Market Update 080724 http://biz.yahoo.com/mu/update.html 4:30 pm : The stock market trended lower for virtually the entire session Thursday as stocks lacked leadership and participants returned their focus toward negative themes. The descent dragged the stock market to a 2.3% loss.
Selling was the most concentrated in the financial sector, which finished 6.7% lower. Coming into the session, the financial sector was up 34% from its low last week. However, when the sector dipped there was no buying support, as in recent sessions.
Participants were reminded of the troubles in the housing sector, which has caused considerable pain to the financial sector, when the June existing home sales were announced. Annualized sales came in at 4.86 million, which is down from the prior reading of 4.99 million and below the consensus forecast of 4.94 million. Month-over-month, existing home sales slipped 2.6%. Additionally, the inventory of unsold homes jumped to 11.1 month's worth of supply from 10.8. The increased supply was taken as a sign that a bottom may be farther off than many hoped.
Separately, renewed worries about the financial condition of Washington Mutual (WM 4.03, -0.62) and government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae (FNM 12.02, -2.98) and Freddie Mac (FRE 8.81, -1.99) also played a role in driving down the financial sector. Weakness in the latter two stocks was notable as it came amid reports the Senate was on the verge of passing the housing bill.
In other economic news, initial jobless claims for the week ending July 19 totaled 406,000, which is an increase of 34,000 from the prior week and 26,000 more than economists expected. That is the second time in four weeks the claims number has been reported above 400,000. Notably, the 4-week moving average bumped up to 382,500 from 378,000. Still, we would note that the 4-week average is fairly close to the level seen in April and is comfortably below recession-like levels.
While the U.S. may be skirting a recession, stiff macro headwinds continue to challenge several industries.
Ford Motor Company (F 5.11, -0.92) suffered after reporting a wider-than-expected loss for its most recent quarter. The company was also hurt by some $8 billion of charges related to its deteriorating credit portfolio and truck fleet.
Meanwhile, Dow Chemical (DOW 33.11, -1.13) and its recently acquired Rohm and Haas (ROH 74.25, -0.15) both announced disappointing earnings results. The performance was not too surprising considering Dow’s repeated cautions stemming from rising material costs.
Those themes largely overshadowed upbeat earnings results from several widely-held companies. 3M (MMM 71.05, +0.25), AmerisourceBergen (ABC 43.15, +3.15), and McKesson (MCK 56.00, -2.85) all exceeded earnings estimates.
Qualcomm (QCOM 52.43, +7.61) and Amazon.com (AMZN 78.72, +8.18) were among the session’s best performers, despite the pessimistic tone governing trading. Though Qualcomm issued downside guidance, Qualcomm settled a longstanding legal dispute with Nokia (NOK 27.29, +0.59), which is believed to remove uncertainty from the chip and wireless communication industry. Meanwhile, Amazon garnered interest after reporting a 40% year-over-year increase in sales and better-than-expected earnings results.
In the end, all ten of the economic sectors finished with a loss. Declining stocks in the S&P 500 outnumbered advancing issues by more than 4-to-1.DJ30 -283.10 NASDAQ -45.77 NQ100 -1.6% R2K -2.3% SP400 -3.0% SP500 -29.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 867/2.55 bln/1930 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 605/1.64 bln/2562
3:30 pm : Stocks have made another move lower. All three of the major indices are trading at their worst level of the session. The Dow is now down 2.1% and the S&P 500 is not far behind.
Selling efforts remain concerted as six of the economic sectors continue to trade with losses of at least 1%, four of which have losses exceeding 2%.
According to Reuters, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a bill that would require the government to sell 70 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves. Crude ended its session on the Nymex $0.95 higher at $125.39 per barrel.DJ30 -246.13 NASDAQ -34.53 SP500 -25.30 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 858/2.1 bln/1920 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 625/1.21 bln/2530
3:05 pm : The stock market holds near its recently reached session low, as financials (-5.6%) continue to succumb to profit taking.
Other outperforming areas over the past few sessions are also posting large losses, with the Amex Airline Index tumbling 11%. At yesterday's close, the Amex Airline Index was up 79% since its multiyear low on July 15. The index is down 42% this year as airlines lose billions of dollars due to the rise in crude prices, although Southwest Airlines (LUV 15.19, -0.69) reported a second quarter profit thanks to hedging fuel costs.
Only the health care sector (+0.40%) remains in positive territory, due to a positive response to earnings from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY 22.26, +0.37) and Eli Lilly (LLY 48.22, +0.60).DJ30 -203.60 NASDAQ -25.81 SP500 -20.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 965/1.91 bln/1791 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 693/1.11 bln/2444
2:30 pm : Stocks have trended to a new session low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now trading with a 200 point loss.
Seven of the ten major economic sectors are trading with losses in excess of 1%. Financials remain the worst performer, down 5.1%. Though the loss is sizeable, it is considerably narrower than the 34% gain that financials made heading into the session after hitting a low last week.
Declining stocks in the S&P 500 outnumber advancing issues by approximately 4-to-1.DJ30 -206.97 NASDAQ -27.22 SP500 -20.12 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1015/1.76 bln/1718 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 748/1.01 bln/2386
2:00 pm : Stocks are relatively unchanged from earlier levels. The session's tone has been generally pessimistic since the early going.
