Source

“European markets continue to tumble, with Spain down well over 3 percent.

Italy is also down more than 2.6 percent. Italian banks continue to take a beating. UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo are both down about 5 percent, Banca MPS has fallen around 4.4 percent, and UBI Banca is off 2.3 percent.

The core has also been affected, with the CAC 40 falling 1.6 percent and the DAX off 1 percent.

Notably, government bonds appear to be unaffected by the rout in equities, with Spanish and Italian 10-year yields both falling slightly today.

Check out the Spanish IBEX 35 today:

 

Comments »

Asia

Europe

Futures

Currencies

Commodities

LIBOR, EURIBOR, 10 year yields for Italy, Spain, France, and Germany

 

Comments »

The bulls had a great day that started with Spain getting off a bond auction despite higher yields.

A slew of earnings came in better than expected and then there was Apple Inc. jumping back over $600.

DOW UP 193

NASDAQ UP 54

S&P UP 21

OIL UP $1.29

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my6bfA14vMQ&feature=fvst 450 300]

Comments »

Fireworks on Wall st today: DOW UP 200, NASDAQ UP 60 , S&P UP 22, $AAPL UP $25

Source

“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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NYSE

New Highs 36 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
AegonNVNon Cum Sub Nts        AEK         26.34               10,565 
Arch Cap Gp 6.75% Pfd C       ARHpC       25.60                3,084 
BlackRockStrategicBond        BHD         14.57                3,840 
Bluegreen Corp                BXG         5.45                 7,442 
Carters                       CRI         50.82               10,846 
Diageo PLC                    DEO         100.03             126,100 
Ecopetrol                     EC          64.50               51,833 
Fidelity Ntl Financial        FNF         18.68               83,657 
First American Financial      FAF         17.57               34,332 
Gazit-Globe                   GZT         10.92                1,100 
Graco Inc                     GGG         55.44               21,551 
Grupo Aero Sureste ads        ASR         74.58                4,212 
Hlth Care REIT 6.50 Pfd J     HCNpJ       25.54                5,383 
Home Depot                    HD          51.96              663,105 
Independence Hldg             IHC         10.79                  637 
KKR Finl 7.5% Notes 2042      KFI         25.57                6,574 
Macerich                      MAC         59.21               18,173 
Myers Industries              MYE         16.90                9,659 
NextEra Engy Deb. G 2072      NEEpG       25.57                9,036 
NextEra Energy                NEE         63.12               82,227 
PS Business Parks             PSB         67.40                  975 
PS Bus Parks Pfd S            PSBpS       25.59                6,389 
PennyMac Mortgage Inv Tr      PMT         19.27               22,170 
Penske Automotive             PAG         26.52               23,617 
STAG Industrial               STAG        14.22                6,797 
Schiff Nutrition Intl         WNI         13.50                  707 
Sempra Energy                 SRE         64.22              240,981 
Sherwin-Williams              SHW         118.09              74,538 
Simon Property Group          SPG         149.63             161,668 
Stewart Info Svcs             STC         16.00                3,991 
Tata Motors ADS               TTM         29.15              369,906 
Taubman Ctrs                  TCO         75.29               21,539 
3D Sys                        DDD         28.37              219,357 
Wabtec                        WAB         79.23               76,459 
White Mountains Insur         WTM         522.00                 657 
Wisconsin Energy              WEC         35.56              190,338 

New Lows 6 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Equal Energy                  EQU         3.17                15,620 
Nortel Inversora ADS          NTL         18.87                6,836 
Oaktree Capital Group         OAK         39.75               15,800 
Telecom Argentina             TEO         14.96              197,949 
Transalta Corp                TAC         16.50               20,152 
Ultra Petroleum               UPL         18.41              223,137

