30 August 2012 AMC

30 August 2012

Market Summary

Whoa....That wasn't expected.. a sudden news from Spain saying that they want more commitment in bond purchasing program... Sending the market straight down... Everyone's eyes are on Bernanke's speech tomorrow... However, it was quite expected that nothing new is going to come out anyway... Attention was supposed to be Mario Draghi, but too bad he pulled out from the Jackson Hole..

Market Internals

Quite a down day... seems like people are profit taking before someone important really gyrate the market like no one's business...

Leaders and laggards

Materials, energy, and tech are the leaders for the down... not sufficient to call it a down day...

Technical Updates

The SPX closed below 1400 while the DOW held above 13000. If these are breached.. that's it...

Commentaries

Stock Market Update 16:15 ET Dow -106.70 at 13005.89, Nasdaq -32.48 at 3048.71, S&P -11.01 at 1399.48 :[BRIEFING.COM] Equities hit session lows during the first hour of trade before spending the rest of the session climbing off those levels. Headlines out of Europe indicated the International Monetary Fund sees a "major challenge" in implementing measures for Greece. Another comment which rattled the markets came from Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, who suggested there is a 50% chance of a euro area breakup. The news resulted in a sharp sell-off in risk assets as crude oil, gold, silver, and the euro all fell to session lows. Stocks were able to recover some of their losses before succumbing to late-day selling pressure which resulted in the S&P 500 closing lower by 0.8%.  Consumer staples showed slimmer losses than other sectors. Within the space, Costco Wholesale (COST 98.59, +1.48) advanced 1.5% after August same store sales increased by 6.0%. Other consumer names like Procter & Gamble (PG 66.88, +0.01), and CVS Caremark (CVS 45.20, -0.23) chopped around the unchanged line throughout the session as they resisted the broad market pressure.  Healthcare stocks also outperformed as few components moved on news. Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT 14.40, +1.80) surged 14.3% after receiving some positive press over the course of the week. Today's advance came after a CBS affiliate in Jackson, MO profiled a 12-year old patient whose quality of life has improved exponentially thanks to Sarepta's Eteplirsen, which is a drug used in treatment of muscular dystrophy. Meanwhile, Sucampo Pharma (SCMP 4.98, +0.15) ended higher by 3.1% after the company's only holder of class B common stock converted all of its shares into class A common stock. Elsewhere, Geron (GERN 2.63, +0.22) and Oncolytics Biotech (ONCY 2.77, +0.13) moved higher after Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage with a ‘buy' rating. The two stocks gained 9.1% and 4.9%, respectively on the news.  A handful of technology firms reported their earnings since yesterday's close. TIVO (TIVO 9.04, -0.32) slipped 3.4% after beating on earnings and guiding third quarter revenues below consensus. Elsewhere, Methode Electronics (MEI 9.38, +0.43) closed higher by 4.8% following an earnings beat and raised guidance, while CIENA (CIEN 13.46, -3.26) slumped 19.5% after posting an earnings miss and guiding lower.  Networking companies were under pressure after CIENA's cautious guidance. Management cited slower roll-outs, suggesting fewer funds are being used by corporations towards capital expenditures. The negative outlook spilled over to other networking companies as Juniper Networks (JNPR 17.75, -0.73), JDS Uniphase (JDSU 11.07, -0.68), and F5 Networks (FFIV 97.39, -4.70) lost between 4.0% and 6.0%. Meanwhile, Cisco Systems (CSCO 18.90, -0.30) outperformed, shedding 1.6%.  Energy stocks were one of the worst performers. With crude oil lower by 0.8%, the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF (XLE 70.82, -0.76) fell 1.1% while most of the major names slipped in excess of 1.0%. Apache (APA 85.09, -1.44), Anadarko Petroleum (APC 68.26, -1.46), EOG Resources (EOG 105.89, -2.16), and Halliburton (HAL 32.81, -0.70) posted the widest losses and were all down roughly 2.0%.  The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 374,000, which was higher than the expected 370,000. Today's tally matched the revised prior week count of 374,000. As for continuing claims, they fell to about 3.316 million from 3.321 million.  Separately, personal income increased by 0.3% in July, which was in-line with expectations. Personal spending rose by 0.4%, which was lower than the expected increase of 0.5%. Core personal consumption expenditures were unchanged month-over-month, against expectations of a 0.1% increase.  Tomorrow's economic data includes Chicago PMI at 9:45 ET, Michigan Sentiment at 9:55 ET, and factory orders at 10:00 ET.  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will comment on monetary policy in a highly anticipated address from Jackson Hole, WY at 10:00 ET. ..NYSE Adv/Dec 824/2124. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 619/1843.

