U.S. Equity Preview: ZUMZ, WPRT, BID, SDRL, PEGA, FNSR, CCO, BKE, & BSFT,
BroadSoft Inc. (BSFT) : The maker of telecommunications software forecast first-quarter earnings of as little as 17 cents a share, excluding some items, compared with the average analyst estimate of 21 cents.
Buckle Inc. (BKE) rallied 2.4 percent to $46. The teen retailer said February same-store sales rose 15 percent, beating the average analyst estimate of 6.3 percent.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (CCO) rose 15 percent to $15.20. The billboard company controlled by Bain Capital Partners LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP plans to pay a $2.2 billion dividend, mostly to repay debt.
Finisar Corp. (FNSR) fell 9.7 percent to $18.32. The maker of fiber-optic transmission gear said it sees revenue in the fourth quarter of no more than $250 million, missing the average analyst estimate of $255 million.
Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) rose 7.3 percent to $30.14. The developer of customer relationship management software reported fourth-quarter earnings of 16 cents a share, excluding some items, beating the average analyst estimate of 5 cents a share.
Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL) fell 3.7 percent to $40.51. The oil-rig operator whose largest owner is John Fredriksen said the billionaire’s Hemen Holding Ltd. plans to sell as many as 24 million shares to diversify its investment portfolio.
Sotheby’s (BID) : The publicly traded auctioneer of fine arts and collectibles said fourth quarter profit fell 26 percent as sales slid.
Westport Innovations Inc. (WPRT) added 3.8 percent to $42. The developer of natural-gas engine technologies reported a third-quarter loss of 30 cents a share, narrower than the average analyst estimate for a loss of 31 cents.
Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ) : The retailer said comparable store sales rose 14.2 percent in February, beating the average analyst estimate of 5.3 percent.
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
MEMS +14.8%, PEGA +10.9%, VE +9.6%, HSFT +7.8%, FXCM +5.7%, BWC +4.9%, RST +4.3%, VVUS +3.9%, WPRT +2.5%, BCS +1.9%, DB +1.4%, BAC +1%,
DXPE +1%, ARMH +0.4%, UN +1.2%, PATH +4%, CCO +7.6% , FSLR +2.6%, YGE +1.8%, TSL +1.2%, DEXO +17.7%, VE +10.9%, HSFT +10.7%,
HL +1.4%, GLD +1.4%, BBL +0.8%, SLV +0.7%, AUY +0.6%, NBG +4.9%, BCS +2.8%, DB +1.4%, BAC +1%, HBC +0.9%, RBS +0.7% ,
Gapping down
FNSR -10.7%, STV -9.3%, BID -4.7%, KRA -3.6%, GPRE -3.5%, MBI -2.6%, DAR -2.4%, PETM -2%, RIMM -3%, SD -1.8%, WAG -1.1%, CME -0.5% , SHS -9.4%,
SPPI -2.3%, BSFT-1.7%,
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
Initial Claims: Prior 351k, Market Expects 355k, Actual 351k
Continuing claims: Prior 3392k, Market Expects 3425k, Actual 3400k
Personal income up 0.3%
Personal spending up 0.2%
Comments »Same Store Sales Comps Up for TGT & M
Charting the S&P’s Winning Streak: Can We Repeat a 1995 Market of 34% Gains ?
A streak we’ve been watching for awhile is the current run of days without the S&P losing 1%. The last time it happened was in late December.
The streak continued today, and as Conor Sen observed on Twitter, the last time the market went all of January and February without a 1% or more down day was in 1995 (we just confirmed that stat on our own).
Anyway, that year the market gained a ridiculous 34%.
Not only that, it was a freakin’ straight line — or at least as straight of a line as you’ll ever seen
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So yes, the market can just go up in a straight line for a long time.
And the last time before 1995 that the market started the year this way,was in 1964, and that was a pretty good year as well.
