The Week In Review
10/31-11/4/11
November 4, 2011U.S. stocks opened lower Friday as Europe's debt troubles overshadowed a drop in the U.S. jobless rate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points to 11,954. The S&P 500 Index fell 10 points to 1,250. The Nasdaq Composite fell 17 points to 2,680. The earnings keep coming in, but most stocks are trading lower. AIG, Chesapeake Energy, Fluor, LinkedIn, Rosetta Stone, and KKR are all lower. Rosetta Stone is trading lower by 18%. Most sectors are trading lower. The retail sector is mixed this morning. Tiffany, Nordstrom, and Coach are lower on downgrades. Stanley Black and Decker was upgraded, but the stock is modestly lower. Red Robin Gourmet Burger and Starbucks are higher following better than expected earnings. A few stocks are trading higher following earnings including Sunpower, Genworth, and Netsuite. Through the first hour the averages pushed lower. No buyers this morning. A volatile week. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remained weak with the Dow dropping over 100 points. The Nasdaq dropped over 20 points. Not many stocks in the green as all eyes remain in Europe. In the financial space, Bank of America is down 6% on heavy volume as the company will once again raise capital and dilute their shares. That company has been a disaster. Jefferies is bucking the trend, trading higher after disclosing all their European positions. A number of commodities have perked up including some oils. Molycorp is up 4% on positive comments from the company. In the last hour the averages recovered a little into the close. Some shorts are covering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points to 11,983, paring losses in the final minutes of the session. It lost 2% for the week, its first down week in over a month. The S&P 500 lost 7 points to 1,253. It fell 2.5% for the week, its first down week in five. The Nasdaq Composite lost 11 points to 2,686. It fell 1.9% for the week.
November 3, 2011
U.S. stocks opened sharply higher Thursday after the European Central Bank cut interest rates in a surprise move and on data jobless claims fell back below the 400,000 level last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 137 points to 11,973, with 28 of its 30 constituents higher. The S&P 500 Index gained 13 points to 1,251 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 23 points to 2,663. The surprise rate cut in Europe is lending support to an already strong market. The earnings keep flooding in. The financials are higher although the insurance stocks are mixed on earnings. Lincoln Financial is jumping 6% on earnings while Hartford, Manulife, and Prudential are all lower. Plenty of earnings in the commodity space. Parker Drilling, AK Steel, Apache, Agrium, Duke Energy, and Suncor Energy are all higher following earnings. The retail sector is mixed this morning following earnings and sales store sales. American Eagle and Aeropostale are both jumping over 5% while Abercrombie & Fitch is down 17% on earnings. Don't they do all the same thing. Kellogg is down 7% after missing estimates. Whole Foods is down 3% even though they beat estimates. Estee Lauder is jumping 15% on earnings. Dillards is higher thanks to strong same store sales, but Macys is down 2.5% for the same reason. In the tech space Qualcomm is jumping 8% on strong earnings. The rest of the sector opened higher, but pared its' gains in the first hour. Intel and Apple are in the red. Research in Motion is making a new 52 week low. Within the first hour the averages gave up all their gains only to rebound. The financials had a severe reversal led by Jefferies which was halted following a 10% decline. The stock fell as much as 20% before reversing once again on rumors of a large exposure to European debt. Jefferies was also the lead Investment banker selling the last MF Global bond issue before they filed for bankruptcy. After the first hour the averages rebounded smartly with the Dow regaining an 80 point gain while the Nasdaq rose just 8 points. Through the morning into the lunch hour the averages remained strong drifting higher. The Dow rose 150 points with every Dow components moving into the green. The Nasdaq rebounded rising 37 points. Heading into the last hour the averages moved higher with the Dow jumping 200 points. The financials rebounded including Jefferies. All Jefferies has done today is go down 20% and then rebound into the green onto finish down 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up 208 points, or 1.8%, at 12,044, with all 30 constituents in the green. The Nasdaq Composite rose 57 points, or 2.2%, to 2,697 while the S&P 500 Index advanced 23 points, or 1.9%, to 1,261.
