AI
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 9:56:57 PM
Market Update 110125
4:30 pm : Listless action left stocks to slide on a couple of occasions during the day, but buyers eventually bought the dip to take stocks back to the neutral line for a flat finish.
Stocks started the session on weak footing following mixed action overseas. Asia's major averages were split as China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped, but Japan's Nikkei climbed sharply amid news that the Bank of Japan increased its GDP forecast to 3.3% from 2.1% and left its key rate at 0.1%. Europe's bourses moved lower after it was learned that United Kingdom fourth quarter GDP fell 0.5%. There was also concern about the capital health of Spain's banks.
Earnings were generally solid, but they did nothing to drive the broader market. That's mostly because the market has come to expect strong results following its ascent in recent months -- the Dow remains near its best level in two years, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both set their two-year highs last week.
The Consumer Confidence Index for January offered some support to stocks in early trade. It came in at an eight-month high of 60.6, which was much better than the 53.5 Briefing.com consensus. Excitement over the consumer confidence reading helped the broad market recover from an opening slip, but stocks were unable turn positive. Failure to find higher ground invited selling pressure, which kept stocks in the red almost all afternoon and the S&P 500 down as much as 0.8%.
Buyers finally surfaced in the final hour. The bid they placed was broad and strong enough for the major averages to push back to the flat line. Energy stocks and financial stocks had been heavy drags on the broader market for most of the afternoon. Both sectors were down in excess of 1% at their session lows, but each made a nice move into the close.
Energy settled a tame 0.3% lower for the session. Baker Hughes (BHI 62.32, +2.95) was one of its best performers, thanks to an upside earnings surprise for its latest quarter. Many other sector members were hurt by concerns related to another drop in oil prices, which recorded their lowest close in a month by dropping 1.9% to $86.19 per barrel.
Financials ended the day down just 0.2%. Dow component American Express (AXP 44.80, -0.99) was a drag after its in-line results failed to inspire investors. Fellow Dow component Travelers (TRV 56.23, +0.61) displayed individual strength following news of an upside earnings surprise.
Telecom ended the day as the best performing sector. It advanced 1.0% amid strength in Dow component Verizon (VZ 35.79, +0.55), which actually came short of the consensus earnings estimate.
Better-than-expected earnings from fellow blue chips Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 61.08, -1.02) and 3M (MMM 88.50, -1.82) were overshadowed by forecasts that were either outright disappointing or essentially lackluster.
Treasuries caught a nice bid. Most of their bounce followed an auction of 2-year Treasury Notes. The auction drew a bid-to-cover of 3.47, dollar demand of $121.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 27.0%. For comparison, the average of the three previous auctions gives a bid-to-cover of 3.61, dollar demand of $126.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation of 33.6%. The 2-year Note saw its yield move below 0.58% and the benchmark 10-year Note saw its yield slide just under 3.33%.
Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.0%), Tech (+0.4%), Consumer Staples (+0.2%), Materials (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-0.3%), Financials (-0.2%), Industrials (-0.2%), Utilities (-0.1%), Health Care (-0.1%)DJ30 -3.33 NASDAQ +1.70 NQ100 +0.2% R2K +0.1% SP400 +0.2% SP500 +0.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1212/1.95 bln/1430 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1603/1.04 bln/1379
3:30 pm : Commodities had a weak session, which culminated in a 1.5% loss for its worst single-session slide in three weeks. Weakness was widespread among commodities.
Of those that are followed most closely by the financial media, oil prices dropped to their lowest close of the past month by settling pit trade with a 1.9% loss at $86.19 per barrel. Natural gas fell an even steeper 2.4% to $4.49 per MMBtu.
As for precious metals, gold prices dropped 1.0% to a three-month closing low of $1331.20 per ounce while silver prices slid 1.9% to a near two-month closing low of $26.81 per ounce. DJ30 -38.14 NASDAQ -7.24 SP500 -3.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1069/1.63 bln/1569 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1353/778 mln/1625
3:00 pm : Unable to rebound, stocks are stuck near session lows. Weakness remains widespread in that declining issues outnumber advancers by almost 3-to-1 in the S&P 500.
With only an hour left in trade, participants are looking ahead to the next round of earnings results. Tonight's batch features the latest from Yahoo! (YHOO 15.90, -0.19). Tomorrow morning brings Abbot Labs (ABT 47.89, -0.28), Boeing (BA 71.62, -1.11), ConocoPhillips (COP 67.04, -1.06), United Technologies (UTX 81.29, -0.23), and U.S. Airways (LCC 10.05, -0.05).
Outside of earnings, President Obama will issue the latest State of the Union address this evening. Tomorrow the FOMC issues its latest policy statement. DJ30 -62.44 NASDAQ -14.99 SP500 -7.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 928/1.47 bln/1699 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1177/690 mln/1772
2:30 pm : Sellers have stepped back into the fold to send stocks sliding. Their efforts have taken each of the major averages through earlier lows so that they now trade at their worst levels of the day.
The drive lower has been led by energy and financials. Both sectors have hampered action all afternoon and continue to trade with the worst losses -- financials have fallen to a 1.4% loss while energy is now down 1.1% for the day.
Telecom continues to sport an impressive gain of 0.7%. It is the only major sector still in positive territory. Verizon (VZ 35.62, +0.38) is still a leader among telecom issues. Though its earnings came short of the consensus forecast, Verizon's strength this session comes as investors consider the company's data revenues from wireless services, the convergence of telecommunications on to a single network, and the fact that even at its current price Verizon still boasts a dividend yield above 5%.DJ30 -72.54 NASDAQ -18.62 SP500 -8.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 881/1.34 bln/1732 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1103/630 mln/1832
2:00 pm : The major equity averages continue to trade in the red with modest losses. There really hasn't been any real form of leadership for stocks to follow today; telecom's 0.9% gain is of little influence since the sector makes up only about 3% of the weight of the S&P 500.
Meanwhile, technology, which carries more market weight than any other sector, is flat. Financials, second by weight, are down 0.8%.
Treasuries continue to climb amid the market's weakness. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is now down to almost 3.30%.
As for the dollar, it is now flat after it had oscillated for most of the morning. DJ30 -39.24 NASDAQ -6.88 SP500 -4.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1049/1.20 bln/1546 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1278/567 mln/1650
1:30 pm : Treasuries have ticked to session highs in the wake of an auction of 2-year Treasury Notes, even though the auction saw fairly weak demand. Specifically, the auction drew a bid-to-cover of 3.47, dollar demand of $121.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 27.0%. The prior auction had a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.71, dollar demand of $129.9 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 22.6%. For comparison, the average of the three previous auctions results in a bid-to-cover of 3.61, dollar demand of $126.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation of 33.6%.
The benchmark 10-year Note is now up about a half of a point so that its yield is just below 3.35% while the 30-year Bond is up a full point so that its yield is at 4.49%. DJ30 -48.02 NASDAQ -9.76 SP500 -5.26 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 981/1.11 bln/1596 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1213/525 mln/1704
1:00 pm : Stocks started the session on weak footing after a few overseas developments prompted sellers to step in. Earnings, though generally strong, have failed to motivate buyers.
News that the United Kingdom's economy contracted 0.5% in the fourth quarter and rekindled concern over the health of Spain's banks set a negative backdrop for morning trade and left stocks to slip at the open.
Stocks attracted some support with the first dose of domestic data to hit newswires in a few days. While a flat FHFA Home Price Index for November was ignored, a stronger-than-expected spike in the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for January to an eight-month high 60.6 was met with a positive response. However, both the Dow and S&P 500 were rejected when they attempted to push out of the red and into positive territory.
Earnings, though strong, haven't been much of a boon to broad market trade. That's mainly due to built in expectations for strong earnings that can justify the stock market's climb during recent months.
Energy stocks and financial stocks are in the worst shape this session. Both sectors are down 0.8%. Energy plays had been down more than 1% earlier. Part of the sector's weakness is owed to a drop in oil prices to their lowest level in more than one month; crude oil futures are currently down 1.6% to $86.47 per barrel. Baker Hughes (BHI 61.45, +2.95) has been a strong performer, however; it posted an upside earnings surprise for its latest quarter.
American Express (AXP 44.43, -1.36) and Regions Financial (RF 7.03, -0.27) have been heavy drags on the financial sector. American Express reported in-line results, but Regions Financial actually served up a bottom line beat. Travelers (TRV 56.74, +1.12) has attracted individual support following news of its positive earnings surprise.
Dow component Verizon (VZ 35.79, +0.55) reported results that came short of the consensus, but its share staged an early rally that extended the stock's recent gains. Shares of VZ have since eased back a bit, but they continue to provide leadership to the telecom sector, which is up 0.9%.
