The Week In Review
6/13-6/17
June 16, 2011U.S. stocks wavered at the start thanks to better-than-expected data on U.S. housing and jobs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16 points to 11,914. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 2 points to 1,268. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell half a point to 2,631. In the retail space, the grocery stocks are performing well. Kroger is jumping 4% following earnings. Smithfield Foods is jumping 5%. Shoemaker, Croc's is up 5% extending a recent rally to new highs. UBS upgraded a number of retailers including Dicks, Home Depot, and Lowes. All three are higher. Pier 1 is down following earnings. Ford is modestly lower after cutting estimates due to higher costs. GM is down in sympathy. Winnebago is weak, down 20% after missing earnings estimates. The financials for the most part are trading higher. Allstate is up even though they will report Regions Financial is lower on a downgrade. The techs are higher for the most part. Intel was downgraded, but the stock is higher. Research in Motion is higher on an upgrade ahead of earnings tonight. The commodities are mixed. The big winner is the natural gas stock Southern Union up 17% after agreeing to be bought out by Energy Transfer Equity. Through the morning the averages improved thanks to encouraging comments out of Europe that the EU and the IMF would help Greece through their credit problems. The Dow rose 80 points while the Nasdaq improved by 8 points. The healthcare sector continues to perform well. Humana is up on an upgrade. WellPoint and United Health Group are higher as well. Through the morning the averages remained strong, however, in the afternoon the rally fizzled. As the afternoon progressed, more and more stocks fell into the red led by commodity, banks, and tech stocks. By mid-afternoon, the Nasdaq declined 32 points and the Dow dipped into the red only to rebound in the last hour into the close. A little more volatility. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 64 points at 11,961. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 2 points to 1,267. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 7 points to 2,623.
June 15, 2011
U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday, erasing much of the prior day's gains, after economic data showed dampening sentiment and weaker manufacturing numbers while the inflation data ran hotter than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 118 points to 11,957. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 11 points to 1,276. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 27 points to 2,651. Nothing looks particularly good this morning. The financials are lower after another one day rally. Barclays is down 2% on comments they will expect tougher regulatory standards. Ameriprise announced a $2 billion share buyback, but it isn't helping. One of the few financials trading up is Discover on better than expected credit card data. The tech sector is lower on no news. Google outbid Microsoft for Nortel patents, but it isn't helping. Dolby is suing Research in Motion, yet RIM is one of the few techs trading higher. Go figure. The Internet radio company, Pandora came public this morning, trading up 30%. In the retail space JC Penney is down after jumping 16% yesterday. Target is lower after expanding their recall on child booster seats. Home Depot and Lowes are down thanks to downgrades. The commodities are lower, but not as much as the rest of the market. Rare Earth stocks are actually trading higher. Rare Element is up 11% after expanding their production potential. After the first hour the averages remained weak, but off the lows. Through the morning the averages remained weak with no real buyers showing up. Heading into the lunch hour the selling reaccelerated to new lows of the day. The Dow dropped 150 points as the Greek Prime Minister announced he would resign for the unity of the government. The US dollar is also rallying on this news as the Euro gets hit. Through the afternoon averages remained weak with the Dow falling 200 points. The Nasdaq declined 40 points. No buyers today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 178 points, or 1.5%, to 11,897. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 22 points, or 1.7%, to 1,265. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 47 points, or 1.8%, to 2,631.
June 14, 2011
U.S. stocks are set to bounce even though there are plenty of downgrades and weaker than expected economic data out this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95 points to 12,048. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 11 points to 1,283. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 25 points to 2,665. Virtually all stocks are trading higher. In the retail space Casey General and Best Buy are up over 5% following earnings. Smithfield Foods is up 3% on an upgrade. The sector in general reported data this morning showing a slowdown in sales for the month of May, but it doesn't seem to be hurting the market. The financials are higher for a second straight day. RBC downgraded Goldman, however, Oppenheimer reiterated buys on Goldman, Citigroup, JP Morgan, US Bancorp, and Wells Fargo. Zion Bancorp is up 2% on an upgrade. The commodities are bouncing this morning. Diamond Offshore and Transocean are higher on upgrades. Cliffs Natural Resources is higher after issuing more stock to raise money. The techs are higher even though the news is light in the sector. Corning is up 2% on positive analyst comments. HP is higher after shuffling their top executives. Juniper is higher even though it was downgraded. Through the first hour the averages remained strong with the Dow up over 100 points. Through the morning and into the lunch hour the averages remained strong with the Dow rising over 140 points and the Nasdaq jumping 40 points. Only a handful of stocks are trading lower including Cisco Systems, Research in Motion, and Bank of America. In the afternoon the commodity space took the lead in this rally thanks to stronger than expected economic data out of China. Heading into the last hour and in the last hour, the major averages came off the highs due as the financials gave up most of their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 123 points, or 1.03%, at 12,076, its strongest point gain since May 31st. The S&P 500 rose 16 points, or 1.3%, to 1,287, its highest percentage rise since April 20. The Nasdaq Composite gained 39 points, or 1.5%, to 2,678.
June 13, 2011
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher, with a spurt of corporate deals helping the indexes bounce back after six consecutive weeks of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 40 points to 11,992. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4 points to 1,275. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9 points to 2,653. A number of deals and upgrades in the retail sector. Timberland is jumping 42% after agreeing to be bought out by VF Corp. VF Corp is also higher by 10%. Wendys is selling Arbys for $430 million. That deal never worked. Under Armour is jumping 4% on an upgrade. Lululemon was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Molson Coors is lower on a downgrade. Ford is lower after a judge ordered them to pay $2 billion in damages to their truck dealers. Carnival is down after they lowered guidance due to all the turmoil in Asia and the Middle East. The commodity space looks good. Transocean looks good on an upgrade. The fertilizers are performing well. Potash is up on M&A chatter. Patriot Coal is up 2% on an upgrade. Chesapeake Energy is modestly higher after upping their dividend. Cliffs Natural Resources is modestly higher on an upgrade. The financials are struggling to stay in the green. Regions Financial is down 3% on news of an internal audit. Travelers is modestly lower on a downgrade. Genworth sold a unit to Aetna for $290 million. The stock is up 3%. The techs are the weakest sector. All the chip stocks are lower on downgrades. Research in Motion was downgraded, but the stock is higher. Through the morning the averages struggled to remain in the green. Not many buyers out there. By the lunch hour the averages were back to the unchanged level struggling once again. Only a select number of financials are modestly in the green. Through the afternoon the averages actually improved rallying into the green led by the financials. In the last hour, however, the rally evaporated. The Dow average finished up a point at 11,952. The S&P 500 added 85 cents to 1,271. The Nasdaq Composite closed off 4 points at 2,639.