Midnight Trader Wrap>Stocks End Just in the Red as Fed Talks Exit Strategy and Greece Hangs Fire
February 10, 2010 | about: DIA / QQQQ / SPY / LDN / S / DIS
4:20 PM, Feb 10, 2010 --
NYSE down 16 (0.2%) to 6,819.12.
DJIA down 20 (0.2%) to 10,038.
S&P 500 down 2.3 (0.2%) to 1,068.
Nasdaq down 3 (0.1%) to 2,148.
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Hang Seng up 0.67%
Nikkei up 0.31%
FTSE up 0.39%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) BIDU (+9.09%) beats with Q4 results, guidance.
(+) DELL (+1.48%) gets upgrade.
(+) ATHX (+0.72%) reports patent approval related to stem cells.
(+) ADBE (+3.4%) gets two upgrades.
(+) MCZ (+24.78%) continues evening run after swinging to a profit.
(+) NTGR (+11.26%) continues evening gain after results, guidance impress.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) MU (-7.38%) making acquisition.
(-) DIS (-1.27%) unable to hold initial evening gain after earnings beat.
(-) MT (-8.32%) misses with sales.
MARKET DIRECTION
Stocks ends narrowly in the red though well off earlier lows. Global markets are caught up in speculation and media reports over a possible rescue plan for Greece.
French daily Le Monde wrote that France and Germany were set to present a plan at a European Union summit on Thursday that was aimed at preventing Greece from going bankrupt. Earlier in the day, fresh concerns that a deal would not be immediate had rattled global markets.
Stocks also declined in morning action after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated the Federal Reserve is looking to the discount rate as a means to remove the emergency credit market support still in place.
Key interest rates have been at near zero since the economic crisis began. Bernanke was expected to testify on Capitol Hill about Fed plans to unwind stimulus measures, but the hearing was canceled because of the weather.
Instead, the Fed released his prepared statement. Bernanke restated that rates will remain low for an "extended period." The Fed may sell assets when growth becomes robust again, but he did not see any asset sales in the near term.
Adding to negative factors, the trade deficit surprised analysts by rising to $40.18 billion in December on stronger demand for imports. A weaker export figure would equate to lower late-year economic growth. On the year, however, the $380.66 billion deficit was the smallest in eight years, according to the Commerce Department.
Crude futures closed up $0.77 at $74.52 a barrel.
Sprint (S) remained sharply lower after its earnings miss. Disney (DIS) was also marginally lower after its latest results.
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