NASDAQ

New Highs 30 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Access National               ANCX        12.18                4,797 
Anika Therapeutics            ANIK        16.36               19,407 
Bassett Furniture Inds        BSET        10.77               25,046 
Bridgeline Digital            BLIN        1.37                 4,770 
CalAmp                        CAMP        5.54                15,649 
Delta Natural Gas Co          DGAS        39.66                  300 
Discovery Comm A              DISCA       52.27               52,264 
Dollar Tree                   DLTR        97.19              110,484 
Fisher Comm                   FSCI        32.84                3,680 
Fonar Corp                    FONR        4.38               158,288 
Hackett Group                 HCKT        6.50                10,856 
HealthStream                  HSTM        26.33               35,517 
Hibbett Sports                HIBB        57.00               14,147 
JB Hunt Transport             JBHT        57.40               25,683 
Intel                         INTC        28.64            3,612,012 
Liquidity Services            LQDT        52.65               26,178 
Macatawa Bank                 MCBC        3.55                11,600 
Mediware Info Sys             MEDW        15.50                1,250 
Mellanox Techs                MLNX        43.92               69,494 
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals     MACK        7.88                28,297 
Monolithic Power Systems      MPWR        20.08               58,845 
O'Reilly Automotive           ORLY        95.75               42,238 
Peapack Gladstone             PGC         14.58                  550 
Pool                          POOL        38.69               92,565 
Pozen                         POZN        7.84                68,215 
RADVision                     RVSN        11.76                2,136 
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals     REGN        124.66              35,242 
SXC Health Solutions          SXCI        80.49               44,122 
Select Comfort                SCSS        35.17               60,589 
Tetra Tech                    TTEK        26.97                8,152 

New Lows 8 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
AEterna Zentaris              AEZS        0.64               173,445 
Alaska Comm Sys Grp           ALSK        2.44                58,337 
DARA Biosciences Inc          DARA        0.85                24,825 
Groupon Inc                   GRPN        12.25              245,430 
Hoku                          HOKU        0.36                45,163 
Life Partners Hldgs           LPHI        3.00                 7,881 
Pan American Silver           PAAS        19.50              180,660 
SMF Energy                    FUEL        0.26                72,764

Comments »

3D heat map

S&P A/D Line

NASDAQ A/D Line 

 

Comments »

-CALLS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
GS         4/21/12         120.0000         440            0.9000      dn 0.6000 
AAPL       5/19/12         700.0000         138            3.3500      up 0.3000 
INTC       4/21/12          29.0000         132            0.3400      up 0.0600 
GS         4/21/12         125.0000         115            0.0700      dn 0.3700 
AAPL       4/21/12         595.0000         110            6.0500      up 1.4000 
MOS        4/21/12          52.5000         106            0.2400      up 0.1000 
EP         4/21/12          30.0000         100            0.0900      dn 0.1100 
ESRX       4/21/12          57.5000         100            0.6000      up 0.0000 
MS         4/21/12          18.0000          97            0.3700      up 0.0800 
AAPL       4/21/12         590.0000          94            8.6000      up 1.7000 

 -PUTS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
AAPL       4/21/12         550.0000         232            1.0100      dn 1.4600 
AAPL       4/21/12         570.0000         160            4.2000      dn 2.6500 
GLD        4/21/12         158.0000         148            0.5800      up 0.1100 
GS         5/19/12         110.0000          96            1.8000      dn 0.2900 
GS         4/21/12         115.0000          93            0.6900      dn 0.5800 
AAPL       4/21/12         575.0000          80            4.9700      dn 3.7600 
AAPL       4/21/12         545.0000          80            0.7300      dn 1.2000 
ARNA       4/21/12           3.5000          80            0.7900      up 0.1000 
AAPL       4/21/12         590.0000          75           11.4600      dn 5.3400 
AAPL       4/21/12         580.0000          75            6.8500      dn 4.0000 

 -VOLUME- 
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL 
11862    19896        31758

-CALLS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
AAPL       4/21/12         600.0000        2596            4.5300      up 0.5300 
AAPL       4/21/12         590.0000        2460            8.6500      up 1.7500 
BG         5/19/12          70.0000        2415            0.9000      dn 0.1500 
LNG        4/21/12          18.0000        2069            0.3000      dn 0.1000 
TEVA       4/21/12          45.0000        2011            0.7000      up 0.2100 
LNG        5/19/12          16.0000        2007            2.5000      up 0.2000 
AAPL       4/21/12         585.0000        1714           11.4500      up 2.7500 
AAPL       4/21/12         595.0000        1615            6.1500      up 1.0000 
AAPL       4/21/12         580.0000        1428           14.4000      up 3.2000 
GS         4/21/12         120.0000        1398            0.8600      dn 0.6000 

