The Week In Review
7/20-7/24/09
July 24, 2009After a big two week run up, the averages are pulling back following disappointing earnings last night from Microsoft, Amazon, and American Express. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points to 9,039. American Express is down 3% even though they beat estimates by a penny. The S&P 500 index fell 5 points to 971, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 25 points to 1,948. The techs are under the most selling pressure with Microsoft and Amazon both down 7%. Juniper Networks is down 3% even though they beat estimates. Broadcom is down 9% as profits tumbled year over year. But not all techs are lower. Computer Associates is up 9% after beating estimates by 4 cents. Baidu is up 7% after beating estimates helping lift rival Google. Solar company, Sunpower is jumping 27% following strong earnings. In the retail sector, Deckers Outdoors is down 11% following earnings. I guess the Uggs aren't selling as well. Cheesecake Factory is down 6% even though they beat estimates. Black & Decker is up 10% after beating estimates by a wide margin. Yesterday, Radio Shack signed Lance Armstrong for next years' Tour de France and then this morning, they received two upgrades. Not bad. After the first hour, the averages pushed lower. The Dow dropped 45 points. The Nasdaq declined 33 points. The financials are modestly lower. T. Rowe Price is down 3% even though they beat estimates. Wilmington Trust is down 2% after losing money. Through the morning, the averages remained in the red, but off the lows. Not much of a sell off. A number of techs look good including Google, Baidu, and Apple. In the afternoon, the averages slowly crept back toward the unchanged level. Resilient market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 23 points at 9,093. The Dow industrials were up 4% for the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 7 points to 1,965 points, but gained 4.2% on the week. The S&P 500 stock index
gained 2.97 points to close at 979, posting a 4.1% gain for the week. Another great week.
July 23, 2009
U.S. added to early gains on Thursday after news that U.S. sales of existing homes rose for a third straight month in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 91 points to 8,973, well off a morning low of 8,866. The S&P 500 index rose 10 points to 964, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 23 points, or 1.2%, to 1,949. The earnings keep flooding in. Within the Dow, 3M is up 5% on good earnings, but McDonalds is lower by 3% after missing sales estimates. The techs look great. Ebay, VMWare, NCR, EMC, and Xerox are higher following earnings. Qualcomm and Netgear are lower following earnings. The transportation stocks are performing well. Union Pacific, Jetblue, and Ryder Systems are higher thanks to better than expected earnings. Other companies trading higher following good earnings include Phillip Morris, Ensco, UPS, Bristol Myers, AT&T, Kimberly Clark, Reynolds America, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Intuitive Surgical, and L-3 Communications. After the first hour thanks to the good earnings and good housing data, the Dow jumped over 100 points touching 9000 for the first time since January. The Nasdaq rose 33 points. Through the morning the averages kept improving. Fertilizers are performing great after a quiet opening. Potash missed estimates and guided lower, yet the stock is trading up 3%. Not bad. Entering the last hour, the averages were at the highs of the day. The Dow was up 200 points. The Nasdaq rose 50 points. A lot of round numbers getting hit today in a classic short squeeze. Into the close, the averages remained strong, but off the highs of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 188 points, or 2%, at 9,069, marking its first close above 9,000 since Jan 6th. The S&P 500 index rose 22 points, or 2.3%, to 976, its highest close since November 4th. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 47 points, or 2.5%, to 1,973, marking its 12th straight session of gains, its longest winning streak since early 1992.
July 22, 2009
U.S. stocks opened lower Wednesday, threatening to snap an extending winning streak, after the financial sector put forth mixed earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18 points to 8,897. The S&P 500 declined 4 points to 950, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 2 points to 1,914. The list of financials reporting this morning include Northern Trust, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Piper Jaffray, US Bancorp, Bank of NY, and Suntrust. Wells Fargo, and Bank of NY are weak. Morgan Stanley opened lower, but rebounded. In fact, the whole market had a nice rebound after what looked like an ugly open. US Bancorp and Suntrust both rallied 3% after beating estimates. Outside the financials, Apple is up 4% after easily beating estimates. Yahoo is higher following earnings. Cisco, Texas Instruments, and Intel received upgrades this morning. AMD is down 15% after losing more money than anticipated. Starbucks is up 15% after
surprising Wallstreet with solid earnings while Landry Seafood is down 9% after missing estimates. Other companies reporting earnings include Boeing, St. Jude, Freeport-McMoRan, Altria, Stanley Works, Pepsi, Eli Lilly, Suncor, and Knight Capital. St Jude is down 7%, but the rest at not far from the unchanged level, similar to the broader market. Entering the lunch hour, the Dow was down 10 points. The Nasdaq rose 5 points. In the afternoon, the averages moved into the green. A resilient market. In the last hour, the averages sold off, but not the Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points to 8,881. After hitting a new high for the year, the S&P 500 Index fell fractionally to end at 954. The Nasdaq rose for a eleventh straight day, adding 10 points to 1,926.
