From Briefing.com: The markets ended the week mixed. Friday trading closed with the three major indices split; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was the only outperformer as the index added 113.28 points (+0.70%) to close at 16314.60. The Nasdaq Composite was the notable laggard on Friday, ending down 47.98 points (-1.01%) to 4686.50. The S&P 500 finished little changed, albeit down 0.90 points (-0.05%) to 1931.34. Equities traded higher at the start, breaking the mold of three straight days of losses, but those gains did not hold.
In the overnight session, European indices in France, Germany and the UK gained between 2.6% and 3.0% respectively. The overseas gains led into a positive open in US equities, as all three major indices began the session higher. The markets ended the session split, following comments made by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who reiterated the Federal Reserve's intention to begin raising rates before the end of 2015.
The Technology (XLK 39.81, -0.07 -0.18%) sector traded about on the middle rung with Financials (XLF 22.81, +0.33 +1.47%) and Utilities (XLU 42.73, +0.41 +0.97%) outperforming, relatively. Cisco (CSCO 26.02, +0.61 +2.42%) was a large-cap name that outperformed on the session, helping the broader sector outperform. The communications company continued strength from yesterday's announcement of a JV in China.
Weakness today stemmed from the Internet (FDN 67.47, -0.81 -1.19%) sector which hovered near flat lines, only to trade well lower as the broader market collapsed in the last hour and a half of trading. Losses in the sector were led by names like TRUE -7.44%, BV -5.65%, ELNK -5.35%, VHC -5.10%, TWTR -4.92%, MDRX -4.27%, CSOD -3.51%, GRPN -2.97%.
In Friday trade, the S&P 500 Information Technology sector (668.18, -1.14 -0.17%) finished a turbulent session slightly under flat lines. The sector traded most of the day in the green, only to shed most of those gains in the final hour and a half of trading as the broader market sold off. Holding the sector below flat lines today were large cap names like MU -2.80%, STX -2.74%, GOOGL -2.25%, GOOG -2.21%, FB -1.74%, CTXS -1.44%, WDC -1.30%, EBAY -1.09%, HPQ -0.99%.
Other notable news items among sector components:
Reliance will connect the smart meters, streetlights and distribution automation equipment in Mumbai, using Intel (INTC 28.81, +0.33 +1.16%) IOT Gateways and Connode's IPv6 based wireless mesh solution, Connode 4. This will be the first roll-out in India of smart meters fully compliant to the communication standards recently adopted in the machine-to-machine roadmap by the government of India.
Apple (AAPL 114.71, -0.29 -0.25%) iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models hit retail stores today.
CSC (CSC 61.31, +0.81 +1.36%) announced it closed the acquisition of Fixnetix. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Elsewhere in the technology space:
Gartner (IT 86.31, +0.27 +0.31%) acquired Capterra, a web service which connects buyers and sellers of software. Financial terms of said deal were not disclosed.
Pioneer Power Solutions (PPSI 3.80, -1.20 -24.00%) priced its 1.125 million share offering of common stock at $4.00 per share.
Digital Ally (DGLY 6.40, -0.04 -0.62%) announced several initial package orders for its FirstVu HD body-worn cameras in-car Audio/Video Systems.
Marvell (MRVL 9.33, +0.31 +3.38%) announced restructuring of its mobile platform business. The company expects the initiative to result in annualized operating expense savings in the range of $170-220 million.
Coherent (COHR 54.93, -0.24 -0.44%) announced CFO Helene Simonet will retire effective February 1.
Advanced Semi (ASX 5.14, +0.01 +0.29%) reiterated its view on the proposed share exchange between
Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL 5.99, +0.14 +2.39%) and Hon Hai Precision (FXCNY). The company believes the distribution would be dilutive for SPIL's shareholders.
2U (QTWO 23.85, -2.13 -8.20%) priced its offering of 3.5 million shares of its common stock by it and its selling shareholders at $34.00 per share.
Sysorex Global (SYRX 1.08, -0.52 -32.50%) announced a public offering of 5.25 million shares of common stock at a price of $1.00 per share.
Paylocity (PCTY 29.75, -0.89 -2.90%) priced 3.74 million shares of common stock in the offering announced earlier by a selling shareholder at $29.75 per share.
Verizon (VZ 44.22, +0.13 +0.29%) announced a new iPhone upgrade plan. Customers who purchased either the new iPHone 6S or 6S Plus models are eligible to get a new phone every year.
