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.

July 3, 2009 | Filed Under Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

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%.

July 2, 2009 | Filed Under Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

Stock Market Report - 06/30/09

Tuesday June 30, 2009
Navivest

A report from the Conference Board, which showed that consumer confidence dropped in June, weighed on stocks on Tuesday. As results stocks finished the quarter by ending the day to the downside.

The Dow Jones Industrial Averaged lost 82.38 points, a 0.97% decline on the day, to close at 8,447.00, NASDAQ was off by 9.02 points, 0.49% decline, to finish the session at 1,835.04 and the S&P 500 shed 7.91 points 0.85% to close out June at 919.32.

According to the conference board’s report, consumer confidence fell to a reading of 49.3 in June, from May’s revised 54.8. Economists had been forecasting the index would show a reading of 55.3 for the month, from the 54.9 that was initially reported for May.

Traders also had to digest the Case-Shiller Home Price Index from Standard and Poor’s, which showed that home prices fell 0.6% from March to April and 18.1% year over year.

In trading, twenty-four out of the Dow thirty stocks finished lower and the index was led to the downside by construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (CAT), which lost $1.70 to $33.04, a decline of 4.89%.

It was helped by IBM (IBM) $104.42 -$1.41, Proctor and Gamble (PG) $51.10 - $1.13 and American Express (AXP) $23.24 -$0.76. The biggest point gainer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the day was McDonald’s (MCD), which could only manage a gain of $0.26, sending the stock to a close of $57.49.

In broader trader, online education provider Apollo Group (APOL) rose $5.13 to $71.12, a 7.77% gain, after the company reported that in the fiscal 2009 Q3 period, net income came in at $1.26 per share compared to the EPS of $0.85 that it earned in the same period a year ago. That was way ahead of the $1.12 that analysts had been looking for.

H&R Block (HRB) was also a big gainer, after the stock rallied $1.56 to $17.23 for a percentage gain of 9.95% on the company’s 2009 fourth quarter earnings news.
H&R Block reported earnings of $2.09 per share, versus the $1.66 the company earned in the same period a year ago. This was better than the $2.05 that analysts had been forecasting.

For the full year, the company reported that income from continuing operations for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2009, was up 15.0% to $513.1 million, or $1.53 on a per share basis. This compares to $445.9 million, or $1.36 per share for full fiscal year 2008.

The company also announced that it expects fiscal 2010 earnings to come in the range of $1.60 to $1.80 per share. Consensus estimates for the full fiscal 2010 now stand at $1.66 per share.

July 1, 2009 | Filed Under Company News, Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

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.

June 25, 2009 | Filed Under Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

Stocks Up Ahead Of FOMC Decision

Wednesday June 24, 2009
Navivest

All the major stock market indices are up at 1:12 pm, ahead of the release of the FOMC’s interest rate decision at 2:15 pm. The Dow is up 66.96 points for 0.8%, NASDAQ is up 39.87 for 2.26%, S&P 500 is up 13.25 points for a percentage gain of 1.48% and the Russell 2000 is up 9.31 points, a 1.9% gain so far on the day.

Individual stocks that are moving include Oracle (ORCL), which after the markets closed yesterday, reported that in the fiscal 2009 Q4 period ending May 31, profit was $0.46 per share, ahead of analyst estimates of $0.44 per share. The company also reported a record operating margin of 51%. The stock is up $1.63 to $71.50.
Shares of fast food operator Sonic Corp. (SONC) is up 13.18%, rising $1.16 to $9.96, on the company’s latest earnings news, which was released after the bell yesterday.
The company reported a profit of $16.8 million, or $0.27 cents on a per share basis, compared to the $17.2 million, or $0.28 per share the company earned last year. Excluding special items, EPS was $0.24. This is better than the $0.20 analysts were looking for. Revenue fell 10% to $191.9 million versus consensus estimates of $179.4 million.

Monsanto (MON) on the other hand, is moving to the downside and is currently off $2.70 to $76.70, after the company this morning,reported 2009 third quarter net income of $694 million, or $1.25 on a per share basis, down from $811 million, or $1.45 a share in the same period a year ago.

June 24, 2009 | Filed Under Company News, Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

Stock Market Report - 06/23/09

Tuesday June 23, 2009
Navivest

Stocks finished the session mixed after yesterday’s huge decline of over 2% that was seen across all the major stock market indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 16.10 points to 8,322.91, a loss of 0.2%, NASDAQ was off by 1.27 points to close at 1,764.92, while the broader based S&P 500, added 2.06 points to finish the session at 895.10.

The indices wafted in and out of positive territory, with stocks trading in a relatively narrow range on the day. Traders for the most part stayed on the sidelines, perhaps in anticipation of tomorrow’s release of the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision on interest rates.

