October 16, 2009

October 16, 2009
U.S. stocks declined sharply at Friday's start, with disappointing results from Bank of America, IBM, and General Electric. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points to 9,973. Bank of America, IBM, and GE are all down over 4%. The S&P 500 declined 9 points to 1,086. The Nasdaq Composite lost 13 points to 2,160. In the tech sector, AMD is down 6% following another quarterly loss. Qualcomm and Adobe were upgraded, but both are modestly lower. AS mentioned IBM is lower as well. Not many stocks are higher except for GOOGLE. Google is jumping 3.5% to new highs after beating estimates handily last night. This morning at least four analysts upgraded the stock. In the retail space, Mattel is up 4% following earnings. Harley Davidson is higher on an upgrade. Petsmart, American Eagle, and Nordstrom were upgraded, but all three are lower. After the first hour, the Dow fell 93 points. The Nasdaq declined 24 points. Google remains the lone bright spot. Through the morning, more of the same. The averages pushed a little lower, Google pushed a little higher. In the afternoon the averages rebounded off the lows, but remained quiet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 67 points, or 0.7%, at 9,995, leaving it with a weekly gain of 1.3%. The S&P 500 Index declined 8 points, or 0.8%, to close at 1,087, off 1.5% from last Friday's close. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 16 points, or 0.8%, to end at 2,156, a level that translates into a 0.8% weekly rise for the technology-laden index. Another great week.


October 15, 2009
U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, a day after a strong rally took the Dow Industrials back above 10,000 for the first time in over a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15 points to 9,998, with 17 of its 30 components trading lower. The S&P 500 index dropped 3 points to 1,089 while the Nasdaq Composite lost 7 points to 2,164. The earnings keep coming in better than expected, but its' getting tougher and tougher to please Wallstreet. Case in point, Goldman Sachs easily beat estimates by more than a dollar, but the stock is lower. Citigroup is also lower after beating estimates. Schwab is down 4% on in line earnings. JP Morgan is lower on a upgrade. Travelers is lower on a downgrade. Lazard is down 4% following news yesterday thier CEO passed away. The techs are trading lower, even Google and Apple are lower. Cypress Semi, Xilinx, and Fairchild Semi are all down over 2% following earnings. Nokia is down 11% on lackluster earnings. In the retail space, better news. WD-40, Safeway, Harley Davidson, Winnebago, and Petsmart are all higher following earnings. DSW is jumping 13% after raising guidance. A couple of stocks are trading lower following earnings. Southwest and Baxter are both down over 4% following earnings. After the first hour, the averages remain in the red, but not by much. Through the morning and into the afternoon, more of the same. The Dow hovers around the 10,000 level. In the last hour the averages had a nice recovery into the close ahead of earnings from Google, IBM, and AMD. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 47 points at 10,063, its highest level since early October 2008. The S&P 500 gained 4 points to 1,097. The Nasdaq Composite gained a point to close at 2,173.

October 14, 2009
U.S. stocks on Wednesday surged at the start, with investor sentiment lifted by retail sales and quarterly results from Intel and J.P. Morgan Chase. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 99 points to 9,970. The S&P 500 Index added 12 points to 1,085, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 25 points to 2,165. Earnings, earnings, and more earnings. Intel is up 3% after beating estimates by 5 cents and then receiving a couple of upgrades. Altera is up 2% on earnings. Akamai is up 3% on an upgrade. The usuals like Google, Apple, Research in Motion, and Amazon are all higher. Google reports earnings tomorrow. Within the financials, JP Morgan is up 3% after beating estimates by 30 cents. What recession? Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and GE are higher ahead of earnings over the next two days. In the retail sector Urban Outfitters and Coach were upgraded. Both are higher. Not many stocks are trading lower. Railroad company CSX is up 4% on strong earnings. Copper and gold company Freeport McMoRan is up a percent on a bullish copper call at Morgan Stanley. After the first hour hour, the averages remain strong. The Dow is up 90 points just below 10,000. The Dow doesn't want to cross 10,000 just yet. The Nasdaq rose 21 points to 2163 back to new highs for the year. In the afternoon, the Dow did it. The Dow hit 10,000 for the first time in over a year. In the last hour the averages remained strong with the Dow pushing to new highs. Tomorrow is another big day for earnings from the likes of IBM, Bank of America, AMD, Google, and Goldman Sachs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 10,015.86, up 144.8 points, or 1.5%. The S&P 500 Index soared 18 points, or 1.8%, at 1,092, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 32 points, or 1.5%, to end at 2,172.



October 13, 2009
U.S. stocks on Tuesday struggled in mixed terrain shortly after the opening bell, with investors braced for more earnings after mixed results from health-care giant Johnson & Johnson. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22 points to 9,863. J&J is down 3% even though they beat results due to a lower tax rate. The S&P 500 Index fell 2 points to 1,074. The Nasdaq Composite rose 5 points to 2,144. The strength so far is with the techs. Cisco is higher after agreeing to buy Starnet Networks for $2.9 billion. Starnet is up 17% on the news. Plenty of upgrades within the techs including AMD, EMC, Apple, Yahoo, Akamai Tech, and Google. All are modestly higher. The financials are quiet after a nice run up. Citigroup is higher on an upgrade. Goldman Sachs is lower by 2% on a downgrade. A number of upgrades within the retail sector. Pacific Sunwear is up 9% on an upgrade. Decker Outdoors and Callaway are higher on upgrades. Pier One is up 15% on better than expected September sales numbers. Even with this good news, the averages remain near the unchanged level or in the red. Quiet day so far. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages remained in the red. The techs are performing well ahead of Intel's earnings tonight. Everything else is quiet. The healthcare sector continues to underperform due to mixed results at J&J this morning and the heated debate over the healthcare reform in Washington. In the last hour, not much changed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14 points to end at 9,871. The S&P 500 Index declined 2 points to 1,073, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite stood at 2,139, up less than 1 point.


October 12, 2009
U.S. stocks opened higher Monday, with energy and materials pacing sector gains, as a weaker dollar once again bolstered the price of commodities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 36 points to 9,901. The S&P 500 Index gained 5 points to 1,077. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 11 points to 2,150. A big week for earnings starts tomorrow. The techs continue to perform well. Goldman Sachs upped Google's price target to $585 from $560 on higher earnings estimates from 2009 to 2011. The broker's discussions with advertising agencies, including a dinner he hosted with senior agency executives, point to rising spending on Google since June, led by travel, clothing and home improvement advertisers. Goldman kept Google's rating at conviction buy. And, in their own research note on Google on Monday, J.P. Morgan analysts raised their earnings per share and revenue targets for the tech giant's third quarter. Morgan's team now sees third quarter earnings per share at $5.41, compared to their prior $5.20 cents estimate. They upped their revenue target to $4.27 billion for the third quarter, compared to $4.12 billion previously. Through the day the averages remain in the green, but quiet. Many investors may not know that the market is open on this Columbus Holiday. In the last hour, the averages pulled back, but remain in the green. Plenty of earnings starting tomorrow. Finishing at its highest level since early October of 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 20 points to end at 9,885. The S&P 500 Index gained 4 points to 1,076, while the Nasdaq composite skidded fractionally lower to end at 2,139.