The Week In Review
8/27/10
AUGUST 27, 2010U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, with Wall Street drawing initial cheer after the government's estimate of second-quarter economic growth proved less dreary than anticipated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points to 10,041. The S&P 500 Index rose 5 points to 1,052. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 12 points to 2,131. The better than expected GDP number is doing little to lend support to broader market. This is not a good sign. The earnings front is mixed this morning. J Crew is down 5% following earnings. International Rectifier is lower as well following earnings. Novell, Tiffanys, Bebe Stores, and Men's Wearhouse are higher following earnings. One tech stock performing well is 3Par up 20% thanks to a bidding war between Dell and HP. At 10 o'clock weaker than expected consumer confidence number caused the averages to sell off. Then Intel went halted as the company lowered sales guidance. They just raised guidance a month ago. Crazy. The averages fell into the red waiting for Intel to reopen. After the first hour the averages started to rally once again. Crazy. After the first hour the Dow rose 60 points once again. The Nasdaq rose 11 points. A crazy first hour. Through the morning the averages actually improved. The Dow rose 100 points. The Nasdaq rose 19 points. Intel has actually improved rising 1%. So now that the company has confirmed that business is slowing, the stock goes up. A tough market to figure out. Through the afternoon the Dow remained up over 100 points. The Nasdaq up 30 points. A relief rally in process. Only a few stocks are in the red including Goldman Sachs, Research in Motion, HP, and Altria. Altria actually raised their dividend today by 8.6%. In the last hour the averages held their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 165 points, or 1.7%, at 10,150.65. The S&P 500 Index rose 17 points, or 1.7%, to 1,064.59, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 35 points, or 1.7%, to close at 2,153.. But the week was littered with disappointing economic reports, leaving the benchmarks down for the week. The Dow posted a weekly loss of 0.6% and the S&P 500 ($SPX) fell 0.7%, with each marking its third straight week of declines. The Nasdaq dropped 1.2% for the week, its second weekly loss in the last three weeks.
AUGUST 26, 2010
U.S. stocks opened modestly higher Thursday as investors embraced the first upbeat economic report in recent memory, with jobless claims dropping in the latest week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average 31 points to 10,091. The S&P 500 gained 4 points to 1,059. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 7 points to 2,149. The markets really are not up much, but its' nice to see some green on the screen. The bidding war for 3Par continues with Dell raising their bid for the firm. 3Par is actually lower as investors were anticipating a higher bid. Dell and HP are modestly higher. The techs in general look good. Cree is up 2% on an upgrade. Cisco Systems is modestly lower after announcing a small acquisition. The financials are modestly higher for once thanks to the better than expected economic data. Legg Mason is jumping 4% on takeover chatter. Ship Financial is up 4% on better than expected earnings. Paychex is modestly higher on an upgrade. At 10 o'clock better than expected housing numbers kept the averages and the financials in the green. Through the morning the averages remains in the green, but off the opening highs. Heading into the lunch hour the averages gave up their gains. The financials are about the only sector to remain in the green. In the middle of the afternoon the averages accelerated to the downside. The Dow dropped 60 points. The Nasdaq declined 15 points. Few stocks remain in the green. In the last hour the averages tried to rebound, but sold off once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74 points to 9,985, with 28 of its 30 component stocks ending in the red. The S&P 500 index fell 8 points to 1,047, led lower by the energy sector, off 1%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 22 points, or 1%, to end at 2,118..