Fellow Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 61.20, -1.02) and 3M (MMM 88.18, -2.14) both reported surprisingly strong earnings results for the latest quarter. However, JNJ issued a disappointing outlook and MMM raised its outlook so that it is only in-line with the consensus forecast. DJ30 -27.74 NASDAQ -6.12 SP500 -3.60 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1027/1.03 bln/1537 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1235/485 mln/1674
12:30 pm : Stocks continue to cut their losses. As things currently stand, the S&P 500 is now up five points from its session low, the Dow is up 43 points from its session low, and the Nasdaq is up a dozen points from its low of the day.
Volatility is still higher for the day. Specifically, the Volatility Index is up 4.3% to trade just above its 50-day moving average. DJ30 -28.57 NASDAQ -6.62 SP500 -3.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 952/948 mln/1590 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1171/450 mln/1712
12:00 pm : Stocks have stabilized since succumbing to a recent bout of selling pressure. Weakness remains widespread, though, as only telecom sports any kind of a gain. Telecom stocks are currently up a collective 0.7%.
Energy stocks remain in the worst shape. They are down 1.2%. But with a 0.9% loss, financials aren't too far behind. The financial sector has been dragged down by weakness in American Express (AXP 44.43, -1.36), which is down 3% after investors shrugged off the firm's in-line earnings results.
Regional banks were a source of weakness for the financial sector yesterday, but they are more mixed this session. KeyCorp (KEY 8.92, +0.31) is up sharply following its better-than-expected earnings report, but Regions Financial (RF 6.99, -0.31) has fallen precipitously following an upside earnings surprise of its own. DJ30 -57.67 NASDAQ -14.41 SP500 -6.71 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 796/850 mln/1732 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 996/405 mln/1885
11:30 am : A sudden flurry of selling pressue has sent stocks to session lows. There isn't any particular catalyst to account for the move, but the slide has coincided with a spike in the dollar, which has rebounded from a recent pullback to now trade with a 0.3% gain.
Recent selling has been particularly stiff against the energy sector, which is now down 1.2%. Baker Hughes (BHI 60.84, +2.34) is still up sharply in the wake of its upside earnings surprise. DJ30 -67.59 NASDAQ -18.29 SP500 -8.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 720/735 mln/1753 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 846/350 mln/2015
11:00 am : The broader market remains mired in the red with a narrow loss, but a nice bounce by telecom stocks has the sector up 1.1%.
Verizon (VZ 36.20, +0.96) is a primary leader in the group, even though its latest earnings report came short of the consensus forecast. The rally by VZ builds on its 0.8% gain yesterday and its 1.0% gain in the session before that. Prior to its recent run, shares of VZ had fallen about 9% off of a three-year high that was the day before the stock issued its latest dividend just a couple of weeks ago.DJ30 -32.62 NASDAQ -5.44 SP500 -2.47 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 918/590 mln/1504 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1411/275 mln/1675
10:30 am : The Dollar Index has moved back into negative territory, but commodities only see a slight benefit from that weakness. IN the CRB Index, 17 of the 19 commodities are trading lower. The worst performer is copper, which is showing 2.2% in losses.
Energy markets are lower with February natural gas the worst performer in the sector, while March crude oil is 1.3% lower at $86.71 per barrel. Precious metals are notably weak this morning as well with March silver down 2.1% at $26.75 per ounce and 1.4% lower at $1326.0 per ounce.
Industrial commodities are 3 of the top 5 performers in the CRB Index. March cotton futures remain in positive territory, currently +1.4% at $1.6417/lb, nickel is just under the unchanged line and aluminum is down 0.3%. Soft commodities such as cocoa, coffee and orange juice are all down less than 1%, while sugar is 1.9% lower at 31.71 cents/lb.DJ30 -35.16 NASDAQ -10.40 SP500 -3.43 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 723/421.8 mln/1650 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 908/210.2 mln/1844
10:00 am : Stocks recently cut into losses with a nice bounce. The move preceded the latest Home Price Index and Consumer Confidence Index.
The FHFA Home Price Index for November was flat after a downwardly revised 0.2% increase in the prior month.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for January spiked to an eight-month high 60.6, which is much better than the Briefing.com consensus call for a reading of 53.5.
The broader market has extended its recent upturn on the back of the data so that it now trades near the neutral line.
Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+0.9%), Health Care (+0.1%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%), Utilities (0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Materials (-0.6%), Energy (-0.4%), Tech (-0.2%), Financials (-0.2%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.1%), Industrials (-0.1%)DJ30 -9.76 NASDAQ -5.02 SP500 -0.18 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 796/262 mln/1489 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1123/140 mln/1561
09:45 am : Stocks are down in the early going. There isn't a single major sector driving the decline. Instead, weakness is moderate widespread.
Commodities are also under broad pressure in the early going. That has left the CRB Commodity Index to trade with a 0.8% loss.
Treasuries have made a modest tick higher amid the weakness in the equity market and commodity pit. That has the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note back below 3.40% by a couple of basis points. DJ30 -35.27 NASDAQ -13.89 SP500 -4.41 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 625/155 mln/1591 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 755/95 mln/1887
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.30. Stocks are under pressure ahead of the open. Part of the weakness stems from news that the United Kingdom's economy contracted in the fourth quarter when it had been expected to grow. Rekindled concern over the health of Spain's banks certainly hasn't helped. Additionally, heightened expectations for corporate earnings following the stock market's climb during recent months to two-year highs have effectively made a generally strong round of quarterly reports uninspiring. The first dose of domestic data in a few days has been limited to news that the S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Composite fell 1.6% in November after a 0.8% decline in the prior month. The Home Price Index for November will be released at 10:00 AM ET. The Consumer Confidence Index for January will also be posted at 10:00 AM ET. Results from an auction of 2-year Notes are due this afternoon at 2:00 PM ET.
09:05 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -14.50. The Dollar Index is up 0.3%, which is just shy of its morning high. Most of that advance has come as a result of weakness in the British pound, which has fallen 1.4% to $1.577 in the wake of a surprise decline in fourth quarter GDP for the United Kingdom. The greenback's gain certainly hasn't helped the case for commodities, which are presently under a stiff bout of pressure. General weakness in the commodity complex has the CRB Commodity Index down 0.9%, which puts it on pace for its worst performance in more than two weeks. Among the more widely watched commodities, oil prices are down 1.3% to $86.74 per barrel, it lowest level since early December. Natural gas prices are down an even steeper 2.6%, which puts them at $4.46 per MMBtu. Gold prices have fallen 1.2% to $1328.50 per ounce while silver has shed 1.5% to $26.91 per ounce.
08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.80. Futures for the S&P 500 are still under pressure and action remains mixed overseas. Germany's DAX is up 0.1%. Infineon Tech and BMW have been boons to trade today. Siemens has also shown some strength following a strong quarterly report. Banking plays Deutsche Bank (DB) and Commerzbank have been drags. Volkswagen has run into renewed pressure; it is down for the sixth time in seven sessions for a cumulative loss of more than 9%. Germany's Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey came in at 5.7, which makes for a modest improvement from the upwardly revised 5.5 reading in the prior month. France's CAC is off by 0.1%. Total (TOT) has been a heavy drag on trade, although LVMH Moet Hennessey has provided some support. Britain's FTSE has fallen to a 0.5% loss. BP Plc (BP) has shown strength, but that has been more than offset by losses in Lloyds Group (LYG), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Unilever Plc (UL). Broader weakness follows news that GDP for the United Kingdom fell 0.5%, which is a negative surprise since many had expected a modest increase. The news has also pressured the British pound, which is now down 1.3% to $1.578. Elsewhere in Europe, Spain's IBEX is down -1.3% amid rekindled concerns about its financial status following comments from the country's Finance Minister regarding the need for banks to raise core capital levels. Failure to do so could lead to government takeover.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei climbed 1.2%. The country's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1%, but increased its GDP growth projection to 3.3% from +2.1%. Advancing issues, led by Fanuc Corp, outnumbered decliners by 10-to-1. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1%. Li & Fung and Ping An Insurance dragged down action enough to offset strength in Tencent Holdings and HSBC (HBC). Mainland China's Shanghai Composite settled with a 0.7% loss. PetroChina (PTR) and China Petroleum (SNP) weighed on action after they had displayed strength in the prior session. Bank of China showed resilience, though. India's central bank raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 6.5%. India's Sensex fell 1.0% as sharp losses in ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank undermined broader action.