Since rates are expected to be left unchanged, as rates are now too low to be lowered any further and there isn’t a preponderance of current inflationary pressures that would warrant a raise, traders will be looking to see what the fed says in its accompany statement.

The stock market started the day to the upside, but the release of the National Association of Realtors’ monthly Existing Homes Sales Report, cast a pall on the markets.

The report showed that sales of existing homes rose by 2.4% in May, to an annualized rate of 4.77 million units, from April’s 4.66 million units. Economists had been forecasting a rise of 3%, to 4.82 million units from the 4.68 million units that was originally reported in April.

While the 2.4% rise trailed expectations, the gains in May, marked two consecutive months of that we are seeing a rise in sales of existing homes, the first time since September 2005 that this has happened.

In trading, Boeing (BA) put the most downward pressure on the Dow, after dropping $3.03 to $43.87, for a loss of 6.46%. Boeing today announced that the first test flight of its 787 Dreamliner, which the company hopes will be a game changer and give it competitive advantage over Airbus, would be postponed due to structural problems. This is the fifth time the company is announcing a test flight delay of the aircraft.

United Technologies (UTX) $51.87 -$0.74 was the next biggest point loser among the Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks.

AT&T (T) $24.66 +$0.51, Caterpillar (CAT) $33 +$0.64, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) $33.57 +$0.70 and Verizon (VZ) $$30.52 +$0.50 helped limit the Dow losses.

June 24, 2009 | Filed Under Company News, Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

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.

June 23, 2009 | Filed Under Company News, Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

Today’s Pullback A Good Thing For The Markets

Monday June 22, 2009
Navivest

Today’s selling may just have been what the doctor ordered for the stock market. With the run-up since early March, we had gotten to a point in the past two weeks, were stocks were beginning to trade sideways, with traders hesitant to commit trading capital as they were unsure of the direction of the market.

With today’s pullback, stocks now have a base that they can bounce off and barring some very bad news that impacts the whole market, we can look for some nice upside moves.

Traders should take a pulse of the market and if it looks like we will be firming up on Tuesday, start entering long positions. However, as today proved, anything can happen, so in these volatile times, taking early profits is a must.

June 22, 2009 | Filed Under Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment

Stock Market Report - 06/19/09

Friday June 19, 2009
Navivest

Stocks finished the session mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average the laggard this time around, while the other major stock market indices ended the trading day to the upside.

The Dow was off 15.87 points to close at 8,539.73, NASDAQ advanced 19.75 points to finish at 1,827.47, the S&P 500 added 2.83 points to end the session at 921.20, while the Russell 2000 closed the session at 512.72, up 3.24 points.

Even though it was a quadruple witching day, meaning stock options, stock futures, market index futures and market index options all expired on the same day, there was not much volatility, which is usually expected on triple and quadruple witching days, as money managers tend to rebalance their portfolios.

In trading, Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM), moved in opposite directions, with Apple ($139.48 +3.60 +2.64%) rising on news that the company had released its latest iPhone earlier in the day. Research In Motion ($72.78 -3.77 -4.92%) fell on the release of the company’s latest earnings news, which came after the bell yesterday.

For the just ended fiscal Q1 period, the company reported a 33% increase in profit on a 53% rise in revenue, with income on a per share basis coming in at $1.12 or $0.98 on an adjusted basis. This bested forecasts of $0.94 per share.

However, for the current quarter, the company announced that it expects revenue to come in between $3.45 billion and $3.7 billion and earnings per share to come in between $0.94 and $1.03. This compares to current forecasts of $3.6 billion in revenue and $0.95 in earnings per share. The guidance was a disappointment to Wall Street, causing the stock to lose almost 5% on the day.

Notable advancers on the day included online retailer Amazon (AMZN), which advanced $1.36 to $82.96, surgical products maker Zimmer Holdings (ZMH), up $1.14 to $42.47, Wynn Resorts (WYNN), which advanced $1.26 to $36.86, apparel manufacturer VF Corporation (VFC) $2.55 to $59.25, Sears Holdings (SHLD) up $3.68 to $65.71, pharmaceutical delivery company Hospira (HSP), which finished the session up $2.01 to $36.53 and Northern Trust (NT), which rallied $1.79 to $54.29.

Stocks moving to the downside, included oil and gas producer Apache (APA), which closed down $2.55 to $75.34, Precision Castparts (PCP), off $2.53 to $79.87 and EOG Resources (EOG), which fell $2.18 to $69.92.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial was off 2.95%, NASDAQ lost 1.69%, the S&P 500 was down 2.64%, while the Russell 2000 ended lower by 2.68%.

June 19, 2009 | Filed Under Stock Market, Stocks, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

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.

June 16, 2009 | Filed Under Stock Market, Stocks | Leave a Comment