Leidos (LDOS 42.19, +0.41 +0.98%) was awarded a $50 million subcontract by International SOS Government Services, to provide beneficiary education and enrollment support services for the TRICARE Overseas Program.
Liquid Holdings Group (LIQD 0.07, -0.00 -5.33%) received a delisting notice from Nasdaq, and the company has until September 28 to file an appeal.
TeleNav (TNAV 8.04, +0.04 +0.50%) reached an agreement with 9.1% shareholder Nokomis Capital pursuant to which Richard Todaro was appointed to the Board.
Notable technology companies which reported quarterly results:
Jabil Circuit (JBL 21.88, +2.38 +12.21%) reported Q4 EPS and revenues which beat expectations. The company saw EPS of $0.53 on revenues of $4.68 billion. The company also issued upside guidance for Q1 EPS of $0.72-0.88 on revenues of $5.1-5.3 billion.
BlackBerry (BBRY 6.49, -0.54 -7.68%) reported Q2 EPS and revenues which were worse than anticipated. BBRY posted a Q2 EPS loss of $0.13 on revenues of $490 million. The company noted it sees profitability by Q4.
Analyst actions:
MRVL was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Craig Hallum,
BOX was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity,
AMAT and LRCX were upgraded to Buy from Outperform at Credit Agricole,
KLAC was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at Credit Agricole,
ERIC was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Liberum,
INTC was upgraded to Mkt Perform from Mkt Underperform at JMP Securities,
CYBR was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura;
SLAB and SMTC were downgraded to Neutral from Buy at MKM Partners,
INAP was downgraded at Wells Fargo, Oppenheimer and DA Davidson,
SCON was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann,
FFIV was downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Weekly Recap - Week ending 25-Sep-15Dow +113.35 at 16314.67, Nasdaq -47.98 at 4686.49, S&P -0.90 at 1931.35
The stock market finished a down week on a sloppy note with the S&P 500 (-0.1%) surrendering a solid intraday gain during the final two hours of action to end flat. The benchmark index locked in a weekly decline of 1.4% while the Nasdaq Composite (-1.0%) underperformed, ending the week lower by 2.9%. For its part, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.7%) ended Friday in the green as blue chips avoided volatility in the biotech space.
Equity indices spiked out of the gate in response to early morning strength in the futures market, which coincided with solid gains in Europe. To that point equity indices in France, Germany, and the UK rebounded after yesterday's struggles, gaining between 2.6% and 3.0% with automakers taking part in the rally. That rally lifted U.S. equity futures, but once the U.S. session began, the S&P 500 nestled into seven-point range that held into the afternoon.
The S&P 500 drifted near its high through the morning, supported by the financial sector (+1.5%) in particular. That heavily-weighted group held the lead after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen spoke last evening, reminding that the Fed is still intent on raising rates by year's end. Meanwhile, most other sectors also held solid intraday gains, but a late afternoon dive in the biotech industry group proved too large to be ignored by the market.
Interestingly, the Nasdaq Composite hinted at the afternoon weakness, steadily marching lower from its opening high throughout the day. Large cap biotechnology listings like Amgen (AMGN 138.60, -4.91), Celgene (CELG 108.45, -5.43), Gilead Sciences (GILD 100.14, -2.37), and Regeneron (REGN 491.43, -30.57) lost between 2.3% and 5.9% while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 310.24, -15.98) declined through the morning, accelerating its retreat into the afternoon to end lower by 4.9% after being down more than 6.0%.
For the week, the ETF sank 13.0%, suffering from a one-two punch that started with Monday's remarks from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said she is interested in introducing price controls into the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, yesterday's reminder from Fed Chair Yellen about the potential rate hike by year's end may have also factored into the selling considering the industry has benefited greatly from rock-bottom rates. The weakness in biotechnology ensured a sharply lower finish for the health care sector (-2.9%), which surrendered nearly 6.0% for the week.
Elsewhere, the consumer discretionary sector (unch) displayed relative strength intraday, but fell victim to the afternoon selling, ending in-line with the market. That masked an 8.9% surge in the shares of Nike (NKE 125.00, +10.21) after the athletic apparel giant cruised past earnings/revenue estimates and reported higher than expected futures orders.