Large-cap tech is a relative outperformer, as indicated by the Nasdaq 100 (-0.3%). Primary support comes from Qualcomm (QCOM 53.29, +8.47) and Amazon.com (AMZN 81.40, +10.86). The share gains of QCOM have taken the stock to a new 52-week high.
Treasuries continue to find support. The benchmark 10-year Note is up 22 ticks and yielding 4.03%.DJ30 -175.71 NASDAQ -22.62 SP500 -17.67 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1032/1.61 bln/1668 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 747/927 mln/2354
1:30 pm : The stock market has been unable to put together a sustainable turnaround and continues to chop along deep in negative territory.
There has been no support from the financial sector, which is currently down 4.2%. Financials are being helped by Ameriprise Financial (AMP 41.86, +1.35). The financial planning and services company announced after yesterday's close better-than-expected earnings results for its most recent quarter.DJ30 -153.40 NASDAQ -21.40 SP500 -15.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1091/1.48 bln/1596 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 833/851 mln/2261
1:00 pm : The stock market has made a bit of an upturn from its session low, though for no single apparent reason. Losses remain significant, however.
Oil has crossed back above the $125 per barrel mark, while the dollar holds on to its gains. The dollar index is currently up 0.2%.
The energy sector has made its way back into positive ground after falling more than 2.2%. Sector gains are attributable to heavyweights like Exxon Mobil (XOM 81.37, +0.38) and ConocoPhillips (COP 82.69, +0.86).DJ30 -142.08 NASDAQ -21.72 SP500 -14.23 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1065/1.33 bln/1610 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 829/762 mln/2262
12:35 pm : Healthcare remains the only sector in positive ground as sellers lead the session's action. Financials have fallen to their worst level of the session, down 3.5%. Still, the financial sector is up more than 4.0% week-to-date.
Oil prices are currently up just a bit to $124.65 per barrel. The commodity has been trading without clear direction this session after dropping noticeably in recent sessions.
Oil's limited action is being largely overlooked by the broader market as participants debate whether the recent gains of the stock market have been little more than speculative buying from bottom fishers.DJ30 -136.71 NASDAQ -25.78 SP500 -15.58 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1047/1.22 bln/1604 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 794/691 mln/2269
12:05 pm : Mixed earnings results from several nonfinancial firms and downbeat economic data are guiding trading Thursday. At midday, all three of the major indices trade with marked losses.
Reflecting the dour state surrounding automakers, Ford Motor Company (F 5.43, -0.60) announced its second quarter revenues slid nearly 13% from the previous year and it incurred more than $8 billion in charges. Excluding extraordinary items, the company reported a loss of $0.62 per share, which is worse than analysts expected.
Broadly diversified 3M (MMM 72.54, +1.74) announced earnings results of its own that exceeded analysts' expectations. The company earned $1.39 per share. Meanwhile, Dow Chemical (DOW 33.57, -0.67) missed the consensus estimate, as did Rohm and Haas (ROH 74.49, +0.09), which was recently acquired by Dow.
AmerisourceBergen (ABC 43.52, +3.52) and McKesson (MCK 56.42, -2.43) both beat earnings estimates and issued upside guidance, but Eli Lilly (LLY 48.35, -0.73) fell short of expectations and issued downside guidance. Despite the disappointing news from Lilly, the firm is trading higher and helping the health care sector post a 0.6% gain. Health care is trading near its best level of the session.
Staging one of the largest gains in the S&P 500, Amazon.com (AMZN 81.18, +10.64) announced after yesterday's close its second quarter revenue surged 40% year-over-year to $4.1 billion and earned an adjusted $0.26 per share, which is better than analysts forecast.
Also climbing higher is Qualcomm (QCOM 51.98, +7.16), which has settled a longstanding legal dispute with Nokia (NOK 27.59, +0.89). Though Qualcomm issued downside guidance, the settlement is believed to remove uncertainty from the chip and wireless communication industry.
Financial stocks (-2.5%) are one of the worst performing sectors as little news is garnering interest in its names. Although, regional bank National City (NCC 4.73, +0.02) is trading higher, despite posting a second quarter loss of $2.45 per share. That loss was driven by increased loan loss reserves, liquidating its assets in its loan portfolio, and noncash impairment charges. Still, the firm did not announce a need to raise additional capital.
In economic news, initial jobless claims for the week ending July 19 totaled 406,000, which is an increase of 34,000 from the prior week and 26,000 more than economists expected. That is the second time in four weeks the claims number has been reported above 400,000. Notably, the 4-week moving average bumped up to 382,500 from 378,000. The latter is still fairly close to the level seen in April and is comfortably below recession-like levels.
Annualized existing home sales for June came in at 4.86 million, which is down from the prior reading of 4.99 million and 80,000 below the consensus forecast. Month-over-month, existing home sales slipped 2.6%. The prior reading continues to reflect a 2.0% increase. The inventory of unsold homes, meanwhile, jumped to 11.1 months worth of supply from 10.8.