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.80. Stock futures are under a bit of pressure this morning. Most of their move lower coincided with a dip by Europe's major bourses, which are presently mixed in the wake of news that Britain's GDP contracted 0.5% in the fourth quarter and news that some of Spain's banks need to raise capital or will face government takeover. Asia's major averages were mixed overnight. Japan's central bank left its key rate unchanged at 0.1%, but raised its GDP forecast to 3.3% growth from 2.1% growth. The Bank of India raised its key rate by 25 basis pints to 6.5%. A flurry of earnings announcements has come over newswires this morning, but they continue to do little to motivate market participants. Results have generally been strong with Travelers (TRV), 3M (MMM), DuPont (DD), Baker Hughes (BHI), BlackRock (BLK), Regions Financial (RF), and KeyCorp (KEY) each posting an upside earnings surprise. Amgen (AMGN) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also beat on the bottom line, but both issued downside forecasts. Dow component Verizon (VZ) missed the consensus earnings estimate. Fellow blue chip American Express (AXP) posted in-line results.
06:42 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.00.
06:42 am : Nikkei...10464.42...+119.30...+1.20%. Hang Seng...23788.83...-13.00...-0.10%.
06:42 am : FTSE...5921.41...-22.30...-0.40%. DAX...7095.63...+27.70...+0.40%.
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/update
5:00PM Farmer Mac purchases $500 mln funding agreement under its AgVantage program (AGM) 14.82 -0.22 : Co announced that it purchased a $500 mln 5-year agricultural mortgage-backed funding agreement issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The transaction is part of Farmer Mac's "AgVantage" program, in which Farmer Mac purchases general obligations of rural lenders that, in turn, are secured by Farmer Mac eligible loans. This transaction coincided with the maturity of a series of AgVantage securities issued in 2006 that had been secured by a MetLife (MET) issued funding agreement and guaranteed by Farmer Mac, but held by third-party investors.
4:49PM East West Banc reports Q4 (Dec) results (EWBC) 20.55 +0.23 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.22 per share, may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29. Excluding a noncash charge of $18.7 million or $0.13 per dilutive share resulting from the repurchase of preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury, fourth quarter earnings per share increased by 30% to $0.35. The core net interest margin, excluding the net impact to interest income of $43.8 million resulting from the disposition of covered loans, totaled 4.43% for the quarter. The fourth quarter core net interest margin of 4.43% reflects an increase from 3.98% in the third quarter of 2010. Net Charge-offs declined to $38.3 million, a decrease of $6.7 million or 15% from the prior quarter and a decrease of $92.3 million or 71% from the fourth quarter of 2009. Nonperforming assets decreased to $194.8 million, or 0.94% of total assets. This is the fifth consecutive quarter East West has reported a nonperforming assets to total assets ratio under 1.00%.
4:48PM Trustmark beats by $0.01 (TRMK) 25.40 +0.33 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.38. During the Q4, nonperforming loans decreased $16.4 mln, or 10.3%, relative to the prior quarter to total $142.9 mln, or 2.30% of total loans. Foreclosed real estate increased $2.0 mln from the prior quarter to total $86.7 mln. Collectively, nonperforming assets decreased $14.4 mln, or 5.9%, to total $229.6 mln at December 31, 2010.
4:47PM Lan Airlines S.A. reports Q4 net income of $164.6 mln, which may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $151.4 mln; revs rose 21.6% to $1.3 bln vs. $1.2 bln consensus (LFL) 29.83 -0.05 :
4:40PM Gen Growth Prop announces results of dividend elections (GGP) 14.85 +0.18 : Co announced its common stock dividend in the amount of $0.38 per share, which will consist of ~$35.8 million in cash and ~22.26 million shares of GGP common stock. Holders of 510 million shares elected to receive the dividend all in cash and will receive $0.07018 per share in cash (18.5%) and $0.30982 per share in stock (81.5%). Holders of 52.8 million shares made no election and will receive the dividend all in shares.
4:40PM Premier Exhibitions announces departure of Chief Financial Officer (PRXI) 1.61 +0.01 : Co announced that John A. Stone has resigned from the position of Chief Financial Officer effective January 19, 2011. To facilitate the transition of his duties to his successor, Mr. Stone has agreed to provide consulting services to the Company over the next four months. The Board of Directors is conducting a search for Mr. Stone's replacement as Chief Financial Officer and will consider the appointment of a replacement, on a permanent or interim basis, at its upcoming board meetings.
4:39PM John B. Sanfilippo & Son reports Q2 EPS of $0.48 vs. $0.82 in last year's quarter; revs rose 24.2% to $223.6 mln (JBSS) 12.29 +0.29 :
4:33PM Chevron confirms discoveries offshore the Republic of the Congo (CVX) 94.08 -0.02 : Co confirmed discoveries within the Moho-Bilondo license in the Republic of the Congo. The Bilondo Marine 2 and 3 wells are located approximately 40 miles (70 kilometers) offshore of the Republic of the Congo, in 2,600 feet (800 meters) of water in the central part of the Moho-Bilondo license. said, "These discoveries further demonstrate the potential of West Africa where Chevron has made significant investments to develop new energy resources."
4:32PM Rollins increases qtrly dividend by 16.7% (a penny) to $0.07/share (ROL) 19.30 -0.02 :
4:31PM Solutia plans to expand its current Crystex insoluble sulfur operations in Kuantan, Malaysia, as part of its strategic plan to remain the leading global supplier of insoluble sulfur (SOA) 23.55 -0.10 :
4:30PM Lucas Energy enters into letter of intent and partially funds oil and gas acquisition of up to $20.5 mln (LEI) 2.29 -0.01 : Co entered into a letter of intent which provides it rights to buy up to a 77.5% interest in and operatorship of the Hospah field from a private company for an aggregate of $20.5 mln. Lucas funded the purchase of an undivided 7.56% interest in the property for $2 mln, and plans to purchase the balance of the interests, subject to funding. The acquisition covers six shallow producing units and more than 100 existing well bores drilled to the Hospah oil and Dakota gas formations in McKinley County, New Mexico. Production averaged approximately 100 barrels per day of light sweet crude during 2010. Management believes that daily production can be increased to 500 barrels of oil and 2 million cubic feet of gas in the first year at a capital cost under $9 million.
4:27PM Family Dollar prices a $300 million of senior unsecured notes due 2021 with a 5% coupon (FDO) 42.96 +0.06 : Co announces the successful pricing of $300 million of senior unsecured notes due 2021 with a 5% coupon. Co intends to apply the net proceeds of the offering towards the funding of its existing $750 million share repurchase program and otherwise to general corporate purposes.
4:25PM Cytomedix confirms its common stock will begin trading Jan 26 under the ticker symbol "CMXI" on the OTC Bulletin Board (GTF) 0.49 +0.04 :
4:24PM MIPS Tech beats by $0.02, misses on revs (MIPS) 15.13 +0.24 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.14 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 43.9% year/year to $21.9 mln vs the $22.2 mln consensus. "Both our royalty revenue and earnings exceeded our expectations during the quarter."
4:21PM Super Micro Computer beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (SMCI) 13.03 +0.11 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 32.3% year/year to $240.8 mln vs the $224.1 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.25-0.29, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.26 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $235-245 mln vs. $225.80 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Non-GAAP gross margin for the second quarter was 16.8% compared to 16.7% in the same period a year ago. Non-GAAP gross margin was 16.0% for 1Q11.
4:19PM Altera beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs above consensus (ALTR) 37.91 -0.37 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.72 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.71; revenues rose 52.2% year/year to $555.4 mln vs the $547.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs declining 1-5% sequentially, which calculates to ~$527.6-549.8 mln vs. $524.92 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Altera reports Q4 gross margins of 70.9% vs. the 70.4% consensus.
4:17PM Fortinet beats by $0.08, beats on revs (FTNT) 33.92 -0.57 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.22 per share, including $0.03/share tax benefit, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.14; revenues rose 32.4% year/year to $93.6 mln vs the $86.7 mln consensus. Billings were $111 mln, up 35% year-over-year.
4:16PM Juniper Networks beats by $0.02, beats on revs; issues Q1 guidance (JNPR) 34.82 -0.06 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding approximately $0.03 per share favorable impact due to the extension of R&D tax credit, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 26.4% year/year to $1.19 bln vs the $1.12 bln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.30-0.33 vs. $0.34 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $1.06-1.11 bln vs. $1.09 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Juniper estimates that its non-GAAP gross margin will remain in its targeted range of between 66% and 68% in the first quarter. The Q1 non-GAAP EPS guidance includes the impact of recent acquisitions of approximately $0.02 per share.