After Hours

16:40 ET SPLK +12.1%, SAI +8.8%, OVTI +6.4%, ZUMZ -13.1% following earnings/guidance :

Equities hit session lows during the first hour of trade before spending the rest of the session climbing off those levels. Headlines out of Europe indicated the International Monetary Fund sees a "major challenge" in implementing measures for Greece. Another comment which rattled the markets came from Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, who suggested there is a 50% chance of a euro area breakup. The news resulted in a sharp sell-off in risk assets as crude oil, gold, silver, and the euro all fell to session lows. Stocks were able to recover some of their losses before succumbing to late-day selling pressure which resulted in the S&P 500 closing lower by 0.8%. 

Today after the close the following companies reported earnings: ESL, GMAN, MITL, OVTI, SAI, SPLK, ZUMZ

Futures are mixed after hours: S&P 500 futures are -1.19 from fair value of 1397.99 and Nasdaq100 futures are +1.17 from fair value of 2752.58.

Tomorrow morning before the open no economic reports are scheduled to be released.

Tomorrow before the no companies are scheduled to report earnings.

Commodities

Treasuries 

Another sell off in the treasuries again...

All eyes will be on Bernanke today... I'm sooo not going to make a call.....

Market Call: ON BREAK

Date: 31 Aug

29 August 2012 AMC

29 August 2012

Market Summary

I was right on this... A Flat day...

Market Internals

Volumes are still pathetic as always...

Leaders and laggards

The energy sector had some movements due to the oil inventory report which a over production vs an expectation of under production...

Technical Updates

Seems that the market is waiting for something happen again... holding at the critical support level. Once the level is breached... GGed..

Commentaries

Stock Market Update 16:10 ET Dow +4.49 at 13112.59, Nasdaq +4.05 at 3081.19, S&P +1.19 at 1410.49 :[BRIEFING.COM] Today's lackluster session saw equities hover within points of the unchanged line for the majority of the day. Economic data was mostly positive, but did little to inspire investor confidence. As a result the S&P 500 ended higher by 0.1% on light volume.  The Federal Reserve has released its August Beige Book which aggregates economic condition reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts. The Book suggested "economic activity continued to expand gradually in July and early August." It also noted an improvement has taken place in credit conditions and the housing market. Sales and construction continue to rise gradually while employment is holding steady or showing only marginal improvement. Several Districts cited declining demand for staffing services while most Districts indicated that retail activity, including auto sales, had increased since the last Beige Book.  Healthcare stocks were higher as a handful of names advanced on upgrades. Genetic Technologies (GENE 3.93, +0.81) soared 26.0% after positive comments were made by boutique firm Lodge Partners. PROLOR Biotech (PBTH 4.88, +0.19) ended higher by 4.1% following the initiation of coverage at Oppenheimer where the stock was given an ‘outperform' rating with a $7.00 price target. Elsewhere, Cyberonics (CYBX 49.67, +3.31) advanced 7.1% as the shares were upgraded from ‘hold' to ‘buy' at Canaccord Genuity. In addition, analysts at Piper Jaffray elevated the price target for Cyberonics from $44.00 to $52.00.  For-profit education stocks slumped after Lincoln Educational Services (LINC 4.27, -0.09) was downgraded from ‘outperform' to ‘perform' at Oppenheimer. The downgrade was attributed to slowing enrollment as well as seven campus closures. As a result, shares of Lincoln slid 2.1%. Other for-profit education stocks were also lower as slowing enrollment will likely affect all providers. Career Education (CECO 3.22, -0.11) andDeVry (DV 18.60, -0.52) slipped 3.3% and 2.7%, respectively.  Yelp (YELP 22.37, +4.11) surged 22.5% as the share lock-up expired today. The event was anticipated by short sellers as it often leads to insider selling. However, Yelp was able to buck the trend and instead made an advance. Other social media names were mixed as Groupon (GRPN 4.31, -0.06) fell 1.4% and Pandora Media (P 10.08, -0.10) slipped 1.0% ahead of its earnings release after the close.  Energy stocks trailed behind the broader market as crude oil fell over 1.0%. Halliburton(HAL 33.51, -0.57) lost 1.7% while Schlumberger Limited (SLB 72.96, -1.14) ended lower by 1.6%. Meanwhile, GreenHunter Energy (GRH 2.24, +0.08) climbed 3.7% after eliminating all outstanding convertible preferred shares.  The second estimate of second quarter GDP pointed to a 1.7% increase, up from the 1.5% increase that was featured in the preliminary reading. The upwardly revised increase was better than the 1.6% improvement that economists polled by Briefing.com had expected. Also, the second quarter GDP Deflator was left unrevised to reflect a 1.6% increase.  Pending home sales for July increased by 2.4%, which was better than the unchanged reading that had been expected. The rise also made for a positive turn from the 1.4% decrease that was experienced in the prior month.  Tomorrow's economic data includes initial and continuing claims as well as personal income and spending. All data points will be released at 8:30 ET.  The U.S. Treasury will hold a $29 billion 7-yr note auction. ..NYSE Adv/Dec 1781/1168. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1467/966.

