The Week In Review
7/6-7/10/09
July 10, 2009U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, with the broad market heading to a fourth consecutive week of losses, as investors faced uncertainty about the economic recovery and earnings report coming next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 46 points to 8,137. The S&P 500 Index shed 4 points to 877, while the Nasdaq Composite fell fractionally to 1,751. The techs are one of the few sectors performing okay. Yahoo, EMC, Google, Apple, and Dell were all upgraded and are trading higher. IBM is down a percent on a downgrade. The financials are mixed. JP Morgan analyst made comments that Bank of America should make money, but it will be a messy quarter. The stock is down 3%. Legg Mason is up a percent on an upgrade. The commodities are lower once again. Oil is below $60 a barrel. That's a good thing. After the open, the Dow remained weak. The Nasdaq held firm near the unchanged level. Through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, the Dow remained in the red and the Nasdaq held firm near the unchanged level. Queit day, quiet week. In the last hour, the averages nudged closer to the unchanged level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 36 points at 8,146 leaving it with a weekly decline of 1.6%. The S&P 50 Index shed 3 points to 879, off 1.9% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3 points, or 0.2%, to close at 1,756, with the technology-laden index left with a decline of 2.3% for the week.
July 9, 2009
U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday after aluminum giant Alcoa beat expectations and initial jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44 points to 8,223. Alcoa opened higher by 4% but then sold off. The S&P 500 Index added 5 points to 885 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 12 points to 1,759. The retailers also reported June retail sales which were weaker than expected. A couple of retailers are trading higher. Target is up 4%, TJX is up 4%, and Gymboree is up 6%. Gymboree and TJX raised guidance for the quarter. The financials are quiet. Western Union is up 5% on an upgrade. WD-40 is up 3% after beating estimates. Goldman Sachs is higher on an upgrade. Metlife is higher on rumors they may buy a portion of AIG. The U.S. dollar is weaker causing oil and gold to push higher. The techs are higher. Research in Motion and SAP are higher on upgrades. IBM is higher on an upgrade. 3Coms is lower by 8% after lowering guidance for the next
quarter. After the first half an hour, the Dow remained in the green by 25 points. The Nasdaq rose 10 points. After the first hour, the Dow gave up all its gains. The Nasdaq is up 5 points. Through the morning, oil made fresh lows below $60 a barrel. The Dow moved lower as well. No buyers still. Entering the lunch hour, the averages clawed their way back to unchanged level. The tech sector is performing well. In the afternoon, the averages remained in the green, but not by much, closing near the unchanged level. The Dow closed up 4 points at 8183. The S&P 500 closed 3 points at 882. The Nasdaq rose 5 points to 1752.
July 8, 2009
U.S. stocks started slightly higher on Wednesday, with equities drawing a slight lift by an International Monetary Fund report that hiked its outlook for global economic growth in 2010. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 27 points to 8,191. The S&P 500 Index advanced 3 points to 884, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 11 points to 1,757. Quiet market for most stocks. Amgen is a big winner, jumping 15% on positive phase three trials for a breast cancer drug. One brokerage firm upgraded the stock with a $66 price target. In the retail space, Family Dollar is up 10% on better than expected earnings. Tractor Supply is up 9% after raising 2009 earnings forecasts. Dreamworks is unchanged on an upgrade. Skechers is lower after having their earnings estimates lowered. In the tech sector, Google is modestly higher on news the company is working on a operating system to compete with Microsoft, at least on the low end with netbooks. SAP and LSI Logic are higher on an upgrades. Research in Motion is lower on an upgrade. The financials are quiet. M&T Bank is up a percent on an upgrade. GE is lower by 2% on negative comments from a small research firm. After the first half an hour, the averages remained in the green not far from where they opened. Through the morning the averages gave up the gains. A lack of buyers once again. In the afternoon, the averages recovered a little on a good Treasury auction. No real buyers around. In the last hour, the averages clawed their way back to the unchanged level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 14 points at 8,178. The S&P 500 Index fell a point to 879, while the Nasdaq Composite added a point to end at 1,747.
July 7, 2009
U.S. stocks tilted mildly lower at Tuesday's start, with investors on guard ahead of quarterly results and amid underlying worries about the strength of the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20 points to 8,304. The S&P 500 Index declined a point to 897, while the Nasdaq Composite fell fractionally to 1,786. Every day is morphing into the next, light volume and very few buyers. Weyehaeuser is down 5% after announcing plans to cut their dividend by 80%. The rest of the news for the markets looks good, but is falling on deaf ears. The financials are holding in better than most sectors. Keycorp received an upgrade this morning. The stock is up 5%. Morgan Stanley is modestly in the green after having their earnings estimates raised by one analyst. Northern Trust is unchanged on an upgrade. In the tech sector, Apple, Brocade, and Intel received upgrades. Only Brocade is higher. A few retailers are higher, like Walmart and Dicks Sporting Goods. Dicks was upgraded. Callaway is jumping 5% on an upgrade. Through the morning, the selling picked up, accelerating in the afternoon into the last hour. Entering the last hour, the Dow was down 125 points. The Nasdaq declined 31 points. No rebound into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 161 points, or 1.9%, at 8,163. The S&P 500 lost 18 points, or nearly 2%, at 881, with only health-care stocks rising. The Nasdaq Composite fell 41 points, or 2.3%, to 1,746 points.
July 6, 2009
U.S. stocks started lower on Monday as investors turned defensive in fretting about the fragile economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points to 8,231. The S&P 500 shed 5 points to 891 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10 points to 1,785. Nothing really looks good this morning. China is making positive comments on the U.S. dollar causing it to shoot higher and oil and gold to move lower. BP is down 3% after having their earnings estimates lowered. Transocean was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Harmony Gold was upgraded, but the stock is lower. The financials are lower except for American Express. American Express is up 2% on an upgrade. Credit Suisse raised earnings estimates for Citigroup, but lowered numbers for Bank of America and JP Morgan. All three are lower. The techs received a number of upgrades, yet the stocks are lower. Symantec, Qualcomm, and Microsoft were upgraded, but all three are lower. Data Domain is up 3% after EMC raised their offer to buy the firm. The retail space is lower as well. Aeropostale was upgraded, yet the stock is lower. Within the first hour, the averages rebounded to the unchanged level only to sell off once again. After the first hour, the Dow was down 65 points. The Nasdaq declined 25 points. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the Dow slowly recovered while the techs and the Nasdaq remained weak. The commodities space remained weak as well. In the last hour, the Dow recovered moving into the green. The Nasdaq also slowly recovered. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished near the highs of the day up 44 points at 8,324. The S&P 500 Index added 2 points to 898, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 9 points to 1,787.