The Week In Review
12/5-12/9/11
December 9, 2011U.S. stocks climbed on Friday, with financial companies pacing the gains, after European leaders agreed to closer fiscal ties and other measures to tackle the region's debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 77 points to 12,075. The S&P 500 Index added 8 points to 1,243. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 11 points to 2,607. Typical market, we sell off sharply on disappointing comments out of Europe only to rebound the next day when things calm down. The averages would be higher if not for DuPont. DuPont is the dog of the day down 5% after lowering fourth quarter guidance this morning. In the tech space Altera and Texas Instruments are trading down after both companies lowered guidance. All the chips are lower including Intel, but not by much. Lucent is up 5% on an upgrade. The diamond of the day goes to Blue Coat Software up 44% after agreeing to a private equity deal. The financials look the best after getting clobbered yesterday. The European banks are trading up 4% or better. Franklin Resources is up 2% after hiking their dividend. The rest of the sectors are performing well. In the energy space Duke Energy and Ensco are higher on upgrades. Diamond Offshore is higher as well even though it was downgraded. In the drug space Biogen and J&J are higher on upgrades. Through the first hour the averages pushed higher with the Dow rising 110 points and the Nasdaq rising 20 points. A nice rebound following a miserable Thursday. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages drifted hgher. Not a lot of volatility following the open this week. In the last hour the Dow rose over 200 points only to pull back into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 186 points, or 1.6%, at 12,184, up 1.4% for the week. The S&P 500 added 20 points, or 1.7%, to end at 1,255. gaining 0.9% for the week. And the Nasdaq Composite tacked on 50 points, or 1.9%, to close at 2,646, up 0.8% from a week ago.
December 8, 2011
U.S. stocks opened with moderate losses on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi threw cold water on thinking the central bank would boost its purchases of the debt of hard-pressed European nations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points to 12,170. The S&P 500 lost 6 points to 1,254. The Nasdaq Composite declined 10 points to 2,638. This market is all about Europe. Premarket, the Dow was set to rally 80 points until the comments from Mario Draghi reversed sentiment. The financials are in the lead, trading lower on the European comments. JP Morgan increased their share buyback, but the stock is lower. Visa and MasterCard are just two financials trading higher. In the tech space Google and Apple look good, but that's about it. Cree is down 4% on a downgrade. The cloud commuting space is holding in there on news IBM is buying a small player in the sector. Goldman Sachs is making news in the oil space downgrading Transocean and Diamond Offshore. Both stocks are down over 2%. Rowan, Noble, and Ensco are lower on neutral ratings. Baker Hughes and Weatherford International are modestly higher. In the retail space, Smithfield Foods is down 3% even though they beat estimates. Costco is also lower following earnings. Pacific Sunwear is higher following earnings. Through the first hour the Dow pushed lower falling 85 points while the Nasdaq sank 23 points. No buyers as long as the European Union won't cooperate. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages moved lower with the Dow dropping over 150 points and the Nasdaq declining over 40 points. McDonalds is the diamond of the day within the Dow up a percent at a new all time high thanks to strong monthly sales numbers. Apple remains a diamond with the Nasdaq and that's about it. Most sectors are witnessing a sharp sell off including the financials and energy space. How tough is this market? Ford initiated a dividend for the first time in 5 years, yet the stock is still lower. Frustrating. Through the afternoon the Dow dropped nearly 200 points before rebounding in the last hour on rumors of more bailout talk in Europe. However The rumors were discredited and the averages pushed lower once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 198 points at 11,997. The S&P 500 declined 26 points, or 2.1%, to 1,234. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 52 points, or 2%, to 2,596.
