The Week In Review
2/21-2/25/11
February 25, 2011U.S. stocks opened higher Friday, with equities rebounding after a recent string of losses that came with a surge in crude prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40 points to 12,108. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 7 points to 1,313. The Nasdaq Composite added 23 points to 2,761. Everything is rebounding this morning except for oil and oil related stocks. The money that fled the high flyer stocks over the last several days is flowing right back in. Salesforce.com, Decker Outdoors, Ancestory.com, Crocs, and Autodesk are all up over 3% following earnings. Plenty of upgrades this morning. In the commodity space Intrepid Potash, Potash, Agrium, and Goldcorp were all upgraded. All are trading higher. Potash split 3 for 1 this morning. Transocean is higher even though an analyst cut their estimates. Rowan is up 5% on earnings. The steel, iron ore, and copper plays are all higher. The financials look good this morning. Wells Fargo is up 4% on an upgrade. Fifth Third is up 3% on an upgrade. Bank of America is up 2% on an upgrade. Blackrock is higher after raising their dividend. AIG is modestly lower following earnings. In the tech space Intel, Adobe, and AMD look good thanks to upgrades. In the retail space Chipotle Mexican Grill and Cheesecake Factory are higher by 2% on upgrades. JC Penney is lower following earnings. After the first hour everything looks great. The Dow rose 65 points while the Nasdaq rose 38 points. The big question is, is today a one day bounce or is the correction over? We'll see. Through the morning the averages gave up half their gains only to rally once again in the afternoon. Through the afternoon and into the last hour the averages held on to their gains, but I'm not sure the correction is over. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 61 points at 12,130, led by more than 2% gains in Intel and Boeing. For the week, the Dow lost 2.1%, its worst percentage drop since November and worst point drop since August. The S&P 500 rose 13 points, or 1.1%, to 1,319, led by a 1.4% gain in financials. It fell 1.7% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite rose 43 points or 1.6%, to 2,781 for the day and lost 1.9% for the week.
February 24, 2011
U.S. stocks look ready for a bounce even as crude-oil futures top $100-a-barrel this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 12 points to 12,093. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell a point to 1,306. The Nasdaq Composite Index inched up a point to 2,724. A number of stocks are higher following earnings. Priceline is jumping 9% after beating estimates. H&R Block is up 6% after beating estimates. Heinz, GM, Kohls, and Target are all higher thanks to earnings. To the downside El Paso, Newmont Mining, RBS, Dish Network, and Sears are lower on earnings. The oils keep pushing higher, but the other commodities are trading higher as well. Fertilizers, copper, and iron ore plays all look good. The techs look good except for HP. That stock can't seem to get out of its' own way. The financials are mixed this morning. E-Trade is down 4% as a large hedge fund will sell his position in the firm. Through the first hour of trading the Nasdaq jumped 20 points dragging the Dow into the green, but with oil so high it will be tough to put in much of a rally. As the morning progressed the Dow moved back into the red as the Nasdaq gave up most of its' gains. The high energy prices are hurting the transports. The auto sector has been walloped the last several days. GM dropped sharply after the open falling back toward the IPO price. The financials are now in the red. A number of techs are holding the green except for Apple, HP, and Google. In the middle of the afternoon the Dow fell over 100 points on rumors of chemical weapons in Libya. However, the rumors were quickly dismissed and the averages started to rebound. In the last hour the averages kept improving with the techs leading the way. Interestingly, the oil and oil related stocks are selling off as the rest of the commodity space improves. Into the close, the Nasdaq held its gains as the Dow almost got back to the unchanged level before selling off again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37 points to end at 12,068 due in part to shares of Hewlett-Packard losing 3.3%. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 14 points to 2737. The S&P 500 Index slipped a point to 1306.
February 23, 2011
U.S. stocks open mildly lower with investors looking for direction after yesterday largest down day so far this year. Energy shares are up once again as crude-oil futures topped $97 a barrel, while the technology sector is weighed down by technology giant Hewlett-Packard following disappointing guidance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 18 points to 12,194 due in part to the 11% drop in HP. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up a point to 1,317. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3 points to 2,760. The earnings keep flooding in better than expected. Chesapeake Energy, Toll Brothers, Saks, Direct TV, Zales, Lowes, and Garmin are trading higher following earnings. The commodities continue to rally as oil pushes toward $100 a barrel. That's not good for the broader markets. A number of stocks are lower following earnings including Fluor, Eaton, Washington Post, TJX, Dollar Tree, Frontier Communications, Mohawk Industries, and Texas Roadhouse. Through the first hour the averages moved lower with the Dow dropping 50 points and the Nasdaq declining 19 points. The averages tried to rally a couple of times, but this market will have a tough time rallying with oil so high. Through the morning the averages pushed lower with the Dow dropping 80 points and the Nasdaq declining 40 points. Only the commodity stocks and Apple are trading higher. In the afternoon the Dow dropped over 100 points with the Nasdaq actually recovering a little bit thanks to a rebound in shares of Apple. In the last hour the averages continued to recover with a number of techs, financials, and commodities moving into the green. But it wasn't enough. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 107 points at 12,105. The S&P 500 fell 8 points to 1,307, with stocks in industrial companies sensitive to spikes in raw-materials prices leading decliners. The Nasdaq Composite lost 33 points, or 1.2%, to 2,722.
February 22, 2011
U.S. stock opened sharply lower with escalating violence in Libya after data showed U.S. home-prices falling 1% in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 75 points to start the day at 12,300. Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 15 points to 1,326 while Nasdaq declined 35 points to 2,359. The only sector trading higher is the energy patch thanks to a spike in the oil futures above $90 a barrel. The oils, oil drillers, and the natural gas plays look good. China solar company, Trina Solar is up 3% following better than expected earnings. Rare earth play Molycorp is jumping 4% on an upgrade. The other commodities like fertilizer, silver, copper, and iron ore plays are lower. With the spike in oil, the Dow Jones Transportation Average is down 2%. FedEx and UPS are also lower by 2%. During the first hour the Dow fell over a 100 points, but then rallied back. The earnings keep coming in better than expected. Office Depot is jumping 8% following earnings. Home Depot and Hormel Foods are higher following earnings. Apparel maker, VF Corp is jumping 10% on earnings and raised guidance. General Mills is higher after reaffirming earnings. Walmart is the weakest Dow component down 3% following earnings. Medtronic and Medco are also lower following earnings. After the first hour the Dow was only down 50 points with the Nasdaq down 25 points. With oil futures up above $90 a barrel, it's really amazing this market isn't trading much lower. Through the morning the bulls pulled back allowing the Dow to move back down over 100 points and the Nasdaq declining 50 points or 2%. The Nasdaq is a slave to Apple's stock which is down over 2%. In the afternoon the averages moved lower with the Dow dropping 150 points and the Nasdaq declining 60 points. The only stocks trading higher are the oil and gas stocks. In the last hour the Dow kept moving lower down over 200 points with the Nasdaq declining 80 points or nearly 3%. The biggest down day for the year, but that's not saying much. Into the close the averages bounced off the lows. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 178 points, or 1.4%, to 12,212. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 25 points, or 2.1%, to 1,315. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 77 points, or 2.7%, to 2,756.
February 21, 2010
Closed for Presidents Day