Market Update 080723 http://biz.yahoo.com/mu/update.html 4:30 pm : Wednesday marked an active session for Wall Street, with 110 companies releasing their quarterly results, including four Dow components. In addition, the government announced its weekly energy statistics and the Fed released its Beige Book.
The stock market settled with a modest gain of 0.4% in volatile and heavy trade. The advance was aided by a steep drop in crude prices and several better-than-expected earnings reports. The Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts thanks to strength in large-cap tech names.
Defensive investments, such as the utilities sector (-2.3%), underperformed, while beaten-down areas saw a surge in buying interest, as investors showed more willingness to take on risk.
Consumer discretionary stocks rose 2.0%, with homebuilders climbing 4.0%. Automakers rose 3% after General Motors (GM 14.60, +0.28) forecast a 2.5% increase in global 2008 auto sales, as strong emerging market demand offsets weakness in North America. Meanwhile, retailers advanced (+2.4%) after crude prices took a tumble.
Oil prices fell 3.1% to $124.48 per barrel, marking its lowest level in more than six weeks. Crude inventory levels fell by a larger-than-expected amount, but an increase in gasoline stockpiles raised concerns of demand destruction.
The drop in oil prices weighed heavily on the energy sector (-3.8%), but provided a huge lift to airline stocks (+8.5%).
Commodities as a whole fell 1.7%, with gold shedding 3.1% as the dollar rose 0.5%. As a result, the materials sector (-1.7%) underperformed.
The financial sector was once again in focus after Washington Mutual (WM 4.65, -1.17) reported a larger-than-expected second quarter loss of $3.3 billion. The sector managed to gain as much as 4.6% on news that lawmakers reached a deal on a housing bill that, among other things, will allow for financial aid to Fannie Mae (FNM 15.00, +1.59) and Freddie Mac (FRE 10.80, +1.10) if need be. Financials slipped off their best levels, to settle the day with a gain of 1.9%, after WaMu reversed into the red on concerns that it will have to raise more capital. The financial sector is up 34% since July 15, but is still down 23% this year.
Earnings results were mostly better than expected. Anheuser-Busch (BUD 67.36, +0.11), ConocoPhillips (COP 81.83, +2.48), Exelon (EXC 81.41, -0.22), General Dynamics (GD 89.27, +5.82), Norfolk Southern (NSC 69.96, +4.27), McDonald's (MCD 59.66, +0.46), PepsiCo (PEP 67.70, +1.51), Pfizer (PFE 19.09, +0.74), WellPoint (WLP 53.17, +4.42) and Wyeth (WYE 45.55, +0.87) all reported earnings that topped Wall Street forecasts, and increased earnings per share versus the prior year.
AT&T (T 33.06, +1.24) rallied after reporting an 8.6% rise in earnings per share, which met Wall Street's forecast.
There were some earnings misses as well. Boeing (BA 66.72, -2.54), E*Trade (ETFC 3.41, -0.64), Washington Mutual and Yahoo! (YHOO 20.39, -1.01) fell short of estimates.
Costco (COST 63.43, -8.57) warned that its earnings per share for its quarter ending in August will fall "well below" the current consensus estimate of $1.00. Costco cited increased inflation, especially energy costs, and a larger-than-expected LIFO accounting charge. Wal-Mart (WMT 58.09, -0.97), operator of Sam's Club, fell in conjunction with Costco.
The Fed's Beige Book, a collection of anecdotal economic information, prompted a brief drop in stocks, but the market quickly recovered from the knee-jerk reaction as much of the information was already known. The report stated that the economy has "slowed somewhat" since the previous report, and that there were increased price pressures. In addition, consumer spending was "mixed, weak or slowing" in nearly all districts.DJ30 +29.88 NASDAQ +21.92 NQ100 +1.3% R2K +0.3% SP400 +0.1% SP500 +5.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1615/2.73 bln/1224 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1973/1.72 bln/1191
3:35 pm : The stock market is holding onto a modest gain as we head into the final half-hour of the session. The energy sector continues to tumble, now down 4.1%. Its decline is being offset by strength in financials (+2.3%) and consumer discretionary (+1.9%).
It will be another busy day on Thursday, with a flurry of companies reporting earnings and the weekly jobs and existing home sales reports.DJ30 +24.85 NASDAQ +17.23 SP500 +4.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1571/2.31 bln/1258 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1970/1.35 bln/1179
3:00 pm : The major indices continue to post modest gains. The Nasdaq is outperforming, thanks to a rebound in shares of Apple (AAPL 166.38, +4.36) and a 17% jump in Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 327.32, +47.09), after the medical equipment company reported better-than-expected earnings.
