Day Traders Diary
9/18/12
Today's session was mostly uneventful as equities remained near their opening levels throughout the day. The major averages showed some divergence as the S&P 500 shed 0.2% while the Dow added 0.1%.Stocks within the consumer staples sector were the top performer of the day. Within the group, Energizer (ENR 75.22, +7.30) surged 10.7% after announcing preliminary results of a comprehensive review of the company's cost structure. As a result of the review, Energizer expects annualized cost savings of $175-200 million. Beverage and cigarette stocks were also on the rise within the defensive sector. Coca-Cola (KO 38.62, +0.27) and British American Tobacco (BTI 104.81, +2.70) ended higher by 0.9% and 2.6%, respectively.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average slipped 1.1% as it trailed the broader market. Disappointing guidance from FedEx (FDX 86.55, -2.73) spilled over to other group components as all twenty names within the transportation average traded lower. Airlines showed the biggest weakness as Delta (DAL 8.96, -0.27) and United Continental (UAL 19.27, -0.46) both fell near 2.5%. Shipping stocks were also pressured with Matson (MATX 21.84, -0.43) and Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG 6.76, -0.09) ending lower by 1.9% and 1.5%, respectively.
Technology stocks have traded mostly in-line with the broader market. AMD (AMD 3.62, -0.39) slumped 9.7% after Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Seifert announced his resignation. The company announced that Devinder Kumar will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer while a search for a replacement takes place.
Meanwhile, OCZ (OCZ 4.13, -0.33) slid 7.4% after Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Peterson resigned. The board of directors has appointed Amex Mei as interim Chief Executive Officer. The change at the top resulted in several analysts moving their ratings. Craig Hallum upgraded the stock from 'hold' to 'buy' while Stifel Nicolaus downgraded OCZ from 'buy' to 'hold.'
Elsewhere, F5 Networks (FFIV 108.62, +4.16) jumped 4.0% after Piper Jaffray commented on the company's attractive valuation, and said that the network provider is likely to beat earnings estimates. Other networking names finished lower with Cisco Systems (CSCO 19.04, -0.11) and Juniper Networks (JNPR 18.94, -0.43) slipping 0.6% and 2.2%, respectively.
For-profit education stocks were broadly higher today. Career Education (CECO 4.09, +0.27) and Corinthian Colleges (COCO 2.84, +0.14) added 7.1% and 5.2%, respectively. The advances did not appear to be news-driven as other education listings also made notable advances. Strayer Education (STRA 70.82, +2.85) and Bridgeport Education (BPI 11.64, +0.42) both gained near 4.0%.
The current account deficit for the second quarter totaled $117.4 billion, which was lower than the $126.8 billion deficit that had been broadly anticipated.
The July net long-term TIC flows print indicated a $67 billion inflow of foreign capital into U.S. denominated assets.
Lastly, the NAHB Housing Market Index for September registered a reading of 40, which was ahead of prior month's 37, and better than the reading of 38 that had been expected among economists polled by Briefing.com.
In tomorrow's economic data, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7:00 ET, while housing starts and building permits will be released at 8:30 ET. Lastly, existing home sales will be announced at 10:00 ET.
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