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Read more: http://trade.cc/arqo#ixzz1nryvh2R1
Comments »China Has a Better Than Expected PMI Reading
“China’s manufacturing expanded at a faster pace in February and a gauge for India showed sustained growth, indicating that Asian economies are maintaining momentum even asEurope’s debt crisis caps exports.
In China, the purchasing managers’ index rose for a third month to 51.0 from 50.5 in January, the statistics bureau and logistics federation said in a statement today. In India, a PMI released by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was close to an eight-month high.
Today’s data, along with a surprise gain in Japanese companies’ capital spending and South Korea’s biggest increase in exports in six months, add to signs that global growth prospects are improving as the U.S. recovery strengthens and Europe works to contain its debt crisis. Asia’s benchmark index entered a bull market yesterday, led by gains in China Shipping Container Lines Co.
“Pent-up demand will produce an export-led bounce in Asian economic activity” now that Europe’s debt turmoil is receding, said Tim Condon, chief Asia economist at ING Financial Markets in Singapore, which accurately forecast today’s China PMI. result.
In China, the PMI’s level, above the expansion-contraction dividing line of 50, was the highest since September and compares with the 50.9 median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Economic data in the first two months are distorted by the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday.
A separate manufacturing index released today by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics rose to 49.6 in February from 48.8 the prior month, the third straight improvement and the highest since October….”
Comments »Japan Sees a Huge Capex Boost in Q4
“Japanese companies’ capital spending jumped by the most in almost five years in the fourth quarter, adding to signs that the world’s third-biggest economy is set to return to growth.
Capital spending excluding software rose 4.9 percent from a year earlier, after declining 11 percent in the previous quarter, the Finance Ministry said today in Tokyo. The first gain in three quarters compared with a median estimate of a 7.4 percent decline in a Bloomberg News survey of six economists….”
Comments »Asia Down, Europe Up, & U.S. Futures are Slightly Above Unch
Why it took the Dow so long to eclipse 13K: Next Few Days are Crucial
By Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — Well, the Dow finally did it.
The “it,” of course, is closing above 13,000.
The real story here, however, is not that the Dow finally did so — but why it took so long. After all, it’s been nearly a month since the Dow first came within 1% of 13,000.
The market’s action over the next couple of days will be crucial in helping to answer this question.
If the Dow’s tentativeness in recent weeks was caused by nothing more than the routine difficulties of breaking through a resistance level, then the stock market should exhibit abnormal strength in the next couple of days, now that this resistance level has been broken.
If, in contrast, the market was bogged down by something more serious, then stocks’ behavior in coming sessions could very well be anemic at best — and possibly much worse.
I base these comments on a fascinating 1993 study, “Price Barriers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average,” which was published in the academic Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. The authors were Glen Donaldson of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and Harold Kim, who at the time was at Princeton.
The two researchers carefully analyzed the past behavior of the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.41% as it approached round numbers, such as those ending with two or three zeroes.They theorized that, to the extent such round numbers represent genuine psychological barriers, the Dow’s behavior in the vicinity of those barriers would have been different than its behavior when it was well above or below those levels.
Dow closes above 13,000
Stock indexes rise but give up earlier gains after a morning of choppy trading that follows mixed economic data. Still, the Dow ends up closing above 13,000.
For example, it should have taken longer on average for the Dow to move through a multiple of 100 or 1,000 than through any other level. And by the same token, once a barrier was broken, the pace of the Dow’s change should have become faster than average.
This is exactly what the researchers found.
The researchers next conducted the identical test for the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index XX:W5000FLT -0.56% , reasoning that few investors have been aware of that index’s level. That certainly seems a reasonable assumption; after all, how many of you are aware of where it closed on Tuesday, the day the Dow finally closed above the 13,000 level?
Read the rest here.
