The Week In Review
2/20-2/24/12
February 24, 2012U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Friday following a rise in overseas markets overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 5 points to 12,990. The S&P 500 Index rose 2 points to 1,365. The Nasdaq Composite added 5 points to 2,962. A quiet day for news, but the earnings keep coming in. In the tech space Salesforce.com is jumping 8% following earnings. All the cloud computing stocks are higher this morning. Nokia is higher on rumors of a major announcement coming next week. Apple is higher once again just under its' 52 week high. Google is also higher, but the rest of the sector is struggling. Autodesk is lower following earnings. The financials fell into the red after the open, but most of the European banks are performing well. Deutsche Bank is higher thanks to an upgrade. AIG is up 2% following earnings. Blackrock is higher after raising their dividend. The REIT, EastGroup Properties is lower on a downgrade. In the retail space a number of companies are lower. Crocs and Decker Outdoors, two popular shoe companies, are lower by 8% following disappointing guidance. Kenneth Cole is jumping 20% on earnings. JC Penney is also lower following earnings. Kroger is higher on an upgrade. Through the first hour the averages moved sideways, dipping into the red only to rebound into the lunch hour. Crude Oil is higher once again up over $108 a barrel helping the energy space. Nabors Industries and Ensco are higher on upgrades. In the afternoon the averages held on to gains with the Dow up 20 points above 13000. Energy remains the top sector with oil at $109 a barrel. Entering the last hour the Dow game up its' gains reluctantly, but no major sell off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 2 points at 12,982 leaving it up 0.3% for the week. The S&P 500 rose 2 points to 1,365, also gaining 0.3% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 6 points to 2,963, rising 0.4% for the week.
February 23, 2012
U.S. stocks on Thursday opened with mild losses, with Hewlett-Packard among the shares weighing after the technology company reported a quarterly decline in sales of its personal computers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21 points to 12,916. The S&P 500 Index dropped 2 points to 1,355. The Nasdaq Composite lost 4 points to 2,928. The earnings keep flooding in from the retail sector. Jack in the Box, Toro, Sears, Dillards, Target, Tim Hortons, and Office Max are higher on earnings. Sears actually missed estimates, but the stock is higher on news they will sell 11 stores. TJX is higher on an upgrade. A number of retailers are lower on earnings including Boston Beer, Kohls, Imax, Darden Restaurants, Hormel, and Hertz. After the first 10 minutes the selling accelerated with virtually all sectors lower. In the tech space HP is down 7% following earnings. Analog Devices is also lower on earnings. Juniper is down 2% on a downgrade. Even Apple is lower. The financials are trading lower this morning. JP Morgan is lower even though it was upgraded. The Industrials are lower except for Fluor up 4% after easily beating estimates. Parker Drilling and Trina Solar are lower on earnings. The energy space has been the best performing sector of late due to rising oil prices. Swift Energy is down 5% even though they beat estimates. Potash is down on cautious analyst comments. Through the first hour the Dow fell 50 points only to rebound into the green at the end of the first hour thanks in part to IBM. IBM is higher by 2% to a new all time high. Through the morning the averages remained strong with the Dow up 50 points and the Nasdaq up 20 points. Everything looks a little better. In the afternoon the averages remained in the green even as oil crept above $107 a barrel. One has to eventually give. Into the last hour the averages crept higher. Apple is higher even though there seems to be no decision about paying a dividend at their annual meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 46 points at 12,984. The S&P 500 gained 5 to 1,363, it's highest since April 29. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 23 points 2,956.
February 22, 2012
U.S. stocks opened with modest losses on Wednesday after hitting 13,000 in the Dow for the first time in over a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5 points to 12,960. The S&P 500 Index fell almost 2 points to 1,360. The Nasdaq Composite shed 7 points to 2,940. Investor fatigue looks to be setting in after a phenomenal run to start the year. The earnings keep coming in. On the plus side Herbalife, Nabors Industries, Intuit, Garmin, Sourcefire, Chicos, and Chiquita Brands are all up over 6% following earnings. Garmin looks good up 9% while Sourcefire is the diamond up 22%. On the downside Cheesecake , Dell, TJX, Eaton Vance, MGM, Frontier, Dollar Tree, and Donaldson are lower on earnings. The one variable that needs to be watched is oil trading around $106 a barrel. Coincidently, the energy sector is the top performing sector. On the flip side, the consumer discretionary sector is succumbing to weakness even though a number of retailers, in particular high end retailers, continue to report strong earnings. Urban Outfitter is higher by 3% on an upgrade. The transports are also selling off. The rest of the sectors are mixed. In the tech space Google and Apple are under pressure. Intel was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Brocade is higher by 4% after beating estimates. Dell is down 6% following disappointing numbers last night. HP reports tonight. Through the first hour the averages held up near the unchanged level only selling off later in the morning. Heading into lunch hour the Dow fell 50 points while the Nasdaq declined 18 points. In the afternoon most sectors remained in the red as the Dow rebounded. IBM looks good just under its' 52 week high dragging the Dow back to the unchanged level. The defensive sectors like utilities and healthcare are perking up as well. In the last hour the averages pulled back for a down day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 27 points at 12,938, its first down day in four. The S&P 500 fell 4 points to 1,357, also quitting three straight days of gains. The Nasdaq Composite fell 15 points to 2,933, its' third down day in a row.
February, 21, 2012
U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average within 20 points of 13,000 after European finance ministers okayed a second rescue loan for Greece. The Dow industrials rose 30 points to 12,980. The S&P 500 added 3 points to 1,364. The Nasdaq Composite added 8 points to 2,955. Plenty of earnings are flooding in particularly from the retail sector in this abbreviated week. Home Depot looks and Macys look great up over 2% at a new 52 week highs. Barnes & Noble, Saks, Cedar Fair, Kraft, Cracker Barrel, and Dollar Thrifty are also higher following earnings. Yum Brands keeps pushing higher to a new 52 week high. Radio Shack is the dog of the day down 6% on disappointing earnings. Walmart is also lower following earnings, but the stock has performed well the last several months. In the tech space Apple and Google keep pushing higher. Qualcomm is higher on an upgrade. Garmin is up 3% on an upgrade. Ciena is down 4% after preannouncing. Raxspace and KLA Tencor are lower on downgrades. In the healthcare space Medtronics is down 4% even as they beat estimates. Medco Health Solutions is also lower on earnings. Amerigroup had solid earnings last week, but the stock is lower even though it received an upgrade. The healthcare space is mostly lower this morning. In fact the major averages gave up their gains in the first hour only to rebound. Through the morning the Dow rose 40 points searching out Dow 13000. The Nasdaq is also performing well thanks to Google and Apple. However here is something to watch. Crude Oil keeps pushing higher now at a 9 month high due to improving demand and Middle East concerns. The Dow Jones Transportation Average has taken noticed now in a 7% correction. That's not good for Dow Theory investors. JP Morgan downgraded CSX and Norfolk Southern. Through the morning into the afternoon the averages held on to gains on light volume. Oil and gold keep pushing higher. By the middle of the afternoon the averages gave up the gains. Energy stocks remain strong, but consumer discretionary and other sectors succumbed to selling. In the last hour the Dow rebounded back into the green even as Walmart dropped 4%. The Nasdaq remained in the red even as Apple and Google pushed higher. The Dow industrials finished up 15 points at 12,965. The S&P 500 Index added nearly 1 point to 1,362. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3 points to 2,948.
February 22, 2012
Closed for Presidents Day