From Briefing.com: The markets closed the week with gains of about 3.3% (S&P), 2.6% (Nasdaq) and 3.7% (Dow). Friday trading closed as all three major US indices posted gains across the board. The Nasdaq Composite lead, up 19.68 points (+0.41%) to 4830.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 33.74 points (+0.20%) to 17084.49, and the S&P 500 added 1.46 points (+0.07%) today to end 2014.89.
The most notable news of the day came from Software (IGV 99.87, +1.15 +1.16%) firm SolarWinds (SWI 47.49, +5.61 +13.40%). Today, the company announced the Board of Directors has commenced a review of the company's strategic alternatives. Management noted the possibility of a sale or other form of business combination as possible outcomes.
Semis (SMH 52.26, -0.61) were weak on the session, posting losses of 1.15% on Friday. Chief among the weakness were names like MU -2.99%, ON -2.91%, SNDK -2.73%, TER -2.20%, ADI -1.78%, MXIM -1.61%, LLTC -1.39%, TSM -1.35%, TXN -1.26%. News items from Nvidia (NVDA 26.07, -0.10 -0.38%) and Altera (ALTR 52.49, +0.77 +1.49%) were the only indications, besides the continued sentiment that weakness among semi names tied to weakness in PCs has not relented, that the sector was in for a hurting today. NVDA shares saw some weakness on the session as the company reportedly received an unfavorable patent ruling. As for ALTR, strength on the session was in reaction to a Reuters article discussing plans by Intel (INTC 32.14, -0.38 -1.17%) to get EU approval for the ALTR M&A deal was apparently taken well by investors as it may show signs of the 'next step' toward the deal completion.
For its part, the S&P 500 Information Technology (696.86, +3.54 +0.51%) sector posted decent gains on Friday. The index closed near session highs, and spent only a brief moment in the red today. Names which outperformed, taking the index higher were ADSK +9.00%, NTAP +2.76%, EMC +2.50%, AAPL +2.37%, CTXS +1.99%, ADBE +1.90%, RHT +1.78%.
Other notable news items among sector components:
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 29.30, +0.12 +0.41%) announced that the SEC has declared effective the Registration Statement in connection with the separation of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), which is expected to occur on Nov. 1, 2015.
Citrix Systems (CTXS 76.02, +1.48 +1.99%) shares were active today following a Bloomberg article which highlighted the company is looking to spin off its GoToMeeting unit, as opposed to pursuing a complete sale.
Apple (AAPL 112.09, +2.59 +2.37%) shares were active today as a WSJ Digits article highlighted analyst comments that Mac sales have slowed to 2-year lows.
Autodesk (ADSK 51.57, +4.26 +9.00%) shares were trading notably higher today as the company was scheduled to meet with JP Morgan.
Nvidia (NVDA) shares were notably active today as the company received an apparent unfavorable patent ruling against Qualcomm (QCOM 57.78, +0.12 +0.21%) and Samsung (SSNLF 1000 flat).
Elsewhere in the technology space:
LogMeIn (LOGM 68.00, -3.20 -4.49%) has agreed to acquire LastPass, a single-sign-on and password management service for $110 million.
Smart Tech (SMT 0.48, -0.19 -28.36%) provided an update on its financial outlook for the rest of FY16, and announced its intent to embark on a strategic review. As such, the company noted that, 'These actions are anticipated to result in the company having sufficient liquidity and cash flow neutrality for fiscal year 2017.' Options of said review include: 'the sale of the Company or other business combination; the recapitalization of the Company; or continuing to execute the current business model.'
Daegis (DAEG 0.80, +0.39 +96.24%) announced Open Text (OTEX 46.94, +0.56 +1.21%) will acquire DAEG for $0.82 per share, for a total consideration of about $13.5 million in cash. The company will fund the deal with cash on hand.
Professional Delivery Network (IPDN 0.57, +0.02 +3.65%) announced a $1.2 million share buyback program scheduled to begin in 2016.
TripAdvisor (TRIP 67.98, -1.60 -2.30%) announced Ernst Teunissen was appointed CFO effective November 9th.
Cimpress (CMPR 81.99, -3.74 -4.36%) announced the promotion of Sean Quinn to SVP and CFO effective October 26, 2015.
Superconductor (SCON 0.28, -0.13 -32.26%) announced a $9.5 million public offering of common stock at $0.35 per share.
Newtech (NEWT 16.95, -0.26 -1.51%) announced it has priced a public offering of 2 million shares at a price of $16.50 per share.
Itron (ITRI 34.97, -0.08 -0.23%) announced Tom Deitrich joined as EVP and COO effective on Oct. 10, 2015.
RigNet (RNET 31.11, +0.73 +2.40%) announced its RigNet TSI business was awarded a multi-million dollar contract to deliver communications systems and infrastructure for a high-voltage transmission platform in an offshore wind farm located in the German sector of the North Sea.
