The Week In Review
3/5-3/9/12
March 9, 2012U.S. stocks opened higher Friday, extending gains into a third session, after the government reported the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in February, raising optimism about the recovery while also celebrating the third anniversary of the bear market low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20 points to 12,928. The S&P 500 Index climbed 2 points to 1,368. The Nasdaq Composite gained 4 points to 2,975. The financials and techs are in the lead once again. Xl Capital and JP Morgan are higher on upgrades. All the big banks are modestly higher. In the tech space, Apple is higher once again. Shocker. Qlogic and LSI are higher on upgrades. Altera is higher even though they lowered guidance last night. Texas Instruments is down after lowering guidance last night. The retail space has a lot of bright spots. Aeropostale, Ann Taylor, and Zumiez are higher following earnings. Coach, American Eagle, Dicks, and Kohls are higher on upgrades. Green Mountain Coffee is down 14% as Starbucks introduces their own K-cups for at home brewers. Starbucks is higher on this news. Carnival Cruise lower earnings dramatically this morning however the stock is higher as investors had priced in a lot of the bad news. Through the first hour the averages held on to their gains even as a few more stocks fell into the red. The healthcare space looks good. Medical device company, Cooper Company is jumping 4% on earnings. Materials and the Energy sector are under selling pressure. Rare earth stock, Molycorp is jumping 10% after making a $1.5 billion acquisition. Iron ore company, Cliffs Natural Resources is higher on an upgrade. The stock however is still lower for the year. Through the morning the averages kept improving with the Dow inching back to 13000. In the afternoon Greece announced the obvious that they would default on part of their sovereign debt. No surprise for anyone, but that did cause the averages to drift off their highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 14 points at 12,922, leaving it off 0.4% for the week. The S&P 500 climbed 4 points to 1,370, up nearly 0.1% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 17 points to 2,988, a weekly gain of 0.4%.
March 8, 2012
U.S. stocks started higher Thursday, extending the prior session's rebound, as reports that more Greek bondholders were prepared to swap their debt eased some concerns over Europe 's fiscal crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 77 points to 12,913. The S&P 500 rose 9 points to 1,362. The Nasdaq Composite rose 18 points to 2,955. The broader markets are set to rebound for the second straight day. Most sectors are performing well on no news. The retailers continue to report sale store sales and earnings. Hot Topic is jumping 10% on earnings. Smithfield Foods is higher on earnings. Anheuser Busch is higher by 3% on earnings. Bunge and American Eagle are higher on upgrades. Autozone is higher after announcing a share buyback. The stock has more than doubled in the last two years. To the downside, William Sonoma is lower by 3% after beating estimates, but then lowered guidance. McDonalds is down 3% on disappointing same store sales. Through the first hour the averages gave up half their gains, but remain firm. The financials are all in the green. Blackstone is higher by a percent after presenting at a conference. The big banks look good. In the tech space Apple is higher after receiving another upgrade this time from Goldman Sachs. The suppliers to Apple are also performing well. Apple chip companies Qualcomm and ArmHoldings are higher on upgrades. Rival Intel is modestly lower. Through the morning the averages slowly improved retesting the highs during the lunch hour. Through the afternoon the Dow kept improving rising nearly 100 points the dollar sold off with the rise in the Euro. The Nasdaq is surging as well thanks in large part to Apple up 2%. In the last hour a little bit of a pull back ahead of the big employment number out tomorrow morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70 points to 12,907. The S&P 500 added 13 points, or 1%, to 1,365. The Nasdaq Composite rose 34 points, or 1.2%, to 2,970.
March 7, 2012
U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday after a report offered another upbeat sign on the labor front, bolstering investor confidence some ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report. The Dow industrials rose 19 points to 12,778. The S&P 500 added 3 points to 1,347. The Nasdaq Composite gained 14 points to 2,925. The rebound is not as pronounce as the premarket indicators implied. The techs and financials are in the lead. GE is higher by one percent after reaffirming numbers. SLM or Sallie Mae is higher thanks to an upgrade. All the big banks are higher. In the tech space Apple is higher ahead of press conference this afternoon to release their new version of the ipad. Ciena is higher by 9% on earnings. Cree is higher on an upgrade. Chip company, Cypress is lower by 2% after issuing downside guidance last night. The dog of the day goes to Internet music company, Pandora down 23% on poor earnings and guidance. A number of retailers are performing well this morning. Bon Ton and American Eagle are both up over 6% on earnings. Express is higher on earnings as well. Dunkin Brands is up 2% after issuing a dividend. Children's Place is down 3% on earnings. Through the first hour the averages slowly improved. The Tra nsports, Industrials, and Consumer Discretionary look good as well. The Energy space is on decline. Noble Energy and Hess are lower on upgrades. The weakest sectors so large are Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Healthcare. So far a risk on day. Through the morning the Dow gave up all its' gains only to rebound to the highs of the day. Today's a rebound day. Through the afternoon the averages kept rallying even as Apple sold off following the release of their new ipad. Another stock selling off now at a 52 week low is the Uggs shoe company, Decker Outdoors. In the last hour the averages held up for a nice rebound. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 78 points at 12,837. The S&P 500 rose 9 points to 1,352. The Nasdaq Composite gained 25 points to 2,935.