Comments »The Bears Take the Market Down a Smidgen
The bears took the market down in a unconvincing manner after a rally this morning. The NASDAQ made a brief rise above 3000; territory not seen since December of 2000. Gold got ha-hammered homo style for $93 sticks or 5.26%. Oil managed to pare losses and gain about $0.41 to close at $106.98. The dollar rallied $0.53 on Bernanke’s comments to $78.81…
DOW down 53.66
S&P down 6.50
NASDAQ down 19.87
[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTPqPZzH-LA 450 300]
Market Update
Comments »Stocks are trying to rebound after the broad market’s recent retreat to a session low. The Nasdaq is now nearing the neutral line. The dollar has modestly extended its advance so that it now leads a collection of competing currencies by about 0.4%. The move comes as market participants show a preference for less risky assets.
Today’s Money Flows
ISSUE GAINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Apple AAPL NASD 544.25 +100.5 1.08
Google GOOG NASD 624.18 +29.6 1.26
Pfizer PFE NYSE 21.35 +13.2 3.95
Merck MRK NYSE 38.46 +12.9 5.30
Intel INTC NASD 27.22 +12.3 2.53
Amazoncom AMZN NASD 183.16 +11.8 1.35
First Republic Bank FRC NYSE 30.25 +9.9 2.04
Baidu BIDU NASD 139.12 +9.9 1.36
ONEOK Partners OKS NYSE 58.02 +9.8 3.18
Las Vegas Sands LVS NYSE 55.75 +8.9 1.35
Oracle ORCL NASD 29.31 +8.5 1.88
First Tr Cnsmr Staples FXG ARCA 24.70 +8.1 2.87
Cisco Systems CSCO NASD 20.12 +7.9 2.05
Johnson & Johnson JNJ NYSE 65.20 +7.3 1.56
Philip Morris Intl PM NYSE 84.08 +7.1 2.16
Salesforcecom CRM NYSE 144.66 +7.0 1.43
Goldman Sachs GS NYSE 117.61 +7.0 1.27
iShr FTSE China 25 FXI ARCA 40.71 +6.8 1.15
Micron Tech MU NASD 8.95 +6.8 2.12
Sempra Energy SRE NYSE 58.56 +6.7 2.24
ISSUE DECLINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Vanguard MSCI Emerg Mkts VWO ARCA 45.25 -47.3 0.16
Procter & Gamble PG NYSE 67.69 -22.3 0.38
Kayne Andrsn MLP Inv KYN NYSE 31.33 -20.4 0.25
iShrs MSCI Emerg Mkts EEM ARCA 44.85 -15.8 0.60
DirecTV Group Inc DTV NASD 46.50 -15.4 0.17
Expeditors Intl of Wash EXPD NASD 42.97 -14.8 0.15
ExxonMobil XOM NYSE 87.36 -14.2 0.54
Chevron CVX NYSE 110.71 -13.4 0.57
Bank Of America BAC NYSE 8.22 -12.0 0.76
CBS Corp B CBS NYSE 30.11 -11.7 0.23
Colfax CFX NYSE 34.83 -11.3 0.38
JPMorgan Chase JPM NYSE 39.78 -10.5 0.71
First Tr Util AlphaDEX FXU ARCA 17.61 -9.6 0.20
Exterran Partners un EXLP NASD 23.71 -8.8 0.28
Coca-Cola KO NYSE 69.21 -7.9 0.43
American Express AXP NYSE 53.76 -7.8 0.38
Starwood Hotels HOT NYSE 54.68 -7.5 0.33
ITT Corp. ITT NYSE 23.73 -7.4 0.22
Citigroup C NYSE 33.97 -7.3 0.79
Biogen Idec BIIB NASD 116.39 -7.0 0.40
Comments »
