The Week In Review
12/14-12/18/09
December 18, 2009U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday with sentiment lifted by better-than-expected earnings results from the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points to 10,340. The S&P 500 Index rose 4 points to 1,100. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 15 points to 2,195. In the tech sector Oracle and Research in Motion produced strong earnings results. Oracle is up 6% while Research in Motion is up 9%. Both received a number of upgrades this morning. Google, HP, EMC, Apple, and a number of other techs look good this morning. Take-Two Interactive is jumping 13% on solid earnings. Palm is one of the weakest techs this morning down 16% on lackluster results. The financials are bouncing modestly. Genworth is higher on an upgrade. Suntrust is down 2% on a downgrade. A number of big banks suspended evictions until the next year. Isn't that nice? In the retail space, Nike is up 2% after beating estimates. Darden Restaurants is up 2% following earnings. Childrens' Place is higher on an upgrade, but Saks and Nordstrom are lower on upgrades. After the first hour the Dow gave up all it's gains. Part of the sell off is due to a rise in the U.S. dollar. The Nasdaq remained in the green. Through the morning and into the afternoon the Nasdaq remained in the green. The Dow slowly came back. Volume is heavy due to option expiration, but the averages are quiet for all the volume. In the last hour the averages improved modestly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 20 points at 10,328, leaving it down 1.4% from last Friday's close. The S&P 500 Index added 6 points at 1,102, giving it a 0.4% drop for the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 31 points, or 1.5%, at 2,211.69, leaving it up 1% from the week-ago close.
December 17, 2009
U.S. stock losses intensified early Thursday as investors tracked the move up in the U.S. dollar and weak economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 91 points to 10,349. The S&P 500 Index declined 10 points to 1,099. The Nasdaq Composite shed 23 points to 2,183. The financials are lower thanks in part to Citigroup's decision to raise capital even though the pricing was very weak. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs had their numbers cut once again. Discovery is lower by 6% as earnings slipped year over year. PNC Financial is one of the few banks higher thanks to an upgrade. Lincoln Financial is up 3% on an upgrade as well. Bank of America was upgraded, but the stock is lower. The techs are lower ahead of earnings from Oracle and Research in Motion tonight. Intel was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Allegheny Tech is one of the few techs higher on an upgrade. The commodities are all lower thanks in part to the strong dollar. Solar company First Solar raised guidance last night. The stock did trade higher on the news, but is now lower. Rival, Sunpower was upgraded this morning, but the stock is lower as well. In the retail space Rite Aid, General Mills, Pier One, and Scholastic beat estimates. Pier One is jumping 9%. Only Scholastic is lower. FedEx reported disappointing earnings and guidance. The stock is down 3%. After the first hour the Dow dropped 100 points. The Nasdaq is lower by 21 points. Through the morning the averages remained weak near the lows of the day. Not many stocks up today. Exxon, GE, Merck, and Verizon are in the green. Verizon was upgraded. Cedar Fair is jumping 23% on a buy out offer. In the afternoon, the averages remain weak. In the last hour the averages sold off. One of the weakest days in some time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 132 points, or 1.3%, at 10,308. The S&P 500 Index declined 13 points, or 1.2%, to 1,096 while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 26 points, or 1.2%, to 2,180.
December 16, 2009
U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday after mixed economic data, including a November rise in consumer prices, led by climbing energy costs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43 points to 10,495. The S&P 500 Index climbed 6 points to 1,114. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 13 points to 2,214. So far so good this morning. The financials are modestly higher as the big banks raise more capital to pay back TARP. Citigroup is lower as they try and price new shares today. Charles Schwab is up 4% on an upgrade. Annaly Mortgage is up 2% on an upgrade. GE received two upgraded, but the stock is unchanged. In general the techs look good. Google made new highs thanks to bullish comments from CNBC's James Cramer. Corning, VMware, Qualcomm, and Broadcom are higher thanks to upgades. Intel is down a percent after the FCC decided to sue the chip giant. After the first hour the averages remain where they started this morning. The commodities are all performing well. The cruise ship companies Carnival and Royal Caribbean are performing well thanks to upgrades. So far so good. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remain in the green, but not by much. At 2 o'clock the Fed left rates unchanged as expected. The averages gravitated back to the unchanged level through the rest of the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finishe down 10 points at 10,441. The S&P 500 Index gained a point to 1,109 while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 points to 2,206.
December 15, 2009
U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday after the government said wholesale inflation climbed more than anticipated last month. The rise is likely to be a topic for discussion at a two-day meeting of Federal Reserve officials that starts later in the day. After four sessions in a row of gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35 points to 10,465. The S&P 500 Index declined 5 points to 1,109. The Nasdaq Composite shed 8 points to 2,203. In the retail sector, Best Buy beat estimates and raised guidance modestly, however, the stock is down 7% after a nice run up. The pizza retailers are performing well. Papa Johns is up 4% after lifting guidance and receiving an upgrade. Domino Pizza is higher on an upgrade. Hyatt Hotel is higher on an upgrade. General Mills is flat after raising their dividend. Pfizer also raised their dividend. The financials are lower once again. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are lower after having their numbers cut. Wells Fargo is higher after raising money to pay back their TARP funds. Wells Fargo also received an upgrade. Citigroup is lower even though Cramer reiterated his $12 price target for 2012. The techs are modestly lower. Corning is bucking the trend, trading up a percent. After the first hour the averages were modestly in the red, but not by much. The trading is quiet once again. Through the morning the Nasdaq improved, moving into the green. In the afternoon the averages remained quiet. The financials remain weak. In the last hour the averages sold off as President Obama made comments that he is optimistic the healthcare bill will get passed. Ironically, the healthcare stocks did not sell off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 49 points at 10,452. The S&P 500 Index shed 6 points to 1,107. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 11 points to 2,201.
December 14, 2009
U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, as investors cheered a $10 billion rescue of Dubai by Aby Dhabi and news of Exxon Mobil's plan to buy XTO Energy for $41 billion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 24 points to 10,495, lifted by shares of Alcoa, Boeing, and Dupont. Exxon is down 4% on the merger news. The S&P 500 index gained 5 points to 1,111. The Nasdaq Composite rose 10 points to 2,200. The Exxon merger and a weak U.S. dollar has the commodities higher. XTO Energy is jumping 15% lifting all natural gas plays. Fertilizer stocks are actually lower on an analyst downgrade. The tech sector is performing well this morning. IBM and Google are making new highs this morning. Google was upgraded with a $695 price target. Cisco, Apple, Research in Motion, Microsoft, and Broadcom are higher thanks to upgrades. SunMicro is jumping 9% on hopes their merger with Oracle will finally get passed. Amazon is one of the few techs lower. The financials are struggling once again. Citigroup is lower on an announcement to raise capital to pay back some of the TARP. Wells Fargo is lower as they are looking to pay back TARP money as well. Charles Schwab is lower after releasing data points for November. Bank of America had their numbers cut at Stifel to reflect the repayment of TARP money. NY Community Bancorp is one of the few banks trading higher due to an upgrade and a positive piece in Barrons. A couple retailers are showing strength. Best Buy, Home Depot, and Fossil are higher thanks to upgrades. Through the morning the averages remain in the green, but quiet. In the afternoon more of the same. The financials are one of the few sectors not participating. The top bank CEOs had to meet with the President and get scolded for their recent actions. Deutsche Bank is performing well as the company forecasted bullish long term earnings estimates. In the last hour the Nasdaq improved while the Dow and S&P 500 closed at new highs for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 29 points at 10,501. The S&P 500 index rose 7 points to 1,114. The Nasdaq Composite gained 21 points, or 1%, to close at 2,212.