4:15PM Expeditors Intl receives request for information from European Commission in freight forwarding probe (EXPD) 52.72 -0.96 : Co announced that on January 20, 2011, the company and its Hong Kong subsidiary, Expeditors Hong Kong Ltd. received an additional request for information issued by the European Commission in connection with an ongoing investigation of freight forwarders. As previously indicated, Expeditors intends to respond to the EC's request.
4:13PM Gilead Sciences reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; announces additional $5 bln share repurchase (GILD) 38.16 -0.15 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.95 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.95; revenues fell 1.7% year/year to $2 bln vs the $1.99 bln consensus. Co reports Q4 drug sales: Atripla Q4 sales of $775.5 mln vs consensus of $750.9 mln; Truvada Q4 sales of $681.7 mln vs consensus of $672.5 mln. On January 20, 2011, the Board of Directors of Gilead authorized an additional three-year, $5.0 bln stock repurchase program for future repurchases of its outstanding shares of common stock which will commence upon the completion of its existing program authorized in May 2010.
4:10PM CA Tech beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY11 EPS in-line, revs in-line (CA) 25.36 -0.21 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.51 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 3.8% year/year to $1.17 bln vs the $1.14 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.88-1.98 vs. $1.93 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs up 4-5% (vs. prior guidance of 3-5%), or $4.48-4.55 bln vs. $4.5 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:09PM WMS Industries misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q3 revs below consensus; guides FY11 revs in-line (WMS) 45.11 -0.33 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, excluding $0.02 in gains, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.45; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $199.9 mln vs the $202.3 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $209-215 mln vs. $219.57 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees FY11 revs of $830-850 mln vs. $842.50 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:08PM Supertex beats by $0.02, misses on revs (SUPX) 21.56 -0.69 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.28 per share, ex-items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 18.0% year/year to $19.7 mln vs the $21.7 mln consensus. Co states, "We experienced a seasonality dip in our medical products, however we believe that this business will start to recover during our fourth fiscal quarter as channel inventories clear and our newly launched products start to ramp up production..." Co also announces that it increases its share repurchase program from 556,000 shares to 2.5 mln shares.
4:07PM Amdocs misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY11 revs in-line (DOX) 28.83 +0.13 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.54; revenues rose 7.0% year/year to $775.2 mln vs the $770 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.53-0.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.56 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $775-790 mln vs. $777.85 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees FY11 revs +4-6% to ~$3.103-3.16 bln vs. $3.14 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Twelve-month backlog of $2.56 bln at the end of the first fiscal quarter, up $35 million from the end of the fourth fiscal quarter of 2010. Co also announced that its Amdocs Personalized Portal has been deployed across the LTE (Long Term Evolution) network of MetroPCS Communications (PCS).
4:07PM Gilead Sciences receives refuse to file notification From U.S. FDA on new drug application for single-tablet regimen of Truvada and TMC278 (GILD) 38.16 -0.15 : Co announces that it has received a "refuse to file" notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding Gilead's New Drug Application (NDA) for the single-tablet regimen of Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Tibotec Pharmaceuticals' investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor TMC278 (rilpivirine hydrochloride) for HIV-1 infection in adults. In its communication, the FDA requested additional information with respect to the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) section of the Truvada/TMC278 NDA submission. The letter stated that the application does not contain sufficient information on the analytical methodology to establish acceptable levels of recently identified degradants related to emtricitabine.
4:06PM Keynote Systems beats by $0.15, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (KEYN) 14.98 -0.02 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.15 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17; revenues rose 19.8% year/year to $24.8 mln vs the $22 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.18-0.24 vs. $0.16 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $23-24 mln vs. $21.13 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:06PM New Alliance Bcshrs beats by $0.03 (NAL) 15.18 +0.30 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.20 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17. Loan originations for the fourth quarter and the full year reached record levels. For the fourth quarter, total originations were up 7% from the linked quarter to a record $640.9 million, and for the full year, originations increased by nearly 45% to $2.16 billion. Total non-performing loans were $74.9 million at the end of the fourth quarter compared to $68.3 million at the end of the linked quarter and $50.5 million at the end of 2009. The allowance for loan losses remained at 1.08%, the same as at the end of the third quarter and lower than the 1.10% at the end of 2009. Net charge-offs for the fourth quarter were $2.1 million compared to $4.4 million for the linked quarter. For the year, net charge-offs were $14.2 million, or 28 basis points, compared to $15.4 million, or 32 basis points, for 2009. The provision for loan losses for the fourth quarter was $2.7 million, down from $4.0 million in the linked quarter, and the provision for the year of $17.0 million also demonstrated a lower trend from the 2009 provision of $18.0 million.
4:05PM KBR Inc. Awarded Contract by Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group Co., Ltd. for Grassroots Aniline Plant (KBR) 31.95 -0.39 : Co announced that its Technology business unit has been awarded a contract by Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group, Co., Ltd. (Tianji) to provide licensing and related engineering services for a grassroots aniline plant to be located in Lucheng, Shanxi, China. No further details are provided.
4:05PM RF Micro Device beats by $0.01, misses on revs (RFMD) 7.30 -0.60 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 2.4% year/year to $278.8 mln vs the $285.8 mln consensus. Co reported Q3 gross margin 38.7% vs. the 39.5% consensus.
4:05PM Stryker beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY11 EPS in-line (SYK) 58.37 +0.77 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.93 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.91; revenues rose 8.8% year/year to $2 bln vs the $1.95 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $3.65-3.73, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.70 Thomson Reuters consensus. The financial forecast for 2011 includes a constant currency sales increase of 11-13% as a result of growth in shipments of Orthopaedic Implants and MedSurg Equipment as well as sales from the recently acquired Neurovascular business. If foreign currency exchange rates hold near year-end levels, the Company anticipates net sales will be favorably impacted by approximately 0% to 1.0% in the first quarter of 2011 and by approximately 0.5% to 1.5% for the full year of 2011. Excluding the expected impact from foreign currency as well as acquisitions, sales growth is projected to be 5-7%.
4:03PM CA Tech Acquires Torokina Networks, Expands Support for Fast Growing Communications Service Provider Market (CA) 25.36 -0.21 : Co announced it has acquired privately-held Torokina Networks, a leader in delivering state-of-the-art service assurance management solutions to 3G, 4G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide. The acquisition enables CA Technologies to expand the support of its service assurance portfolio for the advanced network devices and equipment leveraged by CSPs for their rapidly-growing mobile voice and data environments.
4:03PM DeVry beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line (DV) 47.40 -0.81 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $1.25 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.19; revenues rose 16.5% year/year to $551 mln vs the $548.5 mln consensus. "Despite some near-term enrollment challenges that we are actively managing, we executed well against our strategy in the first half of fiscal 2011... I am confident our diversification strategy will serve us well in the second half of the year and beyond, as we continue to help our students achieve their career aspirations."
4:03PM Natl Instruments declares 3-for-2 stock split (NATI) 39.48 +0.03 :
4:03PM Molex beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (MOLX) 25.34 +0.07 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.46 per share, ex-items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 23.6% year/year to $901.5 mln vs the $872.5 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.39-$0.43 vs. $0.40 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $850-$890 mln vs. $848.51 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:02PM American Oriental's CEO and CFO visit the United States as entrepreneur representatives of President Hu Jintao's delegation (AOB) 2.40 +0.02 :
4:02PM A. Schulman CFO, Paul DeSantis, to leave company to accept CFO position at Bob Evans Farms (BOBE) (SHLM) 21.44 -0.01 : A. Schulman announces that Paul DeSantis, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, will leave the Company. DeSantis, who joined the Company in 2006, has accepted a position as Chief Financial Officer of Bob Evans Farms. DeSantis' last day with the Company will be February 28, 2011.
4:01PM MCG Capital announces new three-year maturity for $150 mln warehouse credit facility (MCGC) 7.01 -0.01 :
4:00PM Watson Pharm confirms Welchol oral suspension patent challenge (WPI) 54.56 0.00 : Daiichi Sankyo and Genzyme (GENZ) filed suit against Watson on January 21, 2011 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware seeking to prevent Watson from commercializing its product prior to the expiration of U.S. Patent No. 5,693,675. Daiichi Sankyo's lawsuit was filed under the provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act, resulting in a stay of final FDA approval of Watson's ANDA until June 19, 2013, or until final resolution of the matter before the court, whichever occurs sooner, subject to any other exclusivities.
3:58PM Goldcorp announced the signing of a Power Delivery Agreement with a subsidiary of InterGen (GG) 39.91 +0.22 : The agreement will see InterGen construct and operate a 200-250MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant to deliver electricity to the Penasquito mine in Zacatecas, Mexico for a minimum term of 20 years.