Commodities (-1.6%) as a whole have taken a turn south along with oil (-3.1%), as gold is down 3.1% and natural gas is down 3.2%. The materials sector (-2.3%) has fallen to a fresh session low as a result.DJ30 +15.47 NASDAQ +14.74 SP500 +3.96 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1564/2.10 bln/1251 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1972/1.23 bln/1178
2:30 pm : Crude oil quickly dropped to a fresh session low, falling 3.0% to $124.50 in volatile trade. There was no clear catalyst for the sell-off. The stock market catches a modest bid on the decline, but remains well off its best level. The energy sector is on the retreat, now down 2.8%.DJ30 +40.63 NASDAQ +16.63 SP500 +7.73 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1597/1.91 bln/1197 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2003/1.13 bln/1129
2:00 pm : The Dow falls to the unchanged mark upon the release of the Fed's Beige Book, a collection of anecdotal economic information. It states that the economy has "slowed somewhat" from the previous report. In addition, consumer spending was "mixed, weak or slowing" in nearly all districts.
Bank of America (BAC 32.99, +0.64) approved the repurchase of up to 75 million shares of common stock and kept its dividend at $0.64, representing an annual yield of 9.00% at current levels.
Although earnings news took center stage, there was some merger and acquisition news this morning. Property and casualty insurance company Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. (PHLY 58.05, +22.50) entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by Japan-based Tokio Marine Holdings for $61.50 per share in cash. The offer represents a 73% premium to PHLY's previous closing price.DJ30 +5.86 NASDAQ +10.51 SP500 +3.67 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1458/1.76 bln/1311 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1860/1.04 bln/1278
1:30 pm : Stocks are largely unchanged from earlier levels as advancing issues continue to outnumber declining stocks.
With participants willing to take an interest in relatively riskier names, the utilities sector has been shunned. Utilities are the session's worst performing sector, down 2.4%. The sector has shed roughly 6.3% this month as much of the selling comes indiscriminately.
In particular, Exelon (EXC 81.62, -2.96) is a primary laggard in the sector, despite posting a positive earnings per share surprise this morning. Shares of EXC are down almost 9% in July.DJ30 +1.38 NASDAQ +10.46 SP500 +3.59 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1528/1.61 bln/1209 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1913/953 mln/1215
1:00 pm : Buyers halt the markets recent retreat, with the S&P 500 holding with a modest gain. The telecom sector is surging 4.2%, thanks to strength in AT&T (T 33.49, +1.69) -- the S&P 500's best-performing name this session.
The tech sector is outperforming with a gain of 0.9%. EMC Corp (EMC 13.79, +1.33) is up 11% due to its better-than-expected second quarter results. The gains come despite a plunge in shares of EMC's 86% holding VMware (WMW 32.25, -2.72), which reported disappointing earnings.DJ30 +18.72 NASDAQ +12.37 SP500 +5.68 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1536/1.51 bln/1200 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1921/892 mln/1189
12:30 pm : The Dow falls back into negative territory as crude prices recover to the unchanged mark (-0.1% at $128.20). Prices were down as much as 2.4% in earlier trade.
The energy (-1.0%) and materials (unch) sectors trade near their session highs, while the remaining eight sectors dip.
European markets closed with healthy gains, thanks to strength in banks. London's FTSE climbed 1.0%, France's CAC rose 1.9% and Germany's DAX advanced 1.5%.DJ30 -8.06 NASDAQ +7.24 SP500 +3.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1462/1.38 bln/1232 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1852/814 mln/1241
12:10 pm : Wednesday has been an extremely busy session with 110 companies releasing their quarterly results, including four Dow components. The stock market is posting a modest gain at midday, benefiting from several better-than-expected earnings reports and a drop in crude oil prices. However, stocks are well off their session high of 1.1% after the financial sector gave up the bulk of its gains.
The financial sector is up 0.5% despite a larger-than-expected loss of $3.3 billion at Washington Mutual (WM 5.55, -0.27). The sector is benefiting from reports that lawmakers agreed on a bill to aid Fannie Mae (FNM 15.38, +1.97) and Freddie Mac (FRE 10.68, +0.98), and are expected to vote on the plan today. However, financials are well off their intraday high when they were up 4.6%.
Consumer discretionary is up 1.4%, getting a boost from a strength in retailers (+1.8%). Automakers (+7.8%) are also enjoying a lift after GM forecast a 2.5% increase in global auto sales as strength in emerging markets offsets weakness in North America.
Oil-sensitive stocks are benefiting from a 1.3% drop in crude oil prices. Crude prices held in the red after a larger-than-expected decrease in oil stockpiles was offset by a larger-than-expected increase in gasoline inventories.
