The Week In Review
7/13-7/17/09
July 17, 2009U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Friday, with the market digesting more gains from the previous session and parsing through key earnings from Bank of America, IBM, General Electric and Citigroup. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 points to 8,705. Shares of Bank of America fell 0.7% after it posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly earnings. Citigroup rose 2.6% after it posted an unexpected profit, but General Electric fell 3.8% after its quarterly revenues missed analysts' estimates. The S&P 500 index lost 2 points to 938, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 3 points to 1,881. The techs are mixed. IBM is up 3% following stellar earnings last night while Google is lower by 3% even though they easily beat estimates. Google received three upgrades this morning, but it isn't helping. Rival, Yahoo is higher on an upgrade. Adobe is lower on a downgrade. After the first hour the averages remained range bound. So far a quiet day for option expiration. Other companies reporting earnings today include BB&T, First Horizon, Mattel, and First Niagara. Only BB&T and First Horizon are lower, both by 4%. Callaway is down 9% after lowering earnings this morning. After the first hour the averages drifted lower, but not by much. The volume and the volatility died down. In the afternoon, the averages nudged back into the green. No sell off. That's good. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 32 points at 8,743, receiving a boost from a 4% rise in the shares of IBM. The S&P 500 index dipped 30 cents to 940, while the Nasdaq Composite rose a point to 1,886. For the week, the Dow rose 7.3%, the S&P 500 gained 7% and the Nasdaq was up 7.4%. Not bad.
July 16, 2009
U.S. stocks open modestly lower, similar to Tuesday, following one of the biggest year to date rallies yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points to 8,605. The S&P 500 Index declined 3 points to 929 while the Nasdaq Composite shed 5 points to 1,857. One of the most anticipated earnings reports came in this morning from JP Morgan. The company easily beat estimates in a sign that the bank is well capitalized to get through this down turn. The rest of the banking sector is quite not far from the unchanged level. American Express received an upgrade this morning. Charles Schwab is down 2% on in line earnings. The news in the tech sector is mixed. Nokia is down 12% after missing estimates and a cautious outlook. Xilinx and Fairchild Semi are lower following earnings. Intel and EMC are higher thanks to upgrades. Google is modestly higher ahead of earnings tonight. The commodities are rebounding today. Fertilizer, Mosaic is up 9% on rumors of a buy out. After the first half an hour, the averages moved into the green. Disney is up 4% on an upgrade, helping lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Through the morning, the rally fizzled, then came back. A quiet day wouldn't be that bad. In the afternoon, the averages picked up steam particularly in the last hour. The Dow jumped 100 points before pulling back into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 95 points at 8,711. The S&P 500 Index added 8 points to 940 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 22 points, or 1.2%, to 1,885.
July 15, 2009
U.S. stocks opened solidly ahead on Wednesday, extending gains into a third consecutive session, with Intel's sales outlook topping expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 88 points to 8,449. The S&P 500 gained 10 points to 916 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 29 points to 1,828. Up, up, and away. Intel is up 6% helping lift the chip sector. Altera is also up 6% following earnings. Cisco Systems, Adobe, and Juniper Networks, and Google are all higher on positive analyst comments. The financials are modestly higher. Plenty of upgrades for Goldman Sachs following stellar earnings Monday night. Allstate is up 2% on an upgrade. Capital One is up 8% following earnings showing an improvement in delinquencies. JP Morgan, Citigroup, GE, and Bank of America all report in the next two days. After the first hour, the Dow jumped 140 points. The Nasdaq rose 40 points. A few stocks are trading lower following earnings. Yum Brands is down 5% even though they beat by 7 cents last nighht. Abbott Labs and Wolverine World Wide are down 3% after both missed estimates. Trucking company JB Hunt is lower by 6% after missing estimates by 8 cents yet railroad company CSX is higher by 4% on good earnings two days ago and an upgrade this morning. Through the morning, the averages pushed higher. The Dow rose 175 points. The Nasdaq rose 40 points. So far, so good. In the afternoon, more of the same. So pull back. In the last hour the averages rallied into the close ending near the highs of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 256 points, or 3.1%, to end at 8,616. The S&P 500 Index rose 26 points, or 3%, to 932 while the Nasdaq Composite soared 63 points, or 3.5%, to 1,862.
July 14, 2009
U.S. stocks open modestly higher after a big run up yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18 points to 8,350. The S&P 500 index rose 2 points to 903, while the Nasdaq Composite fell a points to 1,791. Goldman Sachs is leading the earnings parade today with blow out earnings. As Goldman would say, what recession? The stock is pulling back a little as most of Wallstreet anticipated the good news. Most of the financials are pulling back a little. Prudential is modestly higher on an upgrade. In the tech sector, Intel is modestly higher ahead of earnings tonight. A number of analysts are providing mixed reviews of Google ahead of their earnings on Thursday. Dell is down by 6% after lowering guidance last night. Sun Micro is unchanged after lowering guidance. The company will be acquired by Oracle later this year. After the first half an hour, the Dow dipped into the red. Dow Jones component, J&J is higher after beating estimates. Caterpillar is lower after having their numbers cut by an analyst. The Nasdaq declined by 6 points. Through the morning the averages didn't deviate much from the unchanged level. Railroad company, CSX is higher by 5% after beating estimates by 10 cents. In the afternoon, more of the same. The techs are holding up. Intel is inching higher ahead of earnings. In the last hour, all the major averages moved into the green, but without much fanfare. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 27 points at 8,359. The S&P 500 index rose 4 points to end at 905, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 6 points to close at 1,799.
July 13, 2009
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Monday ahead of the start of earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 29 points to 8,175. The S&P 500 Index gained 3 points to 882 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2 points to 1,758. It's a big week for financials, and so far, they are off to a good start. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are higher thanks to positive comments from Meredith Whitney. Charles Schwab and Berkshire Hathaway are higher thanks to positive comments in Barrons over the weekend. One financial trading lower is CIT Group, down 25%, on concerns of an eventual bankruptcy. Outside the financials, a select number of techs are higher thanks to upgrades. Google, Cisco System, and Apple are higher on upgrades. Unisys is up 7% after reporting a pre-tax profit. The retailers are mixed. Best Buy is higher on an upgrade and Under Armour is lower on a downgrade. Within the first hour, the rally fizzled, then rebounded. The financials and some select techs remain strong. Through the morning, the averages shot higher. The Dow jumped 120 points while the Nasdaq rose 20 points. The financials are still acting great. Thanks Meredith Whitney. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages remained strong near the highs of day. In the last hour, the averages remained strong closing at the highs of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 185 points, or 2.3%, at 8,331. The S&P 500 Index added 21 points, or 2.5%, to 901, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 37 points, or 2.1%, to close at 1,793.