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From Briefing.com: Weekly Recap - Week ending 12-Oct-12

Dow +2.46 at 13328.85, Nasdaq -5.30 at 3044.11, S&P -4.25 at 1428.59

Today's session got off to a quiet start. The major averages held near their opening levels until the preliminary October University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey registered a reading of 83.1. The survey's best level since September 2007 lifted the major averages to their session highs. However, the exuberance was short-lived as the key indices promptly fell through the unchanged line, to their session lows. The afternoon was generally quiet as the S&P 500 hovered within points of the 1,428 level before settling at 1,428.59, with a loss of 0.3%. Note that today's session punctuated a down week, during which the S&P 500 lost 2.2%.

The financial sector was the biggest laggard of the day. Despite record earnings from two major names, the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 15.81, -0.22) shed 1.4%. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 41.62, -0.48) reported earnings of $1.40 per share against expectations of $1.21. Meanwhile, its revenues were reported at $25.15 billion which was ahead of the expected $24.27 billion. The stock traded higher in initial response to the earnings report, but it settled lower by 1.1%.

Wells Fargo (WFC 34.25, -0.93) slid 2.6% after reporting mixed earnings. WFC exceeded earnings expectations by one cent, while its revenues fell $200 million short of analyst estimates.

Other major financials also showed weakness. Bank of America (BAC 9.12, -0.22) and Morgan Stanley (MS 17.31, -0.55) slipped 2.4% and 3.1%, respectively.

Consumer staple stocks were the top performers of the session. Within the space, Dean Foods (DF 14.94, +0.29) added 2.0% after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock to ‘buy' from ‘hold' with an $18 price target.

Cigarette stocks also showing strength among defensive staple stocks. Philip Morris (PM 91.70, +0.86) and Altria (MO 33.12, +0.41) saw respective gains of 1.0% and 1.3%.

Elsewhere in the space, Monster Beverage (MNST 57.08, +2.64) advanced 4.9% in a rebound from recent weakness.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average outperformed the broader market and settled higher by 0.9%. JB Hunt (JBHT 58.37, +3.58) is the top performer within the space. The freight carrier settled higher by 6.5% after its mixed earnings report showed a top line beat and a slight bottom line miss. Meanwhile, peer CH Robinson (CHRW 59.94, +1.04) added 1.8%. With most transportation stocks on the rise, Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG 5.08, -0.80) was a notable laggard as the shipping stock tumbled 13.6%.

AMD (AMD 2.74, -0.46) slumped 14.4% after the company lowered its third quarter revenue guidance below consensus. Peer Intel (INTC 21.48, -0.20) settled lower by 0.9% while the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH 30.50, -0.10) slipped 0.3%.

Overall producer prices rose during September by 1.1%, which was hotter than the 0.8% increase that had been widely forecast. Core producer prices were unchanged which was lower than the Briefing.com consensus call of a 0.2% increase.

The September Treasury Budget showed a $75 billion surplus, which was in-line with expectations.

Next week, the earnings season enters full force as more than 230 companies are scheduled to report their third quarter results.

On Monday, September retail sales, retail sales ex-auto, and the October Empire Manufacturing Index will all be reported at 8:30 ET. In addition, August business inventories will be released at 10:00 ET.

Weekly Review: Markets Cautious Ahead of Third Quarter Earnings

On Monday, equities began the day on a negative note after the World Bank cut its growth projections for the Asian region. Lacking an additional catalyst, the key indices spent the majority of the session trading near their opening levels. A late-day buying surge briefly lifted the S&P 500 and Dow to their session highs, but the bulk of the move was promptly retraced. As a result, the S&P 500 shed 0.3% and the Nasdaq ended with a loss of 0.8%. Marathon Petroleum (MPC 54.30, -0.36) advanced 5.4% after announcing the purchase of BP's Texas City Refinery, related logistics, and marketing assets.

Tuesday's session began on a mixed note before a broad sell-off sent the major averages to their session lows. The weakness started in the technology sector where a slew of companies lowered their third quarter guidance. After reaching their worst levels of the day, the key indices traded sideways until late-day selling coincided with reports the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan filed a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against Wells Fargo (WFC 34.25, -0.93). The company has since come out and denied any wrongdoing. As a result, the S&P 500 fell 1.0% while the Nasdaq underperformed with a loss of 1.5%.

Wednesday's session got off to a mixed start as the key indices chopped around their respective unchanged lines during the first hour. Sellers took control after traders digested the wholesale inventories data, pushing the major averages to their worst levels. Afternoon trade was mostly quiet as the three averages hovered near session lows. As a result, the S&P 500 finished lower by 0.6%. Alcoa (AA 8.69, -0.08) dipped 4.6% after beating on earnings and revenues. However, the company's third quarter revenue of $5.833 billion represents a 9.1% year-over-year decrease.