After Hours 17:18 ET P +9.1%, TIVO +5.6%, VRA -10.7% following earnings/guidance : Today's lackluster session saw equities hover within points of the unchanged line for the majority of the day. Economic data was mostly positive, but did little to inspire investor confidence. As a result the S&P 500 ended higher by 0.1% on light volume.  Today after the close the following companies reported earnings: CWST, CHUY, CWTR, FLOW, GWAY, GEF, OXM, P, TIVO, VRA, WFT Futures are lower after hours: S&P 500 futures are -1.59 from fair value of 1408.79 and Nasdaq100 futures are -2.29 from fair value of 2782.79. Tomorrow morning before the open three economic reports are scheduled to be released: 1) Initial Claims (Consensus 370k) and Continuing Claims (Consensus 3300k), 2) Personal Income (Consensus 0.3%) and Personal Spending (Consensus 0.5%) and 3) PCE Prices - Core (Consensus 0.1%). Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report: BRLI, CIEN, MEI, TD

Commodities

Treasuries 

Market Call: 30 Aug

Date: FLAT(to the upside)

28 August 2012 AMC

28 August 2012

Market Summary

I was right on the flat... but the it was slightly wrong...  Anyway... Mario Draghi decides not to attend the Jackhole hole symposium... HENG ar....

Market Internals

The internals were showing a flat day.... 

Leaders and laggards

Even there's no leadership in any sectors...

Technical Updates

Seems like the Jackson Hole is gonna cause the market to stay flat for a while....

