April 30, 2010

April 30, 2010
U.S. stocks opened mixed following better than expected first quarter GDP numbers while the government is considering criminal charges against investment bank Goldman Sachs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points to 11,184. The S&P 500 Index fell a point to 1,205. The Nasdaq Composite declined a point to 2,510. Goldman opened down 4% on the bad headline news. The rest of the financials are modestly lower. Metlife is jumping 2% on better than expected earnings. Hartford, Barclays, and Genworth are lower following earnings. In the tech sector McAfee and Qlogic are both down over 8% following earnings. Micron and Sandisk are lower even though both were upgraded. Even Apple is lower. Google is modestly higher although that stock is down a lot over the last two weeks. In the retail space Callaway is lower following earnings while Coinstar is jumping 21% following earnings. Trex is up 8% on better than expected earnings. Kellogg is higher on an upgrade. Newell Rubbermaid is up 3% after raising guidance. After the first hour the averages remain in the red, but off the lows. Goldman has pushed lower breaking through some support. Oil driller, Transocean is down 6% as the oil spill their drill created in the Gulf continues to spread. Heading into the lunch hour the averages recovered and then sold back off during the lunch hour. Goldman Sachs is down 9%. I don't think they saw this coming. In the afternoon the Dow fell over a 100 points. Gap is down over 3% after recalling baby swimsuits due to strangulation hazard. Not a lot of great headlines in the news today. In the last hour no rally, just more selling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 158 points, or 1.4%, at 11,008, weighed down by a 3.8% drop in shares of Caterpillar and heavy declines in shares of JP Morgan Chase, American Express, and Bank of America. The S&P 500 index fell 20 points, or 1.7%, to 1,186, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 50 points, or 2%, to 2,461. For the week, the Dow fell 1.8%, the S&P was down 2.5%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.7%. For April, the Dow still gained 1.4%, the S&P rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq gained 2.6%.


April 29, 2010
U.S. stocks started higher on Thursday after the latest evidence that the economic recovery is gaining traction, with jobless claims down for a second week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66 points to 11,110. P&G is one of the few Dow components trading lower following earnings. The S&P 500 Index climbed 10 points to 1,201. The Nasdaq Composite gained 17 points to 2,489. Better than expected earnings keep pushing stocks higher. Baidu, Akamai, Office Max, Bristol Myers Squibb, Motorola, Burger King, Sprint, IP, Kellogg are all jumping over 3% thanks to earnings. Palm is jumping 24% after being acquired last night from HP. Most of the techs look good. LSI Logic and Xilinx are modestly lower following earnings. Baidu is jumping 13%. The financials are modestly higher once again. Visa, Allstate, and Lincoln Financial are modestly lower following earnings. In the commodity space Apache, Cliffs Natural, and Exxon Mobil are modestly lower following earnings. Potash and Conoco Philips are higher following earnings. After the first half an hour the averages remain strong. A couple of stocks are weak following earnings including Eastman Kodak and Imax. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages improved. The Dow rose over 100 points thanks in part to the financials. Exxon, HP, and P&G are the only Dow components trading lower. Speaking of the oils, BP is down 8% on concerns their oil spill will shut down operations or stop expansion plans in the Gulf. In the last hour the averages remained strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 122 points, or 1.1%, at 11,167. The S&P 500 index rose 15 points, or 1.3%, to end at 1,206. It was the biggest one-day point gain for both the Dow industrials and the S&P since March 5. The Nasdaq Composite rose 40 points, or 1.6%, to 2,511.

April 28, 2010
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Wednesday after getting hit with its worst losses in nearly three months the prior day. Earnings keep flooding in better than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37 points to 11,029. The S&P 500 Index climbed 6 points to 1,190. The Nasdaq Composite gained 11 points to 2,483. Defensive stocks worked yesterday and defensive companies reported earnings today. Northrop Grumman and General Dynamic both reported better than expected earnings. Commodity stocks Hess, Southern Company, Dow Chemical, and Barrick Gold are all higher following better than expected earnings. Oil related companies Owens Corning, Norfolk Southern, and Jetblue reported. Owens is up 13% while Jetblue is down 7%. US Airways is up 5% on an upgrade. Ford is down 3% on a downgrade. In the retail space Ethan Allen, Dreamworks, Buffalo Wild Wing, Martha Stewart, and Sealed Air are all lower after reporting earnings. Jones Apparel is higher following earnings. In the tech space Corning, Tyco Electronics, Broadcom, and Tellabs are higher following earnings. Alegheny Tech and Flextronics are modestly lower following earnings. AOL is down 8% after missing estimates. Cisco is higher thanks to an upgrade. Google continues to move lower. After the first hour the Nasdaq was in the red. Even Apple is lower. The Dow is holding on to gains thanks in part the financials which are rebounding after a lousy Tueday. Congress grilled the Goldman Sachs executives for 10 hours yesterday, finishing up around 8:30pm. It's hard to feel bad for Goldman, but Congress found a way to do it. Through the morning the Nasdaq remained in the red while the Dow gave up most of its gains. A rating agency downgraded Greece's debt yesterday. Today S&P downgraded Spain's debt. Here we go again. During the lunch hour the averages recovered. In the afternoon the averages improved as the Fed left rates unchanged
easing any investor fears. In the last hour the averages gave up some of the gains, then rebounded into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 53 points at 11,045. The S&P 500 rose 7 points to 1,191. The Nasdaq Composite rose 26 cents to 2,471.

