The Week In Review
7/4-7/8/11
July 8, 2011Our two week rally came to a halt today due to another disappointing monthly unemployment number. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103 points to 12,617. The S&P 500 lost 13 points, or 1%, to 1,340. The Nasdaq Composite fell 27 points to 2,846. The bulls were forecasting 125,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs for the month of June. Some estimates were even higher, but the actual number came in much lower at just 18,000. The averages dropped sharply on the open with very few stocks in the green. An employment company, Monster Worldwide sank 6% following the lackluster numbers. The financials look awful once again. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are lower after having their earnings estimates cut. Visa and Bank of Montreal were upgraded, but the stocks are lower. The techs are weak. Google is down 2% on a downgrade. Western Digital and EMC were upgraded, but both stocks are lower. Apple is modestly higher on an upgrade. The commodities are weak. Pioneer Natural Resources was upgraded, but the stock is down 2%. In the retail space, Dicks Sporting Goods is down 6% after making cautious comments about the quarter. TJX is up on an upgrade, but it also was downgraded. Through the morning the averages moved lower with the Dow dropping as much as 130 points and the Nasdaq declining 40 points. No good news today. In the afternoon the averages remained weak with a few more stocks inching into the green. The commodities in general have recovered with the fertilizers modestly in the green. Apple is higher in the tech space. Merck remains the only Dow component in the green. Heading into the last hour the Dow was down less than 100 points as many of the commodities have come back. The Nasdaq remained weak down 25 points. In the last hour the averages continued to improve closing at the best levels of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 62 points at 12,657, led by a 2% decline in Bank of America. The S&P 500 fell 9 points, or 0.7%, to 1,343. It was the first down session in three for both indexes. The Nasdaq Composite lost 12 points to 2,859. For the week, the Dow average gained 0.6%, the S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.6%.
July 7, 2011
U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, buoyed by a surprise gain in June payrolls estimated by ADP. Strong same-store sales results from the retailers and comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet are also lending support to the averages. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 58 points to 12,688. The S&P 500 rose 11 points to 1,349. The Nasdaq Composite added 22 points to 2,856. Most everything looks good this morning. Even the financials are higher. Bernstein lowered estimates for Goldman and Morgan Stanley, yet both are higher. Bank of America is up 2% even though a judge will allow homeowners to sue the bank. If it wasn't for bad luck, Bank of America wouldn't have any luck at all. In the commodity space everything looks good. Transocean, Trina Solar, and Kodiak Oil & Gas are higher on upgrades. In the retail space, Urban Outfitters is jumping 6% on an upgrade. Gap, Target, and TJX are all up over 2% thanks to better than expected June sales. Dicks, Las Vegas Sands, and Wynn Resorts are higher on upgrades. In the tech space Apple and Google keep pushing higher. Western Digital, Seagate, and Intel are higher on upgrades. IBM is one of the few techs lower on two downgrades. Through the morning the Dow rose as much as 90 points before pulling back a little into the lunch hour. IBM and Pfizer are the weakest Dow components. The Nasdaq rose 33 points. Everything is well with the markets. Through the afternoon and into the last hour the averages remained strong ahead of the monthly unemployment jobless claims due out tomorrow morning. Into the close the averages saw a little bit of a pullback. Can't blame anyone for taking profits. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 93 points at 12,719. The S&P 500 Index closed up 14 points, or 1.1%, at 1,353 and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 38 points, or 1.4%, to close at 2,872.
July 6, 2011
U.S. stocks wavered at the start with investors focused on the overseas markets concerning the Chinese hiking interest rates again and Moody's downgrade of Portugal's debt late Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5 points to 12,575. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 2 points to 1,335. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2 points to 2,823. Plenty of upgrades this morning. In the tech sector Apple, Google, Ebay, Baidu.com, and Corning were all upgraded. Google is up 12% in the last three weeks. Not bad. In the financial sector Western Union, Travelers, and Citigroup were upgraded. The big cap banks are getting hit. Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan are all down over 1.5% on rumblings about the robo-signing. State Street is modestly higher after signing a three year contract with Calpers for their custody work. The commodity sector is getting hit. Apache had good news about their wells, but the stock is lower. Halliburton is up a percent on an upgrade. After the first hour the averages were going nowhere following a weaker than expected manufacturing number. In the auto sector GM is up 2% thanks to an upgrade at Morgan Stanley this morning. Toyota is also higher, but Ford is not reacting much. Through the morning into the lunch hour, the averages improved moving into the green with the Dow jumping 70 points. The Nasdaq inched up 6 points. Through the afternoon the averages pulled back from the highs and then moved sideways. A selection number of techs and Dow Industrial components are outperforming. In the last hour the averages held their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 56 points at 12,626, led by shares of Caterpillar and DuPont. The S&P 500 Index increased by a point to close at 1,339. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 8 points to close at 2,834.
July 5, 2011
U.S. stocks opened mostly lower following the three day weekend and a five-session winning stretch that had the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rise 5.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19 points to 12,563. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 4 points to 1,335. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell a point to 2,815. A few deals over the weekend. Immucor is jumping 30% after agreeing to be taken private for $2 billion. Southern Union is up 3% on rumors that Williams Company may raise their bid for the gas company. The commodities in general look good. The fertilizers did not participate last week, but are catching up today. Agrium and Potash are both up 3% to new recent highs. The steel stocks look good after Worthington's earnings last week. Exxon Mobil made the wrong headlines last week rupturing a pipeline, spilling oil into Yellowstone River. Surprisingly, the stock is only modestly lower. A select number of techs are performing well including Google and Apple. Google received an upgrade with a $670 price target. Plenty of upgrades this morning. Freescale Semi, Sandisk, and Qualcomm are higher on upgrades. IBM is higher at a new 52 week high. Not bad. Riverbed Tech is down 2% on a downgrade. Microsoft made news this weekend collaborating with Baidu.com to help with their English service. Neither stock is reacting much. The financials are lower after perking up last week. Goldman Sachs is down 2% on a downgrade. After the first hour the averages were still stuck around the unchanged level which actually isn't bad. The techs and commodities look good, but the financials are weak. Through the morning, the averages crept back to the unchanged level led by techs and commodities. Netflix is up 6% on news they will stream movies and shows into Latin America. In the afternoon the Dow fell back into the red on news Moodys downgraded the debt of Portugal. The Euro sold off while the US dollar rallied. The strong US dollar has not been good for the markets of late. In the last hour, the averages recovered only to sell back off into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 12 points to 12,569. The S&P 500 Index finished down a point at 1,337. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished the day up 9 points to 2,825 points.
July 4, 2011
Closed for Independence Day.