From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : The stock market finished the Thursday session on a higher note with the S&P 500 climbing 0.5%. The benchmark index registered an early high within the first 90 minutes and inched to a new session best during the final hour of the action.
Equities rallied out of the gate with the financial sector (+1.1%) providing noteworthy support for the second day in a row. The growth-oriented sector extended its September gain to 1.9% versus a more modest uptick of 0.4% for the S&P 500.
Although financials did some heavy lifting, other influential sectors like health care (+0.8%) and technology (+0.7%) also served up a measure of support. The health care sector settled ahead of the broader market, but the biotech group was a reluctant participant in the advance. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 275.07, +2.09) added 0.8%.
For its part, technology rallied amid strength in chipmaker stocks. SanDisk (SNDK 103.22, +3.00) and Skyworks (SWKS 57.80, +1.92) led the charge with gains close to 3.0% apiece, while the broader PHLX Semiconductor Index added 1.5% amid upbeat commentary from Topeka Capital Markets.
Elsewhere among influential groups, consumer discretionary (+0.4%) and industrials (+0.4%) lagged in the early going, but finished just behind the broader market. In the discretionary sector, the relative strength of high-growth names like Netflix (NFLX 459.01, +4.48) and Priceline.com (PCLN 1197.20, +23.40) masked the underperformance of homebuilders following today's disappointing Housing Starts/Building Permits report. The iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 24.01, -0.12) lost 0.5%.
On the downside, energy (-0.5%) and utilities (-0.7%) finished in the red with the energy sector following the price of crude oil, which slid 1.3% to $93.07. As for the sector, the group narrowed its week-to-date gain to 1.0% and widened its quarterly loss to 4.3%.
Treasuries ended flat after surrendering their overnight gains. The 10-yr yield settled at 2.63%.
Participation was ahead of recent averages with more than 660 million shares changing hands at the NYSE.
Economic data included Initial Claims, Housing Starts/Building Permits, and the Philadelphia Fed Survey:
The latest Initial Claims report revealed a drop to 280,000 from 316,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a more modest decline to 305,000
The reading marked its lowest level since July and aptly supports the view that the weak payroll growth seen in August is likely to be revised higher
Housing Starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 956,000 units in August from a revised 1.117 million units in July, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease to 1.045 million units
Building permits fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 998,000 versus a revised 1.057 million for July, while the consensus expected permits to come in at 1.054 million
The Philadelphia Fed Survey for September fell to 22.5 from 28.0, while economists polled by Briefing.com had expected that the Survey would slip to 23.5
Tomorrow, the Leading Indicators report for August (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) will be released at 10:00 ET. In addition, investors will be responding to the results of the independence referendum in Scotland.
Nasdaq Composite +10.0% YTD
S&P 500 +8.8% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +4.2% YTD
Russell 2000 -0.3% YTD
DJ30 +109.14 NASDAQ +31.24 SP500 +9.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1743/1.63 bln/1101 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1862/663.0 mln/1209 3:25 pm :
Precious metals fell in electronic trade yesterday following the FOMC statement which conveyed no changes to the Fed's current policy course. As expected, the FOMC reduced the monthly pace of its asset purchases by $10 bln to $15 bln and maintained the "considerable time" language in its forward guidance.
Dec gold continued to trade lower and fell as low as $1216.30 per ounce in overnight trade, its lowest level since January. It managed to inch slightly higher in late morning action and consolidated near the $1226.00 per ounce level for the remainder of the session. It eventually settled 0.7% lower at $1226.80 per ounce.
Dec silver brushed an overnight low of $18.27 per ounce moments before pit trade opened. It touched a floor session high of $18.62 per ounce and settled with a 1.2% loss at $18.51 per ounce.
Oct crude oil pulled back from its session high of $94.78 per barrel and fell into negative territory shortly after equity markets opened. The energy component continued to trend lower and brushed a session low of $92.85 per barrel before settling with a 1.3% loss at $93.07 per barrel.
Oct natural gas traded as high as $4.03 per MMBtu in early morning action but sold off sharply to a session low of $3.90 per MMBtu following inventory data that showed a build of 90 bcf when a build of 90-93 bcf was anticipated. Unable to regain momentum, it settled at $3.91 per MMBtu, or 2.5% lower.
6:01 pm RF Micro Device and TriQuint (TQNT) announce new company name: Qorvo (RFMD) : Co and TriQuint Semiconductor (TQNT) revealed that the holding company under which the companies will combine in a merger of equals will be named Qorvo, Inc. The companies also unveiled the new Qorvo logo and stock trading symbol, which they will begin using immediately upon closing of the merger. Qorvo is expected to be traded on the NASDAQ Global Stock Market under the ticker symbol "QRVO" following closing of the merger.
