Equities Update: Stocks Prove Resilient, Late

4:32 PM, Nov 17, 2009 --

• NYSE down 3 (0.04%) to 7,234.06.
• DJIA up 30.5 (0.3%) to 10,437.
• S&P 500 up 1 (0.1%) to 1,110.
• Nasdaq up 5.9 (0.3%) to 2,204.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• Hang Seng down 0.13%
• Nikkei down 0.63%
• FTSE down 0.68%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) SKS swings to slim profit.

(+) APWR in deal with US Renewable Energy Group for wind energy turbine production and assembly plant.

(+) ZOOM reports jump in Q3 results, boosts year view.

(+) SMTL to be acquired by Applied Materials.

(+) SINA gets analyst upgrade after earnings top views.

(+) AGO Q3 beats year ago.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) PSUN guides for Q4 loss.

(-) TGT earns 58c a share in Q3.

(-) HD beats with Q3 but says it's under pressure in its markets.

(-) INOC posts Q3 loss.

(-) TBUS sees year EPS below expectations.

(-) ITMN modifies study on recommendation of data monitoring committee.

MARKET DIRECTION

Stock averages make a late charge to finish near session highs following a choppy session. The DJIA finishes up 0.3%; the S&P 500 ends up 0.1%; the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.3%. Stocks have gained for three straight days and in 10 of 12 sessions. Stocks did look in store for some consolidation as the dollar rebounded and earnings reports were mixed.

Big retailers Target (TGT) and Home Depot (HD) each posted better-than-expected results but sounded a note of caution going into the vital holiday shopping period. Meanwhile, the dollar rose after comments from leaders of the European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve's Jeffrey Lacker said in a speech that the central bank must remain vigilant against any inflation flare-ups and shouldn't let patchy economic data cloud that mission. His remarks offer somewhat of a counter point to a host of Fedspeak of late signaling interest rates will remain low for some time.

A disappointing report on industrial production also weighed on the market. The Fed said production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.1%, below the 0.4% predicted by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

But data showed inflation risks so far remain low. The October producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level, rose 0.3% not the 0.5% rise expected; the core PPI fell 0.6% vs a 0.1% gain expected.

Mortgage delinquency rates hit another record for the quarter ending in September, but the pace of delinquencies slowed for the third consecutive three-month period, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

Retail continued to be the big story for the market as investors remain jittery about consumer spending. A government report showing better retail sales in October pushed the market up Monday, but investors were spooked today by cautious comments from retailers. Home Depot said it is under pressure in its markets. Investors shrugged off positive results from the home-improvement retailer to send shares down 4%.

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) shed nearly one-third of its market value, even though Q3 sales of $268 million, topped the analyst mean of $260 million on Thomson Reuters. The company said it sees a fourth-quarter loss of $0.28 to $0.35 per share, including about $5 million in charges. The Street view is a loss of $0.11 per share, excluding items.

Financials were lower in part due to a California suit over sales of municipal derivatives. Bank of America Corp (BAC), UBS AG (UBS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) have been sued by a California public utility over claims they rigged sales of municipal derivatives and shared illegal profits through kickbacks, according to Bloomberg.

Crude finishes with a slim 0.3% gain to $79.14 a barrel.

Comments

[tunaman4u2]

Stick saves!

Printed money leaking out. Good times.

2009 Nov 17 05:06 PM

[robert.b.ferguson]

Yup. Another stick save at the end of the day. Once again thank you HAL. Retail data shows improvement while sales tax revenue declines. Isn't that just like Uncle Sugar? You people can breath easy the patient is stable. They just left out the part about being comatose. Good night all.

2009 Nov 17 06:56 PM

[MarketGuy]

Another govt driven market day. Smoke-n-mirrors continues.

2009 Nov 18 07:30 AM