The Week In Review
04/23/2012-04/27/2012
April 27, 2012U.S. stocks started with gains Friday as investors cheered results from corporations including Amazon.com and Ford Motor. Stocks maintained gains after the Commerce Department said the economy expanded less than estimated in the first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 26 points to 13,231. The S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,403. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 6 points to 3,057. This market is very resilient in the face of slowing growth in Europe and the U.S. The earnings keep flooding in much better than expected although not all stocks are trading higher. In the tech space Western Digital and Seagate are both down over 10% on earnings. Fusion-io, Netsuite, and KLA Tencor are also lower on earnings. Apple and Google are also lower this morning. Maxim is trading up 4% on earnings, but the real winners are Expedia and Amazon. Both stocks are up over 14%, Expedia is up a whooping 30%. Nice. In the retail space Decker Outdoors, the maker of the once popular Uggs, is down 25% on disappointing earnings and lower guidance. The Uggs are out of favor. Starbucks and Callaway are down over 5% on earnings. Cabelas' was upgraded, but the stock is down 2%. In the drug sector PG is down 3% on earnings. Coventry Health is down 10% on earnings. Merck is unchanged following in line guidance. Amgen is one of the few drugs higher following strong earnings earlier in the week. The energy space is modestly lower this morning as that sector can't catch a bid. Kodiak Oil and Gas and Chevron are lower on earnings. The financials are all modestly lower. Goldman is lower on an insider trading probe. MetLife is down 2% following earnings last night. Through the first hour the Dow gave up most of their gains falling back to the unchanged level, but the good news is the market doesn't want to go down. Resilient market. Through the morning and in the lunch hour the Dow slowly improved along with the Nasdaq up 17 points. The Nasdaq is up 3.5% in the last three days. In the afternoon the averages kept pushing higher inching closer to the highs of the year ready to finish April on a high note. In the last hour the averages ran out of steam, but still finished in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 23 points at 13,228. It added 1.5% for the week, its second straight weekly rise. The S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,403 for a weekly gain of 1.8%. The Nasdaq Composite added 18 points to 3,069, rising 2.3% on the week.
April 26, 2012
U.S. stocks wavered between gains and losses Thursday after weekly data on jobless claims disappointed but a rally in technology shares continued for a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11 points to 13,101. The S&P 500 Index fell nearly 2 points to 1,389. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6 points to 3,036. Earnings are still flooding in much better than expected. In the tech space Netgear, Monster Worldwide, Xilinx, and Cirrus Logic are higher on earnings. Apple opened higher after a big run yesterday. Google and IBM look good as well. Lexmark is higher after hiking their dividend. LSI Logic and Akamai are lower on earnings. In the retail space American Greeting, Tractor Supply, Taser, Coke, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Liz Claiborne, Dunkin Brands, and Skechers are higher on earnings. Electronic Arts is jumping 6% on takeover rumors. Cabelas, Kellogg, Brigg Stratton, Colgate, and Bunge are modestly lower on earnings. The big cap banks are modestly higher this morning although the European banks like Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander are down over 3% on earnings. Moody's and the CME Group are lower on earnings. Aetna is dropping 11% on earnings. Pulte Group is jumping 7% on earnings. In the industrial space Cliffs Natural Resources is down 4% on earnings. Dow Chemical is down 3% on earnings. Exxon Mobil is also lower on earnings. Tyco is higher on earnings while Hess and Caterpillar are bouncing back after getting hit yesterday. Through the first hour the Dow jumped 50 points while the Nasdaq rose 11 points. A few sectors are not participating in the rally including the healthcare and the transports. Through the morning the averages pulled back, then rebounded. The Nasdaq is only modestly higher as Apple remains in the red. In the afternoon the averages received an added boost. The Dow rose over 100 points looking very bullish. The Nasdaq rose 20 points even as Apple remains in the red. In the last hour the averages pushed higher inching closer to the highs of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 113 points at 13,204, with Chevron Corp and International Business Machines adding the most to the index's point gains. The S&P 500 rose 9 points to 1,399. It topped 1,400 intraday for the first time in three weeks. It was the third day of gains for the S&P 500 and Dow. The Nasdaq Composite added 20 points to 3,050.
April 25, 2012
U.S. stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday as Apple's blow-out quarter lifted the Nasdaq above the 3,000 level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71 points to 13,073. The S&P 500 advanced 13 points, or 1%, to 1,385. The Nasdaq Composite surged 52 points, or 1.8%, to 3,014. It's all about Apple today. The stock is up 9.1% on blow out earnings and plenty of upgrades. Apple's suppliers like Cirrus Logic, Qualcomm, and Broadcom are all sharply higher. The rest of the tech space looks good. The blue chips Google, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft look good. Corning is up 5% on earnings. SAP and Motorola Solutions are higher on earnings. Baidu.com is down following earnings. Outside techs, things are not as bullish. In the Dow Jones, Caterpillar is down 4% on earnings. The rest of the industrials are modestly higher. United Tech is higher on an upgrade. Boeing is a stand out up 4% on earnings. In the material space Praxair is up 2% on earnings while the dog is Hess down 7% following disappointing earnings. In the energy space is modestly lower. NuStar Energy is down 3% on earnings. Nabor Industries is bucking the trend up 5% on earnings. The financials opened modestly higher, but then pulled back. Oppenheimer upgraded the sector. Credit Suisse is down 4% on earnings. AFLAC is higher by 6% on earnings. Through the first hour the Dow rose over 100 points as the Nasdaq lifted over 60 points. In the retail space JC Penney, Harley Davidson, Tupperware, Panera Bread, Tanger Factory Outlet, Aeropostale, and Buffalo Wild Wing all look great following earnings. Dr Pepper Snapple is down 3% on earnings. Through out the morning the Dow gave up half its' gains as more stocks dipped into the red. The Nasdaq remained strong thanks to Apple. Other companies reporting better than expected earnings today include Norfolk Southern, Avery Dennison, KKR, Six Flags, Diebald, Mead Westvaco, Sprint Nextel, Eli Lilly, Wellpoint, Ryder Systems, and Timken. AutoNation, Lorillard, Northrop Grumman, and Southern Company are lower on earnings. During the lunch hour the Fed left rates unchanged having little effect on the market. Apple is holding up the Nasdaq while Caterpillar is the biggest drag in the Dow. Through the afternoon the Dow rebounded while the Nasdaq remained strong. The Dow sold off again only to rebound in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 89 points at 13,090, led by a 5.3% rally in Boeing. The S&P 500 added 18 points, or 1.4%, to 1,390, led by a 3.2% jump in tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite, the only one of the major benchmarks to fall in the prior session, rose 68 points, or 2.3%, to 3,029.
