The Week In Review
6/15-6/19/09
June 19, 2009U.S. stocks started higher on Friday, adding to the prior session's gains, as investors shed recent worries about the economy in the wake of recent data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 54 points to 8,610. The S&P 500 Index added 7 points to 925, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 22 points, or 1.2%, to 1,829. The financials and insurance stocks are performing well for a second day. Hartford is up 4% on an upgrade. GE is modestly higher on encouraging comments regarding GE Capital. Dick Bove upgraded Citigroup, but unfortunately his price target is only $4 for the current year. The techs are performing well. Microsoft is up 3% on another upgrade. The analysts are warming up to the tech titan. Research in Motion is lower by 4% even though they beat earnings estimates last night. On the earnings front, Car Max is jumping 16% after beating estimates by 7 cents. In the commoditiy space, the fertilizers continue to struggle. Potash is lower by 2% on production cuts. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the Nasdaq remained strong. The financials still look good, but the Dow gave up all its' gains. In the last hour, the Nasdaq remained strong. The Dow tried a couple of times to get back in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 15 points to end at 8,539, giving it a weekly loss of 3%. The S&P 500 added 2 points to 921, leaving it down 2.6% on the week. The Nasdaq Composite rose 19 points, or 1.1%, to end at 1,827, with the tech-heavy index off 1.7% for the week.
June 18, 2009
U.S. stocks twisted in mixed action at Thursday's start, with financial shares gaining and energy shares sliding along with the price of crude. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined fractionally to 8,496. The S&P 500 Index opened virtually flat at 911, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 7 points to 1,800. After the open, averages pushed higher thanks to the financials. Discover is up 6% on better than expected earnings. Lincoln National is up 7% on an upgrade. Metlife and Prudential are higher by 4% on upgrades. GE is one of the fewer financial related stocks trading lower. The retailers are performing well. J.M. Smuckers is up 8% after easily beating estimates. Pier One is up 6% on better than expected earnings. Nike is up 4% on an upgrade. Carnival and Winnebago are higher following earnings. Both have seen business decline due to the Swine Flu and higher oil prices. FedEx is rebounding after getting hit yesterday. Stifel is making positive comments on the firm. The techs are quiet. Apple is higher on an upgrade. Research in Motion, Palm, Google, and Microsoft were all upgraded, but all four are unchanged or lower. Through the morning, the Dow remained strong up over 50 points. The Nasdaq is quiet down 5 points. In the afternoon, more of the same. The financials and insurance stocks are strong. Everything else is quiet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 58 points at 8,555. The S&P 500 Index rose 7 points to 918, while the Nasdaq Composite fell fractionally to 1,807.
June 17, 2009
U.S. stocks sputter on the open, disheartened by FedEx's forecast, but encouraged by data calming inflation worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 13 points to 8,518. The S&P 500 Index inched up a point to 913, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 5 points to 1,802. FedEx is trading down 2%, but it was lower premarket. The financials are under pressure even though a number of them are paying back the government's TARP money today. Standard and Poors downgraded or reversed their debt rating outlook for 22 regional banks like Keycorp and M&T. Both are lower by 5%. E-Trade is lower by 13% after announcing plans to raise more money. Discover and Hartford are lower on downgrades. In the tech sector, Texas Instruments is higher on an upgrade and that's about it. Google, Apple, and Nvidia are lower even though they were all upgraded. Research in Motion is lower by 3% ahead of earnings tomorrow. The fertilizer stocks are sharply lower on weak demand coming out of Europe. After the first hour, the averages were in the red. The Dow dropped 25 points. The Nasdaq declined 7 points. Through the morning, the averages recovered to the unchanged level. In the afternoon, the averages moved modestly into the green. The techs are performing better. The financials and commodities remain weak. In the last hour, the averages gravitated back to the unchanged level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 points to end at 8,497. The S&P 500 Index declined a point to 910, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 11 points to end at 1,808.
June 16, 2009
U.S. stocks edged higher at Tuesday's start, bouncing back from the market's biggest drop in more than a month. Positive data on the housing front and modest inflation data are lending further support. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8 points to 8,620. The S&P 500 inched up 2 points to 925 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 4 points to 1,821. The techs are performing well this morning. Research in Motion is up 4% ahead of earnings on Thursday. Plenty of analysts are upgrading and raising estimates for the smart phone maker. IBM and Microsoft are higher thanks to upgrades. Cisco, EMC, Red Hat, and Juniper Networks are all unchanged following upgrades. On the earnings front, Best Buy is lower by 3% even though they beat estimates by 8 cents. Smithfield Foods is also lower after reporting a $79 million loss. Lay-Z-Boy is up 12% after beating expectations. Tyco Electronics is up 8% after raising their outlook. The commodities are all higher. Steelmaker, Nucor is up 5% after issuing guidance above consensus. Most of the financials are higher. Morgan Stanley is higher on news the company is expected to repay TARP tomorrow. After the first half an hour, the averages remained in the green, modestly above where they started the day. Through the morning the averages gravitated back to the unchanged level. In the afternoon, the Dow fell into the red by 50 points. The Nasdaq declined 6 points. In the last hour, the Dow dropped 100 points, tried to rebound, but then sell off into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 107 points to 8,504. The S&P 500 lost 11`points, or 1.3%, to close at 911. The Nasdaq Composite slid 20 points, or 1.1%, to 1,796.
June 15, 2009
U.S. stocks fell steeply at the open on Monday, as a stronger dollar pressured commodities and the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113 points to 8,686. Commodity component, Alcoa is lower by 6%. United Technology reaffirmed numbers, but the stock is lower by 2%. The S&P 500 index dipped 13 points to 933, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 22 points to 1,836. Not many stocks are trading higher. In the retail space, Target and Coldwater Creek were upgraded, however, both are lower.
Positive comments regarding Best Buy did little to help the stock. Walmart is lower by 2% on a downgrade. Toyota is lower by 2% even though Barrons wrote a positive piece on the new car giant. In the tech sector Dell, Ebay, Research in Motion, and Texas Instruments were upgraded, yet all are lower. Broadcomm had their earnings estimates raised at Friedman Billings Ramsey, yet the stock is lower by 2%. Yahoo is one of the few techs higher on an upgrade. The financials are lower as well. The bad loans are mounting at the banks. Capital One is lower by 2% due to more bad loans. Genworth is lower by 4% after retiring their 2009 long term debt. After the first half an hour, the Dow was down 140 points. The Nasdaq declined 40 points. Through the morning the averages pushed lower. The Dow dropped 200 points, the biggest decline since April 20th. The Nasdaq declined 50 points. Nothing is working today. In the afternoon, more of the same. No rebound today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 187 points, or 2.1%, to end at 8,612. The S&P 500 index fell 22 points, or 2.4%, to 923, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 42 points, or 2.3%, to end at 1,816.