Stock Market Report - 07/02/09
Thursday July 2, 2009
Navivest
A worse than expected jobs numbers from the Labor Department sent stocks crashing in trading Thursday, ahead of the long Independence Day Weekend.
Before the bell, the Labor Department reported that that the economy lost 467,000 non-farm jobs in the month of June, from a revised loss of 322,000 jobs in May. This was worse that the 365,000 that economists had been forecasting. The country’s unemployment rate now stands at 9.5% in June, from 9.4% in May.
On the news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 223.32 points to close at 8,280.74, for a percentage loss of 2.63%, NASDAQ lost 49.20 points to close at 1,796.52, for a percentage loss of 2.67%, the S&P 500 lost 26.91 points to close at 896.42 for a 2.91% loss and the Russell 2000 was off 20.25 points to 497.21, for a 3.91% loss.
In other economic news, the Commerce Department reported that orders for manufactured goods rose 1.2% in May, from a downwardly revised 0.5% climb in April. Economists had been forecasting a reading of 0.9%, so the number was much better that expected, however, the market could not shake the jobs numbers.
In trading, all thirty stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell, with IBM (IBM) the worst loser on a dollar basis, after the stock dropped $3.11 to close at $101.73. It was followed by Chevron (CVX), which lost $2.10 to close at $64.42, Exxon Mobil (XOM), which lost $2.07 to close at $68.49, United Technologies (UTX), which dropped $2.04, to close at $50.24 and Travelers (TRV), which was off by $1.93 to $39.20.
Coca Cola (KO) and Cisco (CSCO) were the “best” performers, after both only lost $0.30 to close at $48.88 and $18.50 respectively.
In broader trading, some of the major losers among the S&P 500 stocks included Google (GOOG), which was off $10.50 to $408.49, Amazon (AMZN) lost $2.28 to $79.32, Prudential Financial (PRU) was off by $2.26 to $34.94, Sears Holding (SHLD) dropped $2.67 to $62.48 and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) finished the session down $1.98 to $33.41.
M&T Bank Corporation was the best performer in the S&P 500, climbing $1.24 to $52.40, followed by Varian Medical (VAR), which rose $0.54 to $33.50.
Stock Market Report - 07/01/09
Wednesday July 1, 2009
Navivest
The stock market started the new month and the new quarter to the upside, although they closed off the highs of the day, with stocks gaining on positive jobs, housing and manufacturing numbers.
Before the markets opened, payroll-processing firm ADP (ADP) issued its ADP National Employment Report, which showed that the non-farm private sector lost 473,000 jobs in June, compared to a revised loss of 485,000 jobs losses in May.
With economists predicting a loss of 394,000, the actual number was greater than forecasts, which would usually be a negative for the markets. However, the number of jobs lost was the smallest since October 2008. Then, the private sector lost 352,000 jobs.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management, which showed that that organization’s manufacturing activity index rose to 44.8 in June from 42.8 in May, slightly better that forecasts of a rise to 44.6, helped fuel an early rise in the stock market.
Additionally, housing data released by the National Association of Realtors, showed that pending home sales climbed 0.1% to 90.7 in May, from an upwardly revised reading of 90.6 in April. Forecasters had been looking for a reading of 90.3, which would have been unchanged from the reading that was initially reported in April.
Tempering the positive housing and manufacturing numbers, was news from the Commerce Department that construction spending fell 0.9% in May, from a revised 0.6% gain in April. This was against forecasts calling for a decline of 0.6% against the 0.8% gain that was initially reported in April.
In trading, twenty-six out of the thirty stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose, although only two Kraft Foods (KFT) $26.61 +$1.27 and Coca-Cola (KO) $49.18 +$1.19 rose more than a dollar. Moves to the downside where also capped, with JP Morgan Chase (JPM) the largest point loser, after dropping $0.34 to $33.77.
The Dow Jones Industrials closed at 8,504.06, up 57.06, a 0.68% gain, NASDAQ was up 10.68 points to 1,845.72, for 0.58%, the S&P 500 tacked on 4.01 points for 0.44% to close at 923.33 and the Russell 2000 ended the session at 517.46, up 9.18 points for 1.81%.