July 21, 2009
U.S. stocks ran higher at Tuesday's start, extending the prior session's surge to new highs for the year. Better-than-forecasted results from Caterpillar are lending support to the blue chip average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 68 points to 8,917. Caterpillar is up 11%. The S&P 500 added 5 points to 956, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 4 points to 1,913. Plenty of earnings this morning with most company's beating estimates. Other Dow components like Coke, United Tech, Dupont, and Merck all reported better than expected earnings. Only Merck is higher by 5%. Other healthcare stocks reporting earnings include Unitedhealth Group, Schering Plough, and Forest Labs. All three are higher. The financials are mixed. Ameritrade, Jefferies, and Legg Mason are higher thanks to earnings. Zions Bancorp is down 10%, State Street is down 4%, and Regions Financial is lower by 15% on earnings. Blackrock had solid earnings, however, the stock is lower. The large cap finanicals are lower as well. In the tech sector, earnings are pretty good. JDA Software is up 28% on earnings. Sybase is higher following earnings. Cisco Systems, EMC, and Apple were upgraded, but only EMC is higher. Texas Instruments is lower after beating estimates last night. Lexmark is lower by 15% after missing estimates. After the first half an hour, the rally fizzled. Caterpillar and Merck remain strong within the Dow. Through the morning and into the afternoon, the averages gave up their gains. Even Caterpillar pulled back. Lockheed Martin is the dog of the day, down 8% after Congress cut spending on new F-22 fighter jets. Democrats are not good defense or healthcare stocks. Through the afternoon, the averages clawed back toward the unchanged level, rallying into the green in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 67 points to 8,915. The S&P 500 rose 3 points to 954, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced for a
tenth straight day, up 6 points to 1,916.
July 20, 2009
U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, extending the Dow Jones Industrial Average's longest winning streak so far this year thanks in part to Goldman Sachs raising their year end target for the S&P to 1060, 13% higher from present levels. Investors in CIT are breathing easier on reports of a deal to keep the lender out of bankruptcy. The Dow Jones gained 72 points to 8,816. The S&P 500 Index added 7 points to 947 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 10 points to 1,897. Another big week for earnings. This morning, earnings are coming in from M&T Bank, Halliburton, Johnson Controls, and Weatherford. Only Weatherford is trading lower. The financials are mixed. M&T looks good, but the big banks like Citigroup and Bank of America are lower. A number of upgrades in the tech sector. Cisco Systems is up 2% on an upgrade. Microsoft, EMC, AMD, Apple, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, and Nvidia were also all upgraded. Not bad. The big winner so far this morning is Human Genome Sciences. The stock is up 200% on positive phase three results for a Lupus drug. After the first hour, the rally started to fizzle, giving up half the gains. Caterpillar is strong within the Dow up 5% on an upgrade. Through the morning the averages held their gains. Goldman Sachs is jumping 3 points on a positive piece in Barrons over the weekend. IBM is continuing its' rally from last week as well. Amazon is up 2% ahead of earnings later in the week. In the afternoon, the averages worked back toward the highs of the day. Most stocks are trading higher. Within the financials, Citigroup and Bank of America are weak on analyst comments. Two chicken producers, Tyson and Sanderson Farms are lower on downgrades. Everything else looks pretty good. Entering the last hour, the Dow accelerated jumping 100 points. The Nasdaq rose 18 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average held the gains finishing up 104 points, or 1.2%, to end at 8,848. The S&P 500
Index added 10 points, or 1.1%, to 951, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 22 points, or 1.2%, to 1,909.