Fireworks on Wall st today: DOW UP 200, NASDAQ UP 60 , S&P UP 22, $AAPL UP $25
“2:00 pm : The dollar index has seen a relatively quiet session, holding small losses for most of U.S. trade. The index briefly climbed into positive territory following this morning’s housing data, but quickly slipped back below the flat line where it holds a loss of 0.1% near 79.50. The dollar is seeing noticeable weakness against the Canadian dollar after the Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 1.00%, but noted a “reduced slack in the economy.” That headline had traders dumping dollars in favor of the loonie with the dollar now down 1.2% to .9880. Another commodity currency, the Australian dollar, is seeing a 0.5% advance against the greenback as traders flock back into risk assets. The hard currency is seeing a bid despite the Reserve Bank of Australia monetary policy meeting minutes suggesting a rate cut may be forthcoming if inflationary pressures are contained. Trade remains quiet across the rest of the complex with the euro flat at 1.3135, and the pound up 0.3% near 1.5940.DJ30 +199.32 NASDAQ +58.18 SP500 +21.61 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1976/919.0 mln/526 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2440/362.1 mln/602
1:30 pm : Equities are holding strong gains as we progress into the afternoon, with the S&P 500 up 1.5%.
The Technology sector, which was a notable laggard yesterday, is one of the strongest sectors today with a 2.0% gain. This move comes ahead of some big tech-sector earnings reports, with IBM (IBM 206.43, +3.71), Intel (INTC 28.62, +0.21), Seagate (STX 28.31, -0.19) and Yahoo! (YHOO 15.10, +0.32) all due out with earnings after the close.
In addition to technology, the energy and materials sectors are also leaders in today’s rally, both up 2%.
The utilities sector is a laggard, with a gain of just 0.4% today. DJ30 +199.58 NASDAQ +55.78 SP500 +21.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1969/849.9 mln/516 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2419/336.3 mln/603
1:00 pm : Equities hold strong gains in afternoon trade as this morning’s Spanish bill auctions and mostly better than expected earnings have more than offset the mixed economic data. The Spanish bill auctions saw solid demand as the maturities were inside the European Central Bank’s three-year Long-Term Refinancing Operations; and earnings from Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs, and Johnson & Johnson all topped estimates. That has helped offset this morning’s disappointing housing starts and industrial production data which both fell short of analyst expectations.
Coca-Cola (KO 74.40, +1.96) is up 2.8% after the company announced better than expected earnings of $0.89 per share on revenues of $11.14 billion. The company had robust volume growth in emerging markets as India (+20%), China (+9%), and Brazil lead the way. However, the company warned the European financial crisis and slowdown in China may impact sales in those economies in the coming quarters.
Shares of Goldman Sachs (GS 118.49, +0.76) are off their best levels, but higher, after seeing a gain of 1.7% at the open. Today’s weakness comes after the company announced beat on both its top and bottom lines, announcing earnings per share of $3.92 on revenues of $9.95 billion. Annualized return on average common shareholders’ equity was 12.2% for the first quarter. Today’s selling comes after the stock ran into resistance at its 50-day moving average.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 63.92, -0.06) has pared the majority of its losses, currently trading down % after this morning’s earnings. The company announced earnings per share of $1.37 which was $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, and said revenues fell 0.2% year over year to an in-line $16.14 billion. Domestic sales for the company fell 2.2% while international sales declined 2.5% on an operational increase of 0.4% and a negative currency impact of 2.9%. Today’s selling has the stock trading at the lower bound of its range that has been in place since mid-December.
Apple (AAPL 604.10, +23.97) is trading up 4.3% and at its best levels of the session after some early selling dropped the stock to a low of $571.91. Buyers have emerged following five days of losses in which the stock dropped more than 9%. The company is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on April 24.