April 24, 2012
U.S. stocks opened mostly higher Tuesday as investors considered solid earnings from companies including Dow component 3M but took a caution stance ahead of additional economic data on consumer confidence and home sales. The Dow Jones Industrial rose 34 points to 12,961. The S&P 500 inched up a point to 1,367. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3 points to 2,966. The earnings are flooding in with better than expected results. However, there are a few bombshells out there. In the retail space, Big Lots is down 20% after warning about earnings. Netflix is down 12% after reporting a quarterly loss. Coach and Radio Shack are down over 4% on earnings while Hershey is jumping 6% on earnings. Illinois Tool Works is higher by 2% following earnings and raised guidance. The financials are trading higher for the most part this morning although Ameriprise, CIT Group, Zion Bancorp, and Janus are lower on earnings. T Rowe Price is up 2% on earnings. In the tech space mixed results so far. IBM looks great after hiking their dividend and increasing their share buyback. Google looks good as well, but a number of techs are lower. Texas Instruments, Symantec, and Lexmark are lower following earnings. In the energy space Baker Hughes and Weatherford are higher on earnings. AK Steel and US Steel are lower on earnings. In the industrial space United Tech, Parker Hannifin, and 3M are higher on earnings. Earnings in general look pretty darn good. Through the first hour thanks in part to better than expected economic data, the Dow rose over 100 points. The Nasdaq can't seem to get going thanks in large part to Apple. Apple is down a percent ahead of earnings tonight. Apple's weakness is attributed to AT&T's earnings and the number of iphones they signed up in the quarter. AT&T on the other hand looks good up 3.5%. Through the morning the Dow improved rising 120 points. The Nasdaq inched into the green. In the afternoon the Dow gave up more of its gains being dragged down by Walmart. The Nasdaq dropped back into the red as Apple pushed lower down nearly 3%. Apple has declined 10 out of the last 11 trading days as many mutual fund managers are paring their gains. In the last hour the averages tried to put in a rally. Juniper is rallying as they released earnings early. Cisco is rallying in sympathy. Apple put in one rebound, but then pulled back into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 74 points at 13,001. The S&P 500 rose 5 points to 1,371. The Nasdaq Composite declined 8 points to 2,961.
April 23, 2012
U.S. stocks declined sharply Monday as political uncertainty in Europe cast doubt on the region's ability to deal with its debt crisis and after cereal-maker Kellogg cut its 2012 forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 122 points to 12,906. The S&P 500 declined 14 points, or 1.1%, to 1,363. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 34 points, or 1.1%, to 2,966. Very few winners to start the week. Materials, energy stocks, and industrials are all taking a hit. Hess is down 2% on a downgrade. Conoco Philips is lower after missing earnings estimates. Eaton and Potlatch are modestly lower following earnings. Wolverine Worldwide is down 4% after lowering guidance. Tennant Co. is down 10% after missing numbers. Kellogg is down 5% after lowering guidance due to European weakness. That drum beat should get louder. IBM last week made similar comments. The Europe banks are getting hit this morning. Deutsche Bank is down 4%. Banco Santander was upgraded, but the stock is lower. All the US financials are lower. MasterCard is down 3.5%. DR Horton is unchanged following earnings. SunTrust is bucking the trend up 4% on earnings. In the retail space Walmart is making news on a bribery scandal in Mexico. The stock is down 4.5%. Dicks was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Dollar Thrifty is modestly higher after raising guidance. The tech space is one of the few sectors trying to hold in there. Google, Microsoft, Apple all made rallies into the green. Xerox is up 2% on earnings. Baidu.com is down 4% ahead of earnings tomorrow. LSI Logic is higher on a positive article in Barrons. Through the morning the averages moved lower only to rebound to where they opened. A number of techs and financials have moved into the green like Google, Apple, Corning, JP Morgan, and MetLife. In the afternoon the averages slowly improved thanks to techs and a select number of financials. In the last hour the averages kept improving into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 102 points at 12,927. Wal-Mart Stores fell 4.66%, its worst day since August, on a report of alleged corruption at a Mexico unit. The S&P 500 lost 11 points to 1,366. The Nasdaq declined 30 points to 2970 as Apple couldn't finish in the green.