Stock Market Report - 06/25/09
Thursday June 25, 2009
Navivest
A nice rebound on Thursday sent the stock market into a broad based rally that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average add on 172.54 points or 2.07%, to close at 8,472.40, NASDAQ also rallied for 2.07%, after adding on 37.20 points to close at 1,829.54 and the S&P 500 finished the day up 19.32 points for a percentage gain of 2.14%, to close at 920.26.
Stocks initially traded to the downside after the Labor Departments issued its weekly Initial Claims report, which tracks new filings for unemployment benefits. The report showed that for the week ending June 20, there was an unexpected rise of 15,000 new filings, taking the total number of filings to 627,000, from the prior week’s revised 612,000.
Economists had been forecasting that initial claims for the week would come in at 600,000 from the 608,000 that was originally reported for the June 13 week.
In other economic news, the Commerce Department issued its final revision to the gross domestic product numbers for the 2009 first quarter. The revised GDP report shows that the U.S economy contracted by 5.5% compared to the 5.7% that was initially reported.
Twenty-nine out of the thirty stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose, highlighting the scope of the rally and the bullish sentiment on the day. Bank of America (BAC) was unchanged.
The leading stocks in the Dow on Thursday were IBM (IBM), which rose $1.91 to $106.06, American Express (AXP), which was the biggest percentage and second biggest point gainer on the day. AXP climbed $1.51 to $24.44, Exxon Mobil (XOM) rose $1.43 to $69.88 and 3M (MMM) ended the session up by $1.42 to $58.90.
In broader trading, M&T Bank (MTB) rose $3.73 to $49.67, Apple (AAPL) rose $3.64 to $139.86, Fedex (FDX) rose $3.40 to $56.29, Cameron International (CAM) $2.30 to $29.02, a gain of 8.61% on the day and Bed Bath and Beyond finished the day up 9.48%, after rising $2.69 to $31.08.
Nike (NKE) was the worst point decliner among S&P 500 stocks, on a decline of $1.74 to $51.08 and Paychex (PAYX) was the worst percentage loser, on a decline of $1.65 to $25.06.
Stock Market Report - 06/22/09
Monday June 22, 2009
Navivest
A World Bank forecast issued this morning that called for a contraction of 2.9% in the global economy, from prior forecasts that called for a growth of 1.7%, sent stocks into a tailspin that saw all the major indices lose over 2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 200.72 points for a loss of 2.4%, to close at 8,339.01, NASDAQ dropped 61.28 points, a 3.4% loss, to close at 1,766.19 and the S&P 500 was off by 28.19 points for 3.1%, ending the session at 893.04.
Twenty-seven out of the thirty stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index finished to the downside, with AT&T (T) $24.15 +$0.11, Verizon (VZ) $30.02 +$0.36 and Wal-Mart (WMT) $48.59 +$0.42, the Dow gainers on the day.
Leading the way down, were Exxon Mobil (XOM) $68.84 -$2.21, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) $32.87 -$2.13, 3M (MMM) $57.47 -$1.90, Chevron (CVX) $65.76 -$2.30 and Boeing (BA) $46.90 - $1.54.
In broader trading, other stocks of note included Apple (AAPL), which announced that it sold over one million of its latest iPhones over the weekend, much better than forecasts of about half a million of the devices.
The stock was up initially on the news, but finished the session lower by $2.11, to $137.37 as the bearish overtones in the overall market weighed on the stock. The stock might also have been impacted by news from the Wall Street Journal, that Steve Jobs, the company’s co-founded who has revived the company’s fortunes on more than one occasion, had liver transplant surgery in April.
The two best performers in the S&P 500, Sempra Energy (SRE) and Intergrys Energy (TEG) both only rose by $0.78, with Sempra Energy closing at $49.62, while Integrys Energy closed at $29.55.