Today’s Heat Map and A/D Lines
The NASDAQ Tops 3000 For the First Time Since 2000
52 Week Highs and Lows
NYSE
New Highs 107 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Abbott Labs ABT 57.20 587,497 Airgas Inc ARG 82.73 39,465 Anheuser Busch BUD 68.15 471,791 Ashford Hsptlty Tr Pfd E AHTpE 26.30 1,957 Atlas Energy L.P.WI ATLSw 25.75 200 Banco De Chile BCH 96.48 1,126 Bank of America Dep pfd L BMLpL 20.95 25,385 Bank of America Dep pfd G BMLpG 19.09 3,209 Bank of America Dep pfd 2 BMLpH 19.16 21,105 Bank of America Dep pfd E BACpE 21.29 19,618 Bank of Am Dep ser 4 BMLpJ 20.86 4,473 Big Lots Inc BIG 44.57 120,343 BlRk Cr Alloc Inco Tr IV BTZ 13.26 13,964 BlkRk IncoTr BNA 10.81 14,559 Blackrock Income Trust BKT 7.58 45,056 BlkRk MuniYld NJ Fd MYJ 16.39 10,831 BlRk Muyld NJ Qlty MJI 16.96 4,809 BlkRk Cr Alloc Tr I PSW 10.08 914 BorgWarner BWA 83.97 129,288 CPFL Energia ADS CPL 32.81 25,230 Carters CRI 49.75 613,742 Cervecerias Compania CCU 74.16 2,599 China Mobile CHL 53.33 107,573 Citigroup Cap IX 6% TruPs CpS 24.06 30,966 CommonWealth REIT Pfd E CWHpE 25.79 6,725 Energ Gerais-Cemig CIG 23.49 137,152 Cosan Ltd A CZZ 15.05 117,524 Cytec Indus CYT 60.24 91,881 Drdgold Limited ADS DRD 8.16 55,459 DSW Cl A DSW 57.06 45,406 Diageo PLC DEO 95.92 230,895 Digital Realty Trust DLR 73.73 235,972 Dillard's DDS 61.96 170,152 Discover Fnl Svcs DFS 30.66 358,760 Dominos Pizza DPZ 39.37 447,971 DTF Tax-Free DTF 17.12 2,800 Ecopetrol EC 57.88 144,485 Foot Locker FL 29.41 129,006 Fortuna Silver Mines FSM 7.67 73,487 GP Strategies GPX 16.74 27,248 WR Grace GRA 57.40 16,698 John Hancock Pfd II HPF 22.60 6,599 John Hancock Pfd Inc III HPS 18.86 31,139 Hels Advantage Inco Fd HAV 8.82 35,496 Herbalife HLF 67.50 220,527 ITT Corp. ITT 23.74 901,205 Imperva IMPV 37.89 15,900 InterCont Hotels Grp IHG 23.06 22,041 IntercontlExchange ICE 140.50 54,535 Intl Paper IP 36.00 1,483,072 Invesco Qlty Mun Inco IQI 14.10 11,803 Jabil Circuit JBL 26.50 142,350 KKRFinlHldgsLLC8.375% KFH 26.99 3,765 KapStone Paper & Pkg KS 20.78 20,798 Kinder Morgan KMI 35.96 317,955 LSI Corp LSI 8.74 2,155,520 Las Vegas Sands LVS 55.88 2,222,852 Luxottica Grp LUX 35.95 41,313 MFS Charter MCR 9.73 18,706 Mangd Durtn InvGr Mun Fd MZF 15.69 3,401 MarriottVacations VAC 24.98 78,497 Mastercard MA 427.48 115,165 Matador Resources MTDR 12.33 44,484 Movado Group MOV 21.82 6,386 Nelnet A NNI 27.20 28,288 Nordstrom Inc JWN 54.68 271,605 Nu Skin Enterprises NUS 57.28 74,983 Nuveen CA Div Fnd NAC 15.12 16,407 Nuveen CA Performance NCP 16.03 4,348 Nuveen Mich Premium Inc NMP 14.96 2,905 Nuv Tax-Adv Div Gr JTD 13.74 10,547 PS Bus Parks Pfd