Of the three sectors trading lower, utilities (-2.2%) are posting the largest loss as the 10-year note continues to slide. Energy stocks (-1.5%) are also under pressure as crude falls.
Overall, earnings results have been mostly better than expected. Anheuser-Busch (BUD 67.37, +0.12), ConocoPhillips (COP 83.54, 0.77), Exelon (EXC 82.36, -2.22), General Dynamics (GD 87.74, +4.29), Norfolk Southern (NSC 69.30, +3.61), McDonald's (MCD 59.53, +0.59), PepsiCo (PEP 66.82, +0.63), Pfizer (PFE 18.94, +0.59), WellPoint (WLP 52.77, +4.02) and Wyeth (WYE 45.98, +1.30) all reported earnings that topped Wall Street forecasts, and increased earnings per share versus the prior year. AT&T (T 33.24, +1.36) reported an 8.6% rise in earnings per share, which met Wall Street's forecast.
There were some earnings misses as well. Boeing (BA 66.99, -2.27), E*Trade (ETFC 3.44, -0.61), Washington Mutual and Yahoo! (YHOO 21.73, +0.33) fell short of estimates.
On a negative note, Costco (COST 64.45, -7.55) warned that its earnings per share for its latest quarter will fall "well below" the current consensus estimate of $1.00. Costco cited increased inflation, especially energy costs, and a larger-than-expected LIFO accounting charge. Wal-Mart (WMT 57.20, -1.86), operator of Sam's Club, fell in conjunction with Costco. DJ30 +1.46 NASDAQ +11.05 SP500 +3.24 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1503/1.27 bln/1179 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1859/754 mln/1216
11:30 am : The stock market is posting a gain of 0.7%, but is well off its session high when it was up 1.1%. The retreat was mostly broad-based, although the financial sector (+1.6%) saw a notable drop.
Financials -- the second most heavily-weighted sector -- was up 4.6% at its session high, but has since retreated to a gain of 1.6%. Within the sector, 33% of stocks are trading lower, with weakness in insurance brokers (-1.5%) and asset management firms (-0.8%).
Crude has traded in a choppy manner, and is currently down 1.5%, which is close to its preinventory data level. Commodities as a whole are down 1.4%, with gold shedding 2.2%. The dollar is up 0.4% against a basket of world currencies.DJ30 +42.42 NASDAQ +30.00 SP500 +9.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1656/1.04 bln/985 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2017/626 mln/1034
11:00 am : Stocks rally to new highs and then run into some modest resistance, but still sport solid gains. Consumer discretionary (+2.3%) is posting the largest advance as retailers (+3.0%) climb higher. The oil-sensitive area saw a surge in buying interest after oil prices (-1.2% at $126.82) held in the red following the government's data.
Crude oil inventory levels fell by a larger-than-expected amount, which normally causes a rise in oil prices. However, this decline is being offset by an unexpected build in gasoline inventories, which is raising concerns of demand destruction due to high fuel costs.
Overall, investors are shifting away from defensive-oriented investments, with consumer staples (-0.1%), utilities (-2.1%), and health care (+0.6%) underperforming the broader market. Meanwhile, longer-term Treasures are on the decline, with the 10-year note falling 15 ticks.
Conversely, buying interest is surging in beaten-down areas, such as thrifts and mortgages (+12.8%) auto manufacturers (+9.1%), airlines (+9.2%) and homebuilding (+6.5%). Financials in general are up 1.6%.DJ30 +30.94 NASDAQ +27.39 SP500 +8.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1611/859 mln/972 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2018/507 mln/999
10:35 am : The stock market extends its gains in mostly broad-based buying interest, and holds its gain after a government report showed a drop in crude inventory levels. Specifically, crude stockpiles fell 1.6 million barrels, which is larger than the expected decrease of 675,000 barrels. Just prior to the report, crude prices were trading down 1.5% to $126.41 per barrel.
The Dow climbs into positive territory, but is underperforming the S&P 500. Investors are disappointed with Boeing's (BA 66.15, -3.11) 14% year-over-year decrease in quarterly earnings per share, and are driving Wal-Mart's (WMT 58.40, -0.66) stock lower in response to the earnings warning from Costco (COST 64.98, -7.02).
Helping to offset these losses, Dow component General Motors (GM 15.43, +1.11) is enjoying some buying interest thanks to a solid 10% rise in sales outside the United States. GM still faces challenges though, as total sales were down 5%, after North American sales fell 20%. AT&T (T 32.52, +0.70) is up 2% after reporting a 30% increase in profit, which matched Wall Street's forecast.