April 27, 2010
U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Tuesday ahead of investment bank Goldman Sachs Group's testimony on Capitol Hill. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22 points to 11,182. Most Dow components are lower, however, 3M reported blow out earnings this morning causing the stock to jump 3%. The S&P 500 Index fell 6 points to 1,205. The Nasdaq Composite shed 9 points to 2,513. The earnings keep flooding in with virtually all firms beating estimates, but the market is in a profit-taking mood. The companies beating estimates today include US Steel, US Airway, Cummins Engine, Valero, Estee Lauder, Black & Decker, Ford, Newmont Mining, NBT Bancorp, Fortune Brand, Texas Instruments, Alcon, Volterra, Under Armour, Lexmark, Lazard, BP, DuPont, Tyco, and Jacobs. Most are trading lower. Lexmark, Volterra, Valero, Black & Decker, NBT Bancorp, and Lazard are modestly higher. Plenty of upgrades today, but they are not helping. The list of stocks receiving upgrades include Childrens Place, Qualcomm, Marvell, Potash, Caterpillar, Baidu.com, Oracle, Boeing, Whirlpool, Texas Instruments, DSW, and H&R Block. Most are lower. At 10 o'clock better than expected consumer confidence number did little to help things. After the first half an hour the averages kept sliding except for Goldman which is getting grilled infront of Congress. Through the morning the averages kept moving lower. Dow dropped over 100 points. The Nasdaq declined 40 points. The only stock green on my screen is Goldman Sachs. Go figure. IBM reported great earnings last week, raised their dividend today, and increased their buyback, but yet the stock is lower. Not a good day for the longs. Even Apple is lower. During the lunch hour the averages recovered, then sold off once again. In the last hour the averages sold off to new lows for the day with the Dow dropped over 200 points below 11000 for the first time in two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 213 points, or 1.9%, at 10,991. The S&P 500 index fell 28, or 2.3%, to 1,183, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 51 points, or 2%, to 2,471.

April 26, 2010
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Monday after heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar reported positive results and said the global economy is improving. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher by 34 points to 11,238. The S&P 500 Index rose 2 points to 1,219. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 4 points to 2,535. The Dow looks great thanks in large part to a 5% rise in Caterpillar. Only two other Dow components are up as much as 1%. The strength in the Dow masks broader market weakness. The financials are under pressure due in part to earnings and pending Congressional legislation. Blackrock is down 8% after missing estimates. Citigroup is down 3% after the Treasury announced they will proceed with selling 1.5 billion shares of the banking giant. First Niagara is modestly lower on in-line earnings. Fifth Third is modestly lower on a downgrade. Thomas Weisel is jumping 64% after agreeing to sell the firm to Stifel Financial. Stifel is down 4%. In the tech sector Google is down a percent to new recent lows. The stock is not looking good. Nokia and Dell are down over 2% on downgrades. Cisco Systems is modestly higher on an upgrade. The chips are faring better. Texas Instruments is at a new high ahead of earnings tonight. The retailers continue to perform well. Office Depot is up 6% to new highs on an upgrade. Lowes and Home Depot are at new highs as well. Whirlpool is jumping 14% on blow out earnings. That stock has nearly tripled in the last year. Not bad. After the first hour the Dow remains strong up 30 points. The Nasdaq is going no where. Through the morning the averages didn't budge. Google moves lower. The financials remain in the red. Goldman Sachs is down 3% to new recent lows ahead of Congressional testimony tomorrow. The commodities are performing well. Freeport McMoRan is up nearly 2%. The fertilizers and steel stocks are higher. Caterpillar's earnings are helping the commodity stocks. In the afternoon the averages remained quiet until the last hour when the rally fizzled. The financials sold off and the commodities gave up their gains. in the tech sector Google pushed lower, Apple fell into the red, but a number of techs held up like Research in Motion, IBM, and Texas Instruments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 75 cents at 11,205, its sixth straight session of gains. The S&P 500 index fell 5 points to 1,212. The Nasdaq Composite lost 7 points to 2,522.