The Week In Review
11/15-11/19/10
November 19, 2010U.S. stocks opened lower Friday, retreating from their biggest single-day gains since November 4th. China is making news after ordering its banks to hold more cash in reserve to tame inflation. After Thursday's 173-point rise, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15 points to 11,165. The S&P 500 Index declined 2 points to 1,193. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4 points to 2,510. Once sector under selling pressure is are the commodities. The CME exchange is raising margin requirements once again for a number of commodities to cool some of the euphoria in that sector. Green energy firm, Sunpower is down 4% on a downgrade. The financials are lower once again. After the first half an hour the selling accelerated with the Dow falling 50 points. The Nasdaq declined 13 points. One sector that continues to shine is retail. Foot Locker is jumping 9% after beating estimates. AnnTaylor is higher by 6% after beating earnings estimates. Hibbett Sports is up 5% after beating estimates. Decker Outdoors is higher on an upgrade. Nike is up a percent after hiking their dividend. Heinz is modestly lower after missing estimates. In the tech space things are mixed. Dell, Marvell, and Salesforce.com are higher following earnings. Netsuite and EMC are higher on upgrades. Cisco is unchanged after adding $10 billion to their share buyback. Autodesk is lower following earnings. Google and Apple are trading lower. Intuit is down 6% on lackluster earnings. After the first hour the averages slowly improved with the commodities perking up. Freeport McMoran has turned around. Cliffs Natural Resources is up 3%. Not bad. Through the morning the averages remained in the red, but not by much. The commodities look good and a number of techs look good following Dell's earnings. In the afternoon the averages limped into the green led by commodities, techs, and retailers. A great week for retailers. In the last hour the averages improved to finish in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 22 points to end at 11,203. The S&P 500 index gained 3 points to 1,199. The Nasdaq Composite rose 3 points to close at 2,518. For the week, the Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P up 0.04%, while the Nasdaq was flat.
November 18, 2010
U.S. stocks opened sharply higher Thursday with investors hopeful Ireland would receive funds to avert a financial crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 115 points to 11,123. The S&P 500 Index rose 13 points to 1,192. The Nasdaq Composite added 31 points to 2,507. Strength in the European markets has spread to the US. The US dollar is dropping once again helping lift the commodity plays. Fertilizer firm, CF Industries is jumping 2% on positive quarterly guidance. Freeport McMoran is up 4% this morning. One sector that has performed great all week has been retail. Plenty of better than expected earnings are flooding in this morning from the likes of Limited Brands, American Eagle, Dollar Tree, Staples, Children's Place, and Buckle. Campbell Soup is modestly higher after raising their dividend. A number of retailers are lower following earnings including Sears, William Sonoma, Gamestop, Ross Stores, and BonTon. The biggest retail story today is the IPO of GM. The stock opened shortly after the open, 2 points above the IPO price, pretty much in line with expectations. The techs are bouncing back this morning following a change in opinion regarding NetApp's earnings. The stock dropped sharply before the close last night only to rebound this morning. Autodesk and Motorola are higher on upgrades. Google and Apple look good this morning. Research in Motion was downgraded, however, the stock is higher. Salesforce.com is higher ahead of earnings tonight. The financials are higher for once. Prudential is higher on an upgrade. In the transportation space, Union Pacific is higher after raising their dividend. After the first hour and through the morning the averages remained strong near the highs of the day. In the afternoon the averages continued to move sideways near the highs of the day. In the last hour the averages modestly pull back, but not much. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 173 points, or 1.6%, to end at 11,181, with all but one of its 30 components rising, led by a 3.4% gain in shares of Alco. The S&P 500 index gained 18 or 1.5%, to 1,196.with the energy sector leading the gains. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 39 points or 1.6%, to 2,514.
