The Week In Review
6/1-6/5/09
June 5, 2009U.S. stocks rallied at Friday's start, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 headed to a third consecutive week of gains, after the government reported a better than expected jobless claims for May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 87 points to 8,838, back in positive territory for the year. The S&P 500 Index advanced 8 points to 951 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 15 points to 1,865. Everyone seems to be in a good mood this morning. Plenty of upgrades. In the financial sector Visa, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Allstate were all upgraded. All are modestly higher. The techs continue to perform well. Google, Apple, and Research in Motion are higher. Investors and employees are optimistic that Steve Jobs will return to Apple this month. Red Hat is higher on an upgrade. In the retail space, Guess is jumping 5% after beating estimates by 6 cents. Walmart opened higher, but then pulled back. Today is their annual shareholder meeting. Best Buy is higher on news the company plans to open 13 new stores this quarter. After the first half an hour, the Nasdaq gave up all its gains. The Dow is close to the unchanged level. Looks like selling on the news. After the first hour, the Dow rebounded. The Nasdaq remained stuck near the unchanged level. In the afternoon, more of the same. A quiet afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 12 points at 8,763, up 3.1% for the week. The S&P 500 Index fell 2 points to 940, leaving it ahead 2.3% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite declined fractionally to 1,849, up 4.2% for the week.
June 4, 2009
U.S. stocks open modestly higher after an unexpectedly positive report on the labor market helped neutralize disappointing sales reports from several large retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 13 points to 8,688. The S&P 500 Index added 3 points to 935, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 9 points to 1,835. The retailers are one of the few sectors trading lower. Target is down 4% after missing their May sales estimates. Abercrombie & Fitch is lower by 10% as May sales declined 28%. Aeropostale is lower even though sales jumped 19%. William Sonoma is lower even though it was upgraded. In the tech sector Apple, Research in Motion, and or Google seem to get upgraded everyday. Today Citigroup upgraded Google with a $580 target. Oppenheimer upgraded Apple with a $160 target. Broadcom and Qualcomm are higher on upgrades. Wind River is jumping 44% thanks to Intel agreeing to buy the firm. Ciena is up 4% even though the company lost $503 million. The financials are modestly higher. Raymond James is up 8% on an upgrade. Fifth Third is higher by 5% after announcing a $1 billion offering. Goldman Sachs was upgraded. Where was this analyst two months ago. After the first half an hour, the Dow fell into the red. The Nasdaq is modestly in the green. After the first hour, all the averages moved back into green. Only the retailers are in the red. The financials are perking up. Goldman Sachs is now up 2%. KeyCorp is jumping 16% on an upgrade. In the afternoon, the averages remained in the green with the financials showing relative strength. The retailers are still in the red. Abercrombie & Fitch is down 12% on a downgrade. In the last hour the averages moved to the best levels of the day. A resilient market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 74 points at 8,750. The S&P 500 added 10 points to 942 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 24 points, or 1.3%, to 1,850.
June 3, 2009
U.S. stocks started lower on Wednesday as investors fretted about the labor market, the economy, and a couple key companies lowering guidance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 60 points to 8,680. The S&P 500 shed 9 points to 934. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 14 points to 1,822. Aetna is lower by 7% after lowering guidance last night. All the healthcare stocks are trading lower. Valero is the other disappointing company to lower guidance last night. The stock is down 16%. Most of the commodities are lower due to a rebound in the U.S. dollar. Not many stocks are in the green. Google is modestly higher on an upgrade from Goldman Sachs. Microsoft is modestly higher after announcing Windows 7 will be available earlier than expected. Apple is higher on a upgrade. Either Research in Motion or Apple are upgraded every day. Amazon is lower even though it was upgraded. Ebay is flat on an upgrade. Intel is lower even though they expect a solid second quarter. Vmware is lower by 3% on a downgrade. The financials are modestly lower. Prudential is lower by 2% on a secondary offering. Oppenheimer is out cautious on the regional banks. In the retail space, Walmart and Home Depot are higher on upgrades. William Sonoma is lower by 7% even though they beat estimates this morning. After the first half an hour, the Dow dropped 90 points. The Nasdaq declined 17 points. Through the morning the averages remained weak near the lows of the day. The commodities and high flying techs are the weakest sectors. In the afternoon, the averages made new lows. Aetna has recovered from its' heavy sell off in the morning while Valero remains weak near the lows of the day. In the last hour, the Dow dropped 142 points before recovering into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 64 points at 8,676. The S&P 500 Index dropped 12 points to finish at 931 while the Nasdaq Composite declined 10 points to 1,825.
June 2, 2009
U.S. stocks are set to consolidate the gains from yesterdays' big rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12 points to 8,708. The S&P 500 index fell 3 points to 939, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 8 points to 1,820. The financials are weighing on the market as a number of banks including American Express, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan offered to sell common shares to repay government money. All three are lower. Bank of America stated they have already raised nearly all the money the government demanded. Bank of America opened lower, but rallied following better than expected housing data. Genworth and SunTrust are higher on an upgrade. The Nasdaq rose 17 points after the first half an hour. The Dow jumped 60 points, briefly moving into positive territory for the year before pulling back. After the first hour, the averages remained in the green, but not by much. The big techs are back in the red. Juniper Networks is lower on a second downgrade in as many days. Research in Motion is modestly higher following another upgrade. Investors love Research in Motion and Apple. The Dow Jones Transportation Average continues to improve even as oil pushes higher. Norfolk Southern and Burlington Northern Santa Fe are higher following upgrades. In the retail space, Dollar General is higher thanks to strong earnings. Consumers are flocking to the deep discounters. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages remain in the green, but not by much. Healthcare and insurance stocks are performing well except for Cardinal Health. The stock is down 11% even though they raised their dividend because they lowered guidance for next year. In the last hour, the averages held on to maintain their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 19 points at 8,740. The S&P 500 added nearly 2 points to 944. The Nasdaq Composite gained 8 points to 1,836.
June 1, 2009
U.S. stocks shot higher to start the month of June thanks to positive data including update manufacturing results from China and a smaller-than-anticipated dip in U.S. consumer spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 107 points to 8,607. A big shake up within the Dow. General Motors and Citigroup will soon be replaced within the index with Cisco Systems and Travelers. The S&P 500 added 11 points to 931 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 22 points to 1,796. GM is trading modestly lower after filing for Chapter 11 today. GM is also announcing more layoffs for later in the year. Other than that, the markets look really good. The techs are strong. Cisco is jumping 4% on news they will soon be added to the Dow. Broadcom and Yahoo are higher thanks to upgrades. Apple, Research in Motion, and Google are continiuing to push higher. The financials are modestly higher. American Express is up 5% on an upgrade. Suntrust is modestly lower. The bank will be issuing $1.4 billion in new common stock. The retailers are acting great. Abercrombie and Fitch is higher by 6% thanks to an upgrade. After the first hour, the Dow rose nearly 200 points to 8700. The Nasdaq shot up 45 points. So far so good. Through the morning the averages remained strong near the highs of the day. In the afternoon, more of the same. Entering the last hour, the Dow jumped over 220 points. The Nasdaq rose 55 points. A great start to June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 221 points, or 2.6%, to end at 8,721. The S&P 500 index rose 23 points, or 2.6%, to 942, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 54 points, or 3%, to 1,828.