Interestingly, the afternoon dive in equities had essentially no impact on Treasuries as 10-yr note held a bit above its morning low into the close with its yield rising four basis points to 2.17%.
Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 23.26, -0.21) started the day with a two-point loss, but inched higher through the morning, indicating some investors used the early strength to increase their hedges. The VIX then accelerated its climb during the afternoon to end little changed as the slide in the S&P 500 invited wholesale demand for downside protection.
Today's affair invited above-average volume with more than XXX million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
Economic data was limited to the third revision of Q2 GDP and the Michigan Sentiment Index:
Second quarter GDP growth was revised up to 3.9% in the third estimate from 3.7% while the Briefing.com consensus expected the reading to remain at 3.7%
GDP increased 0.6% in Q1 2015
Real final sales were revised up to 3.9% from 3.5%, representing the biggest quarterly gain since a 4.3% increase in Q3 2014
Overall, the revisions in the third estimate were strong across the board. The only negative contributions came from inventories and net exports while all of the other sectors contributed more positively to growth in the third estimate
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index was revised up to 87.2 in the final September reading from 85.7 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a revision up to 87.0
The Expectations Index was revised up to 78.2 from 76.4, but is still down from 83.4 in August
The Current Conditions Index was revised up to 101.2 from 100.3, but remains down from 105.1 in August
On Monday, August Personal Income, Personal Spending and Core PCE data will be released at 8:30 ET while August Pending Home Sales will be announced at 10:00 ET.
Week in Review: Roller-coaster Ride Continues
The stock market began the week on a higher note despite seeing some intraday volatility. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% while the Nasdaq Composite underperformed throughout the day, but was able to settle just above its flat line. Equity indices rallied out of the gate with the advance continuing through the first hour of action. All ten sectors took part in the opening move higher, but health care was quick to surrender its gain. The countercyclical group ended lower by 1.4% while biotechnology struggled mightily, sending the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 340.78, -15.98) lower by 4.5%. The biotechnology ETF lagged from the get-go, but the group accelerated its decline after presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sent out a tweet saying she is ready to unveil a plan that would target price gouging among specialty drug makers. Monday's selling dropped IBB below its 200-day moving average (347.36) to levels last seen at the start of September.
The market endured a rough trading day on Tuesday with the S&P 500 surrendering 1.2% while the Nasdaq Composite (-1.5%) underperformed. Equities spent the duration of the session in the red after gapping lower at the start. The opening stumble occurred in response to continued concerns about China's economic growth, which was manifested through weakness in commodity prices. Furthermore, European automakers struggled with Volkswagen plunging 19.8% to extend this week's loss to 34.7% after announcing the establishment of a EUR6.50 billion reserve in anticipation of costs associated with the Department of Justice probe into the company's diesel engines. European markets registered losses across the board with Germany's DAX tumbling 3.8%. Once the opening bell rang on Wall Street, the S&P 500 surrendered more than 15 points in short order and gave up another 20 into the afternoon. The index recovered about ten points during the final hour, but all ten sectors ended the day with losses.
The major averages registered their second consecutive retreat on Wednesday with the S&P 500 shedding 0.2% while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%) ended just ahead. Overall, the midweek session was a choppy affair that saw the benchmark index spend some time on both sides of its flat line. That trading dynamic resulted from mixed performance among the ten sectors as three top-weighted groups-technology (+0.2%), financials (+0.1%), and health care (-0.1%)-displayed flashes of intraday strength while most of the remaining sectors struggled. Notably, commodity-sensitive energy (-1.4%) and materials (-2.1%) finished at the bottom of the leaderboard while the industrial sector (-0.7%) also kept the market under pressure. Altogether, the three sectors responded negatively to the overnight release of China's preliminary September Caixin Manufacturing PMI, which fell to a 6.5-year low of 47.0 from 47.3 (expected 47.5).