 -PUTS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
AAPL       4/21/12         580.0000        3081            6.6000      dn 4.2500 
AAPL       4/21/12         575.0000        2681            4.9000      dn 3.7000 
AAPL       4/21/12         570.0000        2668            3.7500      dn 3.1500 
AAPL       4/21/12         560.0000        2184            1.9700      dn 2.1300 
KMI        6/16/12          27.5000        1876            0.5000      up 0.0000 
AAPL       4/21/12         585.0000        1539            8.5000      dn 5.0000 
AAPL       4/21/12         545.0000        1423            0.8400      dn 1.0500 
S          4/21/12           3.0000        1216            0.4300      dn 0.0300 
AAPL       4/21/12         590.0000        1177           10.7200      dn 5.7800 
BAC        4/21/12           9.0000        1123            0.2700      dn 0.0900 

 -VOLUME- 
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL 
307434    282881        590315

Comments »

Utilization was 78.6….market ignore data

Comments »

Gapping up

GMXR +6.3%, NBG +5%, MDAS +4%, BCS +4%, ING +3.6%, DB +3.4%, CS +3%, E +2.7%,

UBS +2.6%, TSL +1.6%, HBC +1.4%, SAP +1.1%, RDS.A +1%, MLNX +1.4%, QCOM +0.4%,

SAP +1.5%, TNK +2.2%, VLO +1.5%, USB +1.2%, MMR +1.1%, CMA +5.3%, ICUI +2%,

FCX +1.8%, NBG +5%, ING +5%, BAC +2.4%, C +1.5%, HBC +1.4%,

Gapping down

ZOOM -14.3%, STWD -4.4%, AMTG -3.3%, EXR -2.4%, TIBX -1.3%, CHOP -4.4% , GS -0.5%,  DNN -8.5% ,

KITD -6.2%, AMTG -3.3%,  WNC -3.2% , EXR -2.4%, CLS -1.2%,

Comments »

Report

Comments »

Source

“Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) surged 12 percent to $19.02. The liquefied natural-gas company won federal approval to build the largest U.S. natural-gas export terminal as drillers who extract the fuel from shale formations struggle to find domestic buyers to absorb a glut.

Consol Energy Inc. (CNX) : The fuel producer based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania suspended coal production forecasts for the second quarter and 2012 until the idled longwalls at the Blacksville and Buchanan mines have been restarted.

DTS Inc. (DTSI) : The maker of decoders used in surround- sound systems agreed to acquireSRS Labs Inc. (SRSL) in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $9.50 per share, or $148 million.

Extra Space Storage Inc. (EXR) dropped 2.3 percent to $28.23. The operator of self-storage facilities will sell 7 million shares in a public offering. Proceeds will be used to fund acquisitions and repay debt and for general corporate purposes.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) declined 2 percent to $115.35. The fifth-biggest U.S. bank by assets reported a 23 percent decline in first-quarter profit.

Kit Digital Inc. (KITD) fell 6.2 percent to $6.70. The provider of software for online video said nonexecutive Chairman Kaleil Isaza Tuzman resigned.

Lincare Holdings Inc. (LNCR) : The Clearwater, Florida- based oxygen supplier reported first-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate by 1 cent.

Starwood Property Trust Inc. (STWD) decreased 3 percent to $20.30. The real estate investment company will sell 20 million shares in a public offering. Proceeds from the sale will be used to originate and purchase commercial mortgage loans and other assets, and for other general corporate purposes.

U.S. Bancorp (USB) rose 1.8 percent to $31.72. The nation’s fifth-largest lender by deposits reported a 28 percent increase in first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as revenue rose and credit losses fell.”

