The Week In Review
7/19-7/23/10
July 23, 2010U.S. stocks slid at Friday's start, with investors tentative ahead of European bank stress test results out at the lunch hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26 points to 10,295. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4 points to 1,088. The Nasdaq Composite shed 11 points to 2,234. The earnings keep flooding in better than expected. Last night earnings reports came in from Microsoft, American Express, Deckers Outdoors, Cheesecake Factory, Amazon, Sandisk, E-Trade, Columbia Sportswear, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Mosaic. Only E-Trade, Mosaic and Chipotle are trading higher. Amazon is down 8%. This morning earnings came in from McDonalds, TRowe Price, Kimberly Clark, Verizon, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Ford, Ashland, Schlumberger, Capital One, Ryder, and Wilmington Trust. Kimberly Clark, Verizon, Ford, Honeywell, Ashland, and Ryder are trading higher. The transportation stocks have been performing well which is a good sign of the economy. Union Pacific is higher following an upgrade and good earnings the other day. Through the first hour the averages began to slowly improve with more and more stocks moving back into the green. The commoditiy stocks are performing well. The Dow made it back to the unchanged level while the techs remain in the red. Microsoft easily beat estimates last night, raised guidance, yet investors will not bid up the stock. Through the morning the averages improved with the Dow moving back into the green ahead of the European stress test results. During the lunch hour the European stress test results were released. Only seven of the 91 European banks failed the test. The averages initially rallied, then sold off. Through the afternoon the averages hovered around the unchanged level and then took off. A great way to end the week.
July 22, 2010
U.S. stocks surged Thursday in cheering quarterly results from corporations including Caterpillar, 3M, and UPS. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 206 points to 10,327. The S&P 500 gained 24 points to 1,094. The Nasdaq Composite gained 53 points to 2,240. The economic data out this morning was not flattering, but investors don't seem mind. It's a skitsofrantic market with 200 point swings in the Dow over the last three days. The earnings keep coming in better than expected. Caterpillar, 3M, and UPS are also raising guidance for the rest of the year. Other companies trading higher following earnings include Nucor, Union Pacific, Janus, Jetblue, Bristol Myers, AT&T, Xerox, Baidu, Xilinx, Ebay, Computer Associates, Raymond James, Qualcomm, Philip Morris, Suntrust, PNC, Eli Lilly, KeyCorp, Nokia, Tyco Electronics, Continential, Huntington Bancorp, and AutoNation. Not many stocks are trading lower following earnings which is a good sign. Diamond Offshore, Sherwin Williams, Starbucks, Netflix, Western Digital, BB&T, Hershey, and Travelers are lower after earnings. Travelers is the only Dow component trading lower. After the first hour the averages remain strong near the highs of the day. Who saw this rally coming after yesterdays' debacle? Through the morning the averages remain strong. Americredit is the diamond of the day jumping 22% after GM agreed to buy them out for $3.5 billion. I thought GM was bankrupt? Oh that's right, we bailed them out and this is how they pay us back? Great. In the afternoon the averages moved sideways near the highs of day. In the last hour the averages pulled back a liitle as the SEC said they would investigate the timing of Goldman Sachs' settlement with, the SEC. Confused? You should be. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 201 points at 10,322 points, led by a 5.4% gain in Boeing shares. The S&P 500 added 24 points to 1,093, with all sectors higher.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 58 points to 2,245 points.
July 21, 2010
U.S. stocks open higher on Wednesday, with Wall Street reaching for a third day of gains, after earnings from financials Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and technology giant Apple helped calm worries about corporate growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 21 points to 10,251. The S&P 500 Index rose 3 points to 1,087. The Nasdaq Composite gained 6 points to 2,228. Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley are up at least 5%. Apple is up nearly 2%. But there are plenty of other stocks trading higher following earnings including Freeport McMoRan, Eaton, US Airways, Abbott Labs, US Bancorp, Coke, United Tech, Altria, Stanley Black & Decker, and Textron. A couple stocks are lower following earnings including Altera, Blackrock, Yahoo, EMC, and Northern Trust. Today is a day of the haves and have nots. After the first half an hour the averages fell into the red. The Dow battled back, but the techs remain in the red. Through the morning the Dow fell back into the red along with the other averages. The strongest stocks Apple, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Freeport McMoRan have paired their gains. Wallstreet is awaiting comments from the Federal Reserve this afternoon when he presents his semiannual review of monetary policy to Congress. Shortly after 2 o'clock the averages started to sell off on cautious comemnts from Bernanke regarding economic growth. The Dow dropped 100 points. The Nasdaq dropped 26 points. Bonds are rallying. So much for the equity rally. In the last hour, no bounce. The Dow Jones Industrials Average lost 109 points, or 1.1%, to 10,120. The S&P 500 fell 13 or 1.3%, to 1,069 with financials and consumer discretionary sectors leading decliners. The Nasdaq Composite lost 35 points, or 1.6%, to 2,187.