Thursday ended on a modestly lower note after equity indices erased the bulk of their early losses. The S&P 500 settled lower by 0.3% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.5%) and Nasdaq Composite (-0.4%) underperformed. The final standing represented a notable shift from the morning dynamic that saw equity indices gap down at the start amid selling in Europe. To that point, markets in France and Germany both lost near 2.0% apiece with automakers facing continued pressure. BMW was among the weakest performers in Germany, falling 5.2%, with company executives pushing back against insinuations that the company may have taken a page out of Volkswagen's playbook, saying they are ready to provide vehicles for testing on demand. To be sure, the losses among automakers were not the culprit behind the slide in Europe, but they represented another source of pressure in market that has been wrestling with persistent growth concerns surrounding China. Those concerns were echoed by Caterpillar (CAT 65.80, -4.40) as the manufacturer of heavy machinery lowered its guidance and announced plans to reduce its workforce by 4,000 to 5,000 people by the end of next year. Shares of CAT settled lower by 6.3%, keeping the industrial sector (-0.7%) among the laggards throughout the day.
Index Started Week Ended Week Change % Change YTD %
DJIA 16384.79 16314.67 -70.12 -0.4 -8.5
Nasdaq 4827.23 4686.50 -140.73 -2.9 -1.0
S&P 500 1958.08 1931.34 -26.74 -1.4 -6.2
Russell 2000 1163.37 1122.79 -40.58 -3.5 -6.8
4:03 pm Alpha and Omega Semi announces preliminary agreement with the state authority of Chongqing, China, to form a joint venture for a new power semiconductor manufacturing facility (AOSL) : Co announces it has entered into a preliminary agreement with the state authority of Chongqing, China, to form a joint venture for a new state-of-the-art power semiconductor manufacturing facility in the Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing. Under the proposed agreement, the initial capitalization of the joint venture is expected to be approximately $300 million. The Chongqing authority would own 49% of the venture's equity and invest in cash. AOS would own 51% of the equity and contribute primarily its existing assembly and testing equipment as well as certain intellectual property related to the operation of the facility.
3:33 pm Earnings Preview for the week of September 28 - October 2 (:SUMRX) :
Of the companies reporting earnings for the week of September 28 - October 2 some of the bigger names include:
Monday:
Pre Market - CALM, MTN
After Hours - SNX, CMTL
Tuesday:
Pre Market - IHS, FGP, AZZ, CMN
After Hours - COST, DMND, LNDC, CUDA
Wednesday:
Pre Market - PAYX
Thursday:
Pre Market - MKC
After Hours - MU, PRGS, CAMP
11:51 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (138) outpacing new highs (48) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ADEP, AF, AMRK, AMSG, ARTNA, ATVI, AWR, AZO, BNCL, CBNJ, CENT, CENTA, COKE, CSFL, CUBE, DGII, DMND, EDAP, EEFT, EFSC, ENVI, EXLS, FBC, FDP, FL, FLO, FNFG, HFWA, HTBK, KALU, LION, LNCE, LPSB, MATR, MB, MSEX, NKE, NKSH, NVDA, PFBC, PRMW, PULB, SGBK, SIGI, SLP, STRP, TOWN, UHAL
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACW, AHGP, AHPI, AIR, AVL, AXAS, BBG, BCEI, BETR, BKD, BKE, BRS, CAS, CATB, CCCR, CETC, CFX, CGI, CHEF, CIE, CNV, CNX, CPA, CPHR, CRCM, CRR, CYAD, DCIX, DCO, DDC, DO, DRYS, DWSN, DXM, ECHO, ECR, EMCB, EMES, EXAM, FARO, FINL, FLDM, FMSA, FREE, FSTR, FUEL, GIGA, GIGM, GKOS, GNK, HBIO, HCLP, HLX, HOS, HTWR, HURC, HWCC, ICL, INAP, IPHS, JPEP, KFS, KVHI, LF, LORL, LWAY, LXU, MBUU, MCFT, MG, MHE, MHGC, MHR, MIXT, MPEL, MT, MUR, MVC, NES, NEWP, NEWS, NFG, NSPH, NYLD, NYLD.A, OMED, OREX, ORIG, OTIV, PACD, PCRX, PED, PERF, PGN, PICO, PIR, PPSI, PRKR, PVA, QIWI, RADA, RBC, RBCN, RKDA, RLOC, SBH, SCHN, SDRL, SGNL, SGOC, SINO, SLCA, SMTC, STKL, SWFT, SXC, TEX, THRX, THST, TIGR, TKR, TPLM, TRCO, TRIB, TRMR, TWI, TWIN, UTIW, VJET, VMI, VPCO, VRNT, WDR, WGA, WYNN, XPO, YGE, ZINC
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: none
MU (14.91 -2.8%): Price target lowered to $17 from $19 at Wedbush.
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