The Week In Review
4/6-4/10/09
April 10, 2009Closed for Good Friday.
April 9, 2009
U.S. stock futures jumped higher at Thursday's start, with investors cheered after Wells Fargo surprise forecast of a record $3 billion profit for the first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 113 points to 7,961. The S&P 500 Index gained 17 points to 842. The Nasdaq Composite rose 27 points to 1,618. Wells Fargo is up 27% leading the charge in the financials. Franklin Resources is up 3% on an upgrade. Morgan Stanley is up 5% even though the Wallstreet Journal expects the company to loss money this quarter. The techs are performing well. Apple is up 2% on an upgrade. Research in Motion continues its rally following strong earnings last week. Textron is up 42% on rumors of a buyout offer as high as $21 a share. Everything looks great except for a few retailers posting bad March sales. Walmart is down 4.5% after indicating they may miss first quarter estimates. Costco is down 3% because March same store sales fell 5%. Bed Bath & Beyond is lower following a downgrade. Movado is down 10% after missing estimates by 40 cents. Saks is up 5% even though March same store sales fell 23%. JCPenney is up 7% even though they had to lower estimates. American Eagle is up 8% after indicating earnings should be in line. Gymboree is jumping 24% after raising guidance. Go figure. After the first half an hour, the Dow jumped as much as 200 points, back above 8000. The Nasdaq rose 50 points. So far so go. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages remained strong, trading not far from the highs of the day. The financials look great. Through the afternoon, more of the same, with the financials and major averages rallying into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 246 points, or 3.1%, at 8,083., up 0.8% for the week. The S&P 500 added 31 points, or 3.8%, to end at 856, a 1.7% rise from last Friday's close. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 61 points, or 3.9%, to 1,652, for a weekly rise of 1.9%.
April 8, 2009
Stocks opened higher on Wednesday as investors drew some cheer from word of government aid for life insurers and an acquisition in the home building sector, helping offset Alcoa's quarterly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 33 points to 7,822. Alcoa is modestly higher even though the company lost nearly half a billion dollars. The S&P 500 Index gained 6 points to 821 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 20 points to 1,582. The insurance stocks are springing to life with Hartford and Lincoln National both up 30% or more. The financials are also in the green even though Oppenheimer cut estimates on the big banks. The retail sector looks great. Family Dollar is up 6% on earnings, Jos. A. Bank is up 13% on earnings, Bed Bath & Beyond is jumping 20% on earnings and an upgrade, and Ruby Tuesday is up a mere 50% after beating estimates. American Eagle is up 4% even though it was downgraded. The techs are higher, but not by much. Intel and Cisco are modestly higher on upgrades. Juniper is jumping 10% on an upgrade. One merger to speak of in the homebuilding sector. Pulte Homes has agreed to buy Centex for $1.3 billion. Centex is jumping 27%. After the first hour, the rally started to fizzled as many of the financials fell into the red. Fertilizer firm, Mosaic opened lower on earnings, but is now in the green. Constellation Brands is down 5% after missing estimates. Ryder is dragging down the transportation sector after a big miss on earnings. Ryder is down 15%, the dog of the day. After the first hour, the Dow had given up all its gains. The Nasdaq is modestly in the green. Through the morning the averages kept their heads above the unchanged level. The financials are modestly to the downside. In the afternoon, more of the same. Very quiet day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 47 points at 7,837. The S&P 500 Index climbed 9 points, or 1.2%, to 825 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 29
points, or 1.9%, to close at 1,590.
April, 7, 2009
U.S. stocks started lower on Tuesday, extending declines into a second consecutive day, with investors worrying about earnings out tonight for aluminum giant Alcoa and a report that the International Monetary Fund would forecast $4 trillion in toxic assets on bank balance sheets weighed on global markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 133 points to 7,842. The S&P 500 Index retreated 16 points to 818 while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite fell 26 points to 1,580. Very little news to move the markets. The financials are lower, but not by much. HSBC is down 4% even though it was upgraded. American Express is higher on an upgrade. In the tech sector, Nokia is down 5% on a downgrade. Marvel Tech and Broadcom are both lower even though both were upgraded. I think we're seeing a normal pull back following a great run over the last month. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages remain weak and quiet. GM is down 12% as bankruptcy looms over the company. Can't blame the financials for this sell off. Many of the financials remain near the unchanged level. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are actually in the green. The SEC meets tomorrow to discuss bringing back the uptick rule. The healthcare sector is one of the few other sectors performing well today. Unitedhealth Group, Aetna, and Wellpoint are all up over 2.5%. In the last hour, the averages tried to rally, but failed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 186 points, or 2.3%, at 7,789. The S&P 500 Index dropped 19 points, or 2.4%, to stand at 815, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 45 points, or 2.8%, to 1,561.
April 6, 2009
The markets open lower as Wallstreet woke up in a lousy mood. A number of stocks are getting downgraded this morning as the analysts don't believe in the recent rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66 points to 7,950. The S&P 500 Index declined 9 points to 833, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 23 points to 1,598. The fame banking analyst Mike Mayo is out negative on the big banks and the regionals, saying things will get worse not better. AXA is down 11% on a downgrade. Lincoln National is down 7% on mounting concerns regarding their debt level. HSBC is unchanged even though the firm is raising $18 billion through a stock offering, diluting current shareholders. In the tech sector, SunMicro is down 21% as they either rejected the IBM deal or it was pulled. Cisco and Juniper are lower on downgrades. Adobe and Corning are lower even though both were upgraded. Research in Motion is continuing its rally after stellar earnings last week. In the retail sector, Abercrombie was upgraded while American Eagle was downgraded. Both are lower. Dreamworks is down 9% on a downgrade. Campbell Soup is lower on a downgrade. Fed Ex is lower even though it was upgraded. After the first hour, the averages pushed lower. The Dow dropped 100 points. The Nasdaq declined 35 points. The commodities are under selling pressure. The healthcare sector is one of the few sectors performing well. Through the morning and into the lunch hour, the averages remained weak. Then, slowly the averages recovered bit by bit into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 41 points at 7,975. The S&P 500 shed 7 points, or 0.8%, to 835, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 15 points to 1,606.