The big movers to the downside include Massey Energy (MEE) $17.56 -$2.59, Allegheny Technologies (ATI) $33.69 -$4.61, Freeport McMoRan (FCX) $45.18 -$5.75, Peabody Energy (BTU) $28.31 -$3.08, Consol Energy (CNX) $33.02 -$3.81 and CF Industries (CF) $69.32 -$5.67
Possibly impacting trading tomorrow will be the latest monthly Existing Home Sales report from the National Association of Realtors, which will be released at 10:00 am.
Economists are forecasting that the number of existing homes sold in May will come in at 4.82 million on an annualized basis, compared to 4.68 million in April.
Stock Market Report - 06/18/09
Thursday June 18, 2009
Navivest
Stocks finished another session mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closing to the upside, partly on economic news and the NASDAQ closed to the downside.
While the gains were modest, this was the first positive close for the Dow this week and considering that the index has moved down from an intra-day high of 8,911.11 just seven days ago, today’s performance was very welcomed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 58.42 points for a loss of 0.7% to finish at 8,555.60, NASDAQ closed down 0.34 points to finish at 1,807.72 and the S&P 500 closed up 7.66 points, a gain of 0.8% to end the session at 918.37.
In economic news, the Conference Board reported today that its Leading Indicators, which groups together other economic indicators such as jobless claims, money supply, building permits and stock prices into one index, rose 1.2% in May, versus forecasts of a gain of 1.0%. This follows an upwardly revised 1.1% rise in April.
Separately, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that the Philadelphia Fed Index impressively advanced to -2.2 from -22.6 in May. Economists had been forecasting a reading of -17.0.
The Labor Department this morning, reported that Initial Claims or the number of those filing for first time unemployment benefits for the week ending June 13, came in at 608, 000 versus forecasts of 604,000. The four-week moving average now stands at 615,750 from 622,750.
Continuing claims fell by 148,000 to 6.687 million versus consensus estimates of 6.84 million. While that is a disturbing number of unemployed Americans, it marked the first drop after nineteen straight weeks of increases in continuing claims.
In trading, twenty-nine out of the thirty Dow stocks rose, with Coca-Cola (KO) $49.55 +$1.62 and JP Morgan (JPM) $34.17 +$1.44 leading the way up. The major losers in the index on the day were Caterpillar (CAT) $34.08 -$0.72 and IBM (IBM) $106.33 -$0.67.
Stock Market Report - 06/17/09
Wednesday June 17, 2009
Navivest
Stocks closed mixed today with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closing moderately to the downside, while the NASDAQ managed to eek out a gain.
The Dow was off 7.49 points to close at 8497.18, NASDAQ was up 11.88 points, finishing at 1808.06 and the S&P 500 lost 1.26 points, to end the session at 910.71.
In economic news, the Labor Department put out its monthly Consumer Price Index or CPI and for the month of May, the index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% versus forecasts for a rise of 0.3%. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.1% as well.
In earnings news, FedEx (FDX) announced that its fiscal 2009 fourth-quarter net loss widened to $876 million or $2.82 on a per share basis. This compares to a loss of $241 million, or $0.78 in the year ago period.
The company also announced that its expects fiscal 2010 Q1 earnings to come in a range of $0.30 and $0.45, compared to $1.23 in the year ago period. Wall Street consensus estimates for the 2010 Q1 period currently stands at $0.70.
In trading action, there were seventeen stocks among the Dow 30 stocks that rose today, with 3M (MMM) which rose $0.63 to close at $59.04 the strongest performer.
With the selling off of the commodities continuing yet again for another session, oil stocks took a beating and Chevron (CVX), which lost $1.05 was the worst performer in the Dow on the day.
The other oil stock in the index, Exxon Mobil (XOM) did manage to limit its losses, closing down just $0.21 to $71.42.
Within the broader based S&P 500 index, Apollo Group (APOL) rose $2.88 to $66.40. The company provides online education services and that sector as a whole, was strong today.
Other S&P 500 stocks rising on the day, included Autozone (AZO) $155.54 +$3.06, CR Bard ((BCR) $73.67 +$2.28, Watson Pharmaceuticals (WPI) $30.27 +$1.43 and Laboratory Corp of America (LH) $64.98 +$2.47
Stock Market Report - 06/16/09
Tuesday June 16, 2009
Navivest
An initial rally in early going could not be sustained and by mid day, there was selling pressure on stocks, leading to another down day, which extended yesterday’s 2% across the board losses in all the major indices.
