The Week In Review
6/8-6/12/09
June 12, 2009U.S. stocks fell Friday, with the S&P 500 retrenching after hitting a seven-month high yesterday. Energy and commodity shares are lower along with the price of crude and gold. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33 points to 8,736. The S&P 500 Index dropped 5 points to 939, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 13 points to 1,848. Most of the market is lower except for the financials. Bank of America is jumping 4% on an upgrade with a $22 price target. JP Morgan is higher ahead of repaying the TARP next week. Blackrock is making a bold move to acquire the asset management division of Barclays for $13.5 billion. Ameriprise is lower by 4% after issung more shares for a possible acquisition. REIT, East Group Properties is up 2% on an upgrade. Hartford is lower by 6% after agreeing to accept government money. Progressive is lower even though they announced a 50 million share buyback. The tech sector is lower. Research in Motion is lower on an upgrade. Microsoft and Red Hat are flat on upgrades. Railroad companies, CSX and Burlington Northern Santa Fe are higher thanks to upgrades. Clorox is higher on an upgrade. Saks is jumping 11% on an upgrade. After the first half an hour, the Dow was lower by 50 points. The Nasdaq declined 28 points. After the first hour, the Dow recovered all its losses thanks to strength in Boeing, Bank of America, P&G, and Merck. Consumer confidence jumped to a 9 month high. The Nasdaq remained in the red by 15 points. In the afternoon, more of the same. The Dow continued to hug the flat line. The Nasdaq was down 20 points. Entering the last hour, the Dow pushed into the green. The Nasdaq improved. Then the averages sold off only to rebound into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 28 points at 8,799, up 0.04% for the week. The S&P 500 Index added a point to close at 946, up 0.7% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3 points to finish at 1,858, off 0.5% for the week.
June 11, 2009
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher thanks to better-than-expected retail sales and jobless claims data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56 points to 8,795. The S&P 500 Index rose 4 points to 943 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 8 points to 1,861. Even with all the good news, the retailers are quiet. American Eagle and Home Depot were upgraded, yet both stocks are unchanged. Target raised their dividend by a penny and the stock is unchanged. Clorox is up a percent after raised their dividend and reaffirming earnings. Lululemon Athletica is lower by 12% after missing guidance. Genesee Wyoming is lower by 3% after lowering guidance. The financials are performing well. Plenty of upgrades. The list includes Barclays, HSBC, UBS, Credit Suisse, and Bank of America. All five are higher by at least 3%. Bank of America is higher by 5% after Keefe Bruyette raised their target to $16.50. The CEO, Ken Lewis goes infront of Congress today to discuss the problems surrounding the merger with Merrill Lynch.The techs are mixed. IBM, Apple, and Research in Motion keep pushing higher. Qualcomm raised guidance, but the stock is unchanged. Microsoft quietly pushes higher. Google is lower. The commodities keep pushing higher. Potash and Agrium are higher following upgrades. After the first hour, the Dow rose 100 points. The Nasdaq rose 20 points. Through the morning, the averages remained strong, but off the highs of the day. Financials remain strong. In the afternoon, the averages pushed back to the highs of the day thanks to a successful Treasury auction. Entering the last hour, the Dow was up 100 points. The Nasdaq up 20 points. In the last hour, a lot of profit-taking. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 31 points at 8,770. The S&P 500 index rose 5 points to 944 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 9 points to 1,862.
June 10, 2009
U.S. stocks advanced at Wednesday's start, following a strong rally overseas. In the U.S., the commodity-related shares are fronting the gains as oil hit seven-month highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69 points to 8,832. The S&P 500 Index gained 5 points to 948, while the Nasdaq Composite added 10 points to 1,870. Within the Dow, Home Depot is modestly higher after hiking their forecast. AnnTaylor is up 2% on positive comments from Friedman Billings Ramsey. The rest of the retail sector is quiet. The financials are quiet. Citigroup is modestly higher after finalizing their agreement with the U.S. government. The insurance stocks are modestly higher. Metlife is up 2% even though they made cautious comements on commercial mortgages. The techs opened higher, but then retreated. Research in Motion, Yahoo, and First Solar were all upgraded. All three opened higher, but only Research in Motion remains in the green. The commodities are performing well. U.S. Steel is up 3% on an upgrade. After the first half an hour, the Dow remains modestly higher. The Nasdaq is lower by 10 points. Through the morning, the averages remained quiet near the unchanged level. It has been a quiet week. In the afternoon, a round of selling sent the Dow down over 100 points. The Nasdaq declined 30 points. A number of financials are succumbing to profit-taking. In the last hour, the averages started to recover, similar to the last couple of days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 24 points at 8,739. The S&P 500 Index shed 3 points to 939, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 7 points to 1,853.
June 9, 2009
U.S. stocks edged higher at Tuesday's start, with energy and information technology shares leading the gains, after Texas Instruments raised earnings forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18 points to 8,782. The S&P 500 Index gained 3 points to 942, while the Nasdaq Composite added 11 points to 1,853. Texas Instruments is jumping 6% after raising guidance. All the techs are performing well. Rival Xilinx is jumping 4%. Amtech made positive comments on Google this morning. The financials are modestly higher. As many as 10 banks are expected to get approval to repay government bailout funds today. Some of the top names include American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan. On the earnings front Mens Wearhouse, Pep Boys, Hooker Furniture, and Talbots all reported. Mens Wearhouse and Pep Boys are both up over 9%. Royal Caribbean is lower by 2% after lowering guidance due to the swine flu. Callaway is lower by 14% after lowering their dividend to a penny. After the first half an hour, the Dow was down 4 points. The Nasdaq rose 10 points. Through the morning, the Dow remained in the red. The Nasdaq remained in the green. The financials that are repaying the TARP are in the green. In the afternoon, more of the same. The Dow hugged the flat line. The Nasdaq remained modestly in the green. In the last hour, all the major averages snuck into the green momentarily. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a point to 8,763. The S&P 500 Index added 3 points to 942, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 17 points to 1,860.
June 8, 2009
U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday following weakness overseas. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 68 points to 8,694. McDonald's is lower by 3% after warning that second quarter profits could be cut due to fluctuating exchange rates. DuPont is lower by 4% due to concerns of their exposure to GM. The S&P 500 shed 7 points to 932, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 19 points to 1,829. Very few stocks are trading higher. The financials are trying to hold in there. Many of the top banks are now allowed to pay back TARP money. Blackrock is modestly higher on rumors they will buy Barclays asset management division. M&T Bank made positive comments, however the stock is lower. Metlife is higher on an upgrade, while Allstate is higher on a positive article in Barrons. The techs are all lower. No upgrades for Google, Apple, or Research in Motion. Google was actually downgraded. The retail space is quiet. General Mills is jumping 5% after raising their
outlook. Decker Outdoors is up 2% after initiating a share buyback. Talbots was upgraded and has indicated they will sell J. Jill. The stock is unchanged. William Sonoma is up one percent on a upgrade, while Home Depot is modestly lower on a favorable article in Barrons. After the first half an hour, the Dow was down 95 points. The Nasdaq declined 24 points. The banks are starting to show some life. Through the morning the averages remained weak with only the banks showing some life. Oppenheimer upgraded both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In the afternoon, the averages remained weak until the last hour. In the last hour, the averages recovered all their losses, rallying 50 points before falling back to the unchanged level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up a point at 8,764. The S&P 500 Index fell nearly a point to 939, while the Nasdaq Composite ended at 1,842, off 7 points for the day.