Analyst actions:
FEYE was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Gabelli & Co,
CSLT was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at First Analysis Sec,
RCI was upgraded to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform at CIBC;
FEYE was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Dougherty & Company,
GPN was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies,
PLUS was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sidoti,
SLH was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Weekly Recap - Week ending 09-Oct-15
Dow +33.74 at 17084.49, Nasdaq +19.68 at 4830.47, S&P +1.46 at 2014.89
The stock market ended a strong week on a subdued note. The S&P 500 added 0.1% after spending the day in a 13-point range while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) outperformed. For the week, the benchmark index climbed 3.3% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.6%.
The Friday session made for a quiet finish to a week that saw all ten sectors register gains. The S&P 500 began the trading day above its flat line, but slipped into the red around midday. The index traded just below its unchanged level into the afternoon, but turned green during the final hour.
With the benchmark index settling near its flat line, five sectors registered gains while the other five ended lower. Most notably, energy (-0.7%) and financials (-0.6%) spent the day below their flat lines, which prevented the market from stretching its legs.
Even though the energy sector lost 0.7% on Friday, the group still gained 7.8% for the week, finishing well ahead of its peers. To little surprise, the move was supported by strength in crude oil futures as the energy component climbed 0.4% to $49.67/bbl. For the week, WTI crude soared 9.1% to mid-July levels.
On the flip side, the technology sector (+0.5%) finished in the lead, giving a boost to the Nasdaq Composite. Top-weighted sector components like Apple (AAPL 112.09, +2.59), Alphabet (GOOGL 671.24, +4.24), Facebook (FB 93.24, +0.77), and Oracle (ORCL 38.10, +0.36) gained between 0.6% and 2.4% while high-beta chipmakers underperformed with the PHLX Semiconductor Index falling 0.8%. That being said, the SOX Index gained 3.5% for the week.
Elsewhere, the health care sector (+0.4%) settled just behind technology to lock in a weekly gain of 0.3%. The influential group outperformed on Friday, but struggled earlier in the week due to continued volatility in biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 308.45, +1.25) climbed 0.4% on Friday, but still lost 2.2% for the week.
Also of note, the industrial sector (+0.3%) finished among the leaders thanks to relative strength among transport stocks. The Dow Jones Transportation Average rallied 0.8%, extending its weekly gain to 4.8%. Only five DJTA components ended in the green while airlines saw broad strength with United Continental (UAL 55.71, +3.45) soaring 6.6% after reporting a 1.4% year-over-year increase in September consolidated traffic.
Similar to stocks, Treasuries spent the day inside narrow ranges, posting slim gains, with the 10-yr yield slipping one basis point to 2.10%.
Economic data was limited to Import/Export Prices and Wholesale Inventories:
Export prices, excluding agriculture, decreased 0.6% in September after decreasing 1.3% in the prior reading
Excluding oil, import prices decreased 0.3%, which followed last month's decrease of 0.4%
Wholesale inventories increased 0.1% in August after a downwardly revised 0.3% decline (from -0.1%) while the Briefing.com consensus expected no change
Durable wholesale inventories increased 0.3% after declining 0.1% in July with a 0.3% decline in automotive inventories offsetting a 0.9% increase in electrical inventories and a 0.5% increase in machinery inventories
Nondurable wholesale inventories declined 0.2% in August after declining 0.5% in July with lower oil prices helping reduce petroleum inventories (-1.4%) for the second month in a row. Meanwhile, farm product inventories declined 3.1% after declining 1.2% in July
Monday's session will be free of economic data.
Week in Review: Cyclical Sectors Lead Stocks Higher
The stock market enjoyed an upbeat start to the trading week with the S&P 500 returning near its rebound high from the middle of September. The benchmark index climbed 1.8% while the Nasdaq Composite (+1.6%) followed not far behind. The Monday buying frenzy was not fueled by quarterly earnings considering the first busy portion of the reporting period was still a couple weeks away. Instead, the advance was a continuation of the Friday rally, which was predicated on the belief that a disappointing September Nonfarm Payrolls report would prevent the Federal Reserve from raising rates at the October meeting. In that same vein, the bad-is-good dynamic appeared to be on display overseas as Japan's Nikkei (+1.6%), Germany's DAX (+2.7%), and France's CAC (+3.5%) vaulted higher even though Services PMI readings in Japan (51.4; prior 53.7) and the eurozone (53.7; expected 54.0) disappointed.
The market endured a shaky session on Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) eking out a slim gain while the S&P 500 (-0.4%) and Nasdaq Composite (-0.7%) underperformed throughout the day. For the second day in a row, the U.S. trading day began after the release of some disappointing economic data overseas. This time, it was Germany's Factory Orders report for August, which showed a 1.8% decline while the market had expected an increase of 0.5%. That being said, European equities were able to register gains after erasing their early losses, but the strength did not carry over the U.S. session as continued weakness in the biotech space kept the broader market under pressure. Specifically, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 301.91, -11.29) lost 3.6% after surrendering 0.7% on Monday. On a related note, the health care sector tumbled 2.3% while most other influential sectors also struggled.
