The Week In Review
11/22-11/26
11/26/10U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Friday, as concerns over European sovereign debt and tensions between North and South Korea persisted, overshadowing the kick-off of the holiday shopping season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110 points to 11,077, with all but one of its 30 components trading lower. The S&P 500 index dropped 9 points to 1,189, weighed down the most by the materials sector. The Nasdaq Composite lost 12 points to 2,531. Typically this is an up week, but not recently and not this year. The mergers and acquisition departments didn't take the holiday off. Del Monte Foods is higher after agreeing to be acquired for $4 billion. A small firm CPI International is jumping 33% after agreeing to be acquired. Other than that, not much news today. The tension overseas has the US dollar trading higher and commodities lower. The fertilizers are lower on cautious comments from one analyst. Freeport McMoran is down 2%. The retail sector is quiet even though the whole country is out shopping like crazy. Chipotle Mexican Grill and the holding company for IHOP and Applebees are trading higher at new 52 week highs. Toymaker, Mattel is up a percent. Ford opened lower, but is now up a percent after announcing a new dealership in China. Apple is one of the few tech stocks trading higher. I'm sure their stores are jammed packed. After the first hour the averages remain solidly in the red, but off the lows. The Dow is down 60 points as only two Dow components are higher, Cisco Systems and 3M. The Nasdaq is down just 3 points. Through the morning the averages sold back off. No buyers are showing up for this abbreviated session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 95 points at 11092. The S&P 500 index dropped 9 points to 1,189. The Nasdaq Composite lost 8 points to close at 2,534. All three averages fell less than 1% for the week.
11/25/10
Closed for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving.
11/24/10
U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday after economic reports cast a more optimistic light on the jobs front and consumer spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94 points to 11,131. The S&P 500 Index climbed 10 points to 1,191. The Nasdaq Composite added 30 points to 2,525. Finally an up day following a miserable days. Very little news the day before Thanksgiving. Guess is jumping 7% following earnings last night. Tiffanys is jumping 4% after beating estimates. Deere is modestly higher following earnings. The commodities are bouncing back. Noble Corp is higher on an upgrade. Jacobs Engineering is higher on an upgrade. The techs are bouncing back. IBM, Research in Motion, Apple, and Google look good. Oracle is higher after winning a lawsuit against SAP. SAP is modestly lower. I wonder if they'll pay. After the first half an hour the Dow rose 100 points with the Nasdaq up 33 points. Most stocks are in the green. The financials are higher, but not by much. Through the morning the averages improved rising 130 points. Through the afternoon the averages remained strong closing near the highs of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 150 points to end at 11,187, led by gains in Boeing up 2.9%. The S&P 500 index gained 17 points, or 1.5%, to 1,198, led by a 2% gain in industrials and consumer discretionary shares. The Nasdaq Composite rose 48 points, or 1.9%, to end at 2,543.
11/23/10
U.S. stocks fell sharply at the open Tuesday, as an exchange of fire between North and South Korea combined with ongoing worries about European debt rattled investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 117 points to 11,060. The S&P 500 index dropped 14 points to 1,184. The Nasdaq Composite fell 26 points to 2,505. Once again the financials are the worst performing sector. Eaton Vance beat estimates however the stock is lower by 3%. The commodities are sharply lower as the US dollar rallies. The techs are struggling as well. Red Hat and Broadcom were upgraded, but both are lower. HP is one of the bright spots in the tech sector following better than expected earnings. The one bright spot for the last several weeks is retail. Brown Shoes is jumping 18% after beating estimates. Hormel Foods is up 3% on earnings. J Crew is jumping 16% on rumors of a takeover. NY Times is up 6% on similar takeover rumors. Not all retailers are higher. Campbell Soup, Zale, DSW, and Cracker Barrel are all lower following earnings. Target and Walmart were upgraded, but both are modestly lower. Through the morning the averages moved lower. Not a good day. Typically this is an up week, but no one looks to be in a buying mood. In the afternoon nothing changed. No buyers are stepping in. HP remains the only Dow component trading higher. The financials look awful. In the last hour, no bounce. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 142 points to 11,036. The S&P 500 index dropped 17 points to 1,180, weighed down by its energy and materials sectors. The Nasdaq Composite fell 37 points, or 1.5%, to 2,494.
11/22/10
U.S. stocks fell early on Monday, as Ireland's application for a bailout failed to remove broader concerns about sovereign debt in the euro zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54 points to 11,150. The S&P 500 index fell 4 points to 1,194. The Nasdaq Composite lost 3 points to 2,514. A weak opening, but many of the techs look good. High flying, Netflix keeps shooting higher after announcing new pricing and distribution opportunities. Research in Motion, HP, Apple, and Sandisk are all higher on upgrades. HP reports earnings tonight. Novell is up 6% after agreeing to be bought out for $2.2 billion. The commodity space opened mixed with the fertilizers stocks trading higher. Potash looks good following two upgrades. The retail sector has been on fire of late, but is quiet this morning ahead of its' biggest weekend of the year. Tyson Foods and Valspar are higher following earnings this morning. Cracker Barrel is higher ahead of earnings tomorrow. The averages held up in the first half an hour only to sell off once again with the Dow dropping 80 points. The financials look awful thanks to mortgage put back concerns and a new insider investigation that may implicate bankers in a number of the large cap financials. The Nasdaq is trying to hold up declining only 3 points. The averages remained quiet through the morning, reaccelerating to the downside in the afternoon led by the financials after the FBI raided two hedge fund offices. All the big banks tumbled 2% to 3% on this news. If it's not one thing with these banks, it's another. The Dow fell 130 points by the middle of the afternoon only to slowly improve heading into the last hour. In the last hour the Nasdaq moved into the green with Apple jumping 2%. The Nasdaq slowly moved back toward the unchanged level with the financials remaining the greatest drag. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 24 points at 11,178. Shares of Hewlett-Packard rose 1.8% ahead of earnings after the close. The S&P 500 index fell a point to 1,197. The Nasdaq Composite rose 13 points to 2,532.