Before the bell, the Commerce Department released its monthly Housing Starts report, and for the month of May, housing starts rose 17.2% to an annual rate of 532,000 units in May from April’s revised estimate of 454,000.
Economists had been forecasting the number would come in at 485,000 from the 458,000 that was originally reported for April. This was bullish for the markets and stocks traded to the upside early on, on the news.
The Dow finished the session down 107.46 points for a loss of 1.25%, closing at 8,504.67, NASDAQ was off by 20.20 points to 1,796.18 or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 lost 11.75 points, off 1.3%, to close at 911.97.
Twenty-eight out of the Dow thirty stocks finished to the downside, with Microsoft (MSFT) and Pfizer (PFE) the only two stocks that could manage gains on the day. Both closed up $0.03. Microsoft finished at $23.45, while Pfizer closed at $14.16. Microsoft was also one of two stocks that held up yesterday when stocks were getting clobbered.
The stocks putting the most pressure on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, were Chevron (CVX) $69.88 -$1.20, Proctor and Gamble (PG) $50.10 -$1.23 and Exxon Mobil (XOM) $71.63 -$1.18. The other twenty-five stocks finishing lower all lost less than $1.00. 3M (MMM) was off $0.90 to $58.41.
Stock Market Report - 06/15/09
Monday June 15, 2009
Navivest
Having been due for a pull back for a while now, the stock market finished the day sharply to the downside, with all the major indices losing at least 2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished lower by 187 points to close at 8612.13, for a loss of 2.13%, NASDAQ was off 42.42 to close at 1816.38, a loss of 2.28%, the S&P 500 dropped 22.49 points to close at 923.72, losing 2.38% and the Russell 2000 closed down 15 points to 511.83, for a percentage decline of 2.85%.
Fueling the downside push, was a strengthening dollar and bad economic news. The rise in the dollar was partly due to comments over the weekend from Russia’s finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, who said that the U.S. current would most likely remain the reserve currency of the world. This counters calls from Russia in recent days, for a move away from the dollar on fears that current U.S. policies would lead to massive inflation, which could cause a drop in the dollar.
The rising dollar resulted in a drop in commodity prices, which led to a sharp decline in oil and other commodity
In economic news, The New York Federal Reserve announced today, that its general business conditions index fell to a negative 9.41 in June from a negative 4.55 in May. A negative reading indicates that conditions are deteriorating. Economists were forecasting a reading of negative 5.10.
In trading, twenty-eight out of the thirty stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, closed to the downside, with American Express (AXP) and Microsoft (MSFT) the only two moving to the upside. American Express (AXP) was up $0.07 to $25.23 and MSFT was up $0.09 to $23.42
AXP was able to stay in positive territory, after the company announced that in the month of May its net write-off rate on a managed basis was 10%, compared to 10.1% in April.
Among other banks announcing default rates, Capital One Financial (COF) said that its charge-off rate rose 9.41% in May, from 8.56% in April.
Bank of America Corporation (BAC) announced that its default rate, that is loans that the company does not expect will be paid back, rose to 12.50% in May from 10.47% in April.
The worst performers in the Dow were Boeing (BA) $49.52 -$1.92, Caterpillar (CAT) $36.12 -$1.61 and Chevron (CVX) $1.59 to $81.08.
Boeing fell on news that the company fared rather poorly in terms of orders, today, the first day of the 2009 Paris Air Show. The company did not announced any news orders, while the Boeing’s main competitor, European based Airbus announced just one order worth $1.9 billion from Qatar Airways.
Stock Market Report - 06/11/09
Thursday June 11, 2009
Navivest
Yesterday, stocks sold off, partly because of tepid reception of a ten year note auction by the U.S. Treasury. Today, stocks rallied because an $11 billion 30 year note auction by the Treasury was well received. But then after peaking at about 1:30, a downtrend developed and stocks closed off the highs of the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up by 31.90 points or 0.4%, to close at 8,770.92, NASDAQ ended the session up 9.29 points or 0.5%, to close at 1,862.37 and the S&P 500 also closed to the upside, gaining 5.74 points or 0.6%, to finish the session at 944.89.
