October 29, 2010

October 29, 2010
U.S. stocks opened mostly lower, with only the technology sector gaining after a report on economic growth showed tepid growth in the third quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14 points to 11,099. The S&P 500 Index fell a point to 1,182. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3 points to 2,511. The techs in general look pretty good this morning. Microsoft is up over 2% following earnings. BMC Software is up 6% following earnings. KLA-Tencor is higher as well following earnings. IBM is pushing back toward its 52 week high. Research in Motion is acting much better. Elsewhere, Monster Worldwide is jumping 31% following earnings. Coinstar is jumping 22% after beating estimates last night. Decker Outdoors is up 6% thanks to strong sales of UGGs. Another couple of retailers Estee Lauder and Pilgrims Pride are both up over 6% following earnings. A number of stocks are trading lower following earnings including Chevron, Merck, Newell Rubbermaid, First Solar, Overstock.com, and Genworth. Genworth is down 14% due in part to the housing woes. The financials are mostly lower. Morgan Stanley is unchanged on an upgrade. After the first half an hour the Dow remained in the red while the Nasdaq clung to the green. The diamond of the day goes to Vivus trading up 26% even though the FDA rejected their weight loss drug, Qnexa once again. The reason the stock is trading up is because the FDA handed Vivus an olive branch instructing them to crunch through existing Qnexa data to come up with new analyses of the drug's cardiovascular and birth-defect risk. The response can be submitted to the FDA within six weeks which sets up the potential for another FDA approval decision date for Qnexa in the middle of 2011. Keep your fingers crossed. After the first hour all three major averages moved into the green, but the rally did not last. Through the rest of the morning the Dow fell back into the red while the Nasdaq hugged the unchanged level. In the afternoon the averages attempted another rally. The Dow moved into the green with IBM surging 2% to new highs. Commodities have also rebounded, but the financials are dudes. In the last hour the averages held on to modest gains to end the month. Two great months in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 4 points at 11,118, ending up 3.1% for the month, its best October since 2006. The S&P 500 index fell 52 cents to 1,183.26. For the week, it rose 0.02% and gained 3.7% for the month, marking its best October since 2003. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4 cents to 2,507. For the week, the Nasdaq gained 1.1% and it jumped 5.9% for the month, also its best October since 2003.
October 28, 2010
U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as robust earnings and an unexpected decline in first-time jobless claims bolstered investor sentiment. "This morning's 21,000 drop in weekly initial jobless claims to 434,000 is encouraging as it is the lowest level seen in several months. It provides another data point suggesting the economy is slowly moving ahead," said Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at Davidson Companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 44 points to 11,170. The S&P 500 Index rose 6 points to 1,189. The Nasdaq Composite added 10 points to 2,513. Plenty of earnings keep flooding in. Strong earnings coming in from the likes of Symantec, Akamai Tech, LSI Logic, Motorola, and Shutterfly. All are trading higher. Research in Motion is lower on a downgrade. Office Max, Kodak, and Las Vegas Sands are all up over 10% following earnings. To the downside we have Goodyear, Zimmer Holdings, 3M, Avon, Auto Nation, Franklin Resources, Norfolk Southern, Allstate, and Skechers all trading lower. Skechers is down 18%. After the first hour the averages had given up most of their gains. Potash, Visa, Allstate, and Research in Motion are all down over 3%. After the first hour the averages fell into the red. Very few stocks are in the green. Through the morning the averages remain in the red. In the afternoon the Dow recovered with the Nasdaq moving into the green. The Dow is being weighed down by a 6% drop in 3M. In the last hour, similar to yesterday, the averages clawed their way back to the unchanged level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down12 points at 11,113, weighed down by a 5.9% drop in 3M. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4 points to 2,507. The broad S&P 500 index rose a point to 1,183.