Commentaries

Stock Market Update 16:10 ET Dow -21.68 at 13108.1, Nasdaq +3.95 at 3077.14, S&P -1.14 at 1409.3 :[BRIEFING.COM] Equities spent the majority of today's session within points of the unchanged line. The August consumer confidence report printed at 60.6, which was the lowest level in nine months. Following the report, stocks briefly turned lower before snapping back to the unchanged line where they held for the remainder of the session. In other economic news, the June Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rose by 0.5% while a 0.3% decline had been generally expected. The Dow Jones Transportation Average continued its recent streak of underperformance as the group shed 0.2%. Airline stocks showed the most weakness with Delta Air Lines (DAL 8.68, -0.38) down 4.0% while JetBlue Airways(JBLU 4.89, -0.13) and United Continental Holdings (UAL 18.53, -0.49) both slipped 2.6%. Meanwhile, trucking company Landstar System (LSTR 49.52, +0.65) added 1.3% as it was the only notable advancer in the group. Coal stocks were down today as the Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL 23.15, -0.29) ended lower by 1.2%. Elsewhere, Joy Global (JOY 53.07, -1.30) dropped 2.4% whileArch Coal (ACI 6.21, -0.17) and Peabody Energy (BTU 22.36, -0.44) dipped near 2.0% each. The declines did not appear to be news-driven. Instead, the individual names traded lower on industry-wide weakness. The materials sector was among the weakest performers. Steelmaker AK Steel (AKS 5.23, -0.42) slumped 7.4% after UBS downgraded the stock from ‘neutral' to ‘sell' and lowered the price target from $5.50 to $4.00. Peers ArcelorMittal (MT 15.08, -0.19) and United States Steel (X 20.43, -0.18) are down between 0.8% and 1.2%. Poultry producer Sanderson Farms (SAFM 44.05, +3.46) surged 8.5% after delivering mixed results which showed a beat on revenues and a slight earnings miss. The company cautioned against higher grain prices putting pressure on input costs, and said they will run plants at six percent below capacity until conditions improve. PeersPilgrim's Pride (PPC 5.29, +0.36) and Tyson Foods (TSN 15.62, +0.68) ended higher by 7.3% and 4.6%, respectively. Luxury goods maker Movado (MOV 35.36, +5.25) soared 17.4% after beating earnings expectations by $0.14 a share. The quarterly report was mixed as the company missed on revenues, but raised their full-year 2013 guidance. Two more producers of luxury goods were firmly higher before reporting their earnings tomorrow morning. Jos. A Bank (JOSB 41.63, +1.41) advanced by 3.5% while Zale (ZLC 4.12, +0.29) jumped 7.6%. Investors will look to a full slate of economic data tomorrow. The MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7 AM ET while GDP-second estimate will cross the wires at 8:30 AM ET. In addition, pending home sales will be announced at 10 AM ET, and the Fed's Beige Book for August will be released at 2 PM ET. ..NYSE Adv/Dec 1671/1292. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1435/995. After Hours 16:44 ET DY -10.5%, EXM flat following earnings/guidance : Equities spent the majority of today's session within points of the unchanged line. The August consumer confidence report printed at 60.6, which was the lowest level in nine months. Following the report, stocks briefly turned lower before snapping back to the unchanged line where they held for the remainder of the session. Today after the close the following companies reported earnings: DY, EXM Futures are mixed after hours: S&P 500 futures are -0.06 from fair value of 1407.36 and Nasdaq100 futures are +0.52 from fair value of 2781.48. Tomorrow morning before the open two economic reports are scheduled to be released: 1) MBA Mortgage Index, 2) GDP - Second Estimate (Consensus 1.6%) and GDP Deflator - Second Estimate (Consensus 1.6%). Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report: BF.B, FRO, GCO, HNZ, ISLE, JASO, JOSB, JOY, LTXC, TFM, YGE, ZLC

Commodities

Treasuries 

There's another sell off in Treasuries again....sounds like a bullish day!

Market Call: 29 Aug

Date: FLAT(to the upside)

27 August 2012 AMC

27 August 2012

Market Summary

Not much data came out yesterday... market was considerably flat yesterday... until the last hour of trading...

Market Internals

Looking at the volume, it was still under the average volume... with the UVOL and DVOL almost on par with each other. ADVN and DECN almost on par with each other...

Leaders and laggards

Tech was held up by APPLE which won the law suit against Samsung... the rest was considerably flat to the downside..

Technical Updates

SPX shows a downside crucifix, pointing downwards for the 28 aug... however, the optimism of the QE3 should render this pattern useless..  