5:05 pm Advanced Micro and Synopsys expand IP partnership (AMD) : Synopsys (SNPS) and AMD (AMD) announced they have signed a multi-year agreement that gives AMD access to a range of Synopsys DesignWare interface, memory compiler, logic library and analog IP on advanced 16/14-nanometer (nm) and 10-nm FinFET process technologies. Synopsys is also hiring approximately 150 AMD IP R&D engineers and gains access to AMD's leading interface and foundation IP. AMD cost efficiencies from these agreements are contemplated in the company's 2014 quarterly non-GAAP operating expense guidance of approximately $420 million to $450 million.
4:30 pm Texas Instruments raises quarterly dividend to $0.34 from $0.30/sh (TXN) : Co announces it will raise its quarterly cash dividend by 13%, from $0.30 per share to $0.34 per share. The higher dividend will be payable November 17 to stockholders of record on October 31. New annual yield is 2.8%.
12:44 pm Semiconductor Hldrs ETF back hovering just under its session high (SMH) : The SMH set its session high (52.49) mid-morning and paused. In recent trade it has edged back near this level with its multi-year peak from early Sep slightly above at 52.55.
12:06 pm Notable movers of interest (:SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).
Large Cap Gainers
ERIC (13.24 +4.66%): Announced it will discontinue future development of modems and shift parts of resources in modems to radio network R&D to better capture growth opportunities in this area.
JD (29.44 +4.77%): Trading higher ahead of Alibaba's (BABA) IPO.
LVLT (47.77 +4.21%): Initiated with an Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt $55; upgraded to Buy at DA Davidson; tgt raised to $54 from $50.
Large Cap Losers
CLR (70.14 -7.49%): Guided FY14, FY15 at Analyst Day; 2015 projected y/y production growth of 26-32% over 2014 growth of +27-30%; appointed Jack Start to C.O.O. position and Board of Director.
YHOO (41.68 -2.13%): Volatility ahead of Alibaba's (BABA) IPO; a CNBC report indicated that BABA will price within its expected range of $66-68.
ENDP (66.93 -1.93%): Co may need to raise bid for Auxilium Pharma (AUXL), according to Barron's.
Mid Cap Gainers
PWE (7.64 +8.99%): Co provided results of internal review of accounting practices, filed restated financial statements and confirmed no impact on strategic direction; beat on EPS by CAD0.18, missed on revs; reaffirmed production guidance.
MSCI (48.55 +4.88%): Announced 9lan to return $1 bln to shareholders by 2016; initiated quarterly cash dividend of $0.18/share; increased existing share repurchase authorization to $850 mln from $300 mln, including a $300 mln accelerated share repurchase program.
MBFI (30.03 +3.37%): Upgraded to Buy at DA Davidson; tgt raised to $33 from $31.
Mid Cap Losers
RAD (5.51 -16.94%): Beat on EPS by $0.07, reported revs in-line; lowered FY15 EPS, rev guidance, narrowed comp guidance.
BTU (13.35 -5.92%): Downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman; tgt lowered to $13 from $15.
EPR (52.28 -4.3%): Priced offering of 3.2 mln common shares at $52.25/share.
11:45 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (130) outpacing new lows (103) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ABAX, ABT, ACT, ADM, AKAM, ALL, AMBA, AMCF, AMRI, APD, APH, ASML, BANF, BDL, BEP, BK, BKYF, BLT, BRCM, BRK.A, BRK.B, BURL, CALM, CFR, CHDN, CIO, CISAA, CNI, CNSL, CP, CSX, CVTI, ECL, EEP, EEQ, EMKR, ENPH, ENVE, EPIQ, ETP, EW, FCAP, FDP, FFIV, FHN, FLWS, FMNB, FUBC, GBX, GD, GS, H, HCBK, HDS, HIG, HII, IBKR, IDSY, IVZ, JNJ, KEP, KLAC, KNX, KSS, LAWS, LE, LLY, LNBB, LNG, LOGM, LOW, LRCX, MAG, MAR, MDT, MDVN, MHFI, MMC, MO, MS, MSCI, MTB, MTN, NDAQ, NFBK, NHTB, NOK, NTRS, NVGS, NVO, OEC, PBIP, PERY, PJC, PLT, PMCS, PRXL, PTCT, RAIL, RDY, RJF, RWC, RY, SAIA, SBFG, SCHW, SHPG, SHW, SMCI, SNY, STLD, SWIR, SWKS, TEP, TMH, TSQ, TTPH, TUES, UNP, VAC, VDSI, VFC, VIMC, VOYA, WCN, WFC, WLP, WMS, XRS, ZTS
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACI, ACPW, ACUR, ADGE, AGCO, AKO.B, ALSK, ALXA, ANGI, ANTH, ARQL, AWX, BAXS, BGC, BTU, CACH, CBMX, CDE, CIK, CLD, COCO, CPA, CRRS, CRVP, CTG, CTRL, CYTX, DAEG, DO, DRQ, EBF, ECTE, EDMC, EMXX, ESV, EVV, FF, FI, FMC, FREE, FVE, FWM, GEVO, GGB, GLF, GOMO, GTE, GTXI, HERO, IMN, IRET, ISTR, JIVE, KOSS, MBII, MCHX, MCP, MLAB, MVC, NCT, NE, NL, NXTD, OC, OI, OMEX, ONE, PACD, PGH, PGN, PHMD, PIR, PRSS, RDC, REE, RIG, RNF, RPRX, RTGN, RYAM, SCL, SDT, SGYP, SPKE, STXS, SYT, TAOM, TDW, TLM, TRMR, TRUP, UAN, ULBI, UQM, USU, UVV, VCYT, VHC, VNOM, WLT, WPG, WSO, XUE