On Thursday, equities began the session on a positive note after the weekly initial claims were reported at their lowest level since January 2008. However, the reading of 339,000 may not be entirely comparable to the prior period as one unidentified large state was not included in the total. The early bullish sentiment failed to hold as the major averages reversed during the first hour, and headed for the flat line. As a result, the S&P 500 ended flat. Alpha Natural Resources (ANR 7.88, -0.67) and Arch Coal (ACI 7.62, -0.32) both surged near 16.0%.
Index Started Week Ended Week Change % Change YTD %
DJIA 13610.15 13328.85 -281.30 -2.1 9.1
Nasdaq 3136.19 3044.11 -92.08 -2.9 16.8
S&P 500 1460.93 1428.59 -32.34 -2.2 13.6
Russell 2000 842.86 823.09 -19.77 -2.3 11.1

9:36AM Semiconductor Hldrs rebounds back to positive territory after filling July gap at 30.50 -- session low 30.48 (SMH) 30.64 +0.64 :

9:28AM STMicroelectronics denies the existence of initiatives which can compromise the unity of the company (STM) 5.64 : Co says that following today's media speculations, STM denies the existence of initiatives which can compromise the unity of the Company. The Company will announce its Q3 2012 results as planned on Oct 23, 2012.

ATMI (ATMI) has announced plans to further increase its commitment to the Asia-Pacific microelectronics markets, and South Korea customers in particular, through a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to be built in JangAn, Gyeonggi province.

TSMC (TSM) announced that it has taped out the foundry segment's first CoWoS test vehicle using JEDEC Solid State Technology Association's Wide I/O mobile DRAM interface.

6:00AM JA Solar responds to U.S. Department of Commerce's final decision on anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese solar products; says 'we are pleased that the dispute is coming to a close' (JASO) 0.83 : Co responded to the final determination by the U.S. Department of Commerce on imposing anti-dumping duties on China-produced solar products. Pursuant to the DOC's determination, PV cells produced in China by JA Solar will be subject to an antidumping duty of 25.96% and a countervailing duty of 15.24%. Jonathan Pickering, president of JA Solar USA, commented, "We are pleased that the dispute is coming to a close and that the scope of the investigation was not expanded. JA Solar cooperated fully with the DOC during its investigation, and we continue to state our case to the ITC." Mr. Pickering continued, "We remain focused on addressing our customers' need for high-quality, high-performance products, and we're determined to play an active role in the rapid growth of the U.S. market."

5:29AM JinkoSolar Holding comments on U.S. Department of Commerce's final decision on tariffs; believes 'duties are unfair and unfounded' (JKS) 3.79 : Co issues statement on the U.S. Department of Commerce's final determination to impose anti-dumping duties of 25.96% and countervailing duties of 15.24% on co's crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled into modules from the People's Republic of China. "We believe that these duties are unfair and unfounded. The ruling to impose stiff duties on JinkoSolar products does not reflect the reality of the highly competitive global solar industry and will only hinder the development of the entire PV industry. It will ultimately end up hurting US consumers, slow down the roll-out of green energy and limit job creation. Ill-conceived unilateral trade barriers such as these will reduce solar's competitiveness against other forms of electricity generation. However, the tariffs will not impact our global strategy and we will continue to commit ourselves to promoting the prosperity of the solar industry."

3:45AM LDK Solar responds to the final U.S. DOC determination for Chinese solar cells and modules (LDK) 1.01 : Co announces statement regarding the U.S. Department of Commerce's final determination on October 10th, 2012 to impose countervailing duties of 15.24% and anti-dumping duties of effectively 25.96% on LDK's crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules and cells produced exclusively in China. "We believe that unilateral trade barriers will not make any solar company more competitive, but will make solar power less competitive against other forms of electricity generation. The growth of destructive trade barriers recently from the U.S. represent significant, long-term challenges to the health of the global solar industry and countervail with the industry's aim to make solar power affordable for everyone."

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD $2.95 -0.25) issued downside guidance for the third quarter, seeing revenues down 10% quarter over quarter (lowered from -4 to +2%) to approximately $1.271 billion versus the $1.38 billion Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. The lower than anticipated preliminary revenue results are primarily due to weaker than expected demand across all product lines caused by the challenging macroeconomic environment. The company now expects third quarter gross margin to be approximately 31%, less than the previous expectation of approximately 44% primarily due to an inventory write-down of around $100 million due to lower than anticipated future demand for certain products. Third quarter gross margin was also negatively impacted by weaker than expected demand, which contributed to lower than anticipated average selling prices (ASPs) for the company's Computing Solutions Group products and lower than expected utilization of its back-end manufacturing facilities. Operating expenses for the third quarter are expected to decline approximately 7% quarter over quarter as a result of tightly controlled expenses. AMD will report third quarter 2012 results after market close on Thursday, October 18, 2012.