4:30 pm : Listless action left stocks to slide on a couple of occasions during the day, but buyers eventually bought the dip to take stocks back to the neutral line for a flat finish.
Stocks started the session on weak footing following mixed action overseas. Asia's major averages were split as China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped, but Japan's Nikkei climbed sharply amid news that the Bank of Japan increased its GDP forecast to 3.3% from 2.1% and left its key rate at 0.1%. Europe's bourses moved lower after it was learned that United Kingdom fourth quarter GDP fell 0.5%. There was also concern about the capital health of Spain's banks.
Earnings were generally solid, but they did nothing to drive the broader market. That's mostly because the market has come to expect strong results following its ascent in recent months -- the Dow remains near its best level in two years, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both set their two-year highs last week.
The Consumer Confidence Index for January offered some support to stocks in early trade. It came in at an eight-month high of 60.6, which was much better than the 53.5 Briefing.com consensus. Excitement over the consumer confidence reading helped the broad market recover from an opening slip, but stocks were unable turn positive. Failure to find higher ground invited selling pressure, which kept stocks in the red almost all afternoon and the S&P 500 down as much as 0.8%.
Buyers finally surfaced in the final hour. The bid they placed was broad and strong enough for the major averages to push back to the flat line. Energy stocks and financial stocks had been heavy drags on the broader market for most of the afternoon. Both sectors were down in excess of 1% at their session lows, but each made a nice move into the close.
Energy settled a tame 0.3% lower for the session. Baker Hughes (BHI 62.32, +2.95) was one of its best performers, thanks to an upside earnings surprise for its latest quarter. Many other sector members were hurt by concerns related to another drop in oil prices, which recorded their lowest close in a month by dropping 1.9% to $86.19 per barrel.
Financials ended the day down just 0.2%. Dow component American Express (AXP 44.80, -0.99) was a drag after its in-line results failed to inspire investors. Fellow Dow component Travelers (TRV 56.23, +0.61) displayed individual strength following news of an upside earnings surprise.
Telecom ended the day as the best performing sector. It advanced 1.0% amid strength in Dow component Verizon (VZ 35.79, +0.55), which actually came short of the consensus earnings estimate.
Better-than-expected earnings from fellow blue chips Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 61.08, -1.02) and 3M (MMM 88.50, -1.82) were overshadowed by forecasts that were either outright disappointing or essentially lackluster.
Treasuries caught a nice bid. Most of their bounce followed an auction of 2-year Treasury Notes. The auction drew a bid-to-cover of 3.47, dollar demand of $121.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 27.0%. For comparison, the average of the three previous auctions gives a bid-to-cover of 3.61, dollar demand of $126.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation of 33.6%. The 2-year Note saw its yield move below 0.58% and the benchmark 10-year Note saw its yield slide just under 3.33%.
Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.0%), Tech (+0.4%), Consumer Staples (+0.2%), Materials (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-0.3%), Financials (-0.2%), Industrials (-0.2%), Utilities (-0.1%), Health Care (-0.1%)DJ30 -3.33 NASDAQ +1.70 NQ100 +0.2% R2K +0.1% SP400 +0.2% SP500 +0.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1212/1.95 bln/1430 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1603/1.04 bln/1379
3:30 pm : Commodities had a weak session, which culminated in a 1.5% loss for its worst single-session slide in three weeks. Weakness was widespread among commodities.
Of those that are followed most closely by the financial media, oil prices dropped to their lowest close of the past month by settling pit trade with a 1.9% loss at $86.19 per barrel. Natural gas fell an even steeper 2.4% to $4.49 per MMBtu.
As for precious metals, gold prices dropped 1.0% to a three-month closing low of $1331.20 per ounce while silver prices slid 1.9% to a near two-month closing low of $26.81 per ounce. DJ30 -38.14 NASDAQ -7.24 SP500 -3.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1069/1.63 bln/1569 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1353/778 mln/1625
3:00 pm : Unable to rebound, stocks are stuck near session lows. Weakness remains widespread in that declining issues outnumber advancers by almost 3-to-1 in the S&P 500.
With only an hour left in trade, participants are looking ahead to the next round of earnings results. Tonight's batch features the latest from Yahoo! (YHOO 15.90, -0.19). Tomorrow morning brings Abbot Labs (ABT 47.89, -0.28), Boeing (BA 71.62, -1.11), ConocoPhillips (COP 67.04, -1.06), United Technologies (UTX 81.29, -0.23), and U.S. Airways (LCC 10.05, -0.05).
Outside of earnings, President Obama will issue the latest State of the Union address this evening. Tomorrow the FOMC issues its latest policy statement. DJ30 -62.44 NASDAQ -14.99 SP500 -7.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 928/1.47 bln/1699 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1177/690 mln/1772
2:30 pm : Sellers have stepped back into the fold to send stocks sliding. Their efforts have taken each of the major averages through earlier lows so that they now trade at their worst levels of the day.
The drive lower has been led by energy and financials. Both sectors have hampered action all afternoon and continue to trade with the worst losses -- financials have fallen to a 1.4% loss while energy is now down 1.1% for the day.
Telecom continues to sport an impressive gain of 0.7%. It is the only major sector still in positive territory. Verizon (VZ 35.62, +0.38) is still a leader among telecom issues. Though its earnings came short of the consensus forecast, Verizon's strength this session comes as investors consider the company's data revenues from wireless services, the convergence of telecommunications on to a single network, and the fact that even at its current price Verizon still boasts a dividend yield above 5%.DJ30 -72.54 NASDAQ -18.62 SP500 -8.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 881/1.34 bln/1732 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1103/630 mln/1832
2:00 pm : The major equity averages continue to trade in the red with modest losses. There really hasn't been any real form of leadership for stocks to follow today; telecom's 0.9% gain is of little influence since the sector makes up only about 3% of the weight of the S&P 500.
Meanwhile, technology, which carries more market weight than any other sector, is flat. Financials, second by weight, are down 0.8%.
Treasuries continue to climb amid the market's weakness. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is now down to almost 3.30%.
As for the dollar, it is now flat after it had oscillated for most of the morning. DJ30 -39.24 NASDAQ -6.88 SP500 -4.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1049/1.20 bln/1546 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1278/567 mln/1650
1:30 pm : Treasuries have ticked to session highs in the wake of an auction of 2-year Treasury Notes, even though the auction saw fairly weak demand. Specifically, the auction drew a bid-to-cover of 3.47, dollar demand of $121.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 27.0%. The prior auction had a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.71, dollar demand of $129.9 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 22.6%. For comparison, the average of the three previous auctions results in a bid-to-cover of 3.61, dollar demand of $126.5 billion, and an indirect bidder participation of 33.6%.
The benchmark 10-year Note is now up about a half of a point so that its yield is just below 3.35% while the 30-year Bond is up a full point so that its yield is at 4.49%. DJ30 -48.02 NASDAQ -9.76 SP500 -5.26 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 981/1.11 bln/1596 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1213/525 mln/1704
1:00 pm : Stocks started the session on weak footing after a few overseas developments prompted sellers to step in. Earnings, though generally strong, have failed to motivate buyers.
News that the United Kingdom's economy contracted 0.5% in the fourth quarter and rekindled concern over the health of Spain's banks set a negative backdrop for morning trade and left stocks to slip at the open.
Stocks attracted some support with the first dose of domestic data to hit newswires in a few days. While a flat FHFA Home Price Index for November was ignored, a stronger-than-expected spike in the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for January to an eight-month high 60.6 was met with a positive response. However, both the Dow and S&P 500 were rejected when they attempted to push out of the red and into positive territory.
Earnings, though strong, haven't been much of a boon to broad market trade. That's mainly due to built in expectations for strong earnings that can justify the stock market's climb during recent months.
Energy stocks and financial stocks are in the worst shape this session. Both sectors are down 0.8%. Energy plays had been down more than 1% earlier. Part of the sector's weakness is owed to a drop in oil prices to their lowest level in more than one month; crude oil futures are currently down 1.6% to $86.47 per barrel. Baker Hughes (BHI 61.45, +2.95) has been a strong performer, however; it posted an upside earnings surprise for its latest quarter.
American Express (AXP 44.43, -1.36) and Regions Financial (RF 7.03, -0.27) have been heavy drags on the financial sector. American Express reported in-line results, but Regions Financial actually served up a bottom line beat. Travelers (TRV 56.74, +1.12) has attracted individual support following news of its positive earnings surprise.
Dow component Verizon (VZ 35.79, +0.55) reported results that came short of the consensus, but its share staged an early rally that extended the stock's recent gains. Shares of VZ have since eased back a bit, but they continue to provide leadership to the telecom sector, which is up 0.9%.
