4:20 pm: The indices finished mixed for a second straight day and, in similar fashion to Tuesday's performance, the bulk of buying interest was dictated by gains in just a handful of blue chips. The Dow closed at an historic high, but all three major averages finished the day well off their best levels of the session.
A day after a tame read on consumer inflation and solid earnings from two Dow components helped the index briefly eclipse its all-time closing high of 12,786.64, the absence of any potentially troubling economic data and two more of the Dow 30 announcing upbeat quarterly results, alongside some other upbeat blue-chip news, helped power the Dow to its best finish ever.
As evidenced by the 1.0% rally in Financials, a nearly 4% surge in shares of Dow component JPMorgan Chase (JPM 52.07 +1.89) was the biggest story of the day. The financial services giant soared to a six-year high after handily beating analysts' expectations with record results, authorizing a $10 bln buyback, and raising its dividend for the first time in six years. Its report helped renew enthusiasm throughout the recently beaten-down and heavily-weighted Financials sector.
The only other influential sector attracting buyers, and telling the rest of the story behind today's move into uncharted territory for the Dow, was Industrials.
Boeing (BA 93.88 +3.43) surged almost 4% to an all-time high following reports it is the sole bidder for a $2.5 bln South Korean fighter contract. Fellow Dow component Caterpillar (CAT 69.48 +1.82) climbed almost 3% on the back of an analyst upgrade two days before it reports earnings. Boeing's gain alone accounted for almost the entire gain on the Dow.
Technology was also in focus after Dow component Intel (INTC 21.37 +0.39) kicked things off last night with its Q1 report. Intel, a suggested holding in the Briefing.com Active Portfolio, posted an in-line report and revenues were a bit light; but management raising gross margin guidance for the full year helped restore investor confidence in its leadership position. Also helping Semiconductors turn in one of the day's best performances was Linear Technology (LLTC 36.05 +3.93), which soared 12% as shareholders applauded its $3 bln stock buyback program.
However, given such high expectations being priced into Yahoo! (YHOO 28.31 -3.78) shares of late, first quarter results falling short of forecasts on both the top and bottom lines revived worries that estimates for the tech sector are still overly optimistic. IBM (IBM 94.82 -2.30) was another tech blemish after an in-line report. Its CFO saying the U.S. market showed signs of weakness prompted multiple analyst downgrades. The 2.4% decline on the Dow's highest priced stock offset what was shaping up to be an even stronger record performance for the price-weighted index. DJ30 +30.80 NASDAQ -6.45 SP500 +1.02 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1797/1228/2.10 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1850/1414/1.58 bln
3:30 pm : A renewed wave of buying interest now has the Dow trading at its best levels ever going into the close. As evidenced by a turnaround in the Tech sector, even the Nasdaq has garnered enough interest to turn positive for the first time today.
Industry leadership now favors the bulls as seven out of 10 sectors are now trading higher, led by a 1.4% advance in Financials, a 0.7% advance in Industrials and a 0.4% gain in Utilities. The remaining four sectors posting gains are barely above the flat line. DJ30 +62.05 NASDAQ +1.02 SP500 +4.82 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1664/1347/1.71 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1696/1537/1.25 bln
3:00 pm : Blue chips are still holding onto modest gains, led by a rally across the board in Financials. While it's 1.1% advance is very significant behind today's action, the Industrials sector hitting fresh session highs (+0.5%) is even more influential in positioning the Dow for its 13th advance in 14 days.
JP Morgan Chase (JPM 52.19 +2.01) enjoys the best performance (+4.0%) among the 10 components catching a bid. However, gains of 3.3%, 2.6% and 1.3% from Boeing BA 93.44 +2.99), Caterpillar (CAT 69.40 +1.74) and Honeywell (HON 48.27 +0.63), respectively, are having more of the impact on the price-weighted index. The latter three combine to account for nearly 44 Dow points.DJ30 +32.01 NASDAQ -5.70 SP500 +1.59 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1691/1306/1.58 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1708/1515/1.15 bln
2:30 pm : The major averages continue to trade at improved levels, but market internals still exhibit an overall negative tone. As reflected in the A/D line, decliners on the NYSE hold a 17-to-14 edge over advancers while those on the Nasdaq maintain a slightly larger 17-to-12 margin.