The Wednesday session ended on a higher note with the S&P 500 climbing 0.8% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%) settled a bit ahead despite showing relative weakness in the early going. Overall, the midweek affair was very quiet, but there was some volatility present in the market as stocks surrendered their opening gains going into the afternoon, but returned into the middle of their ranges by the closing bell. It is worth noting that the pullback from opening highs occurred after the S&P 500 made a brief appearance above its 50-day moving average (1,997), which also served as resistance during afternoon action. Commodity-sensitive energy (+1.3%) and materials (+1.3%) paced the opening move higher, but both sectors surrendered a portion of their gains as the session wore on. The energy sector was up nearly 2.5% at the start, but retreated from its high as crude oil erased its intraday gain. The energy component settled lower by 1.5% at $47.81/bbl after sliding from its intraday high in reaction to the latest Energy Information Administration's inventory report, which showed a 3.07 million barrel build.
Thursday ended on an upbeat note after equities erased their opening losses. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) underperformed throughout the day. Equity indices struggled at the start of the trading day, responding to a mixed overnight session that featured losses among most Asian indices while European stocks fought to end the day with modest gains. The advance in Europe followed the release of the latest policy meeting minutes from the European Central Bank, which stressed that a lot more stimulus still has to work its way through the financial system. Once the U.S. session got going, stocks spent the first half in the red as heavily-weighted technology (+0.5%) and health care (+0.4%) struggled; however, the two sectors were lifted off their lows during afternoon action as the S&P 500 climbed above its 50-day moving average (1,995). The afternoon rebound accelerated after the release of the September FOMC minutes, which revealed that only one Committee member believed that economic conditions do not warrant a rate hike while other members believed that a rate hike will be appropriate before the end of 2015. Despite the majority view regarding the timing of the first rate hike, several members expressed concern over downside risks to inflation.
Index Started Week Ended Week Change % Change YTD %
DJIA 16472.37 17084.49 612.12 3.7 -4.1
Nasdaq 4707.77 4830.47 122.70 2.6 2.0
S&P 500 1951.36 2014.89 63.53 3.3 -2.1
Russell 2000 1114.12 1165.36 51.24 4.6 -3.3
3:30 pm Earnings Preview for the week of October 12 - 16 (:SUMRX) :
Of the companies reporting earnings for the week of October 12 - 16 some of the bigger names include:
Monday:
Pre Market - INFY
Tuesday:
Pre Market - JNJ, ASML, FAST, PVTB, DFRG
After Hours - JPM, INTC, CSX, HAWK, LLTC, ADTN, VOXX, OZRK, IDT
Wednesday:
Pre Market - WFC, BAC, DAL, PNC, BLK, CBSH, LRN
After Hours - NFLX, UFPI, XLNX, WTFC, CNS, DRWI, SURG
Thursday:
Pre Market - TSM, UNH, C, GS, PM, USB, PPG, BBT, BX, KEY, FRC, VAC, FCS, WGO, MTG, WBS, PSG, WNS, LNN, HOMB, NORD
After Hours - SLB, MAT, AMD, PBCT, ASB, MBFI, WAL, WDFC, EGP, COBZ
Friday:
Pre Market - GE, HON, PGR, GWW, SYF, STI, CMA, KSU, FHN, SYRG
3:23 pm Agilent subsidiary Dako announces FDA approval for its test to identify PD-L1 expression levels in non-small cell lung cancer tumor cells, for patients with non-squamous NSCLC (A) : Co announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new test that can identify PD-L1 expression levels on the surface of non-small cell lung cancer tumor cells and provide information on the survival benefit with OPDIVO (nivolumab) for patients with non-squamous NSCLC. Co developed the diagnostic through a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)
11:38 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (112) outpacing new lows (29) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAN, ACN, ACXM, AEPI, AIZ, ALTR, AMRK, AMWD, ARTNA, ATNI, ATO, ATR, AZZ, BBCN, BGG, BNCL, BOFI, BRSS, BWXT, BZC, CACB, CAM, CLX, CSH, CTAS, CTS, DPS, EEFT, EGBN, EXPO, FBC, FCVA, FFG, FGL, FISV, FIZZ, FLO, FLTX, FONR, G, GPN, GSBC, HAWK, HCSG, HELE, HOMB, HPY, HRL, IM, JE, JJSF, JKHY, JMG, K, KRNY, LANC, LG, LGIH, LMT, LNCE, MATX, MNRO, MO, MPG, MRGE, MSEX, MTRX, MXL, NAVG, NCI, NEWR, NKSH, NOC, NP, NSA, NVX, OGS, OSIS, PAC, PFS, PGR, PNY, POOL, PRK, PRMW, PULB, QTS, RAI, RKUS, RNST, SBUX, SIGI, SNX, SPSC, STC, STZ, SYKE, TBNK, TFSL, TNK, TSN, TTC, UBSH, UFPT, UVE, VNTV, VRSN, VSAT, VVI, WCN, WDFC, Z
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ADAP, ANGO, BDE, BKE, CDZI, COO, ESSX, FEIM, FREE, FSI, GPS, ISH, LDRH, LITE, MGLN, NVET, NVLS, OIIM, QDEL, RT, SCON, SIEN, SMRT, SMT, SPNC, TAS, TNDM, TPI, WILC
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: none
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