Yesterday the ADP jobs data was a bit of a letdown, but we have a ton of economic news due out today which could mitigate what was said there. It is jobs Thursday, and the trend has not been a friend of one long the market as of late. Markets did rally off of lows into the close and finished mixed for the day, so today's news will be important. On deck for the market today: Challenger Job Cuts, Initial Claims (Consensus 375k), Continuing Claims (Consensus 3300k), Productivity-Preliminary (Consensus -0.8%), Unit Labor Costs (Consensus 3.0%) and ISM Service numbers (Consensus 55.5).
Looking at Asian markets we see markets are trading mostly lower:
All Ordinaries - down 0.23%
Shanghai Composite - up 0.07%
Nikkei 225 - CLOSED
NZSE 50 - down 1.06%
Seoul Composite - down 0.20%
In Europe markets are mostly higher:
CAC 40 - up 1.29%
DAX - up 1.06%
FTSE 100 - up 0.46%
OSE - up 0.52%
Technology
Apple (AAPL) had a tight trading range during yesterday's session. Volume was lower than the three month average by a considerable amount, but the shares traded in positive territory nearly the entire day. Shares finished at $585.98 rising $3.85/share in trading. It was a different story for Research In Motion (RIMM) whose shares continued to fall after the unveiling of their new operating system and handset failed to impress. Investors were expecting more, and for RIMM's sake we hope consumers receive the new set of phones and operating system better than Wall Street did.
Retail
Herbalife (HLF) had another rough day yesterday, closing at $52.70 after falling $3.60/share or 6.39%. The company traded another 23 million shares, which is heavy volume for this company. The Einhorn questions have spooked investors, and the company has begun to take steps to regain investors confidence - such as the share buyback just announced ($400 million +). You can read that press release here. This is not a new program, but rather the company completing the current program in one fell swoop by purchasing shares held by Merrill Lynch.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) might be at the end of its extraordinary growth story. It sounds ridiculous to say that about a company growing at a 36% rate, but that is down from 100%+. To make matters worse, the company's management has no idea why sales have slowed so much. The EPS numbers were in line, but the revenue numbers missed by over $85 million. The stock closed at $49.52 but fell $20.12 (40.62%) in after hours trading. Volume was at 21 million for total shares traded yesterday. This will most certainly be one to watch today.
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) had a great day yesterday, rising $3.01 (16.83%) to close at $20.90 and set a new intraday 52-week high. The company topped earnings estimates and revealed that they were able to sell more of their goods at full price, rather than marked down specials. The company revealed that teen spending is up double digits for the first time in years, and this could translate into higher earnings for some of the other companies we follow and like. Retail could be a big winner moving forward if spending really is accelerating at the pace the company claims across the whole industry.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