The Dow had an intra-day range of 8,736.23 to 8,877.93, NASDAQ traded in a range of 1,854.75 to 1,879.92 and the S&P 500 hit a low of 939.04 and a high of 956.23.
In economic news, the Labor Department this morning reported that initial Jobless Claims for the week ending June 6, dropped to 601,000, from 625,000 in the prior week. That was better that the 615,000 reading that economists had been forecasting.
Separately, the Commerce Department reported retail sales for the month of May rose 0.5%, right in line with forecasts.
Both pieces of news provided some fuel for the market to rally this morning. Helping the Dow higher was Chevron (CVX), which climbed $1.68 to $71.90 on another rise in crude oil prices. IBM (IBM) added $1.05 to $109.40, Bank of America rose $0.99 to $12.97, a gain of 8.26% and aluminum producer Alcoa (AA) rose $0.73 to $12.22.
Nine Dow stocks closed lower, with Boeing (BA) and American Express (AXP) leading the way. Boeing closed down $1.64 to $50.66 and American Express was off $1.06 to $25.63.
Among S&P 500 stocks, Devon Energy, another oil related name, rose $2.44 to $66.19, EOG Resources rose $1.84 to $77.09, conglomerate Leucadia (LUK), which operates timber companies, wineries and restaurants, amongst its holdings, rose 6.11% or $1.40 to $24.33 and Southwestern Energy (SWN) rallied $2.84 to $45.19.
S&P 500 stocks moving to the downside included Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), which lost $1.74 to $46.60, high-end jeweler Tiffany (TIF) was off $1.25 to $27.80, Precision Castparts (PCP) closed down $2.05 to $83.80, Google (GOOG) moved down $3.60 to $429 and Fluor (FLR) closed down $0.94 to $53.82.
Stock Market Report - 06/10/09
Wednesday June 10, 2009
Navivest
The stock market started the day higher, but the gains quickly faded within the first thirty minutes of trading, pushing the stocks down into negative territory and the major indices spent the entire day below breakeven after 11 am.
Disappointing results from a government auction of $19 billion in ten-year notes was a major source of concern. The yield on the notes came in at a higher than expected 3.99%, stocking inflation fears, which if realized, could put a damper on economic growth. Continued rising yields on treasury notes also indicate that demand for them is not as robust as the government would hope.
The bid to cover ratio for the auction, a measure of demand, was 2.62. It was 2.47 for the last ten-year note auction, which was just last month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 24.04 points for a loss of 0.3% to close at 8,739.02, NASDAQ lost 7.05 points or 0.4% to close at 1,853.08 and the S&P 500 finished the day down 3.28 points or 0.3%, to close at 939.15.
The turn for the worse in early trading was a disappointing surprise, as stock market futures were indicating a very strong upside bias. Before 8:30, the Dow futures were indicating we would open up about a hundred points, with NASDAQ and S&P futures indicating gains of 15 and 12 points respectively in those indices.
On the positive side, stocks did close off the worst levels of the day. The Dow hit an intra-day low of 8,639.95, while the NASDAQ and S&P 500 saw intra-day lows of 1,827.61 and 927.97 respectively.
In corporate news, a day after the Supreme Court refused to hear a lawsuit that was being pushed by a group of Indiana pension funds that hold Chrysler bonds, the company officially entered into an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat, that will see Fiat take an initial stake of 20% in Chrysler. This could be raised to 35%, upon attainment of mandated fuel efficiency goals. Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne was named CEO of Chrysler.
A new company called Chrysler Group LLC was formed, with the old Chrysler selling most of its assets to the new company. Legacy liability costs were not transferred over to the new company.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported that the nation’s trade deficit widened to $29.2 billion in April, from a revised deficit of $28.5 billion in March. Economists had been forecasting a rise to $29 billion.
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