November 2, 2011
U.S. stocks began Wednesday with robust gains after data had U.S. companies adding more jobs than expected in October and ahead of a statement on the economy from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 160 points to 11,818. The blue-chip index lost 573 points, or nearly 4.7%, in the first two sessions of the week. The S&P 500 Index rose 18 points to 1,236. The Nasdaq Composite added 30 points to 2,636. A nice rebound after a two day crash. The earnings keep flooding in. Trimble Navigation, XL Capital, CF Industries, Franklin Electric, Devon Energy, Clorox, Hyatt Hotel, MasterCard, Comcast, AOL, Garmin, Huntsman, and SunCoke are all higher following earnings. MasterCard is jumping 7% to new highs following strong earnings. The financials in general are acting quite well as the news out of Europe and Greece has subsided a little bit. The commodities are rebounding smartly. CF Industries is leading the fertilizers higher following strong earnings. The techs are rebounding expected for the old guard. Intel and Microsoft are unchanged. Research in Motion is the dog in the tech space dropping 3% to a new 52 week low and a five year low. That poor stock can't get out of its' own way. After the first hour the averages remained strong. Through the morning the Dow pushed higher rising 200 points while the Nasdaq rose 35 points. A few stocks are trading lower this morning. Peet's Coffee, Atmel, Annaly, Diamond Foods, Molson Coors, Becton Dickinson, and Sony are lower following earnings. During the lunch hour the averages left rates unchanged causing little change in the averages. Following the lunch hour the averages pulled back on erroneous comments out of Greece. Here we go again. The Nasdaq gave up all its' gains only to rebound in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178 points, or 1.5%, to 11,836. It had fallen 4.7% over the prior two sessions. The S&P 500 gained 19 points, or 1.6%, to 1,237. The Nasdaq Composite rose 33 points, or 1.3%, to 2,639.
November 1, 2011
U.S. stocks opened solidly lower on Tuesday as Greece's call for a referendum on its rescue package shook investor confidence in Europe's effort to contain its debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 252 points to 11,702. The S&P 500 Index shed 34 points to 1,219. The Nasdaq Composite declined 74 points to 2,610. Our phenomenal rally is evaporating quite quickly. The financials are taking the brunt of the punishment this morning as a number of European banks are lower by 5% or more. Credit Suisse is down 8% following earnings and more layoffs. Legg Mason is down 4% on a downgrade. Citigroup was upgraded, but the stock is lower by 5%. Allstate was trading higher last night following strong earnings, but this morning the stock is modestly lower. Bank Atlantic is jumping 108% after BB&T agreed to buy the Florida bank. The commodities are taking it on the chin. Baker Hughes is down 10% following disappointing earnings. Rowan is down 5% following earnings. The oils in general are pretty weak. Valero is unchanged even though they easily beat estimates. Archer Daniels Midland is lower by 2% following earnings. Through the first hour the markets started catching a bid. The commodities and materials and insurance stocks slowly improved. Allstate moved into the green. Hess and Freeport McMoRan are well off their lows. After the first hour the Dow remained down 190 points with only Pfizer trading in the green thanks to better than expected earnings. The Nasdaq remained down 50 points as even Apple is lower by 1.5%. Microsoft was upgraded, but the stock is lower by a percent. MicroStrategy is down 13% following earnings this morning. Through the morning the averages remained weak moving lower during the lunch hour. In the middle of the afternoon the US dollar sold off causing a little bit of a rebound only to sell off again in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 186 points to 11,768. The S&P 500 Index fell 22 points to 1,231. The Nasdaq Composite declined 51 points to 2,632.
October 31, 2011
U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, with Wall Street relinquishing some of its recent rise, as the yen fell after Japanese officials tried again to weaken the currency. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134 points to 12,096. The S&P 500 Index declined 16 points to 1,268. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 38 points to 2,698. Today is a good day for profit-taking. Every sector is trading lower. The financials are weak as MF Global was first suspended and then officially filed for bankruptcy. Northstar Realty is a REIT trading up 3% after securing a line of credit. The insurance stocks are getting hit as another storm hits the Northeast. The commodities are getting hit. Occidental Petroleum is down 2% on an upgrade. Arch Coal is down 6% on a downgrade. Cliffs Natural Resources is down 4% even though one analyst made positive comments. Chevron is down 2% on a downgrade. The techs are getting hit this morning although a few perked up in the first hour. Following the first hour the Dow remained down 130 points and the Nasdaq down 30 points even though Apple moved into the green. Intel is down less than 1% as the company goes ex-dividend this week. A few companies are trading higher following earnings. Humana is jumping 7% as they easily beat estimates. CNA Financial, Taser, and Cooper Tires are higher following earnings. Through the morning the averages pushed lower. During the lunch hour the Dow fell 200 points. The Nasdaq declined 40 points. The averages remained weak through the afternoon accelerating to the downside in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 276 points, or 2.3%, to 11,955, marking its first loss in four sessions. It finished up 9.5% for the month. The S&P 500 fell 31 points, or 2.5%, to end at 1,253 while the Nasdaq Composite declined 52 points, or 1.9%, to 2,684. For the month, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each added 11%. A great year in one month's time.