The Week In Review
11/21-11/25
November 25, 2011European markets are not getting any better as Italian and Spanish debt yields rise further following a discouraging Italian auction where the Italian 10-year yield rose to 7.28% after the country paid a record 6.5% in a 10 billion euro 6-month bond auction today. Our markets opened lower Friday, but quickly turned positive as investors hoped U.S. consumers would carry the day that kicks off holiday shopping and put concerns about the euro zone on the backburner. The Dow Industrials gained 48 points to trade at 11,303. The S&P 500 rose 6 points to 1,168. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 11 points to trade at 2,471. It's a broad based rally here for the major averages as investors breathe a sigh of relief. The analyst community must be in the malls shopping away because the news front is quiet. At least the sellers are taking the day off as well. The big retail box stores are performing well. Best Buy which analysts say has among the best so-called Black Friday specials, rose 1.3% this morning. Wal-Mart Stores is up 0.9%. Sears Holdings rose 1% after getting clobbered the last couple of weeks. Staples inched up 0.3%. Macy's and Kohl's are also higher. Through the first hour the Dow rose 100 points dragging the Nasdaq up 16 points. The financials are the lead sector for once. Through the morning the rally fizzled as more and more stocks dropped back into the red. One of the weakest sectors is the energy space. Techs also are succumbing to profit-taking along with the material stocks. During the lunch hour or the last hour as it is today the averages gravitated back to the unchanged level falling into the red by the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 25 points at 11,231, down 4.8% for the week. The S&P 500 shed 3 points, or 0.3%, to end at 1,158, losing 4.7% for the week. And the Nasdaq Composite lost 18 points, or 0.8%, to close at 2,441 down 5.1% from a week ago. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes marked their seventh losing session in a row. It was also the worse trading week of Thanksgiving since 1932. Not a good headline.
November 24, 2011
Closed for the Holiday. Happy Thanksgiving.
November 23, 2011
U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday, extending the S&P 500's losses into a sixth session, as European bond yields climbed after a poorly received German government debt auction. Also we have rioting in Egypt, Russia talking about redirecting some of their missiles, and weaker than expected economic data out of China last night. Other than that, everything is great. Too much headline risk. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103 points to 11,390. The S&P 500 Index lost 11 points to 1,176. The Nasdaq Composite declined 20 points to 2,500. The European leaders continue to squabble back and forth pushing any buyers to the sidelines causing the major averages to drift lower. A couple earning reports this morning and last night. Pandora Media is down 11% after beating estimates. Tivo and Deere look great following earnings. Tivo is up 6% while Deere is jumping 4% on strong earnings and guidance. At least Deere is doing well. The rest of the Industrials are not performing well. Through the first hour the Dow fell over 150 points. The Nasdaq dropped 35 points. No buyers. A couple other headlines this morning. Diamond Foods is dropping 14% as one of their directors committed suicide in the middle of an accounting scandal. That's not a good sign. The holiday shopping season is off to a good start particularly on Amazon.com however it isn't helping the stock. Oppenheimer came out and defended Jefferies, but the stock is modestly lower, but it's acting a lot better than the rest of the banks. Bank of America is trading right at its 52 week low. Through the morning and into the afternoon the Dow pushed lower falling 200 points while the Nasdaq declined 50 points. Many of the financials are approaching their 52 week lows. No buyers are showing up. A recent IPO, Groupon is down 16% breaking through their IPO price. That's not good. In the last hour the averages put in a meager rebound only to sell off hard into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 236 points, or 2.1%, at 11,257. In its longest losing streak since early August, the S&P 500 declined 26 points, or 2.2%, to 1,161. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 61 points to 2,460.
November 22, 2011
U.S. stocks opened mostly lower Tuesday after the Commerce Department reported third-quarter growth was less than previously estimated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23 points to 11,524. The S&P 500 Index declined nearly a point to 1,192. The Nasdaq Composite Index added almost two points to 2,524. After yesterday's thumping the buyers are stepping back. This was supposed to be an up week. On the earnings front, the techs are getting hit following disappointing earnings from HP and Analog Devices. Altera was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Brocade looks good up 12% after beating estimates. Nvidia is up 2% on an upgrade. Apple looks good, but the rest of the big cap techs are lower. Fusion-io is down 10% after issuing more shares. The financials are holding in there after getting clobbered yesterday. Morgan Stanley is lower even though it received an upgrade. Bank of America is lower on news the regulators are demanding that the bank strengthen their balance sheet. Eaton Vance is down 3% even though they beat estimates. In the retail space Campbell Soup is down 6% even as they beat estimates. Chicos is even worse down 16% after missing estimates. Cracker Barrel and DSW are lower following earnings. Jack in the Box, Hormel Foods, and Valspar are higher following earnings. Valspar is up 8%. Through the morning the averages drifted lower gathering momentum into the lunch hour. The Dow dropped 100 points while the Nasdaq fell 20 points. Not a good market. During the lunch hour the averages rebounded to the unchanged level on news the IMF will offer liquidity program for members in need. We'll see how long this rebound lasts. A few other stocks are performing well today like Genesco, Medtronic, and Zale. Medtronic is up 4% while Zale is up 7%. The solar stocks are lower as earnings from that sector continue to disappoint. A recent spin off of ITT Corp, Xylem is down 3% on earnings. The lunch hour rally did not last, but at least we didn't go back to the lows of the day. The averages vacillated within a 50 point range. The Nasdaq hugged the unchanged level as Apple seems to be one of the few techs to remain in the green. In the last hour the averages did nothing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 53 points at 11,493. The S&P 500 lost 4 points to 1,188. The Nasdaq Composite fell a point to 2,521.
November 21, 2011
U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday ahead of an expected announcement from the congressional super committee that it had failed to reach a deficit-reduction agreement. Surging bond yields in Greece, Italy, and Spain are adding to the pain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 147 points to 11,649. The S&P 500 Index fell 15 points to 1,200. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 33 points to 2,538. The averages quickly moved lower led by financials. Morgan Stanley is down 4% on an upgrade. Imagine if it was downgraded. Not much good news out there. Besides the financials, most other sectors are getting hit. Commodities don't look good. Potash is lower on a downgrade. Kodiak Oil & Gas is one of the few commodities higher on an upgrade. The techs are all getting hit. HP is down 4% ahead of earnings. Brocade is down 3% ahead of earnings. Research in Motion is down 4% to a new 52 week low on a downgrade. Salesforce.com is only down a percent on an upgrade. Seagate is modestly higher on a $525 million award thanks to a legal dispute with Western Digital. Through the morning the averages pushed lower with the Dow dropping 300 points. The Nasdaq declined 70 points. Crazy, crazy, morning. A limited number of stocks are trading higher. Hibbett Sports is up 2% on an upgrade. Dicks Sporting Goods is unchanged after announcing a 50 cent first time dividend last week. In the afternoon the averages moved sideways near the lows of the day. Typically the week of Thanksgiving is a quiet one. Not this week. In the last hour the averages rebounded a little so at least we won't close on the lows. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 248 points, or 2.1%, at 11,547. All Dow components were lower, led by a 5% drop in Bank of America. The S&P 500 lost 22 points, or 1.9%, to 1,192, led by a retreat in financial stocks. All 10 S&P 500 subsectors were lower. The Nasdaq Composite fell 49 points, or 1.9%, to 2,523. U.S. stocks are broadly lower for the year.