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In Play

On the Wires 

Comments »

Source

The American export boom continues.

Calculated Risk crunches the numbers from the latest Port of Los Angeles data, and finds that outbound volume (exports to Asia, red line) have surpassed pre-recession levels, hitting an all-time record high.

 

Comments »

“European consumer prices increased at a faster pace than initially estimated in March, driven by energy costs, complicating the European Central Bank’s task as it tries to push the inflation rate below its 2 percent limit.

Inflation in the 17-nation euro region held at 2.7 percent for a fourth month, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said in an e-mailed statement today. That’s higher than the estimate of 2.6 percent published on March 30…”

Read more

Comments »

“India slashed its benchmark interest rate by a greater-than-forecast half a percentage point, seeking to bolster growth with the first reduction since 2009. Inflation might limit the room for further cuts, the central bank said.

Governor Duvvuri Subbarao lowered the repurchase rate to 8 percent from 8.5 percent, theReserve Bank of India said in a statement in Mumbai today. The outcome was predicted by three of 25 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Seventeen expected a 0.25 percentage-point cut and the rest predicted no change.

The move stoked gains in the rupee and government bonds, and may buttress demand in an economy hampered by political gridlock that’s restraining investment. Policy makers are seeking at the same time to contain inflation that remains the fastest among the BRIC nations.

“They are playing with fire,” said Jahangir Aziz, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Washington who used to work at theInternational Monetary Fund. “I am increasingly assured that this is going to be last rate cut” given the risks to inflation fromoil prices and loose fiscal policy, he said.

The yield on the most-traded 8.79 percent notes due November 2021 fell to 8.34 percent as of 4:28 p.m. in Mumbai, from the day’s high of 8.51 percent and yesterday’s close of 8.46 percent, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s trading system. The rupee strengthened 0.2 percent to 51.56 per dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It slumped 16 percent last year, spurring price pressures by boosting import costs. The BSE India Sensitive Index of stocks closed up 1.2 percent….”

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“European stocks gained for a second day as demand increased at a Spanish debt sale and German investor confidence topped forecasts. U.S. index futures rose, while Asian shares fell.

Banks contributed the most to the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s advance as Banco Popolare SC (BP) and Barclays Plc (BARC) climbed. Repsol YPF SA (REP) plunged 6.4 percent as Argentina took control of the Spanish company’s YPF unit following a dispute over slumping oil output and investments. Danone (BN) advanced as the world’s biggest yogurt maker reported higher first-quarter sales.

The Stoxx 600 rose 1 percent to 256.69 at 11:08 a.m. in London. The benchmark index hasclimbed 5 percent this year as the European Central Bank flooded financial markets with 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) of cheap loans for three years to ease credit. ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said late yesterday that he doesn’t see an “immediate need” for a third three-year tender….”

Read more

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Asia

Europe

Futures

Currencies

Commodities

LIBOR, EURIBOR, 10 year yields for Italy, Spain, France, and Germany

 

Comments »

Dow Theory watchers must not be liking the recent negative divergence between Dow Jones Industrial Average and Dow Jones Transportion Average.

Comments »

Source

“2:00 pm : The dollar index has been under pressure after slipping back below the 80.00 level and now trades on session lows near 79.75. The yen continues to see safe-haven buying as worries over the health of Spain make their way back into the headlines. Today’s strength ran the yen up to 80.40 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the euro is stronger despite the uncertainty regarding Spain. Early selling dropped the single currency to a session low of 1.2995, but some fresh buying now has it trading up 60 pips and at session highs near 1.3135. The move in the euro comes even as Spanish CDS hit another record high, and as the Spanish 10-yr yield climbed back above 6.00%. Elsewhere, the pound is riding the coattails of the euro and trades up 35 pips at 1.5890.DJ30 +134.04 NASDAQ -12.38 SP500 +5.26 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1456/982.5 mln/1017 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1975/385.6 mln/1046

1:30 pm : Markets continue to trade in a relatively tight midday range, with the technology sector underperforming the broader market to a large degree. Although there aren’t any influential earnings reports after tonight’s close, the flow of important earnings really picks up over the remainder of the week.