March 6, 2012
U.S. stocks started sharply lower Tuesday as worries about Greece 's pending private-sector debt swap added to concerns about global growth, particularly with concerns of a slower Brazilian and Chinese economies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 146 points, or 1.1%, to 12,816. The S&P 500 lost 14 points, or 1.1%, to 1,349. The Nasdaq Composite fell 30 points, or 1.1%, to 2,919. The Institute for International Finance warned a disorderly default by Greece would likely force Italy and Spain to seek aid and cause more than $1.3 trillion in damage to the euro zone, according to a Reuters report. An inadequate participation rate in Greece 's planned bond exchange could pave the way to a disorderly default. These concerns are putting pressure on the Italian and Spanish bonds. Back here everything is under pressure. The financials are taking a hit with the European concerns. Deutsche Bank is down 5% on an upgrade. The energy and material space are taking a hit. The coal space is in a bear market which isn't helping the railroad stocks. Union Pacific is down 3%. The Dow Jones Tra nsportation Average is down 1.5% and off 6% from the recent highs. A few bright spots in the retail space. Dicks and Vale Resorts are higher following earnings. Polo Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Aeropostale, and McDonalds were all upgraded, yet all four are lower. Through the averages the averages remained weak with the Dow falling as much as 180 points before rebounding. A number of techs are holding up like Microsoft and Intel. Qualcomm is lower even though they are hiking their dividend and announcing a $4 billion share buyback. Apple opened lower, but is battling back ahead of a conference tomorrow. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remained weak. Very few stocks are in the green. Amazon for some reason is trading higher. A defensive utility, Southern Company is higher. In the Dow, McDonalds and Kraft were higher for a while before selling off. In the last hour the averages remained weak. No rebound today. A select few chip stocks are higher like Intel. Intel is the only Dow component to finish in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 203 points, or 1.6%, at 12,759, its first loss of more than 200 points since November 23. The S&P 500 lost 20 points, or 1.5%, to 1,343. led by 2% declines in financials and industrial stocks. The Nasdaq Composite lost 40 points, or 1.4%, to 2,910.
March 5, 2012
U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday after China reduced its economic growth outlook, with natural-resource companies leading the fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 29 points to 12,947. The S&P 500 Index declined 3 points to 1,366. The Nasdaq Composite fell 6 points to 2,969. The US markets are following the weakness overseas as the newswires over here are quiet. Through the first hour the selling accelerated with the Dow dropping 80 points and the Nasdaq declining 15 points. Through the morning the Nasdaq dropped another quick 15 points as Apple fell 4% in a matter of minutes. Apple did recover along with the Nasdaq as it looks like some scrupulous investors front ran a big Apple order to sell. Nice. Through the morning the averages remained weak, but off the lows. The best sectors are Utilities and Consumer Staples or the defensive names. It's a risk off day. In the tech space IBM is the diamond up a percent to a new all time high. Apple remains lower by 2%. VMware is lower even though it was upgraded. The financials are lower, but a few insurance stocks Allstate and Metlife are higher on upgrades. Credit Card companies Visa and MasterCard are higher as well. Wells Fargo is making big plans to expand overseas, but the stock is lower by 2%. The Energy and Material space are under pressure. BP is one bright spot after announcing a $7.8 billion settlement on their oil spill two years ago. In the afternoon the averages slowly recovered. In the last hour the Dow kept improving thanks to IBM, Tra velers, and a number of Consumer Staples. That sector is leading the rebound. The Nasdaq is stuck in the red as Apple remains down over 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (finished down 14 points at 12,962. The S&P 500 fell 5 points to 1,364. The Nasdaq Composite lost 25 points to 2,950.