AUGUST 25, 2010
U.S. stocks open modestly lower once again as investors digest a disappointing report on durable goods and braced for weak housing data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41 points to 9,998. The S&P 500 Index shed 4 points to 1,047. The Nasdaq Composite declined 10 points to 2,113. Only one direction for the markets now, downward. Hopefully we're getting close to a capitulation bottom. Not a lot of news other than the weak economic data. The only stocks trading higher are the ones reporting earnings. In the retail space American Eagle is up 5% on lackluster earnings. Coldwater Creek is jumping 21% following better than expected earnings. Toll Brothers is up 2% on better than expected earnings. DR Horton is up 3% on an upgrade. In the tech space, OSI Systems is up 8% after beating earnings estimates. Corning is higher on an upgrade. Within the first hour the Dow fell 100 points back below 10,000 before rebounding. The Nasdaq declined 22 points before rebounding. Through the morning the averages slowly recovered led by the techs. Google is higher. Research in Motion is higher for once. Heading into the lunch hour the Nasdaq actually made it back to the unchanged level. But unfortunately that was the best we could do. The Nasdaq fell back into the red and the Dow dropped 50 points. No buyers out there. In the middle of the afternoon the averages tried to rally once again. The techs and retailers are trying to rally. The financials can't rally and the Dow, for some reason, does not want to go positive. In the last hour the major averages finally broke through into positive territory. What a struggle for a positive close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 19 points to end at 10,060, after slumping as low as 9,937.90 during the session. The blue-chip average's advance was led by a 2% gain in shares of Home Depot. The S&P 500 index gained 3 points to 1,055, led by its consumer discretionary sector, up 1%. Both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 had fallen in the previous four sessions. The Nasdaq Composite rose 17 points to end at 2,141.
AUGUST 24, 2010
U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday as investors around the globe fretted about the health of the global recovery and, Wall Street also readied for another report on the embattled housing market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100 points to 10,073. The S&P 500 Index declined 12 points to 1,055. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 29 points to 2,130. No rally in sight for the major averages as Goldman Sachs this morning lowered their GDP growth to just 1.5% by the end of the year. Pretty depressing. On the earnings front Medtronics, Barnes & Noble, Burger King, Big Lots, and Trina Solar are all lower. Lets' be honest, everything is lower. In the retail space Talbots, J. Crew, Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, and AnnTaylor were all upgraded, yet all are lower. At 10 o'clock weaker than expected housing numbers sent the averages to new lows. The Dow fell 173 points before 10000 for the first time since the beginning of July. The Nasdaq declined 45 points. Not a lot of good news out there. Through the morning the averages remained weak. The banks look awful. A director at Bank of America bought some stock this week. The CEO bought 30,000 shares and yet the stock is making a new 52 week low. Fun market. In the afternoon the averages remained weak. In the last hour the averages tried to recover only to sell off into the close. Ugly market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 133 points to 10,040, the lowest close since July 7. All but five Dow components ended lower, with global industrial firms Boeing, Alcoa, and Caterpillar leading the drop. The S&P 500 fell 15 points to 1,051, led by medical device and steel stocks. The Nasdaq Composite lost 35 points, or 1.7%, to close at 2,123.
August 23, 2010
U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, following two weeks of declines on economic worries, as further signs of a revival in M&A activity emerged with Hewlett-Packard $1.6 billion counterbid for 3PAR. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56 points to 10,270 with 26 of its 30 components advancing. The S&P 500 index rose 7 points to 1,078, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 16 points to 2,196. 3PAR is trading up 39% thanks to HP's bid. HP is up 3% as well. There have been 10 deals announced in the last several weeks. That's a good sign. The techs in general look good this morning. Baidu.com is lower by 2% on a downgrade. Cisco and F5 Networks are modestly lower on cautious analyst comments. Research in Motion opened higher on an upgrade, but then traded lower. The financials opened modestly higher. Bank of America is modestly higher on an upgrade. Allstate is modestly lower on a downgrade. In the retail space, Sanderson Farms is now modestly higher after opening lower due to lower than expected earnings. Lowes is higher on an upgrade. J Crew is lower even though the stock did receive positive analyst comments. After the first hour the averages rapidly gave up most of their gains. The commodities are holding firm. Potash is up 2% on speculation of a third party white knight coming to fend off BHP's offer. Through the morning the major averages moved into the red. Here we go again. In the afternoon the Dow was able to nudge back into the green only to give up those gains in the last hour. The Dow Industrials finished down 39 points to end at 10,174.41, weighed down by a 2% drop in shares of Hewlett-Packard. The S&P 500 index dropped 4 points to end at 1,067, weighed down by its industrials and materials sectors. Both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 are down for the third consecutive session and have fallen over the past two weeks. The Nasdaq Composite lost 20 points to end at 2,159.