Median prices were down 6.1% from a year-ago to $215,100, but reached their highest level since last August. Median prices have risen for four straight months and are up 10% from their February low.DJ30 -130.19 NASDAQ -21.05 SP500 -14.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1118/1.12 bln/1509 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 836/629 mln/2211
11:30 am : All three of the major indices are trading with losses in excess of 1%.
Financial stocks are trading appreciably lower. The sector is down 2.4% after staging several consecutive sessions of healthy gains. Particular weakness is being exhibited by the thrifts and mortgage industry (-8.2%), where Fannie Mae (FNM 13.90, -1.10) and Freddie Mac (FRE 10.24, -0.56) are moving lower.
Regional bank National City (NCC 4.86, +0.15) is trading higher, despite posting a second quarter loss of $2.45 per share. That loss was driven by increased loan loss reserves, liquidating its assets in its loan portfolio, and noncash impairment charges.DJ30 -134.51 NASDAQ -23.80 SP500 -14.77 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1053/945 mln/1530 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 846/519 mln/2144
11:00 am : Stocks continue to chop along in negative territory. Still, participants are finding encouragement among select names.
Amazon.com (AMZN 81.38, +10.84) is making a strong showing despite the generally pessimistic tone to the session. The Internet retailer announced after yesterday's close its second quarter revenue climbed more than 40% from the prior year to $4.1 billion. Excluding extraordinary gains, it earned $0.26 per share, which is better than analysts forecast.
Qualcomm (QCOM 52.40, +7.58) is also outperforming many names in the S&P 500. The company announced it has settled a longstanding legal dispute with Nokia (NOK 27.82, +1.12), which has overshadowed its downside guidance. The settlement is believed to remove uncertainty from the chip and wireless communication industry.DJ30 -104.14 NASDAQ -15.81 SP500 -10.23 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1108/784 mln/1419 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 957/413 mln/1976
10:30 am : The major indices continue to trade with losses. Particular weakness is being shown by the Dow.
Dow components McDonald's (MCD 58.02, -1.64) and AT&T (T 32.29, -0.77) are acting as laggards early on. Shares of MCD were downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. Shares of T were downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan after climbing more than 3% in yesterday's action.
Treasury yields have pushed lower as buying interest in government securities increases. The 10-year Note is currently up 12 ticks and the 30-year Bond is up 20 ticks.DJ30 -125.06 NASDAQ -20.66 SP500 -9.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1042/581 mln/1414 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1014/289 mln/1835
10:05 am : Stocks remain in the red after all three of the major indices made a sharp move lower. Small- and mid-cap stocks are also encountering selling pressure, as indicated by the Russell 2000 and the S&P 400.
Annualized existing home sales for June came in at 4.86 million, which is down from the prior reading of 4.99 million and 80,000 below the consensus forecast. Month-over-month, existing home sales slipped 2.6%. The prior reading continues to reflect a 2.0% increase.DJ30 -97.14 NASDAQ -11.47 SP500 -6.47 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1026/357 mln/1322 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1069/180 mln/1653
09:50 am : All three of the major indices are off to a disappointing start. Eight of the ten economic sectors are trading lower, reflecting the general sense of pessimism surrounding early action.
Oil has pared its early gains and is now trading near $124.50 per barrel, relatively unchanged.
Existing home sales data for June is due at the top of the hour.DJ30 -55.77 NASDAQ -7.90 SP500 -3.05 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1054/227 mln/1181 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1101/112 mln/1530
09:16 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.0. Though somewhat improved, stock futures continue to indicate a mixed start to Thursday's trading.
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.5. Stocks remain on track for a mixed start. Conglomerate 3M (MMM) earned $1.39 per share during its most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, Dow Chemical (DOW) missed the consensus estimate, generating $0.81 per share. Rohm and Haas (ROH), which was recently acquired by Dow, brought in $0.82 per share and also fell short of analysts' consensus earnings target.
08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.0. Stock futures continue to indicate a mixed start to Thursday's action. Traders continue to digest earnings results from the likes of AmerisourceBergen (ABC) and McKesson (MCK), both of which beat estimates and issued upside guidance. On the other hand, Eli Lilly (LLY) fell short of the consensus earnings estimate and issued downside guidance. In economic news, initial jobless claims for the week ending July 19 totaled 406,000, which is an increase of 34,000 from the prior week and 26,000 more than economists expected.
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.5. Stock futures currently indicate a mixed start. Ford Motor Company (F) announced its revenues slid nearly 13% year-over-year, which resulted in a loss of $0.62 per share, excluding nonrecurring items. The loss is worse than analysts expected. After delaying earnings results Qualcomm (QCOM) reported earnings that were in-line with expectations, excluding certain extraordinary items. Its revenues climbed nearly 19% year-over-year.
06:11 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.0.
06:10 am : FTSE...5425.30...-24.60...-0.4%. DAX...6481.31...-54.78...-0.8%.
06:10 am : Nikkei...13603.31...+290.38...+2.2%. Hang Seng...23087.72...-46.83...-0.2%.
My posting is for my own entertainment, do your own DD before pushing your buy/call button
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