S PSBpS 25.56 49,811 PVH Corp. PVH 84.85 125,275 Packaging Corp Amer PKG 30.06 264,662 Philip Morris Intl PM 84.24 470,572 Pier 1 Imports PIR 17.44 128,602 Plains All Amer Pipeline PAA 83.02 66,736 Pretium Resources PVG 17.77 14,748 Proto Labs PRLB 31.70 39,456 Public Str Dep. pfd. W PSApW 25.62 1,620 Public Storage Pfd P PSApP 27.85 2,163 Rlty Incm Monthly Pfd OpF 25.86 30,147 Rex American Resources REX 31.76 5,018 Rose Rock Midstream RRMS 24.00 18,284 SAP AG SAP 68.45 107,259 SeaDrill SDRL 42.20 635,733 Sempra Energy SRE 59.74 476,640 Stepan Co SCL 92.00 14,462 Sun Communities SUI 41.72 9,797 Sunstone Hotel Inv Pfd D SHOpD 24.81 2,350 Taiwan Semi Mfg TSM 14.80 1,261,807 Target Corp TGT 56.20 624,017 Telus Corp TU 57.73 21,771 Terra Nitrogen TNH 242.00 43,722 Thai Fund Inc TTF 14.98 4,748 Tim Hortons THI 53.99 41,385 Transatlantic Hldgs TRH 61.19 143,787 Tri-Continental TY 15.95 7,830 US Bncp Dep Pfd Perp F USBpM 27.00 12,251 Under Armour A UA 89.36 200,888 VISA (Cl A) V 119.36 409,555 Vornado Rlty Tr 6.625% I VNOpI 25.55 863 Western Asset Income Fd PAI 14.67 4,909 Western Gas Partners LP WES 46.27 24,921 Williams Cos WMB 29.81 1,200,796 Yamana Gld AUY 18.16 993,499 YUM! Brands YUM 66.00 189,513 New Lows 3 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Oxford Resource Ptrs OXF 10.62 194,034 Standard Register SR 1.61 51,419 YPF SA YPF 26.77 1,130,505
NASDAQ
New Highs 44 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Air Methods AIRM 92.97 6,833 Akorn AKRX 13.00 106,210 Ameris Bancorp ABCB 11.77 28,281 Anika Therapeutics ANIK 11.70 11,712 Apple AAPL 547.61 7,926,409 Bank of the James Finl BOTJ 5.49 200 BioCryst Pharm BCRX 4.69 64,602 Boston Priv Fincl Hldgs BPFH 9.60 105,802 Ceres CERE 15.59 3,502 Cerus CERS 4.09 1,450,736 Charles & Colvard CTHR 4.44 22,786 Cray CRAY 8.39 71,194 Cynosure (Cl A) CYNO 18.28 11,908 Datawatch Corp DWCH 14.35 19,592 Delta Natural Gas Co DGAS 38.99 2,274 Discovery Comm C DISCK 43.03 33,484 ExlService Hldgs EXLS 27.67 155,245 HomeStreet HMST 53.24 100 InfoSonics IFON 1.04 664 IntegraMed America INMD 11.48 800 iPass IPAS 2.32 13,700 Jazz Pharm Inc JAZZ 52.22 81,332 Key Tronic KTCC 11.49 14,938 lululemon athletica LULU 68.06 175,622 Microsoft MSFT 31.94 6,255,544 NewsCorp A NWSA 20.24 3,523,496 NewsCorp B NWS 20.72 412,676 PwrShrs QQQ Tr Series 1 QQQ 64.95 7,657,078 ProShares UltraPro QQQ TQQQ 106.25 249,733 Rockville Fincl RCKB 11.99 531 Russ Small-Cap Contrarian SCTR 68.56 200 Salix Pharmaceuticals SLXP 50.75 90,213 Synageva BioPharma GEVA 39.32 137,524 Synopsys SNPS 30.85 76,727 Texas Capital Bancshares TCBI 34.45 34,833 US Home Systems USHS 