The Week In Review
3/22-3/26/10
March 26, 2010U.S. stocks opened higher, with financials fronting the cross-sector gains, with sentiment lifted after European leaders reached accord on a rescue plan for Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 31 points to 10,872. The S&P 500 Index rose 4 points to 1,169. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 11 points to 2,408. The big banks continue to perform well. Bank of America, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo are all higher thanks to upgrades. Sallie Mae is up 5% on an upgrade. The mortgage insurers are performing well thanks to news more and more banks are reducing mortgage principle to help homeowners. REIT, Allied Capital is up 2% after agreeing to a takeover. Goldman Sachs is one of the few big banks lower on a downgrade. The techs continue to perform well. Apple is at another new high thanks to an upgrade. Palm, Research in Motion, and Nokia are higher on upgrades. Qualcomm is lower even though it was upgraded. In the retail space Best Buy, Coach, and Urban Outfitters are higher on upgrades. Radio Shack is jumping 7% on takeover rumors. Commodities are performing well. Cliffs Resources is jumping 2% on an upgrade. The stock is up over 10% in the last week after we featured it on LeighBaldwin.com. Afetr the first hour the Dow rose 65 points back above 10,900. The Nasdaq rose 15 points. As the morning progressed, the averages driffed lower, giving up most of their gains. After the lunch hour the averages fell into the red, but then rebounded heading into the last hour. In the last hour the averages hugged the flatline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 9 points at 10,850, leaving it 1% higher than the week-ago finish. The S&P 500 Index added nearly a point to 1,166, leaving it up 0.6% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2 points to 2,395, a level that translates into a weekly rise of 0.9%.
March 25, 2010
U.S. stocks opened strongly higher, with information technology shares pacing the cross-sector gains, after the government reported first-time jobless claims fell for a fourth straight week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 65 points to 10,901. The S&P 500 Index rose 8 points to 1,175. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 18 points to 2,417. The news gets better and better. Best Buy and Lulumon are jumping over 7% after beating estimates and raising guidance. In the tech sector, Qualcomm is jump 7% after raising guidance. The chips continue to perform well. Ebay is up 3% on an upgrade. Apple and Research in Motion are higher on upgrades. Not all the techs are higher. Redhat is lower by 3% after lackluster earnings. A couple of other stocks are lower following earnings including Paychex, ConAgra, and McCormick. The financials continue to push higher. Citigroup is up 3% on news the Treasury is planning to sell their stake. The big banks all look good. In the retail space J. Crew, Molson Coors, and Nike are higher on upgrades. Starbucks is down 3% on a downgrade. After the first half an hour the Dow rose 70 points above 10900. The Nasdaq rose 18 points. So far so good. As the morning progressed the averages pushed higher, breaking out to new highs. A number of stocks are making new highs. The financials are breaking out of their range. In the afternoon the Dow jumped 110 points. The Nasdaq rose 31 points. Money managers are putting money to work. Heading into the last hour the averages gave up half their gains on Greece concerns among other things. The commodities have certainly sold off. In the last hour the averages tried to hold on to their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 5 points at 10,841. The S&P 500 Index fell a point to 1,165. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined a point to 2,397.
March 24, 2010
U.S. stocks tumbled at Wednesday's start after two days straight of gains. A weaker than expected durable goods number and concerns regarding Greece and Portugal's credit ratings are worrying investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26 points to 10,862. Boring is bucking the trend, trading up 1% on an upgrade. The S&P 500 Index declined 3 points to 1,170. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9 points to 2,406. After the open the financials quickly recovered their losses. Congress is still working on financial regulation. Bank of America is up 2% on an upgrade and comments they will write down principle on some troubled loans. Bank of Americ's comments are helping lift the mortgage insurers like Genworth and MBIA. GE continues to perform as well. MF Global is up 9% after naming Jon Corzine as their new CEO. At 10 o'clock, weaker than expected housing numbers didn't seem to hurt the financials. Lennar is 4% after beating earnings estimates. In the tech space Apple keeps pushing higher. Google is dropping every day after deciding to leave China. Adobe is up 4% following strong earnings last night. Jabil Circuit is down 10% following earnings. A tech IPO today called Calix Networks is jumping 23%. That's a good sign. Through the morning the averages pushed lower. Only the financials are bucking the trend. In the retail space, Sanderson Farms and Dreamworks are higher on upgrades. Starbucks is initiating a modest dividend. The stock is unchanged. General Mills is lower even though they beat estimates. Under Armour is down 3% on a downgrade. In the afternoon the Dow dropped 50 points. The Nasdaq declined 15 points. Not much volatility today. In the last hour, no volatility. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 52 points at 10,836. The S&P 500 Index dropped 6 points to 1,167. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 16 points to 2,398.
March 23, 2010
U.S. stocks on Tuesday struggled to maintain opening gains as investors waited for a report on home sales. The Dow Jones Industrial rose 10 points to 10,796. The S&P 500 Index opened flat at 1,165, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined half a point to 2,394. The averages are quiet, but the news keeps getting better. Plenty of upgrades this morning. Dow components IBM and Caterpillar are higher on upgrades. In the retail space Saks and Tiffany are higher on upgrades. In the tech sector, Google's withdraw from China is a boon for Baidu. Google is down 2%, but Baidu is up 2% on two upgrades. The chips continue to perform well. Intel is up 2% at new highs. Netlogic is higher on an upgrade. Integrated Silicon Solution is up 17% following earnings and an upgrade. After the first half an hour the averages rallied into the green. Things are looking good. Carnival and Walgreen are higher following earnings. The financials are modestly higher. After the first hour the Dow rose 46 points above 10,800 once again. The Nasdaq inched up 6 points. Through the morning the averages sold off, then rebounded. Resilient market. In the afternoon the averages kept improving, boosting their gains in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at new highs up 102 points, or 1%, at 10,888. The S&P 500 Index added 8 points to 1,174. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 19 points, or 0.8%, to 2,415.
March 22, 2010
U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday with a rising dollar hitting commodities and related stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points to 10,707. Boeing is one of the few Dow components higher thanks to an upgrade. The S&P 500 Index declined 5 points to 1,154, with health care the only rising sector of its 10 industry groups. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 11 points to 2,363. The fact that the healthcare sector is trading higher is not a good sign that this bill will attack the cost structure. After the open the rest of the market improved. In the tech sector, the chips continue to perform well. Google received an upgrade, but the stock is lower. Akamai is down 2% on a downgrade. The financials opened lower, but then recovered. Citigroup is higher on an upgrade. Mastercard was upgraded, but the stock is lower. Manulife is down 2% after lowering estimates. The retail sector is mixed. Office Max is down 3% on a downgrade. Tiffanys is down 3% after missing estimates. William Sonoma is up 7% after beating estimates and raising guidance. Urban Outfitters and Gamestop are higher on upgrades. After the first hour the Dow rose 40 points. The Nasdaq rose 10 points. Can't keep this market down. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages pushed higher. The Dow rose 60 points above 10,800. Chevron and Coke are the only two Dow components trading lower. The Nasdaq is up 24 points. Google is higher even though they are redirecting their Chinese website to their Hong Kong site. In the last hour the averages gave up some of their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 43 points at 10,785. The S&P 500 Index climbed 5 points to 1,165. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 20 points to 2,395.