a disappointing consumer sentiment number. The Dow dropped 100 points. Boeing is lower by 4% after halting production on a flawed piece of the 787. The Nasdaq declined 28 points. A little bit of profit-taking to end the week. A few techs are trading higher. Autodesk is higher by 4% on earnings. Research in Motion is also higher for some reason. Through the morning the averages pushed lower. The Dow dropped 160 points while the Nasdaq declined 35 points. In the afternoon the averages remained weak with only a few stocks trading higher like Research in Motion and Abercrombie & Fitch. The financials remained in the red except for Citigroup, Bank of America, and BB&T. BB&T has been given permission by the FDIC to buy Colonial BancGroup on the cheap. Not sure why Bank of America is trading higher, but I'm not complaining. In the last hour the averages recovered quite a bit. Resilient. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76 points to 9,321. The S&P 500 sank
9 points to 1,004 while the Nasdaq Compsite dropped 24 points to 1,986. For the week, the S&P 500 lost 0.6%, the Dow fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq slid 0.7%.



August 13, 2009
U.S. stocks started Thursday's session modestly higher, with disappointing data on July retail sales and the jobs market hampering enthusiasm over results from Walmart. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points to 9,374. Walmart is up 2%. The S&P 500 Index added 3 points to 1,009. The Nasdaq Composite added 7 points to 2,006. Besides Walmart, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Urban Outfitter, and Briggs Stratton are all higher following earnings. Home Depot and Lowes are higher on upgrades. Kohls also reported better than expected earnings, but the stock is lower by 2%. The financials are having a strong rebound thanks to news the popular hedge fund manager Paulson loaded up on financials like Bank of America in the second quarter. Bank of America is up 5% this morning. Regions Financial is up 7% on the same news. Home builder, D.R. Horton is lower by 3% on a downgrade. Within the first hour, the averages sold off, then rebounded. The techs are performing
well. Research in Motion, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Apple are higher on upgrades. Palm and Nokia were downgraded, yet both are higher. The commodities keep pushing higher. A number of fertilizers were upgraded. An analyst raised his estimates on copper prices helping lift Freeport McMoRan by 4%. One sector not performing well is solar. LDK Solar is down 17% after missing estimates. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages remained in the green. The averages received a lift at one o'clock on a good 30 year Treasury auction. The Dow rose 40 points back above 9400. The Nasdaq rose 13 points. The rally following the Treasury auction didn't last. Entering the last hour, the Dow was back in negative territory. In the last hour the bulls kept the averages out of the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 36 points at 9,397. The S&P 500 Index advanced 6 points to 1,012, its highest finish since early October. The Nasdaq
Composite climbed 10 points to stand at 2,009.


August 12, 2009
U.S. stocks on Wednesday sputtered slightly higher at the start, with investors offering a tentative stance ahead of the conclusion of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting later in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 10 points to 9,251. The S&P 500 Index gained a point to 995, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 4 points to 1,973. Very little news to move the markets. The retail sector looks good except for Sara Lee and Liz Claiborne which are lower on disappointing earnings. Macys is modestly higher after beating earnings estimates and lifting guidance. The financials are rebounding after a drumming yesterday. Allstate is up 4% on an upgrade. Toll Brothers is up 12% following lackluster earnings. After the first half an hour, the Dow jumped 100 points. The Nasdaq rose 27 points. Everything looks pretty good. The commodities are higher. The fertilizers are higher following a sector upgrade at Amtech. After the first hour the averages remain strong near the highs of the day. The financials are struggling to remain in positive territory. The averages remained near the highs of the day going into the Fed meeting in the middle of the afternoon. The Fed as expected left rates unchanged and the Dow shot up 170 points back above 9400. The Nasdaq jumped 45 points above 2000. In the last hour the averages gave back some of the gains, but recovered all of yesterday's losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 120 points at 9,361.61. The S&P 500 Index gained 11 points, or 1.2%, to stand at 1,005, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 28 points to 1,998.

August 11, 2009
U.S. stocks open modestly lower due to more profit-taking. Encouraging housing data and a jump in second-quarter industrial production did little to boost investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 38 points to 9,299. The S&P 500 dropped 3 points to 1,003 while the Nasdaq Composite declined 5 points to 1,986. After a big run up, the markets are do for a little pull back. The earnings season is slowing down although a number of retailers are set to report here in August. In the last 12 hours Nautilus and Fossil both reported earnings. Both are lower by over 9%. Panera Bread and Abercrombie in Fitch were upgraded, but both are lower. Nothing really looks good today. The financials held in there for the first half an hour before selling off. Stifel Financial is one of the few bright spots trading up 6% on better than expected earnings. Bond insurer, MBIA is down 15% on a downgrade from JP Morgan saying the company could possibly run out of money in the next couple of years. As the morning progressed, the averages moved lower including the financials. The Dow dropped over 100 points while the Nasdaq declined 27 points. I forgot the market could move lower. In the afternoon, more of the same. We're not going anywhere. In the last hour, no rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 96 points at 9,241. The S&P 500 Index fell 12 points to 994. The Nasdaq Composite declined 22 points to 1,969.


August 10, 2009
U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday, hit bit a bout of profit taking from last week's gains ahead of what is expected to be a busy week, including the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23 points to 9,349. McDonalds is bucking the trend, trading up 2% on strong monthly sales. The S&P 500 index lost 2 points to 1,007, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 4 points to 1,996. The government owned companies are performing well. Freddie Mac is up 71% after reporting a profit. Can the government manipulate their own numbers? Freddies good news is lifting Fannie Mae and AIG. The banks opened lower, but quickly turned around. Capital One is higher on an upgrade. On the earnings front Pricline is up 12% after beating estimates. Hormel is up 6% after beating estimates and lifting guidance. Sysco, Allied Capital, and Berkshire Hathaway are lower following earnings. A couple of
downgrades are hitting Best Buy and Research in Motion. Both down over 3%. After the first half an hour, the averages remained in the red, but not by much. The financials look good. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages did not budge. In the last hour more the same. No end of the day rally, but the financials are holding firm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 32 points at 9,337. The S&P 500 index declined 3 points to 1,007 while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 8 points to 1,992.