13.44 53,949 Ultimate Software Group ULTI 72.42 6,697 Utd Bankshares UBSI 29.73 21,049 United-Guardian UG 16.18 123 Vanguard Russell 1000 VONE 63.19 200 Vanguard Russ 1000 Growth VONG 66.23 206 Verisk Analytics Inc VRSK 44.58 614,519 ViroPharma VPHM 32.71 116,440 vitacost com Inc VITC 8.37 4,000 New Lows 6 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Amyris AMRS 5.54 69,087 Balchem BCPC 28.25 72,147 Ceres CERE 14.00 3,502 Deswell Industries DSWL 1.97 10,063 ProShr Ul Sh QQQ SQQQ 12.33 346,381 Vocus VOCS 13.10 1,895,935Comments »
Most Active Options Trades
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE AAPL 3/2/12 550.0000 4937 4.3000 up 3.4700 AAPL 3/2/12 545.0000 4311 6.4500 up 4.9100 AAPL 3/2/12 540.0000 2769 9.0000 up 6.0900 AAPL 3/17/12 550.0000 2488 12.5000 up 6.0000 AAPL 3/17/12 530.0000 2358 23.0500 up 7.7000 AAPL 3/2/12 535.0000 2291 12.6000 up 7.4000 ABC 3/17/12 38.0000 2122 0.4900 dn 0.0600 BAC 3/17/12 8.0000 2011 0.3800 up 0.0700 AA 3/17/12 11.0000 1960 0.0900 up 0.0200 AAPL 3/17/12 540.0000 1782 17.6000 up 7.5000 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE MSFT 7/21/12 26.0000 3000 0.3600 dn 0.0100 C 3/17/12 33.0000 2468 0.5500 dn 0.2200 NWSA 3/17/12 19.0000 1951 0.1500 dn 0.1000 BAC 3/17/12 8.0000 1793 0.1600 dn 0.0500 AAPL 3/2/12 535.0000 1554 2.7600 dn 2.1900 NUE 7/21/12 38.0000 1500 1.2300 dn 0.0500 AAPL 3/2/12 540.0000 1323 4.4500 dn 3.3000 NEM 4/21/12 60.0000 1218 1.7800 up 0.0400 AAPL 3/2/12 545.0000 1177 6.9500 dn 4.4000 AAPL 3/2/12 530.0000 1114 1.6600 dn 1.3600 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 326830 275488 602318
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE BAC 3/2/12 8.0000 253 0.2400 up 0.0800 AAPL 3/2/12 540.0000 243 9.2500 up 6.2700 TZA 3/17/12 20.0000 241 0.5400 dn 0.0200 AAPL 3/2/12 550.0000 240 4.4000 up 3.5900 AAPL 3/2/12 545.0000 193 6.4000 up 4.8100 AAPL 3/2/12 530.0000 174 15.8700 up 7.7200 GLD 3/17/12 176.0000 166 1.5300 dn 0.2100 GLD 3/17/12 180.0000 161 0.7200 dn 0.0800 GLD 3/2/12 174.0000 153 0.8500 dn 0.2300 AAPL 3/2/12 535.0000 142 12.8000 up 7.5500 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE FSLR 3/17/12 30.0000 198 1.0200 up 0.4200 SHLD 6/16/12 70.0000 139 17.4500 up 1.6000 BAC 3/2/12 8.0000 108 0.0300 dn 0.0300 FSLR 3/17/12 27.0000 97 0.4000 up 0.1700 BAC 3/17/12 8.0000 90 0.1600 dn 0.0500 FSLR 3/2/12 33.0000 89 0.8800 up 0.0700 AAPL 3/2/12 545.0000 86 6.5500 dn 6.0800 VVUS 3/17/12 21.0000 73 0.9000 dn 0.0200 AAPL 3/17/12 520.0000 71 5.4700 dn 1.0800 AAPL 3/2/12 540.0000 70 4.2000 dn 3.6000 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 17347 16232 33579Comments »