Commentaries

Stock Market Update

16:15 ET Dow -33.30 at 13129.78, Nasdaq +3.40 at 3073.19, S&P -0.69 at 1410.44 :[BRIEFING.COM] Equities began today's session on a positive note before retreating to the unchanged line. As the European markets closed for the day, U.S. stocks lifted to session highs, but the gains did not hold into the close. As a result, the S&P 500 finished flat on low volume while the Dow shed 0.3%. Technology stocks outperformed the broader market with Apple (AAPL 675.68, +12.45) advancing 1.9% after the tech giant won its patent battle against Samsung. Apple's competitor, and the maker of Android operating software, Google (GOOG 669.22, -9.41) slid 1.4% after the verdict. Elsewhere, Universal Display (PANL 39.26, -3.47), which has a partnership agreement with Samsung, fell 8.1% as investors showed concern over the impact of the Apple ruling on the maker of organic LED screens. The selling may have been excessive as Wedbush Securities, Cowen Group, and Goldman Sachs have all come out to defend Universal Display by saying investor concerns are overblown. Utility stocks were among the session's top performers. Electric distributor Black Hills(BKH 34.13, +0.71) ended higher by 2.1% while Exelon (EXC 37.05, +0.22) added 0.6%. Gas utility companies were also higher with National Fuel Gas (NFG 50.34, +0.39) andWGL Holdings (WGL 40.06, +0.29) advancing near 0.8% each. Health care stocks traded mostly in-line with the market today. However, the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF (XLV 38.78, +0.04) marked a fresh all-time best at $38.94. The ETF was boosted by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY 32.89, +0.32), Eli Lilly(LLY 44.59, +0.73), and Unitedhealth Group (UNH 54.61, +0.45) as all three posted gains near 1.5%. Stocks in the materials space underperformed the broader market. The sector was dragged down by Freeport-McMoRan (FCX 35.65, -0.48) and Dow Chemical (DOW 29.43, -0.46), both of which were down near 1.5%. Meanwhile, Monsanto (MON 86.13, +0.79) advanced 0.9% after announcing a new testing program from the company's Integrated Farming System Platform is set to launch next year. Multiple mergers and acquisitions were announced today. Kenexa (KNXA 45.79, +13.40) surged 41.4% after IBM (IBM 195.69, -2.08) agreed to purchase the human resources management software maker for $1.3 billion. IBM will pay $46.00 per share of Kenexa in a transaction which represents a 42.0% premium to Friday's closing price of $32.39. Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ 14.21, +1.06) jumped 8.1% after announcing the purchase of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (DTG 87.08, +6.08). The transaction which has been five years in the making values Dollar Thrifty at $2.3 billion, or $87.50 per share. This represents an 8.0% premium to Friday's closing price of $81.00. In addition, Hertz has announced an agreement to sell its Advantage unit to Franchise Services of North America and Macquarie Capital. Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK 7.45, +1.01) soared 15.7% after agreeing to be acquired by M&T Bank (MTB 89.82, +3.95) in a $3.7 billion deal. M&T will pay $7.22 per share of Hudson City, representing a 12.0% premium to Friday's close of $6.44. After rising up to the 200-day moving average over the past two weeks, yields have been on a steady decline. The Treasury complex continues to rally off its August lows with today's one point gain in the long bond dropping the 30-yr yield four basis points to 2.756%. Meanwhile, a more modest advance of 11/32 in the 10-yr lowered the benchmark yield three basis points to 1.647%. Tomorrow's $35 billion, 2-yr auction will be a good gauge of investor demand as it will be the first auction in over two weeks. Tomorrow's economic releases are limited to the Case-Shiller 20-city Index at 9 AM ET and consumer confidence at 10 AM ET. ..NYSE Adv/Dec 1422/1571. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1228/1235.

After Hours

16:45 ET PVH +2.0% following earnings/guidance :

Equities began today's session on a positive note before retreating to the unchanged line. As the European markets closed for the day, U.S. stocks lifted to session highs, but the gains did not hold into the close. As a result, the S&P 500 finished flat on low volume while the Dow shed 0.3%.

Today after the close the following companies reported earnings: PWRD, PVH

Futures are mixed after hours: S&P 500 futures are -0.62 from fair value of 1408.42 and Nasdaq100 futures are +1.39 from fair value of 2781.36.

Tomorrow morning before the open one economic reports is scheduled to be released: 1) Case-Shiller 20-city Index (Consensus -0.3%).

Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report: BMO, BWS, CYBX, MOV, SAFM, BNS, SFL

Commodities

Lean Hogs finally make some moves back... at 1.21%. Likely to be short covering..

Treasuries 

Some considerably movement in treasuries... the 2yr, 10y and 30yr had a sell off.. 

Consumer Confidence is coming out today at 10am ET. Likely to move the market. However, this week will likely to be a flat week due to the jackson hole symposium and mario draghi's speech on sat... 

Market Call: 28 Aug

Date: FLAT(to the upside)