The Week In Review
1/25-1/29/10
January 29, 2010U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Friday after investors received upbeat data on the economy and positive results from the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points to 10,153. The S&P 500 Index rose 3 points to 1,088. The Nasdaq Composite added 16 points to 2,195. GDP in the fourth quarter rose to 5.7%, but that won't be repeated. In the tech sector Amazon and Juniper are higher following better than expected earnings. Microsoft had good earnings and traded up last nigtht, but now is lower. Sandisk is down 7% even though they easily beat. KLA-Tencor is lower as well after beating estimates. The financials are mixed this mornings. The big banks are modestly higher. A number of regionals are lower. Suntrust and Wilmington Trust are lower. Suntrust was downgraded and Wilmington missed estimates. Fifth Third and Capital One are higher on upgrades. Melife is higher on a positive Barrons online piece. Genworth Financial is up 4% after beating estimates and indicating they would like to start the dividend again next year. In the retail space Columbia Sportswear is modestly higher following strong earnings. Walmart and Macys are up 2% on upgrades. McDonalds is modestly higher after announcing more expansion into China. In the commoditiy space Arch Coal is down 7% after missing estimates. Potash is lower even though it was upgraded. After the first hour the Dow rose 100 points. The Nasdaq improved by 22 points. So far so good. As the morning progressed the averages gave up their gains. During the lunch hour all theee major averages fell into the red. The Dow was the only average to move back into the green before the last hour. In the last hour more selling. Here we go again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53 points to 10,067, leaving the blue chips down 3.5% for the month. The S&P 500 Index declined 10 points, or 1%, to 1,073, leaving it off 3.7% for January. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 21 points, or 1.5%, to 2,147, down 5.4% for January.
January 28, 2010
U.S. stocks on Thursday shed early gains to turn modestly lower as technology shares are weighed down by less than stellar earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32 points to 10,203. The S&P 500 Index declined a point to 1,095. The Nasdaq Composite shed 9 points to 2,211. In the tech sector Qualcomm and Motorola are down over 9% even though both beat estimates. Apple is selling off after releasing their new Ipad yesterday. Google, Oracle, and Adobe were upgraded, but all three stocks are lower. Cypress Semi is lower after beating estimates. Nokia is one of the few shinning techs, jumping 8% following earnings. Plenty .of earnings reports this morning. Among the blue chips Dominion Resources, Textron, 3M, AT&T, P&G, Colgate, Altria, Ford, L-3 Communication, Eli Lilly, Lockheed Martin, Tyco, Time Warner, Cardinal Health, and Bristol Myers all beat estimates. P&G is up 3%. Two big winners this morning are Netflix and Eastman Kodak after blow out
earnings. Both are up over 17%. After the first hour the selling accelerated. Through the morning the Dow fell over 100 points. The Nasdaq declined 40 points. Here we go again. The financials are holding up as everything else gets walloped. Goldman Sachs upgraded a select number of regional banks. In the afternoon the averages recovered a little bit, but the Dow remains down over 100 points. The financials are one sector to nudge into the green. Entering the last hour the averages continued to bounce led by the financials. Investors are awaiting the reconfirmation of Fed Chairman Bernanke. Into the close, the Fed Chairman was confirmed and the averages sold back off. Go figure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 115 points at 10,120. The S&P 500 Index declined 12 points to 1,084. The Nasdaq Composite ended at 2,179.
