The Week In Review
9/6-9/10/10
Sept 10, 2010U.S. stocks struggled and mostly failed to hold miniscule gains Friday ahead of U.S. wholesale data that should factor into final revisions for second-quarter economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5 points to 10,409. The S&P 500 held a fractional gain to 1,104. The Nasdaq Composite declined nearly 2 points to 2,234. A few earnings and plenty of upgrades and downgrades, but the averages are going nowhere. On the earnings front, National Semi is down 6% even as they beat estimates. Cisco Systems, Corning, Intuit, and Research in Motion are lower on cautious analyst comments. Texas Instruments is modestly lower after narrowing their earnings guidance. Apple and Google are higher. Amazon and Computer Science are higher on upgrades. Nokia is jumping 2% after naming a new CEO. In the retail space, Lululemon is jumping 9% after beating estimates and raising guidance. Crocs reaffirmed guidance, but the stock is down 5%. Skechers was upgraded, but the stock is jumping 3%. The stock is down 45% from its' highs in June. The financials are modestly higher. Citigroup, Allstate, and Bank of America are all higher on upgrades. After the first hour the averages were modestly in the green. After the first hour the averages slowly improved. Philip Morris is jumping 1.6% to a new high after announcing a 10% boost to their dividend. In the afternoon the averages slowly improved. The financials are acting much better. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 47 points at 10,462, with 22 of its 30 components rising, led by a 1.9% gain in shares of energy giant Chevron. The energy sector lifted the broad market, with crude oil gaining 3% in part due to raised forecasts for global demand. The S&P 500 index gained 5 points to 1,109. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6 points to 2,242. It was the second consecutive week of gains for the major average, with the Dow gaining 0.1%, the S&P adding 0.5%, and the Nasdaq rising 0.4%.
Sept 9, 2010
U.S. stocks jumped at Thursday's start, bringing the Dow industrials back into the black for 2010, as a drop in weekly jobless claims cheered Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 78 points to 10,465. The S&P 500 added 10 points to 1,109, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 19 points to 2,248. The better than expected economic numbers are helping lift the banks. The financials index is up nearly 2%. Goldman Sachs is higher even as its' getting hit with a $27 million fine from the U.K. BB&T is up 3.4% on an upgrade. In the tech sector, Adobe is jumping 8% after Apple agreed to reduce their restrictions regarding the Adobe flash. Motorola is higher on an upgrade. Research in Motion was downgraded to a sell, but the stock is higher by 2%. In the retail space Mens Wearhouse is jumping 4% after easily beating earnings estimates. Amazon and Best Buy are higher after Amazon announced they will sell the Kindle in Best Buy stores. Finish Line is higher on an upgrade while Valspar is lower on a downgrade. After the first hour the Dow was off the highs, but up 50 points. The Nasdaq rose 15 points. Through the morning the averages remain strong. One of the few sectors showing weakness is the commodities. In the afternoon the rally started to unravel. One of the strongest sectors, the financials, have pulled back on rumors Deutsche Bank is going to raise capital. Deutsche Bank is down 3% on this news. Within the Dow, McDonalds is down over 2% after releasing August same store sales. The numbers were actually pretty good, but the stock was due for some profit-taking. McDonald's stock is up 20% for the year at all time highs. Not bad. Entering the last hour the averages did start to recover a little bit. The markets want to stay in the green which is a good sign. The financials are battling back as well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 28 points at 10,415, with 23 of its 30 components rising, led by a 1.5% gain in shares of AT&T. The S&P 500 index rose 5 points to 1,104 with 9 of its 10 sectors rising, led by 1.2% gain in each of the telecoms, healthcare and financials sectors. The Nasdaq Composite gained 7 points to end at 2,236.
Sept 8, 2010
U.S. stocks opened with modest gains Wednesday as Portugal's successful auction of debt helped offset concern about European banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 36 points to 10,377. The S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,095, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 12 points to 2,221. In the tech sector Ciena is jumping 6% thanks to better than expected earnings. Tyco is jumping 2% after announcing a share buyback. Jabil Circuit, Dell, and Sycamore Networks are all higher on upgrades. Seagate, Veeco Instruments, HP, and Intel are lower following downgrades. In the retail space Smithfield Foods is up 2% following earnings. Priceline, Costco, and Staples are higher following upgrades. Dicks is lower on a downgrade and Talbots is down 3% following earnings. The financials opened modestly higher and continued to improve along with the major averages. After the first hour the Dow rose 70 points. The Nasdaq improved by 23 points. Goldman Sachs is jumping 2.5% due to news they may spin off their principal strategies division. Through the rest of the morning the averages remained strong near the highs of the day. In the afternoon the averages gave up some of their gains before the Beige Book which showed a slowing of economic activity. Entering the last hour the averages actually improved and had to fight to hold on to the gains into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 46 points at 10,387, with 24 of its 30 components ending higher, led by a 2% gain in shares of Alcoa. The S&P 500 index rose 7 points to 1,098, led by a 1% advance in financials and in the industrials sector. The Nasdaq Composite rose 19 points to 2,228.
Sept 7, 2010
U.S. stocks opened lower Tuesday, starting a holiday-cut week with new worries about the health of Europe's banks unsettling investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45 points to 10,401. The S&P 500 slid 6 points to 1,097. The Nasdaq Composite declined 8 points to 2,225. A quiet morning for news. HP CEO that was fired last month for current issues was hired by Oracle over the weekend. Oracle's stock is jumping 6% thanks to an upgrade at Goldman. A couple of other stocks were upgraded this morning including Nokia, Schlumberger, Priceline, Sanderson Farms, Brinker International, and Cheesecake Factory. Nokia and Sanderson Farms are both up over 2.5%. Schlumberger and Priceline are modestly lower. After the first half an hour the averages pushed lower with the Dow dropping 80 points and the Nasdaq declining 16 points. The financials are weak after a nice run up last week. The techs are weak as well. Nothing really looks good this morning. Through the morning the averages remained weak with very few stocks in the green. In the afternoon the averages did not improve with the Dow dropping over 100 points with only three Dow components in the green. The best performing Dow stock is McDonalds up a percent at a new 52 week high. The smoothies are hot at McDonalds. In the last hour the averages actually closed near the lows of the day. Not a good way to start the day. The Dow Industrials finished down 107 points, or 1%, at 10,340, led lower by a 4% drop in shares of American Express. The S&P 500 index lost 12 points, or 1.2%, to 1,091, weighed down by a 2.4% drop in the financial sector. The Nasdaq Composite fell 24 points, or 1.1%, to 2,208.
Sept 6, 2010
Closed for Labor Day.