The very narrow ratio of down to up volume further dictates the sense of reserve on the part of buyers as the sustainability of gains seen over the course of the past few weeks remain questionable. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have climbed more than 3.5% on average this month alone amid heightened expectations the first quarter won't be as bad as initially thought. DJ30 +35.53 NASDAQ -3.47 SP500 +2.60 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1710/1261/1.43 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1756/1437/1.05 bln
2:00 pm : More of the same for stocks as the Nasdaq and blue-chip averages continue to trade in opposing directions. The Dow is hitting fresh session highs and extending its reach into unchartered territory; the Dow's all-time intraday high was 12,795.93 (Feb. 20). However, gains are still modest at best and 20 of 30 components are posting losses.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, is still struggling to attract much in the way of buying interest outside of the semiconductor space. The disappointment from Yahoo! (YHOO 28.38 -3.71) reviving worries that earnings estimates for the tech sector are still overly optimistic remains the biggest overhang. After opening modestly lower in sympathy with Yahoo's sell-off, rival Google (GOOG 478.75 +5.95) has since turned the corner and is now up 1.3% at the expense of Yahoo's Project Panama rollout so far not living up to expectations.DJ30 +26.08 NASDAQ -6.86 SOX +2.7% SP500 +1.02 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1763/1204/1.33 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1842/1338/972 mln
1:30 pm : The indices are still trading with little fanfare as buyers continue to tiptoe through stocks, picking up shares selectively. Airlines is now today's best performing S&P industry group (+3.3%) as AMR Corp (AMR 31.77 +0.96) swinging to an $81 mln profit offers some optimism about the industry's ongoing turnaround. The AMEX Airline Index is up 1.7% today but still down 4.6% this year.
Bargain hunting efforts are also showing up in Thrifts & Mortgage (+3.0%) and Homebuilding (+2.9%), which rank second and third among today's top ten performers but also among this year's biggest laggards, posting respective year-to-date declines of 5.3% and 15.3%. DJ30 +14.22 NASDAQ -8.22 SP500 +0.04 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1757/1176/1.23 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1837/1325/892 mln
1:00 pm : The blue-chip averages are still struggling to find their footing as there isn't a strong sense of conviction on either the bullish or bearish side of the aisle. The only area of noticeable strength continues to be Financials (+0.9%), which is building on gains that lifted the sector yesterday back into positive territory for the year.
The uphill battle for the bulls continues to be a lack of leadership from Technology, Health Care and Consumer Staples, with the latter two sectors failing to even capture any buying interest due to their defensive characteristics. DJ30 +6.08 NASDAQ -9.25 SP500 -0.35 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1766/1147/1.12 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1781/1327/800 mln
12:30 pm : Not much has changed since the last update as this morning's lackluster action carries over into this afternoon's session. Eight out of 10 economic sectors are still under pressure, still led by a 0.6% decline in Energy even as oil prices turn the corner. Materials (-0.4%) ranks second among today's laggards, which isn't all that surprising since it remains one of this year's best performing sectors (+11%).
Only Utilities has turned in a better performance (+12%) this year than Materials. However, the sector's losses today have been minimized by a decline in bond yields making dividend-paying stocks more attractive, especially for risk-averse investors seeking income amid near-term uncertainty which recently prompted us to upgrade Utilities to Overweight. The 10-year note is up 7 ticks to yield 4.65% as the absence of any economic data to potentially disrupt the bond rally yesterday fueled by a soft core inflation number.DJ30 +17.67 NASDAQ -6.61 SP500 +1.07 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1658/1226/1.00 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1742/1350/716 mln
12:00 pm : With the market exhibiting a fair amount of optimism heading into what is still widely expected to be an uninspiring first quarter of earnings, a batch of mixed reports last night and this morning, especially within the tech sector, has left investors erring on the side of caution midday.