January 27, 2010
The major averages struggle at the start thanks in part to cautious comments out of Caterpillar following their earnings report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added a point to 10,195. Caterpillar is down 7%, but Boeing is up 5% on earnings. The S&P 500 Index gained about two points to 1,093, while the Nasdaq Composite Index stood at 2,210, up 6 points. Plenty of events today to shape the market. Congress will grill Secretary Geithner over the AIG bailout. This afternoon Apple will release their latest new product, the tablet. Apple is modestly lower this morning. Tonight, the President has his State of the Union. The financials are quiet ahead of getting slammed by the President tonight. Visa and Morgan Stanley were upgraded, but they're not doing much. Blackrock and Piper Jaffray had great earnings, but both stocks are not reacting much. The techs are not doing much ahead of Apple's tablet release. One analyst actually downgraded the stock. How dare he. Altera is up 5% after raising guidance. Yahoo is unchanged on in line earnings. Corning is up a percent on an upgrade. Other earnings reports are coming in from Abbott Labs, Conoco Phillips, Valero, UAL, St Jude Medical, Hess, United Tech, Southern Company, Allegheny Tech, Tyco Electronics, Wellpoint, and General Dynamic. Very few stocks are higher. After the first hour the averages fell into the red. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages drifted lower. The Dow fell 50 points. The Nasdaq declined 8 points. It will be hard to rally ahead of the President's speech. By the middle of the afternoon, Apple's stock moved into the green following a stellar intro to the new tablet called the Ipad. AT&T rallied as Apple continued to support AT&T while Verizon is lower as many thought they would be included in the new Ipad. Berkshire Hathaway B shares are up 4% today after the announcement of their addition to the S&P 500 and S&P 100. Retail company Childrens' Place is up 3% on an upgrade. And that's about it for the good news. Toyota is lower by 10% on a large recall. Entering the last hour the averages performed a nice reversal. All three major averages inched into the green. In the last hour the averages remained in the green. Whew. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 41 points at 10,236. The S&P 500 Index climbed 5 points to 1,097. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 17 points to 2,221.
January 26, 2010
U.S. stocks on Tuesday opened modestly lower, with materials and energy shares hardest hit, as investors fretted over China's moves to curb bank lending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7 points to 10,189. The S&P 500 Index declined 2 points to 1,093. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 7 points to 2,203. Plenty of earnings keep flooding in. Apple blew out numbers last night, but the stock is not reacting much. Texas Instruments, EMC, Tellabs,JDA Software, and VMware reported better than expected results. All are trading higher. VMware and Tellabs are both jumping 11%. Corning is down 3% even though they beat estimates. The financials are quiet to modestly higher. Travelers is up 3.6% after beating estimates. American Express, Morgan Stanley, and State Street are higher on upgrades. Zions Bancorp is jumping 12% thanks to much better than expected earnings. The commodities are mixed this morning. The fertilizers are higher on upgrades. Alcoa is up 2% on an upgrade. Peabody Energy is up 3% on earnings. Baker Hughes is up 7% on earnings. U.S. Steel and Weatherford are lower by over 7% after missing estimates. After the first hour the averages moved into the green. The Dow rose 15 points. The Nasdaq inched up a couple of points. In the retail space Sherwin Williams is up 8% after beating estimates. Ashland is up 9% on earnings while Delta is down 3% after reporting a quarterly loss. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages remained in the green, but not by much. In the last hour the averages gave up their gains. Here we go again.
January 25, 2010
U.S. stocks started higher on Monday, with the market bouncing back from a three-day rout as investors gained confidence Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be approved for a second term. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65 points to 10,238. The S&P 500 Index added 9 points to 1,100. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14 points to 2,219. Everything for the most part is rebounding this morning. The financials look good. Bank of America, Huntington Banc, Discover, Fifth Third, and GE were all upgraded and all are higher. Suntrust is down a percent on a downgrade. The techs look good. Apple, Salesforce.com, and Nvidia are higher on upgrades. Intel is higher on a positive article in Barrons. Google is lower as the founders are planning to sell a portion of their shares. The stock is down 12% in the last two weeks. Research in Motion continues to struggle, falling into the red shortly after the open. After the first hour the Dow remained in the green, but off the highs. Many of the financials are off their highs. The Nasdaq remains up 10 points. The commodities are higher. AK Steel is up 7% on better than expected earnings. Potash is up 2% on an upgrade. Halliburton is down 4% after beating estimates. As the morning progressed the averages dipped into the red only to rebound once gain. In the afternoon the averages moved back to the highs of the day. Then, in the last hour, the rally fizzled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 23 points at 10,196. The S&P 500 Index climbed 5 points to 1,096. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 5 points to 2,210.