The defensive-oriented utilities sector (-2.1%) is a laggard this session, despite Chicago-based Exelon (EXC 81.44, -3.14) reporting higher-than-expected earnings. Some of the selling interest is due to the increased attractiveness of Treasuries, with the 10-year note yield climbing to 4.2%, compared to the utilities sector's yield of 3.3%.DJ30 +67.90 NASDAQ +39.96 SP500 +11.78 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1620/619 mln/868 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2001/358 mln/943
10:05 am : The stock market climbs into positive territory following a pick up in buying interest led by financial stocks (+1.5%). The market's advance, however, is being limited by weakness in energy stocks (-1.6%).
The financial sector is up 1.5%, which follows its 6.6% surge in Tuesday's trade. Thrifts and mortgages (+7.8%) are providing leadership after lawmakers agreed on a bill to aid Fannie Mae (FNM 15.60, +2.19) and Freddie Mac (FRE 10.59, +0.89). The House of Representatives is set to vote on the bill today, according to reports. Financials have soared a whopping 33% since July 15.
Crude oil prices are down 1.6% to $126.44 per barrel ahead of the government's weekly energy report at 10:35 ET. Crude was down as much as 2.4% earlier in the session. Crude prices are down 16% since July 11, which has aided in the broader market's recent recovery effort.DJ30 -21.09 NASDAQ +7.48 SP500 +1.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1309/345 mln/1027 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1627/205 mln/1170
09:40 am : After yesterday's late-session rally, the stock market gets off to a flat start. Futures were suggesting a slightly higher start, but buying interest faded as crude oil (-0.6% at $127.68) pared some of its losses. The market is digesting a barrage of earnings reports and a warning from a warehouse retailer.
Pfizer (PFE 18.85, +0.50), McDonald's (MCD 59.38, -0.74), PepsiCo (PEP 66.32, +0.13), General Dynamics (GD 83.90, +0.52) and WellPoint (WLP 53.21, +4.50) all reported earnings that topped Wall Street's forecast, and increased earnings per share versus the prior year.
There were some earnings misses as well. Washington Mutual (WM 5.80, -0.03), Yahoo! (YHOO 21.61, +0.21) and E*Trade (ETFC 3.60, -0.45) fell short of estimates.
On another negative note, Costco (COST 62.49, -9.51) warned that its earnings per share for its latest quarter will fall "well below" the current consensus estimate of $1.00. Costco cited increased inflation, especially energy costs, and a larger-than-expected LIFO accounting charge.DJ30 -30.70 NASDAQ +0.52 SP500 -0.17
09:16 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.8.
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.5. A slightly higher open is expected. ConocoPhillips (COP) benefited from the record crude oil prices, as the company earned $3.50 per share in the second quarter, which is $0.05 better than the consensus estimate. Shares of General Motors (GM) are 3% higher in premarket trading, with the company announcing second quarter global sales of 2.3 million vehicles. Ambac (ABK) announced that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.01 per share, yielding 1.7% at current levels.
08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.0. Futures suggest a modestly higher open as traders digest a large number of earnings reports. Retailer Target (TGT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse . The firm cited the continued deterioration of Target's credit business. US Bancorp (USB) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, according to Dow Jones.
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.2. Futures suggest a modestly higher start on what is going to be another busy day for Wall Street, with a barrage of companies releasing their quarterly results. A 1.6% drop in crude prices ahead of the weekly energy inventory report is helping to prop up the stock futures market. On the earnings front EMC Corp (EMC), McDonald's (MCD), PepsiCo (PEP), Pfizer (PFE), Philip Morris International (PM), Wyeth (WYE) and WellPoint (WLP) all topped thier estimates. Boeing's (BA) revenue came up slightly short of estimates, while AT&T (T) reported in-line results. Meanwhile, Yahoo! (YHOO), E*Trade (ETFC) and Washington Mutual (WM) fell short of expectations. The latter company is also on review for a downgrade at Moody's. In other news, Costco (CSCO) warned this morning that its fourth quarter (August) earnings per share will fall "well below" the current consensus of $1.00 due to inflation and a greater-than-expected LIFO charge. Costco also announced that its board authorized an additional common stock repurchase program of up to $1 billion.
06:14 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.3.
06:14 am : FTSE...5442.70...+78.60...+1.5%. DAX...6515.44...+72.65...+1.1%.
06:14 am : Nikkei...13312.93...+127.97...+1.0%. Hang Seng...23134.55...+607.07...+2.7%.
My posting is for my own entertainment, do your own DD before pushing your buy/call button
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