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: DIA, GULF, IAI, IYF, IYG, IYH, OEF, PPH, SOXX, SPY, UYG, XLB, XLF, XLK, XLV, XRT
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: DJP, FXY, JJA, JJG, REMX, RJA, SIVR, SLV, SMN
Mantis Vision and Flextronics (FLEX) announced their collaboration and development of the OEM-ready 3D-enabled tablet specifically designed for Dynamic 3D Content Creation, called Aquila. ANADIGICS (ANAD) is shipping production volumes of its AWL9280 and AWL9580S WiFi front-end ICs to LG Electronics in support of the global launch of the LG G3 Beat.
There wasn't a lot of news of note out of the S&P 500 information technology sector on Thursday. Quite frankly, there didn't have to be as market participants basically let central banks do their bidding for them.
A day after the FOMC stayed on its easy policy course, the ECB launched the first phase of its targeted longer-term refinancing operations. The latter was met by some surprisingly tepid demand, which fueled a belief the ECB may ultimately be forced down the path to a full-fledged quantitative easing program.
Most major equity markets around the globe traded higher on Thursday, including the FTSE 100 (+0.6%) in the UK as participants seemed to be frontrunning the likelihood of Scotland voting down its independence movement. That confidence was on display in the British pound, which rose 0.7% against the dollar.
Results of the referendum will be announced later tonight, yet the perspective that "no" means yes for greater certainty in the capital markets acted as an additional underpinning factor for the US market.
The S&P 500 (+0.5%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.6%) both powered to record closing highs, bolstered by a strong showing from the financial (+1.1%) and health care (+0.8%) sectors, as well as the information technology sector (+0.7%).
It was nearly a clean sweep for the technology sector on Thursday. Only six of its 66 components ended the session with a loss and only one of those stocks declined more than 1.0%.
It just so happens that Yahoo (YHOO 42.08, -0.51) was the big loser, which was notable because it came on the eve of the Alibaba Group (BABA) IPO. Yahoo has a 23% ownership stake in BABA and will be monetizing a healthy portion of it when Alibaba comes public in what is expected to be the largest technology IPO ever.
Yahoo, of course, has been on a tear ever since Alibaba made it known it was road-show ready, so it is reasonable to think that Yahoo's weakness on Thursday was driven by an expectation that it could be subject to a sell-the-news response. Separately, there were reports highlighting a Form 4 filing disclosing an option exercise/stock sale by CEO Marissa Mayer, which is part of a pre-arranged trading plan.
The other sector components trading lower were Jabil Circuit (JBL 21.60, -0.04) on no news, Juniper Networks (JNPR 22.79, -0.03) on no news, Red Hat (RHT 60.64, -0.44), which said it is buying enterprise mobile application platform provider FeedHenry for $82 million, Xerox (XRX 13.88, -0.02), which was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Standpoint Research, and Western Union (WU 16.85, -0.10), which was dinged by news the SEC is probing its digital revenue reports.
Otherwise, that was it. Everything else was up.
The semiconductor stocks comprised one of the strongest areas, evidenced by the 1.5% gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Every index component traded higher with most gaining between 1% and 3%.
Postscript: After the close, Oracle (ORCL 41.55, +0.41) reported fiscal first quarter earnings of $0.62 per diluted share that were shy of analysts' expectations and announced that Larry Ellison will be stepping down as CEO. Mr. Ellison will hold the roles of Executive Chairman and CTO. Safra Catz and Mark Hurd were appointed to the position of CEO. Shares of ORCL were down 2% in after hours action.
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