Fellow Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 61.20, -1.02) and 3M (MMM 88.18, -2.14) both reported surprisingly strong earnings results for the latest quarter. However, JNJ issued a disappointing outlook and MMM raised its outlook so that it is only in-line with the consensus forecast. DJ30 -27.74 NASDAQ -6.12 SP500 -3.60 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1027/1.03 bln/1537 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1235/485 mln/1674
12:30 pm : Stocks continue to cut their losses. As things currently stand, the S&P 500 is now up five points from its session low, the Dow is up 43 points from its session low, and the Nasdaq is up a dozen points from its low of the day.
Volatility is still higher for the day. Specifically, the Volatility Index is up 4.3% to trade just above its 50-day moving average. DJ30 -28.57 NASDAQ -6.62 SP500 -3.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 952/948 mln/1590 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1171/450 mln/1712
12:00 pm : Stocks have stabilized since succumbing to a recent bout of selling pressure. Weakness remains widespread, though, as only telecom sports any kind of a gain. Telecom stocks are currently up a collective 0.7%.
Energy stocks remain in the worst shape. They are down 1.2%. But with a 0.9% loss, financials aren't too far behind. The financial sector has been dragged down by weakness in American Express (AXP 44.43, -1.36), which is down 3% after investors shrugged off the firm's in-line earnings results.
Regional banks were a source of weakness for the financial sector yesterday, but they are more mixed this session. KeyCorp (KEY 8.92, +0.31) is up sharply following its better-than-expected earnings report, but Regions Financial (RF 6.99, -0.31) has fallen precipitously following an upside earnings surprise of its own. DJ30 -57.67 NASDAQ -14.41 SP500 -6.71 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 796/850 mln/1732 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 996/405 mln/1885
11:30 am : A sudden flurry of selling pressue has sent stocks to session lows. There isn't any particular catalyst to account for the move, but the slide has coincided with a spike in the dollar, which has rebounded from a recent pullback to now trade with a 0.3% gain.
Recent selling has been particularly stiff against the energy sector, which is now down 1.2%. Baker Hughes (BHI 60.84, +2.34) is still up sharply in the wake of its upside earnings surprise. DJ30 -67.59 NASDAQ -18.29 SP500 -8.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 720/735 mln/1753 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 846/350 mln/2015
11:00 am : The broader market remains mired in the red with a narrow loss, but a nice bounce by telecom stocks has the sector up 1.1%.
Verizon (VZ 36.20, +0.96) is a primary leader in the group, even though its latest earnings report came short of the consensus forecast. The rally by VZ builds on its 0.8% gain yesterday and its 1.0% gain in the session before that. Prior to its recent run, shares of VZ had fallen about 9% off of a three-year high that was the day before the stock issued its latest dividend just a couple of weeks ago.DJ30 -32.62 NASDAQ -5.44 SP500 -2.47 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 918/590 mln/1504 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1411/275 mln/1675
10:30 am : The Dollar Index has moved back into negative territory, but commodities only see a slight benefit from that weakness. IN the CRB Index, 17 of the 19 commodities are trading lower. The worst performer is copper, which is showing 2.2% in losses.
Energy markets are lower with February natural gas the worst performer in the sector, while March crude oil is 1.3% lower at $86.71 per barrel. Precious metals are notably weak this morning as well with March silver down 2.1% at $26.75 per ounce and 1.4% lower at $1326.0 per ounce.
Industrial commodities are 3 of the top 5 performers in the CRB Index. March cotton futures remain in positive territory, currently +1.4% at $1.6417/lb, nickel is just under the unchanged line and aluminum is down 0.3%. Soft commodities such as cocoa, coffee and orange juice are all down less than 1%, while sugar is 1.9% lower at 31.71 cents/lb.DJ30 -35.16 NASDAQ -10.40 SP500 -3.43 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 723/421.8 mln/1650 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 908/210.2 mln/1844
10:00 am : Stocks recently cut into losses with a nice bounce. The move preceded the latest Home Price Index and Consumer Confidence Index.
The FHFA Home Price Index for November was flat after a downwardly revised 0.2% increase in the prior month.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for January spiked to an eight-month high 60.6, which is much better than the Briefing.com consensus call for a reading of 53.5.
The broader market has extended its recent upturn on the back of the data so that it now trades near the neutral line.
Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+0.9%), Health Care (+0.1%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%), Utilities (0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Materials (-0.6%), Energy (-0.4%), Tech (-0.2%), Financials (-0.2%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.1%), Industrials (-0.1%)DJ30 -9.76 NASDAQ -5.02 SP500 -0.18 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 796/262 mln/1489 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1123/140 mln/1561
09:45 am : Stocks are down in the early going. There isn't a single major sector driving the decline. Instead, weakness is moderate widespread.
Commodities are also under broad pressure in the early going. That has left the CRB Commodity Index to trade with a 0.8% loss.
Treasuries have made a modest tick higher amid the weakness in the equity market and commodity pit. That has the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note back below 3.40% by a couple of basis points. DJ30 -35.27 NASDAQ -13.89 SP500 -4.41 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 625/155 mln/1591 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 755/95 mln/1887
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.30. Stocks are under pressure ahead of the open. Part of the weakness stems from news that the United Kingdom's economy contracted in the fourth quarter when it had been expected to grow. Rekindled concern over the health of Spain's banks certainly hasn't helped. Additionally, heightened expectations for corporate earnings following the stock market's climb during recent months to two-year highs have effectively made a generally strong round of quarterly reports uninspiring. The first dose of domestic data in a few days has been limited to news that the S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Composite fell 1.6% in November after a 0.8% decline in the prior month. The Home Price Index for November will be released at 10:00 AM ET. The Consumer Confidence Index for January will also be posted at 10:00 AM ET. Results from an auction of 2-year Notes are due this afternoon at 2:00 PM ET.
09:05 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -14.50. The Dollar Index is up 0.3%, which is just shy of its morning high. Most of that advance has come as a result of weakness in the British pound, which has fallen 1.4% to $1.577 in the wake of a surprise decline in fourth quarter GDP for the United Kingdom. The greenback's gain certainly hasn't helped the case for commodities, which are presently under a stiff bout of pressure. General weakness in the commodity complex has the CRB Commodity Index down 0.9%, which puts it on pace for its worst performance in more than two weeks. Among the more widely watched commodities, oil prices are down 1.3% to $86.74 per barrel, it lowest level since early December. Natural gas prices are down an even steeper 2.6%, which puts them at $4.46 per MMBtu. Gold prices have fallen 1.2% to $1328.50 per ounce while silver has shed 1.5% to $26.91 per ounce.
08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.80. Futures for the S&P 500 are still under pressure and action remains mixed overseas. Germany's DAX is up 0.1%. Infineon Tech and BMW have been boons to trade today. Siemens has also shown some strength following a strong quarterly report. Banking plays Deutsche Bank (DB) and Commerzbank have been drags. Volkswagen has run into renewed pressure; it is down for the sixth time in seven sessions for a cumulative loss of more than 9%. Germany's Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey came in at 5.7, which makes for a modest improvement from the upwardly revised 5.5 reading in the prior month. France's CAC is off by 0.1%. Total (TOT) has been a heavy drag on trade, although LVMH Moet Hennessey has provided some support. Britain's FTSE has fallen to a 0.5% loss. BP Plc (BP) has shown strength, but that has been more than offset by losses in Lloyds Group (LYG), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Unilever Plc (UL). Broader weakness follows news that GDP for the United Kingdom fell 0.5%, which is a negative surprise since many had expected a modest increase. The news has also pressured the British pound, which is now down 1.3% to $1.578. Elsewhere in Europe, Spain's IBEX is down -1.3% amid rekindled concerns about its financial status following comments from the country's Finance Minister regarding the need for banks to raise core capital levels. Failure to do so could lead to government takeover.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei climbed 1.2%. The country's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1%, but increased its GDP growth projection to 3.3% from +2.1%. Advancing issues, led by Fanuc Corp, outnumbered decliners by 10-to-1. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1%. Li & Fung and Ping An Insurance dragged down action enough to offset strength in Tencent Holdings and HSBC (HBC). Mainland China's Shanghai Composite settled with a 0.7% loss. PetroChina (PTR) and China Petroleum (SNP) weighed on action after they had displayed strength in the prior session. Bank of China showed resilience, though. India's central bank raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 6.5%. India's Sensex fell 1.0% as sharp losses in ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank undermined broader action.