December 7, 2011
After bouncing up against resistance levels, the major averages are succumbing to profit-taking as Germany is rejecting the notion of combining the current and permanent euro-area rescue funds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 72 points to 12,077. The S&P 500 Index dropped 9 points to 1,248. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 23 points to 2,625. Today seems to be a day of profit-taking as most sectors are lower except for the healthcare space. Bristol Myers is trading higher after hiking their dividend last night. UnitedHealth Group is modestly higher on an upgrade. The financials are lower today after a couple good days. Bank of Montreal is lower on a downgrade. Ameriprise is lower even though they hiked their dividend by 21%. Allstate is lower on an upgrade. Blackstone is one of the few financials higher on an upgrade. Things are mixed in the tech space. Vitesse Semi and LinkIn are higher on upgrades. Cisco, Intel, and IBM are modestly higher. Apple and Google were upgraded, but both are modestly lower. In the retail space Mens Wearhouse looks good jumping 14% following earnings. Talbots is up 58% after receiving a takeover offer. Martha Stewart is jumping 30% on news of a alliance with JC Penney. Nike is unchanged on an upgrade. Through the morning the averages drifted lower with the Dow dropping as much as 90 points before rebounding a little. The Nasdaq dropped 36 points before rebounding thanks to Intel and Cisco among others. In the afternoon the Dow moved into the green on listless trading. The Nasdaq remains stuck in the red. The averages traded sideways until the last hour when comments about the G-20 using the IMF to provide funding of up to $600 billion to aid Europe sent the Dow up 90 points while the Nasdaq inched into the green. Before the close, the IMF denied such rumors, but the Dow was able to hold on to most of its' gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 46 points at 12,196, led by a 2.3% gain in J.P. Morgan Chase. Intel also aided the Dow making a new 52 week high. The S&P 500 finished up 2 points at 1,261. The Nasdaq Composite edged back 40 cents to 2,649.
December 6, 2011
U.S. stocks began mildly higher on Tuesday following comments from Standard and Poor's putting a majority of the European sovereign countries on credit watch negative put a damper on the recent rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points to 12,110. 3M is higher after reaffirming guidance. The S&P 500 Index added nearly a point to 1,256. The Nasdaq Composite added 3 points to 2,659. The financials are modestly lower following a nice run up the last several days. Bank of Montreal is lower following earnings. GE is trading higher on an upgrade. Toll Brothers is higher on an upgrade. The techs are holding in there. Apple is modestly higher on a couple upgrades. F5 Networks, Cisco, and Novellus are higher on upgrades. IBM and Intel look good just under their 52 week highs. LinkIn is up 4% on an upgrade. Fusion-io is under heavy selling pressure down 7% as their insider lock up has expired. The retail space is mixed this morning. Toro is down 4% even though they beat estimates. Darden Restaurants is down 9% after lowering guidance. Autozone is modestly higher on earnings while Lowes is higher on an upgrade. In the defensive space Martin Marietta and Altria are higher on upgrades. Eli Lilly is jumping 4% on an upgrade. Through the first hour the Dow improved rising 50 points. Energy and healthcare look good. Most techs look good, but the Nasdaq is unchanged. Through the morning into the afternoon the Dow gravitated back to the unchanged level on light listless volume. Through the afternoon the averages improved rallying in the last hour on rumors of more financial support for the European Union, although the averages are bouncing up against resistance levels. The financials turnaround while the techs still look good. Energy stocks are also performing well. Industrials are struggling except for 3M and GE which both received positive comments today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 52 points at 12,150. The S&P 500 gained a point to 1,258. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 6 points to 2,649.
December 5, 2011
U.S. stocks rallied at the start on Monday as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed a news conference to push their plan for better enforcement of the region's deficit rules. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 137 points to 12,156.79. The S&P 500 Index rose 16 points to 1,260. The Nasdaq Composite added 28 points to 2,655. It doesn't take much positive developments out of Europe to push the markets higher. The financials are in the lead whenever the news out of Europe is on the upswing. JP Morgan and Bank of America are higher by 4%. Citigroup is up 6%. The insurance stocks look good. Metlife is up 5% after lowering fourth quarter guidance, but maintaining 2012 guidance. Metlife will make around $5 a share in earnings next year and the book value will rise to $56 a share, yet the stock trades around $33 a share. Crazy. Hartford is up 4% after selling a unit this weekend. The tech sector is also performing much better. SAP made news buying out a software firm for $3.4 billion. Rival, Netsuite is up 4% on speculation they are next. Ebay, Sandisk, and Altera are higher on upgrades. Research in Motion continues to stumble. The energy and materials look good. Transocean is jumping 5% on an upgrade. Cliffs Natural Resources is higher as well on an upgrade. Goldcorp is up 2% after hiking their dividend. In the retail space Staples is higher on a positive piece in Barrons. American Eagle is higher on an upgrade. Dollar General is up 3% after beating earnings estimates. Through the first hour the averages remained near the highs of the day. One of the few sectors languishing this morning is consumer staples. Through the morning the averages moved sideways. In the afternoon the averages drifted off the highs picking up speed on news S&P 500 put 17 European nations on negative watch. The weakest sectors are consumer staples and pharmaceuticals. The financials for once are holding on to their gains. By the last hour the averages had give up most of the gains only to rebound into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 78 points at 12,097. The S&P 500 Index climbed 12 points, or 1%, to 1,257. The Nasdaq Composite added 28 points, or 1.1%, to 2,655.