Treasuries continue to see light selling pressure with yields across the complex up close to two basis points. Selling of the 10-yr note has made for a rise of 2.3 basis points to 2.010%. A steeper yield curve has developed over the course of the session with the 2-10-yr spread wider at 174.5 basis points. DJ30 +199.54 NASDAQ +55.78 SP500 +21.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1972/774.9 mln/503 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2464/309.0 mln/552
12:30 pm : The major averages hold at session highs as all three are seeing gains of at least 1.5%. The Nasdaq continues to lead the way, trading up 1.8%.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 63.90, -0.08) has pared the majority of its losses, currently trading down 0.1% after this morning’s earnings. The company announced earnings per share of $1.37 which was $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, and said revenues fell 0.2% year over year to an in-line $16.14 billion. Domestic sales for the company fell 2.2% while international sales declined 2.5% on an operational increase of 0.4% and a negative currency impact of 2.9%. Today’s selling has the stock trading at the lower bound of its range that has been in place since mid-December. DJ30 +192.32 NASDAQ +52.41 SP500 +20.53 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1971/705.4 mln/486 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2453/286.8 mln/546
12:00 pm : Treasuries hold small losses in late morning trade as sellers entered the market to the extent one might have suspected given the strong bid in risk assets. This morning’s mixed data saw little reaction as trade holds near pre-data levels. Light selling across the complex has yields up as much as two basis points as the benchmark 10-yr yield holds near 2.00%. Slight steepening continues to take place along the yield curve as the 2-10-yr spread trades wider at 173.5 basis points.DJ30 +170.82 NASDAQ +47.74 SP500 +18.05 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1947/614.9 mln/481 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2432/254.5 mln/557
11:30 am : Equities continue to push higher with all three of the major averages seeing gains of at least 1.3%. The Nasdaq remains the top performing of the major averages, trading up 1.6%.
Apple (AAPL 597.80, +17.67) is trading up 3.1% and at its best levels of the session after some early selling dropped the stock to a low of $571.91. Buyers have emerged following five days of losses in which the stock dropped more than 9%. The company is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on April 24. DJ30 +168.40 NASDAQ +45.46 SP500 +17.43 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1945/538.8 mln/459 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2446/225.0 mln/515
11:00 am : The major market averages trade at session highs with all three seeing gains in excess of 1.0%. A 1.4% advance has the Nasdaq leading the charge while the Dow and S&P are both seeing 1.2% gains.
Coca-Cola (KO 74.43, +1.99) is up 2.8% after the company announced better than expected earnings of $0.89 per share on revenues of $11.14 billion. The company had robust volume growth in emerging markets as India (+20%), China (+9%), and Brazil led the way. However, on its coference call, the company warned the European financial crisis and economic slowdown in China may impact sales in those economies over the coming quarters. DJ30 +152.13 NASDAQ +41.77 SP500 +15.48 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1899/429.0 mln/452 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2433/183.8 mln/482
10:35 am : The dollar index gained some momentum, which caused precious metals to sell off sharply. In more recent trade, the index is giving back those gains and is now back in negative territory at 79.50, down 0.1%.
In the energy space, May crude oil has been in positive territory all morning and recently hit a new session high of $105.07. Crude has pulled back just slightly, but remains just modestly under that new high, now at $104.70, up 1.7%.
May natural gas, on the other hand, has been in the red all morning and just fell to a new session low of $1.96. Currently, the energy component is at that session low, down 3.0%.
In metals, Apr gold and May silver sold off right around the time U.S. equity markets opened as the dollar index gained steam. Gold dropped about $18 in about 30, pulling it into negative territory and to a new session low of $1635.30. Silver lost almost 50 cents and momentarily dipped into the red. Currently, gold is -0.3% at $1644.20/oz, while silver is +0.5% at $31.54/oz.DJ30 +132.68 NASDAQ +36.99 SP500 +13.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1859/327 mln/443 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2316/146 mln/501
10:00 am : The major averafes have eased off their best levels, but hold a solid bid in early action. A 1.0% gain has the Nasdaq leading the way while the Dow and S&P 500 trail with advances of 0.8% and 0.7% respectively.
Shares of Goldman Sachs (GS 117.09, -0.64) have slipped into negative territory after seeing a gain of 1.7% at the open. Today’s weakness comes after the company announced beat on both its top and bottom lines, announcing earnings per share of $3.92 on revenues of $9.95 billion. Annualized return on average common shareholders’ equity was 12.2% for the first quarter. Today’s selling comes after the stock ran into resistance at its 50-day moving average. DJ30 +94.31 NASDAQ +28.29 SP500 +8.97 NASDAQ Vol 174.7 mln NYSE Vol 93.3 mln
09:45 am : Equities are holding strong gains in the opening minutes as earnings from Coca-Cola (KO 73.78, +1.34), Goldman Sachs (GS 117.91, +0.18), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 63.73, -0.25) have put a bid into equities. All three of the major averages are up at least 0.7% as the Dow leads the way with a 0.9% advance. Energy, financials, and industrials are the best performing sectors in the broad-based S&P 500. DJ30 +109.97 NASDAQ +25.91 SP500 +9.82 NASDAQ Vol 106.8 mln NYSE Vol 80.6 mln”
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