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.80. Stock futures are under a bit of pressure this morning. Most of their move lower coincided with a dip by Europe's major bourses, which are presently mixed in the wake of news that Britain's GDP contracted 0.5% in the fourth quarter and news that some of Spain's banks need to raise capital or will face government takeover. Asia's major averages were mixed overnight. Japan's central bank left its key rate unchanged at 0.1%, but raised its GDP forecast to 3.3% growth from 2.1% growth. The Bank of India raised its key rate by 25 basis pints to 6.5%. A flurry of earnings announcements has come over newswires this morning, but they continue to do little to motivate market participants. Results have generally been strong with Travelers (TRV), 3M (MMM), DuPont (DD), Baker Hughes (BHI), BlackRock (BLK), Regions Financial (RF), and KeyCorp (KEY) each posting an upside earnings surprise. Amgen (AMGN) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also beat on the bottom line, but both issued downside forecasts. Dow component Verizon (VZ) missed the consensus earnings estimate. Fellow blue chip American Express (AXP) posted in-line results.
06:42 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.00.
06:42 am : Nikkei...10464.42...+119.30...+1.20%. Hang Seng...23788.83...-13.00...-0.10%.
06:42 am : FTSE...5921.41...-22.30...-0.40%. DAX...7095.63...+27.70...+0.40%.
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/update
5:00PM Farmer Mac purchases $500 mln funding agreement under its AgVantage program (AGM) 14.82 -0.22 : Co announced that it purchased a $500 mln 5-year agricultural mortgage-backed funding agreement issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The transaction is part of Farmer Mac's "AgVantage" program, in which Farmer Mac purchases general obligations of rural lenders that, in turn, are secured by Farmer Mac eligible loans. This transaction coincided with the maturity of a series of AgVantage securities issued in 2006 that had been secured by a MetLife (MET) issued funding agreement and guaranteed by Farmer Mac, but held by third-party investors.
4:49PM East West Banc reports Q4 (Dec) results (EWBC) 20.55 +0.23 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.22 per share, may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29. Excluding a noncash charge of $18.7 million or $0.13 per dilutive share resulting from the repurchase of preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury, fourth quarter earnings per share increased by 30% to $0.35. The core net interest margin, excluding the net impact to interest income of $43.8 million resulting from the disposition of covered loans, totaled 4.43% for the quarter. The fourth quarter core net interest margin of 4.43% reflects an increase from 3.98% in the third quarter of 2010. Net Charge-offs declined to $38.3 million, a decrease of $6.7 million or 15% from the prior quarter and a decrease of $92.3 million or 71% from the fourth quarter of 2009. Nonperforming assets decreased to $194.8 million, or 0.94% of total assets. This is the fifth consecutive quarter East West has reported a nonperforming assets to total assets ratio under 1.00%.
4:48PM Trustmark beats by $0.01 (TRMK) 25.40 +0.33 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.38. During the Q4, nonperforming loans decreased $16.4 mln, or 10.3%, relative to the prior quarter to total $142.9 mln, or 2.30% of total loans. Foreclosed real estate increased $2.0 mln from the prior quarter to total $86.7 mln. Collectively, nonperforming assets decreased $14.4 mln, or 5.9%, to total $229.6 mln at December 31, 2010.
4:47PM Lan Airlines S.A. reports Q4 net income of $164.6 mln, which may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $151.4 mln; revs rose 21.6% to $1.3 bln vs. $1.2 bln consensus (LFL) 29.83 -0.05 :
4:40PM Gen Growth Prop announces results of dividend elections (GGP) 14.85 +0.18 : Co announced its common stock dividend in the amount of $0.38 per share, which will consist of ~$35.8 million in cash and ~22.26 million shares of GGP common stock. Holders of 510 million shares elected to receive the dividend all in cash and will receive $0.07018 per share in cash (18.5%) and $0.30982 per share in stock (81.5%). Holders of 52.8 million shares made no election and will receive the dividend all in shares.
4:40PM Premier Exhibitions announces departure of Chief Financial Officer (PRXI) 1.61 +0.01 : Co announced that John A. Stone has resigned from the position of Chief Financial Officer effective January 19, 2011. To facilitate the transition of his duties to his successor, Mr. Stone has agreed to provide consulting services to the Company over the next four months. The Board of Directors is conducting a search for Mr. Stone's replacement as Chief Financial Officer and will consider the appointment of a replacement, on a permanent or interim basis, at its upcoming board meetings.
4:39PM John B. Sanfilippo & Son reports Q2 EPS of $0.48 vs. $0.82 in last year's quarter; revs rose 24.2% to $223.6 mln (JBSS) 12.29 +0.29 :
4:33PM Chevron confirms discoveries offshore the Republic of the Congo (CVX) 94.08 -0.02 : Co confirmed discoveries within the Moho-Bilondo license in the Republic of the Congo. The Bilondo Marine 2 and 3 wells are located approximately 40 miles (70 kilometers) offshore of the Republic of the Congo, in 2,600 feet (800 meters) of water in the central part of the Moho-Bilondo license. said, "These discoveries further demonstrate the potential of West Africa where Chevron has made significant investments to develop new energy resources."
4:32PM Rollins increases qtrly dividend by 16.7% (a penny) to $0.07/share (ROL) 19.30 -0.02 :
4:31PM Solutia plans to expand its current Crystex insoluble sulfur operations in Kuantan, Malaysia, as part of its strategic plan to remain the leading global supplier of insoluble sulfur (SOA) 23.55 -0.10 :
4:30PM Lucas Energy enters into letter of intent and partially funds oil and gas acquisition of up to $20.5 mln (LEI) 2.29 -0.01 : Co entered into a letter of intent which provides it rights to buy up to a 77.5% interest in and operatorship of the Hospah field from a private company for an aggregate of $20.5 mln. Lucas funded the purchase of an undivided 7.56% interest in the property for $2 mln, and plans to purchase the balance of the interests, subject to funding. The acquisition covers six shallow producing units and more than 100 existing well bores drilled to the Hospah oil and Dakota gas formations in McKinley County, New Mexico. Production averaged approximately 100 barrels per day of light sweet crude during 2010. Management believes that daily production can be increased to 500 barrels of oil and 2 million cubic feet of gas in the first year at a capital cost under $9 million.
4:27PM Family Dollar prices a $300 million of senior unsecured notes due 2021 with a 5% coupon (FDO) 42.96 +0.06 : Co announces the successful pricing of $300 million of senior unsecured notes due 2021 with a 5% coupon. Co intends to apply the net proceeds of the offering towards the funding of its existing $750 million share repurchase program and otherwise to general corporate purposes.
4:25PM Cytomedix confirms its common stock will begin trading Jan 26 under the ticker symbol "CMXI" on the OTC Bulletin Board (GTF) 0.49 +0.04 :
4:24PM MIPS Tech beats by $0.02, misses on revs (MIPS) 15.13 +0.24 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.14 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 43.9% year/year to $21.9 mln vs the $22.2 mln consensus. "Both our royalty revenue and earnings exceeded our expectations during the quarter."
4:21PM Super Micro Computer beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (SMCI) 13.03 +0.11 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 32.3% year/year to $240.8 mln vs the $224.1 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.25-0.29, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.26 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $235-245 mln vs. $225.80 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Non-GAAP gross margin for the second quarter was 16.8% compared to 16.7% in the same period a year ago. Non-GAAP gross margin was 16.0% for 1Q11.
4:19PM Altera beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs above consensus (ALTR) 37.91 -0.37 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.72 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.71; revenues rose 52.2% year/year to $555.4 mln vs the $547.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs declining 1-5% sequentially, which calculates to ~$527.6-549.8 mln vs. $524.92 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Altera reports Q4 gross margins of 70.9% vs. the 70.4% consensus.
4:17PM Fortinet beats by $0.08, beats on revs (FTNT) 33.92 -0.57 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.22 per share, including $0.03/share tax benefit, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.14; revenues rose 32.4% year/year to $93.6 mln vs the $86.7 mln consensus. Billings were $111 mln, up 35% year-over-year.
4:16PM Juniper Networks beats by $0.02, beats on revs; issues Q1 guidance (JNPR) 34.82 -0.06 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding approximately $0.03 per share favorable impact due to the extension of R&D tax credit, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 26.4% year/year to $1.19 bln vs the $1.12 bln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.30-0.33 vs. $0.34 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $1.06-1.11 bln vs. $1.09 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Juniper estimates that its non-GAAP gross margin will remain in its targeted range of between 66% and 68% in the first quarter. The Q1 non-GAAP EPS guidance includes the impact of recent acquisitions of approximately $0.02 per share.
