Closing Update for Wednesday, July 15

4:17 PM, Jul 15, 2009 --

• NYSE up 187.6 (3.2%) to 5,993.16.
• DJIA up 256.8 (3%) to 8,616.
• S&P 500 up 26.8 (3%) to 932.68.
• Nasdaq up 63.17 (3.5%) to 1,863.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• Hang Seng up 2.09%
• Nikkei up 0.08%
• FTSE up 2.36%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) INTC gained in continued reaction to evening earnings beat.

(+) GCI beat with earnings.

(+) ASML reports smaller-than-expected loss.

(+) GS gets analyst upgrade.

(+) UBS gained on mostly upbeat CEO comments.

(+) LZ guides above Street.

(+) BMS raises Q2 and FY view above Street.

(+) JNPR gets new positive analyst coverage.

(+) TRGT surges on favorable drug study for depressive disorder.

(+) ALU gets analyst upgrade on valuation.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) ABT meets with Q2 EPS, guides in line.

(-) YUM sees contiued downside reaction to evening report showing narrow revenue miss.

(-) INTT gets going concern notice.

(-) LUFK missed Q2 EPS estimates.

MARKET DIRECTION

Earnings releases continue in tonight's extended-hours period. Among those due to report: Resources Connection (RECN), Cintas (CTAS) and Xilinx (XLNX).

Stock averages finish up 3% to 3.5%, at or near the highs after a robust session fueled by better-than-expected earnings and little surprises in the latest round of economic data. Financials and technology shares lead the charge after better-than-expected earnings for many of the big names reporting so far. The more than 250-point jump for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was its biggest since late March.

Stocks gained throughout the day following a spate of good economic news this morning and strong Intel (INTC) earnings on Tuesday night finally gave investors some reason to be optimistic.

June consumer prices rose 0.7%, with the core rate up 0.2%. This was largely as expected. A report measuring business sentiment in New York also improved to neutral for July to reach its highest reading in a year. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said June industrial activity fell 0.4 percent, better than economists' expectations for a 0.6-percent decline.

But Intel was the market's primary driver, up 7% and hitting nine-month highs. The tech bellwether said Q2 revs were $8 bln, better than the analyst mean of $7.28 bln according to a Thomson Reuters poll. Non-GAAP EPS was $0.18 per share, well ahead of the Street view of $0.08 per share. For Q3, the company is guiding for revs of $8.5 bln, plus or minus $400 mln, vs. Street estimates of $7.8 bln.

Elsewhere in the tech space, Juniper Networks (JNPR) gained after Citigroup reportedly initiated new coverage on the stock with a Buy rating.

Financial shares were upside leaders. Goldman Sachs (GS) is up after an analyst upgrade this morning following its earnings beat on Tuesday morning.

UBS (UBS), one of the banks hit hardest by the financial crisis, says it sees "encouraging signs" for its second-quarter performance and is proceeding as planned with efforts to reposition itself around its private-bank and investment-banking arms, its chief executive said, according to a Wall Street Journal story.

In the pharma space, Targacept (TRGT) jumped after it announced positive top-line results from a double blind, placebo controlled, flexible dose Phase 2b clinical trial of TC-5214 as an augmentation (add-on) treatment for major depressive disorder, or MDD, in subjects who did not respond adequately to first-line treatment with citalopram alone.

Gannet (GCI) proved a bright light amid recently depressed media companies. Its shares are rallying after topping analysts' EPS expectations.

Crude rose Wednesday for the first session in four, climbing above $61 a barrel as government data revealed a bigger-than-expected drop in crude inventories last week as refiners used more oil in production of petroleum products.

August crude futures gained $2.02, or 3.4%, to end at $61.54 a barrel, the highest settlement price since July 7. In after-hours action, crude is trading up $0.29 at $61.83.

August gold futures rose $16.60, or 1.8%, to end at $939.40 an ounce, the highest settlement since July 1.

Comments

[Boxed Merlot:]

Stocks up / Gold up. Too many $ chasing too few goods = ?

Jul 15 05:05 PM

[cameroni:]

It is now looking very much like stocks are set for a major uptrend based on earnings data out to date and sentiment on those earnings. (Even if numbers there are one-off gains and not reliable indicator of forward strength).

Markets were up nicely today and more is expected. This breakout should see the DOW which I follow overshoot 10,000 before fall and confirmation is very positive response so far. The head and shoulders change so many of the technicals worry about looks to be leading up. I don't however have a great deal of confidence in a new rally being sustained very long term.

While I won't want to miss gains in the days and weeks ahead I still remain cautious and will backstop losses in the event of a sudden decline that many of the technicals are now predicting. When it will happen is anybodies guess. I am only saying, invest for profit but prepare for a sudden slide.

Cam

Jul 16 02:07 AM