July 20, 2010
U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday after a plethora of companies have beat earnings estimates, but the quality of earnings are disappointing Wall Street and investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 126 points to 10,028. The S&P 500 dropped 12 points to 1,058. The Nasdaq Composite declined 30 points to 2,167. Virtually all the companies beating earnings estimates are also missing on revenue estimates which is telling investors that there is little new business, but more cost cuts to beat the estimates. The number of stocks trading lower after beating earnings estimates include IBM, Texas Instruments, Tupperware, J&J, Goldman Sachs, Forest Labs, Biogen, Bank of New York Mellon, Whirlpool, Unitedhealth Group,and Illinois Tools. A few stocks are higher following earnings including Weatherford, Harley Davidson, UAL, MGT Mortgage, and Pepsi. Harley is the diamond of the day up 12% as net income triples. Whirlpool beat estimates by 51 cents and lifted guidance yet the stock is down 4%. Stocks receiving upgrades and trading higher this morning include Halliburton, Wolverine Worldwide, and J Crew. Sherwin Williams is down 2% on a downgrade. RadioShack is down 8% after two firms dropping out of the bidding for the firm. After the first hour the averages bounced a little off the lows. A couple of financials like Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs have turned positive after opening lower. In the tech sector Google looks good. Apple and Yahoo are higher ahead of earnings tonight. In the commodity space, Freeport McMoRan is up 4.5% ahead of earnings tomorrow. Through the morning the averages slowly improved. In the afternoon the averages continued to slowly improve. By 2 o'clock the averages had made it back to the unchanged level led by rallies in Goldman Sach, Google, Apple, Freeport McMoRan, Walmart, and Caterpillar. Entering the last hour the Dow was up 30 points. The Nasdaq up 5 points.
In the last hour the averages accelerated into the close. A nice turnaround. The Dow Jones Industrials Average finished up 75 points at 10,229, rebounding from a triple-digit loss intraday. The S&P 500 closed up 12 points at 1,083, led by 2.9% gain in material stocks including a 8.2% surge in Cliffs Natural Resources and a 7.5% gain in shares of U.S. Steel. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 24 points at 2,222 points.
July 19, 2010
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Monday as Halliburton reported quarterly results that topped expectations, helping lift sentiment after the rout at the end of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points to 10,153. The S&P 500 Index climbed 5 points to 1,070. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13 points to 2,192. Halliburton is up 3% helping lift most commodity stocks. Transocean is down 6% after having their price target lowered. U.S. Steel is modestly lower on a downgrade. The financials opened unchanged except for Bank of America. B of A is down 3% after a number of cautious comments from a number of analysts. Visa and Mastercard have been weak since the passing of the financial regulatory bill. Citigroup is unchanged on positive comments from Oppenheimer. In the tech sector IBM and Texas Instruments are higher ahead of earnings tonight. Yahoo, Micron, and Juniper Networks are modestly higher on upgrades. Motorola and Nokia are modestly higher after Nokia agreed to buy a small unit from Motorola. After the first half an hour the averages, similar to Thursday and Friday, sold off again. After the first hour the averages were in the red, led by the financials. Through the morning the averages crept back into the green, but not the financials. In the tech sector, Apple is lower by 3% on profit margin concerns. Apple reports earnings tomorrow. Apple seems to be losing some of its' luster. In the afternoon the averages remained in the green, but not by much. The financials have settled in. Entering the last hour the averages kept improving led by the techs. Only Apple is lower. BP is pulling back on concerns oil is leaking once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 56 points at 10,154, led by a 2.7% rise in the shares of Intel and a 2.1% gain in Boeing. The S&P 500 gained 6 points to 1,071, led by a 6% rise in Halliburton. The Nasdaq Composite rose 19 points to 2,198
points.