Sure, the Dow is trading higher for the 13th time in 14 days and has eclipsed its all-time closing high of 12,786.64 (Feb. 20); but a 4.0% surge in JP Morgan Chase (JPM 52.18 +2.00) to historic highs is accounting for the Dow's entire move to the upside. JPM posted a 55% jump in record profits that handily topped Wall Street's expectations and authorized a $10 bln stock buyback. Its rally has helped renew enthusiasm throughout a recently beaten-down and heavily-weighted Financials sector. In fact, eight out of 10 sectors are actually trading lower, but a 1.2% gain in Financials has been enough of an offset so far this morning, at least for the blue-chip averages.
The Nasdaq, on the other hand, is trading slightly lower as a handful of disappointments from some tech bellwethers leaves investors questioning the influential sector's growth prospects and the sustainability of recent gains. As evidenced by its nearly 12% sell-off and Internet Software & Services turning in today's worst performance (-2.8%), Yahoo! (YHOO 28.31 -3.78) has been the day's biggest disappointment. Give such high expectations being priced into the stock of late, Yahoo falling short of forecasts on both the top and bottom lines has prompted investors to take some money off the table. IBM (IBM 94.68 -2.44) has been another tech blemish after an in-line report and its CFO saying the U.S. market showed signs of weakness prompted multiple analyst downgrades.
One of the tech sector's bright spots, however, has been semiconductors. Dow component Intel (INTC 21.33 +0.35), which is also a Briefing.com Active Portfolio holding, is up 1.7% after raising its gross margin guidance for the year while Linear Technology (LLTC 36.18 +4.06) is surging nearly 13% as shareholders applaud its announced $3 bln stock buyback. DJ30 +16.49 NASDAQ -5.32 SOX +3.1% SP500 +0.96 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1616/1217/914 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1711/1349/620 mln
11:30 am : Buyers have shown some resolve over the last 30 minutes, but only enough to lift the Dow back into positive territory (and briefly above its all-time closing high) and inch the S&P 500 above the flat line for the first time today. A historic high on JP Morgan Chase (JPM 52.17 +1.99) remains the biggest reason behind the recent uptick among blue chips while a rally in chip stocks, fueled in part by some margin reassurance from Intel (INTC 21.30 +0.32), has helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq pare some of its losses.
Semiconductors now ranks as today's second best performing S&P industry group (+2.6%). Sixteen of the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index's 18 components are trading higher, paced by a 12% surge in Linear Technology (LLTC 36.09 +3.97) after it followed up an in-line Q3 report with an announced $3 bln stock buyback. DJ30 +11.45 NASDAQ -5.90 SOX +2.9% SP500 +0.58 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1537/1252/800 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1688/1349/526 mln
11:00 am : The Dow's recent stint above the flat line has been short lived, despite a reversal in oil prices. After climbing to morning highs ahead of an expected tenth straight drawdown in weekly gasoline inventories and the first decline in crude supplies in three weeks, crude for May delivery is now down 0.5% and back below $63/bbl after the report also said refinery output is increasing.
While lower oil prices are bullish for consumers and the overall earnings picture, the Energy sector subsequently spiking to session lows (-1.0%) has removed some notable leadership. ..OSX -1.6%. ..OIH -1.5%.DJ30 -8.31 NASDAQ -6.92 SP500 -0.48 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1550/1162/650 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1670/1312/402 mln
10:30 am : The major averages have spike higher since the last update, spearheaded by further appreciation in the influential Financials sector. As the most heavily weighted of the 10 sectors, a 1.2% advance in the rate-sensitive sector is acting as a huge counterbalance to weakness nearly everywhere else. Dow component JP Morgan Chase (JPM 52.15 +1.97) is now up nearly 4% while Washington Mutual (WM 42.00 +1.87) is turning in an even better performance (+4.7%) after pledging $2.0 bln to help refinance subprime loans. The latter is helping to earmark Thrifts & Mortgage (+1.3%) as one of today's best performing S&P industry groups.
