From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : A late squeeze gave stocks a strong finish after they had spent most of the session in a rather narrow range that was largely underscored by thin trading. Though there were several trading catalysts to drive action this session, the overall mood among participants was subdued ahead of the August nonfarm jobs report.
A near 5% spike by China's stock market helped stir a positive bias ahead of the U.S. open. However, another dismal dose of jobless claims disrupted the strong tone. Initial claims for the week ending Aug. 29 totaled 570,000, down just 4,000 from the previous week, but slightly more than the 564,000 that were expected. The week-over-week increase took the 4-week moving average up to 571,300, leaving economists with the impression that the weekly trend isn't headed lower any time soon.
With the labor market mired in weakness, continuing claims jumped to 6.23 million from 6.14 million. Economists, on average, expected continuing claims to remain steady since many unemployed workers are losing their benefits.
Still, stocks were able to start the session in higher ground, but they quickly came under pressure ahead of the August ISM Services Index, which topped the consensus estimate of 48.0 by coming in at 48.4, a high for the year.
Shortly after the ISM's release the major indices dipped into the red, but managed to rebound after holding above the previous session's lows. Financials were a primary source of support as they led gains for the entire session -- financials finished 2.3% higher amid strong buying in diversified banks (+2.7%) and multiline insurers (+3.5%).
Retailers like Gap (GPS 21.18, +1.49), Limited (LTD 15.53, +0.81), and Target (TGT 47.07, +0.80) posted this morning negative same-store sales results for August. However, their results weren't as bad as feared, so investors responded by sending the group 2.0% higher.
Materials stocks (+1.6%) fared well as gold and silver extended their recent run amid technical buying and short covering. Gold prices made their way to fresh six month highs and just $0.50 short of the $1,000 per ounce mark before pulling back a bit. Still, gold prices settled at $997.70 per ounce, up nearly 2%. That comes on the back of a 2.3% breakout in the previous session. Silver fared even better. Contract prices for the precious metal registered fresh 52-week highs of $16.31 per ounce and held steady into the close. Silver finished at $16.29 per ounce, up 6%.
Friday's attention will be focused on the August nonfarm payrolls report, which is due ahead of tomorrow's opening bell, since many economists believe that it is a telling sign of the economy's health.DJ30 +63.94 NASDAQ +16.13 NQ100 +0.7% R2K +1.2% SP400 +1.4% SP500 +8.49 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1781/1.87 bln/854 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2325/1.16 bln/688
11:30AM First Solar announces that Robert Gillette has been appointed chief executive officer, succeeding Mike Ahearn (FSLR) 119.54 +1.22 :
7:04AM Ciena beats by $0.08, beats on revs; sees Q4 revs flat sequentially, in-line with consensus (CIEN) 12.27 : Reports Q3 (Jul) loss of $0.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.13); revenues fell 34.9% year/year to $164.8 mln vs the $152.6 mln consensus. Adjusted gross margin was 46%. "Industry sentiment has improved somewhat over the first half of the calendar year as a result of what seems to be a stabilizing macro environment combined with continued pressure on service providers to increase network capacity and deliver more services," said Smith. "While we continue to believe our network vision and portfolio align well with our customers' current and future business priorities, customers in general continue to spend cautiously. As result, we expect our fiscal fourth quarter revenue will be roughly flat with our fiscal third quarter level" (this is in-line rev guidance, as consensus calls for Q4 revs of $163.8 mln vs Q3 revs of $164.8).
4:46AM Solarfun Power secures RMB400 mln credit facility with Bank of Shanghai (SOLF) 4.79 :
3:42AM Tower Semiconductor raises $15.8 mln from institutional investors (TSEM) 0.96 : Co announces it has received and accepted orders from Israeli institutional investors of approx $15.8 mln for cash investment in the co's equity. In consideration for this cash investment, TSEN has committed to issue to the investors 15.8 mln ordinary shares, based on a price of NIS 3.80 (approx $1.00) per share as well as warrants to purchase 3.95 mln ordinary shares.
09:28 am Cisco Systems tgt raised to $27 at RBC Capital Mkts on growth initiatives: . RBC Capital Mkts notes Cisco is turning up the offensive as it focuses to reclaim lost market share and grow its addressable market. Add these initiatives to a recovering enterprise market and investors may expand Cisco's multiple. The downturn may be behind us and Cisco is opportunistically adding headcount to target rich verticals such as education, healthcare and public safety while proactively adjusting its channel programs to lock in its loyal customer base. For planning, Cisco is not factoring in any service provider spending flush late this year, implying that any incremental spend by AT&T, Verizon, or others may prove to be upside to Cisco's Jan. qtr. RBC raises its CSCO tgt to $27 from $25.
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