The Week In Review
6/20-6/22/12
June 22, 2012U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, shaving weekly losses, after the European Central Bank said it would take further steps to ease loans collateral for banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44 points to 12,618. The S&P 500 climbed 4 points to 1,329. The Nasdaq Composite rose 10 points to 2,869. Another day and another company lowering earning guidance. Transportation stock, Ryder is down 11% following in-line earnings, but lower guidance going forward. Not a good sign. Troubled cruise-liner, Carnival is down 3% on dismal earnings. The transportation sector is the weakest sector this morning, down 4% this week. Not a good sign. The rest of the market is holding up well. The financials are bouncing even as Moody's' did in fact downgrade a number of big cap banks. Morgan Stanley bounced 3% on the open. Wells Fargo and JP Morgan are higher by 2%. The techs are modestly higher. Corning is up a percent on an upgrade. The big caps like IBM, Google, and Apple are bouncing as well. Surprisingly, Facebook has quietly put in a great rally without one word from all the Wall Street pundits that bashed it on the way down. The materials, industrials, and energy sectors rallied on the open, but many are pulling back. In fact the broader market jumped 85 points on the open before pulling back. The Nasdaq rose 20 points before pulling back. The retailers are holding in this morning. Croc's is up 2% on an upgrade. Under Armour is bouncing after getting hit yesterday. Pep Boys is also higher by 2% on an upgrade. The healthcare space continues to perform well. Merck made another new high on an upgrade. All the big cap drug stocks remain near their 52 week highs. Through the morning the averages kept drifting lower toward the unchanged level only to rebound. During the lunch hour the Dow remained up 50 points while the Nasdaq rose 20 points. Apple fell into the red while the materials, industrials, and energy stocks are coming under pressure. As the afternoon progressed the averages crept higher once again rallying 100 points only to pull back into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 67 points at 12,640, but fell 1% for the week, while the S&P 500 added 10 points to 1,335, losing 0.6% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite rose 33 points, or 1.2%, to 2,892, ending the week 0.7% higher.
June 21, 2012
U.S. stocks opened near flat Thursday after Spain sold more debt than anticipated and weekly claims for jobless benefits illustrating the tepid U.S. labor market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13 points to 12,837. The S&P 500 index fell nearly a point to 1,354. The Nasdaq Composite fell 6 points to 2,924. The markets are holding up even as the economic news continues to decline. PG preannounced yesterday. Today we have Phillip Morris down a percent after lowering guidance. On the earnings front, Bed Bath & Beyond is getting hit down 15%. The retailers in general are lower. Under Armour is lower by 6% on a downgrade. Best Buy upped their dividend by a penny, but the stock is lower by 2%. ConAgra is up by 3% on earnings while TJX is higher on an upgrade. PVH is bouncing after reaffirming earnings. The stock is in a correction down 15% in the last two months. In the tech space Red Hat is down 5% on disappointing earnings. The big caps like Intel, IBM, and Google are under a little pressure. Seagate is down 3% on cautious analyst comments. Only Apple is holding in the green. The financials are holding firm. JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and US Bancorp are modestly higher. The defensive sectors like utilities and healthcare are performing well. Merck made a new 52 week high while many of the others are within a percent of their highs. The sector is waiting for the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. The consumer staples are performing well except for Philip Morris. At 10 o'clock weaker than expected manufacturing data hit the averages with the Dow falling 40 points while the Nasdaq dropped 20 points. After the first hour the averages slowly recovered. A resilient market even as the economic numbers move lower. Oil below $80 a barrel is a good indication that global growth has slowed. By late morning Goldman Sachs put out a report telling clients to short the S&P 500. Once this news disseminated, the broader market sold off. During the lunch hour the Dow fell 100 points with the Nasdaq declining 25 points. In the afternoon the averages kept drifting lower with the Dow declining 200 points and the Nasdaq dropping 60 points or 2%. Oil fell $3 back below $80 a barrel for the first time since last fall. Gold dropped $50. Thanks Goldman. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 250 points, or 2%, to 12,573. The S&P 500 lost 30 points, or 2.2%, to 1,325. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 71 points, or 2.4%, to 2,859.
June 20, 2012
U.S. stocks opened mildly lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index pausing after a four-session winning run, as investors looked to a policy decision from the Federal Reserve later in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15 points to 12,821. The S&P 500 shed a point to 1,356. The Nasdaq Composite declined 4 points to 2,925. A great run in the broader markets may come to an end with the comments from the Fed. Having said that the averages may trade sideways until this afternoon. One ominous sign as the quarter comes to an end are preannouncements. PG is the dog of the day down 3% after lowering guidance. Surprisingly, the news isn't hurting the broader market. Through the first hour the averages held in there. In the tech space things are mixed. Adobe is down 3% following earnings and a downgrade while Jabil Circuit is jumping 7% on earnings and an upgrade. Applied Materials is jumping 3% on earnings while Google is modestly lower on a downgrade. The financials are struggling after a great run. JP Morgan continues its' run up another 2.5% today and up over 15% for the month with a dividend coming in the first week of July. Annaly is unchanged after reaffirming their dividend last night. In the energy patch Exxon looks good, but everything else is struggling. Conoco Phillips is down 2% on a downgrade. Rare Earth company, Molycorp is jumping 10% on news out of China regarding rare earth pricing. The defensive sectors are struggling this morning. Southern Company is down 2% on a downgrade. Walgreens is down again this time on a downgrade following news they want to expand with an acquisition in Europe. Wellpoint is lower on a downgrade, but up 10% for the month ahead of the Supreme Court decision on Obama's healthcare package. During the lunch hour the averages started to drift lower ahead of the Fed's comments. At 12:30, the averages took a sharp hit as the Fed decided to continue Operation Twist. The Dow dropped a quick 90 points while the Nasdaq declined 18 points. Surprisingly, the averages battled all the way back rallying into the green. But the rally didn't last. When the Fed Chairman addressed the media the averages sold off once again retesting the lows. In the last hour the averages once again battled back. Very impressive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12 points to 12,824, ending a four-session streak of gains. The S&P 500 lost 2 points to 1,355. Extending its rise into a fifth session, the Nasdaq Composite rose just 69 cents to 2,930.