A recent turnaround in the economically-sensitive Industrials sector (+0.2%) is also lending some reassurance that some of the market's recent gains may be justified. Railroads (+2.8%) are leading the charge as CSX Corp's (CSX 45.50 +2.17) strong price increases during the first quarter allow shareholders to look past its profit shortfall. Caterpillar (CAT 68.77 +1.11) surging 1.6% on the back of an analyst upgrade two days before it reports is also providing sector support and is a reason behind the Dow recently climbing into positive territory. DJ30 +3.81 NASDAQ -8.81 SP500 -0.68 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1752/860/454 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1963/919/238 mln
10:00 am : The indices extend their reach to the downside as nine out of 10 sectors are now in negative territory. Technology is still this morning's biggest laggard, paced by a nearly 12% drubbing in Yahoo! (YHOO 28.36 -3.72), followed by a similar 0.6% decline in Heath Care. Abbott Labs (ABT 57.01 -1.99) beat expectations and raised its full-year profit guidance; but Humira sales were lighter than expected and, with the stock up 22% year to date and shares hitting a 52-week high yesterday ahead of earnings, investors are selling on the news. Abbott's 3.4% decline ranks it as the sector's worst performer.
Financials (+0.7%), in contrast, stands as today's only sector catching a bid, getting its biggest boost from JPMorgan Chase (JPM 51.77 +1.59). The Dow component is up 3.2% after posting a 55% jump in record profits that handily topped Wall Street's expectations and authorizing a $10 bln stock buyback. DJ30 -27.88 NASDAQ -12.05 SP500 -3.15 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1607/867/264 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1827/910/100 mln
09:40 am : As expected, stocks open lower as a mixed batch of earnings reports, highlighted by some disappointments within the tech sector, prompt investors to lock in recent market gains. With the Dow up 13 of the last 14 days and briefly eclipsing its all-time closing high yesterday, there was already a good chance stocks might succumb to some profit taking. IBM (IBM 95.66 -1.46) merely matching analysts' forecasts, prompting multiple analyst downgrades, and Yahoo's (YHOO 28.40 -3.69) highly anticipated Q1 results missing on the top and bottom line, have been among the biggest reasons behind early consolidation efforts.
Fortunately for the bulls, a 1.6% surge in Intel (INTC 21.32 +0.34), which raised its gross margin guidance for the year, and gains from fellow Dow components JP Morgan Chase (JPM 51.95 +1.77) and United Technologies (UTX 66.66 +0.48), following upbeat Q1 reports, are helping to minimize early losses. DJ30 -12.26 NASDAQ -8.31 SP500 -2.64 NASDAQ Vol 98 mln NYSE Vol 42 mln
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.2.
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.5. With the market exhibiting a fair amount of optimism heading into what is still widely expected to be an uninspiring first quarter of earnings, the batch of mixed reports last night and this morning, especially within the tech sector, continue to give the bears a reason to take some money off the table.
Future versus fair value still point to a sharply lower open for stocks as investors begin to realize the upside potential for the market is constrained by the simple fact that earnings growth continues to decelerate in sympathy with darkening economic prospects.
08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.0. Pre-market sentiment continues to deteriorate as the futures market slips deeper below fair value. On a positive note, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) handily topped Wall Street expectations and authorized a new $10 bln stock buyback program while fellow Dow component United Technologies (UTX) beat consensus estimates and reaffirmed its full-year earnings outlook. Be that as it may, the disappointments from so many tech bellwethers have left investors questioning the influential sector's growth prospects and the sustainability of recent market gains. It is also worth noting that the absence of any notable economic data this morning is placing even more emphasis on earnings and guidance.
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.0. Early indications are pointing to a lower start for the cash market, which isn't too surprising given the Dow's 12th advance in 13 sessions and the index's brief visit above its all-time closing high yesterday. Meanwhile, with tech companies expected to account for a substantial portion of earnings growth on the S&P 500 this year, a handful of disappointments in the sector are also contributing to this morning's negative disposition.
Intel (INTC) is up 2% in pre-market action as increased gross margin guidance for the year helps to offset a Q1 revenue shortfall; but fellow Dow component IBM (IBM) is down 2% early on after merely matching analysts' expectations last night and citing a weaker U.S. spending environment. Yahoo! (YHOO) is currently slated to open down almost 9% after its highly anticipated Q1 results missed on the top and bottom line while flat Q2 sales guidance is weighing on Motorola (MOT) shares.
06:17 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.0.
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