November 17, 2010
U.S. stocks opened tentatively higher with consumer companies fronting the rise after discount retailer Target projected robust holiday sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added half a point to 11,024. The S&P 500 Index rose a point to 1,179. The Nasdaq Composite added 7 points to 2,477. For a second day in a row, the retailers look great. Target is jumping 4% following earnings. Not to be out done, Chico's is jumping 8% following earnings. BJs Wholesale is higher by 2% following earnings. The restaurant stocks continue to perform well. Panera Bread is jumping 4% on an upgrade. Cheesecake Factory and Chipotle Mexican Grill keep moving higher. Gamestop is higher on an upgrade. Christopher & Bank is down 9% after issuing a quarterly loss. Dicks was upgraded, but the stock is modestly lower. Elsewhere, the commodities and techs are rebounding after getting hit the last week. Baidu.com is up 4% on an upgrade. Intel, AMD, and Corning are modestly lower on downgrades and cautious comments. The financials are lower once again. Blackrock is one of the few financials higher thanks to an upgrade. After the first hour the Dow remained near the unchanged level. The Nasdaq is modestly in the green. Through the morning and into the afternoon the averages went nowhere. Another merger to speak of. Allegheny Tech is buying Landish Corp for $778 million. Landish is jumping 56%. Not bad. Ahead of the last hour tech firm NetApp dropped 9% as earnings were released prematurely. The weakness in NetApp spread to a number of tech stocks. In the last hour the Dow remained in the red while the Nasdaq held up in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 15 points at 11,007. The S&P 500 Index rose 25 cents to 1,178. The Nasdaq Composite gained 6 points to 2,476.
November 16, 2010
The correction is not over. U.S. stocks started lower on Tuesday after reports China would announce measures including price controls on food to slow the country's rapid economic growth. This coupled will new financials concerns out of Ireland and Greece gave investors another reason to take profits after a great run. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99 points to 1,102, down for a fourth consecutive session. The S&P 500 Index declined 10 points to 1,187. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 20 points to 2,493. The financials are lower following the news out of Europe and insider filing showing a number of hedge fund managers reduced their stakes in the big banks. Warren Buffett was one of the few top investors to add to his position in Wells Fargo and also creating a new position in Bank of New York Mellon. Both stocks are, however, lower this morning. Very few stocks are trading higher, but there are a couple bright spots. In the retail space Walmart, Home Depot, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Urban Outfitters look great following strong earnings. I guess the consumer isn't dead. Mattel is jumping 4% after an insider filing indicated that Carl Icahn bought a big stake. TJX, Saks, and Abercrombie & Fitch are modestly lower following earnings. Starbucks doubled their share buyback plan, however, the stock is under selling pressure. Through the morning the selling accelerated with a rise in the US dollar. The Dow fell 200 points before stabilizing. Only Home Depot and Walmart are higher in the blue chip index. The Nasdaq fell 40 points before stabilizing. One of the best sectors in the last two months, Commodities are getting hit due to the rise in the dollar. In the afternoon the averages remained weak not far from the lows of the day. Nothing changed in the last hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 178 points, or 1.6%, at 11,023. The S&P 500 Index declined 19 points, or 1.6%, to 1,178. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 43 points, or 1.8%, to 2,469.
November 15, 2010
U.S. stocks are modestly bouncing higher this morning following an overdue pull back in the major averages last week.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35 points to 11,228. The S&P 500 Index climbed 4 points to 1,203 while the Nasdaq Composite added 11 points to 2,530. The retail sector looks good this morning thanks in part to a government report indicating October sales grew fast than expected. Lowes is trading higher thanks to better than expected earnings. Auto retailer, Monro Muffler looks good this morning after raising their quarterly dividend by 33% and announcing a two-for-one stock split. Another Monday and more acquisitions to talk about. Mining equipment Caterpillar said it will buy Bucyrus International for $8.6 billion, or $92 a share. Bucyrus shares surged 29% to $89 a share. Rivals Joy Global, Manitowoc, Terex are all trading higher as well. In the tech space, storage giant EMC is buying Isilon Systems for $33.85 a share in cash. Isilon's stock is jumping 29%. In the first hour and through the morning the averages held on to their modest gains, but it isn't much of a bounce after last week's drumming. By the middle of the afternoon the rally started to crumble following a late-session spike in Treasury yields. In the last hour most of the rally had fizzled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 9 points at 11,201. The S&P 500 fell a point to 1,197. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4 points to 2,513.