The Week In Review
2/6-2/10/12
February 10, 2012U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, jeopardizing a sixth week of gains for the S&P 500, after European finance minister stipulating conditions Greece must meet before Athens receives another round of funds. "The bottom line for U.S. investors is that while the Greek situation has been pushed down the importance scale, that is only because a deal to secure the second bailout looked more likely than not," Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG LLC, wrote in emailed research. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 118 points to 12,772. The S&P 500 retreated 12 points to 1,339. The Nasdaq Composite declined 27 points to 2,899. Not much news out this morning other than the riots in Greece . The diamond of the day goes to Cobalt International Energy up 36% on an oil discovery in Angola . Conoco Phillips is higher as well on an upgrade, but the rest of the sector is lower. Noble Energy is lower by 2% even though it received an upgrade. Arch Coal is down 3% on earnings. Petrobras is down 8% following mixed results. A weaker than expected consumer sentiment number sent the averages lower. The Dow fell over 130 points while the Nasdaq bounced off the lows thanks to Apple. Apple is one of the few techs higher trading just under $500 a share. LinkIn is also higher following earnings last night. Through the morning the averages moved sideways. Activision Blizzard is down 2% following earnings. Lorillard is down 3% on earnings while rival Phillip Morris is lower even though it was upgraded. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remained weak. In the last hour a short covering rally brought the averages off their lows. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 89 points at 12,801, losing 0.5% for the week. The S&P 500 lost 9 points to 1,342, off 0.2% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite fell 23 points, or 0.8%, to 2,903, off 0.1% for the week.
February 9, 2012
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher Thursday as Greek political leaders reached an austerity deal and U.S. jobless claims fell last week in another indication the labor market is recovering. "We're continuing with that trend of better-than-expected claims," said Michael Gibbs, director of equity strategy at Morgan Keegan. "The bullish bias is still there for now." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30 points to 12,914. The S&P 500 Index advanced 2 points to 1,352. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5 points to 2,920. All the news seems pretty good. Greece is coming around, The US growth is improving, and the earnings keep coming in better than expected. On the earnings front Visa, Whole Foods, Akamai Tech, Lorillard, Bunge, Diageo, and Hawaiian Electronics are higher on earnings. Atmel, Cisco, Irobot, Prudential, KKR, Noble Energy, Manulife, and Credit Suisse are lower on earnings. The dog of the day goes to Diamond Foods down 35% after admitting they will have to restate earnings for the last two years due to accounting irregularities. Through the morning the averages gave up some of their gains actually falling into the red. The financials are lower along with the healthcare space, Industrials, and consumer discretionary. In the tech space Apple keeps pushing higher inching closer to $500 a share. Someone upgraded it with a $623 price target. Heading into the lunch hour the averages fought back into the green. Through the afternoon the averages moved sideways. It's turning out to be a flat week. That's not a bad thing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 6 points at 12,890, its highest close since May 2008. The S&P 500 rose 2 points to 1,351, its' highest since July 2011. The Nasdaq Composite gained 11 points to 2,927, its' highest close since December 2000
February 8, 2012
U.S. stocks wavered early Wednesday, with investors unsure what to make of Greece 's work to reach the accord needed to secure new rescue funds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9 points to 12,868. The S&P 500 Index gained half a point to 1,347. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 4 points to 2,907. The broader averages are quiet, but there are plenty of stocks moving today. On the earnings front, Buffalo Wild Wing is jumping 14% on earnings. Wyndham Worldwide, Ingersoll Rand, Agrium, Polo, Computer Sciences, Hartford , Disney, Lincoln National, and National Financial Partners are all higher on earnings. Annaly Mortgage, Panera Bread, Sprint, Western Union , Coventry Health, and Moodys are all following following earnings. The best performing sectors so far this morning are techs and financials. The insurance stocks are certainly helping the financials. Bank of America is back above $8 a share for the first time since August. Annaly Mortgage is down 2% following earnings. In the tech space all the blue chips are performing well. Apple made a new 52 week high. Most of the rest of the sectors are trading lower. The energy and materials are lower for the most part. Freeport McMoran is bucking the trend up 2% after hiking their dividend. In the retail space Gamestop is jumping 4% after initiating a 2.3% dividend. Companies are getting religion on paying higher dividend payouts. Through the morning the averages moved a little lower with the Dow falling 55 points and the Nasdaq dropping 10 points. Into the afternoon the averages battled back reaching the unchanged level. In the middle of the afternoon, Greece may or may not have effectively laid out their plan to solve their crisis. The averages did not react one bit. In the last hour the averages nudged into the green and held on to gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 5 points to 12,883. The S&P 500 Index rose 2 points to 1,349. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 11 points to 2,915.
February 7, 2012
U.S. stocks started lower Tuesday as Greece tried to reach consensus on budget cuts needed for further rescue funds. The Dow Jones Industrial fell 27 points to 12,817. The S&P 500 dropped 3 points to 1,340. The Nasdaq Composite declined 7 points to 2,894. Worries out of Europe pushed our averages and the financials lower. UBS is lower following earnings this morning. Charles Schwab received an upgrade, but the stock is lower. The earnings keep coming in with mixed results. Arcelor Mittal is jumping 4% on earnings. Toyota , Yum Brands, Church & Dwight, Martin Marietta, and Gaylord Entertainment are higher on earnings. Coinstar is the diamond of the day jumping 18% on earnings while NCR is up 8% as Coinstar will buy one of their divisions. On the downside Emerson , Louisiana Pacific, and Pioneer Natural Resources are lower on earnings. Through the first hour the averages pushed a little lower only to rebound later in the morning. Into the afternoon the averages moved into the green even though most of the strength is in defensive issues like Utilities and consumer staples. Resilient market. Through the afternoon the averages moved sideways. The transports are under a little bit of pressure as is the price of copper. The defensive sectors are performing well like utilities, healthcare, and consumer staples. In the last hour the averages improved only to give back a little into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 33 points at 12,878, its highest close since May 2008. The S&P 500 gained 2 points to 1,347. The Nasdaq Composite added 2 points to 2,904.
February 6, 2012
U.S. stocks started lower on Monday, with the S&P 500 retreating after a three-session winning run, as Greece struggled for agreement on spending cuts needed to get another round of rescue funds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46 points to 12,816. The S&P 500 Index shed 5 points to 1,339. The Nasdaq Composite declined 15 points to 2,890. A quiet start to the day after a phenomenal run to start the year. On the earnings front, Humana and Sysco Foods are down 4% on in-line earnings. CNA Financial, Hasbro, and Loews are modestly lower on earnings. Through the first hour the averages remained weak with only a few stocks in each sector trading higher. In the tech space IBM, Google, and Apple look good. Corning is higher on an upgrade. Micron is lower as their CEO died on Friday. A number of analysts made positive comments on the stock this morning. The financials are modestly lower except for GE. GE had a couple Super Bowl ads last night. The home builders are lower on downgrades. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages tried to improve led by the energy sector. A number of techs remain in the green like Google and Apple along with some consumer staples and discretionary stocks. In the last hour the averages kept improving almost making it back to the unchanged level. U.S. stocks closed lower Monday, coming off multi-year highs, as talks between Greece and its international lenders, as well as private-sector creditors, proved inconclusive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 17 points at 12,845 after ending at its highest since May 2008 on Friday. The S&P 500 dropped 6o cents to 1,344. The Nasdaq Composite lost 3 points to 2,901, coming off its highest close since December 2000.