4:15PM Expeditors Intl receives request for information from European Commission in freight forwarding probe (EXPD) 52.72 -0.96 : Co announced that on January 20, 2011, the company and its Hong Kong subsidiary, Expeditors Hong Kong Ltd. received an additional request for information issued by the European Commission in connection with an ongoing investigation of freight forwarders. As previously indicated, Expeditors intends to respond to the EC's request.
4:13PM Gilead Sciences reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; announces additional $5 bln share repurchase (GILD) 38.16 -0.15 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.95 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.95; revenues fell 1.7% year/year to $2 bln vs the $1.99 bln consensus. Co reports Q4 drug sales: Atripla Q4 sales of $775.5 mln vs consensus of $750.9 mln; Truvada Q4 sales of $681.7 mln vs consensus of $672.5 mln. On January 20, 2011, the Board of Directors of Gilead authorized an additional three-year, $5.0 bln stock repurchase program for future repurchases of its outstanding shares of common stock which will commence upon the completion of its existing program authorized in May 2010.
4:10PM CA Tech beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY11 EPS in-line, revs in-line (CA) 25.36 -0.21 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.51 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 3.8% year/year to $1.17 bln vs the $1.14 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.88-1.98 vs. $1.93 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs up 4-5% (vs. prior guidance of 3-5%), or $4.48-4.55 bln vs. $4.5 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:09PM WMS Industries misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q3 revs below consensus; guides FY11 revs in-line (WMS) 45.11 -0.33 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, excluding $0.02 in gains, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.45; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $199.9 mln vs the $202.3 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $209-215 mln vs. $219.57 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees FY11 revs of $830-850 mln vs. $842.50 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:08PM Supertex beats by $0.02, misses on revs (SUPX) 21.56 -0.69 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.28 per share, ex-items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 18.0% year/year to $19.7 mln vs the $21.7 mln consensus. Co states, "We experienced a seasonality dip in our medical products, however we believe that this business will start to recover during our fourth fiscal quarter as channel inventories clear and our newly launched products start to ramp up production..." Co also announces that it increases its share repurchase program from 556,000 shares to 2.5 mln shares.
4:07PM Amdocs misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY11 revs in-line (DOX) 28.83 +0.13 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.54; revenues rose 7.0% year/year to $775.2 mln vs the $770 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.53-0.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.56 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $775-790 mln vs. $777.85 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees FY11 revs +4-6% to ~$3.103-3.16 bln vs. $3.14 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Twelve-month backlog of $2.56 bln at the end of the first fiscal quarter, up $35 million from the end of the fourth fiscal quarter of 2010. Co also announced that its Amdocs Personalized Portal has been deployed across the LTE (Long Term Evolution) network of MetroPCS Communications (PCS).
4:07PM Gilead Sciences receives refuse to file notification From U.S. FDA on new drug application for single-tablet regimen of Truvada and TMC278 (GILD) 38.16 -0.15 : Co announces that it has received a "refuse to file" notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding Gilead's New Drug Application (NDA) for the single-tablet regimen of Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Tibotec Pharmaceuticals' investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor TMC278 (rilpivirine hydrochloride) for HIV-1 infection in adults. In its communication, the FDA requested additional information with respect to the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) section of the Truvada/TMC278 NDA submission. The letter stated that the application does not contain sufficient information on the analytical methodology to establish acceptable levels of recently identified degradants related to emtricitabine.
4:06PM Keynote Systems beats by $0.15, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (KEYN) 14.98 -0.02 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.15 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17; revenues rose 19.8% year/year to $24.8 mln vs the $22 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.18-0.24 vs. $0.16 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $23-24 mln vs. $21.13 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:06PM New Alliance Bcshrs beats by $0.03 (NAL) 15.18 +0.30 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.20 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17. Loan originations for the fourth quarter and the full year reached record levels. For the fourth quarter, total originations were up 7% from the linked quarter to a record $640.9 million, and for the full year, originations increased by nearly 45% to $2.16 billion. Total non-performing loans were $74.9 million at the end of the fourth quarter compared to $68.3 million at the end of the linked quarter and $50.5 million at the end of 2009. The allowance for loan losses remained at 1.08%, the same as at the end of the third quarter and lower than the 1.10% at the end of 2009. Net charge-offs for the fourth quarter were $2.1 million compared to $4.4 million for the linked quarter. For the year, net charge-offs were $14.2 million, or 28 basis points, compared to $15.4 million, or 32 basis points, for 2009. The provision for loan losses for the fourth quarter was $2.7 million, down from $4.0 million in the linked quarter, and the provision for the year of $17.0 million also demonstrated a lower trend from the 2009 provision of $18.0 million.
4:05PM KBR Inc. Awarded Contract by Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group Co., Ltd. for Grassroots Aniline Plant (KBR) 31.95 -0.39 : Co announced that its Technology business unit has been awarded a contract by Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group, Co., Ltd. (Tianji) to provide licensing and related engineering services for a grassroots aniline plant to be located in Lucheng, Shanxi, China. No further details are provided.
4:05PM RF Micro Device beats by $0.01, misses on revs (RFMD) 7.30 -0.60 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 2.4% year/year to $278.8 mln vs the $285.8 mln consensus. Co reported Q3 gross margin 38.7% vs. the 39.5% consensus.
4:05PM Stryker beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY11 EPS in-line (SYK) 58.37 +0.77 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.93 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.91; revenues rose 8.8% year/year to $2 bln vs the $1.95 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $3.65-3.73, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.70 Thomson Reuters consensus. The financial forecast for 2011 includes a constant currency sales increase of 11-13% as a result of growth in shipments of Orthopaedic Implants and MedSurg Equipment as well as sales from the recently acquired Neurovascular business. If foreign currency exchange rates hold near year-end levels, the Company anticipates net sales will be favorably impacted by approximately 0% to 1.0% in the first quarter of 2011 and by approximately 0.5% to 1.5% for the full year of 2011. Excluding the expected impact from foreign currency as well as acquisitions, sales growth is projected to be 5-7%.
4:03PM CA Tech Acquires Torokina Networks, Expands Support for Fast Growing Communications Service Provider Market (CA) 25.36 -0.21 : Co announced it has acquired privately-held Torokina Networks, a leader in delivering state-of-the-art service assurance management solutions to 3G, 4G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide. The acquisition enables CA Technologies to expand the support of its service assurance portfolio for the advanced network devices and equipment leveraged by CSPs for their rapidly-growing mobile voice and data environments.
4:03PM DeVry beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line (DV) 47.40 -0.81 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $1.25 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.19; revenues rose 16.5% year/year to $551 mln vs the $548.5 mln consensus. "Despite some near-term enrollment challenges that we are actively managing, we executed well against our strategy in the first half of fiscal 2011... I am confident our diversification strategy will serve us well in the second half of the year and beyond, as we continue to help our students achieve their career aspirations."
4:03PM Natl Instruments declares 3-for-2 stock split (NATI) 39.48 +0.03 :
4:03PM Molex beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (MOLX) 25.34 +0.07 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.46 per share, ex-items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 23.6% year/year to $901.5 mln vs the $872.5 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.39-$0.43 vs. $0.40 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $850-$890 mln vs. $848.51 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:02PM American Oriental's CEO and CFO visit the United States as entrepreneur representatives of President Hu Jintao's delegation (AOB) 2.40 +0.02 :
4:02PM A. Schulman CFO, Paul DeSantis, to leave company to accept CFO position at Bob Evans Farms (BOBE) (SHLM) 21.44 -0.01 : A. Schulman announces that Paul DeSantis, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, will leave the Company. DeSantis, who joined the Company in 2006, has accepted a position as Chief Financial Officer of Bob Evans Farms. DeSantis' last day with the Company will be February 28, 2011.
4:01PM MCG Capital announces new three-year maturity for $150 mln warehouse credit facility (MCGC) 7.01 -0.01 :
4:00PM Watson Pharm confirms Welchol oral suspension patent challenge (WPI) 54.56 0.00 : Daiichi Sankyo and Genzyme (GENZ) filed suit against Watson on January 21, 2011 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware seeking to prevent Watson from commercializing its product prior to the expiration of U.S. Patent No. 5,693,675. Daiichi Sankyo's lawsuit was filed under the provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act, resulting in a stay of final FDA approval of Watson's ANDA until June 19, 2013, or until final resolution of the matter before the court, whichever occurs sooner, subject to any other exclusivities.
3:58PM Goldcorp announced the signing of a Power Delivery Agreement with a subsidiary of InterGen (GG) 39.91 +0.22 : The agreement will see InterGen construct and operate a 200-250MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant to deliver electricity to the Penasquito mine in Zacatecas, Mexico for a minimum term of 20 years.
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