October 27, 2010
U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday on concerns the Federal Reserve might take a scaled approach to its delivery of quantitative easing measures. A stronger-than-expected report on orders for durable goods in September failed to turn the tide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 64 points to 11,104. The S&P 500 index dropped 7 points to 1,178. The Nasdaq Composite fell 7 points to 2,490. The earnings are mixed this morning. Companies trading lower following earnings include Panera Bread, Buffalo Wild Wing, Conoco Philips, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamic, Southern Company, Jones Group, Owens Corning, Sprint Nextel, Legg Mason, Office Depot, Whirlpool, Lazard, and Martha Stewart. A number of techs are trading higher following earnings. F5 Networks is jumping 12%, Broadcom is up 9%, and Novellus is up 2%. Netgear is jumping 10% on an upgrade. Research in Motion continues to perform well due in part to takeover speculation. Other companies trading higher following earnings include Dreamworks, Hess, Comcast, PG, International Paper, and Deutsche Bank. The financials are trying to battle back. Bank of America is up 2%. After the first hour the Dow fell 100 points. The Nasdaq declined 7 points. The commodities are getting hit after a nice run up yesterday. The financials remain one of the few sectors holding in there. The Dow fell as much as 140 points before rebounding. In the afternoon the averages slowly recovered. Entering the last hour the Dow was down less than a 100 points. A number of banks are looking better. The Nasdaq is inching back to the unchanged level. In the last hour the averages fought to recover most of the loses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 43 point to end at 11,126. The S&P 500 index fell 3 points to 1,182.45 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 5 points to end at 2,503.
October 26, 2010
U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday after disappointing results and a rebound in the US dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64 points to 11,099. The S&P 500 Index declined 7 points to 1,178. The Nasdaq Composite shed 18 points to 2,472. The earnings this morning are causing a lot of volatility. Amgen, Texas Instruments, AK Steel, Lexmark, Tellabs, Sherwin Williams, Allegheny Tech, US Steel, Bristol Myers, Kimberly Clark, Under Armour, Regions Financial, Johnson Controls, DuPont, UBS, and Cummins are all trading lower following earnings. Lexmark and Tellabs are both down over 10%. Coach and Royal Caribbean are both higher following earnings. After the first half an hour the averages trimmed their losses thanks to a better than expected consumer confidence number. Within the Dow, IBM is rebounding after announcing an additional $10 billion share buyback. The financials are trying their best to rebound. Oppenheimer made positive comments on the big banks. Northern Trust is up 4% thanks to takeover chatter. The commodities opened lower, but had a nice rebound. Freeport is up 2.5% off its lows. Agrium is up a percent on an upgrade. After the first hour the averages were able to climb back to the unchanged level. Through the rest of the morning the averages slowly improved with single digit gains for the major averages. In the tech sector Research in Motion has rallied sharply for the second straight day due in part to M&A chatter. In the afternoon the Dow pulled back into the red. The Nasdaq remains in the green. One tech not pulling back is Research in Motion, up 7% after making a presentation yesterday on their new Playbook to compete with the ipad. In the last hour the averages settled in at the unchanged level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 5 points at 11,169. The S&P 500 index inched up 2 cents to 1,185. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 6 points to 2,497.
October 25, 2010
U.S. stocks extended Monday's gains thanks to better than expected existing-home sales numbers and a drop in the US dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 102 points to 11,235. The S&P 500 Index climbed 11 points to 1,194. The Nasdaq Composite added 23 points to 2,502. The commodities are on fire thanks to the weak dollar. Fertilizers are jumping. Freeport McMoran is up 3%. The industrials are all performing well. Honeywell is up 2% on an upgrade. GE is up a percent after receiving an order from India for $750 million. The techs are performing well. IBM is rebounding heading back toward its 52 week high. Google and Apple are both up over a percent. F5 Networks is up 2% on an upgrade. Microsoft is one of the few techs trading lower on a downgrade. Even the financials are higher. Citigroup is higher thanks to an upgrade. Hartford is up 3% on an upgrade. One local merger to report this morning, Community Bancorp is buying Wilbur Corp for $101 million. Wilbur is jumping 50%. Bank of America can't get out of its own way. The stock opened higher, but then sold off. In the retail space Office Depot is jumping 12% after the CEO resigned. Radio Shack is down 7% after reporting lackluster earnings. After the first hour the Dow pulled back up only 80 points. A number of financials are now in the red. The Nasdaq remains near the highs of the day. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remain in the green, but off the highs. The weakness remains in the financial sector. Bank of America is down nearly 2%. In the last hour more selling pressure caused the averages to give up most of their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 31 points at 11,164. The S&P 500 advanced 2 points to 1,185, led by gains in chemical-company stocks. The Nasdaq Composite rose 11 points to 2,490.