Tomorrow morning, results from the following big names are scheduled to be released: Coca-Cola Co. (KO 72.58, +0.64), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS 116.13, +1.04), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 64.04, +0.50), Omnicom Group (OMC 49.34, +0.61), Northern Trust (NTRS 45.88, +0.18), State Street (STT 43.34, +0.15), TD Ameritrade (AMTD 18.81, -0.05) and U.S. Bancorp (USB 31.11, +0.21).

Then tomorrow afternoon we get results from the following: IBM (IBM 204.32, +1.52), Intel (INTC 28.28, +0.19), Yahoo! (YHOO 14.78, -0.09),Seagate (STX 28.43, +1.05), Stryker (SYK 54.15, +0.19) and CSX Corp. (CSX 22.07, +0.15).

Over the remainder of the week there is a heavy flow of earnings from major companies, with 17% of the S&P 500 components scheduled to release results.DJ30 +85.83 NASDAQ -24.08 SP500 -0.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1289/891.7 mln/1173 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1695/344.3 mln/1305

1:00 pm : The major averages continue to see mixed results in afternoon trade. The Dow continues to see gains, trading up 0.5% while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hold respective losses of 0.9% and 0.2%.

Shares of Citigroup (C 34.05, +0.64) are trading up 1.9% despite the company missing on both the top and bottom lines. The banking giant announced earnings per share of $0.95 on revenues of $19.41 billion as both numbers missed their consensus estimates by fairly wide margins. The Capital IQ Consensus estimate was calling for earnings of $1.00 per share on revenues of $19.94 billion. Credit Value Adjustment/Debt Valuation Adjustment was a negative $1.3 billion during the first quarter, resulting from the tightening of the company’s spreads, compared to -$256 million in the prior year.

Endocyte (ECYT 7.80, +4.00) is up 105.5% after Merck (MRK 38.00, +0.22) announced it purchased the rights to Vintafolide, the company’s experimental cancer drug for as much as $1 billion. The drug is currently being evaluated in a Phase III clinical trial for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and a phase II trial for non-small cell lung cancer.

Mobile phone ringtone maker Vringo (VRNG 4.37, +1.33) is higher by 43.8% following a disclosure filed by Mark Cuban which indicates he owns a 7.4% stake in the company.

Technology giants Apple (AAPL 586.74, -18.49) and Google (GOOG 606.00, -18.60) are under notable selling pressure with both Nasdaq heavyweights trading down in excess of 3.0%.

YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF 19.25, -2.70) is under heavy selling pressure on reports the Argentine government will attempt to take a stake of as much as 50.01% in the company. The government says the takeover would be in “public interest.” There had been reports circulating early in 2012 suggesting a move like this may occur at some point in the future.

Shares of homebuilders are flat following this morning’s disappointing NAHB Housing Market Index number with the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 20.75, +0.02) up fractionally.

Treasuries are seeing a safe-haven bid as worries over Spain have maturities at their best levels since March 7. Buying has dropped the 10-yr yield to a session low of 1.946%. DJ30 +69.97 NASDAQ -26.83 SP500 -1.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1167/821.8 mln/1259 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1539/316.3 mln/1445

12:30 pm : The major averages are slipping back towards session lows as trade remains mixed. The Dow continues to lead with a gain of 0.5% while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hold losses of 0.9% and 0.2% respectively.

Shares of YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF 18.67, -3.28) are under heavy selling pressure on reports the Argentine government will attempt to take a stake of as much as 50.01% in the company. The government says the takeover would be in “public interest.” There had been reports circulating early in 2012 suggesting a move like this may occur at some point in the future.DJ30 +60.74 NASDAQ -25.94 SP500 -2.00 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1138/759.4 mln/1284 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1481/292.6 mln/1483

12:00 pm : The major averages continue their mixed trade with the Dow up 0.3% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hold respective losses of 0.2% and 0.9%.

Mobile phone ringtone maker Vringo (VRNG 4.04, +1.00) is higher by 32.2% following a disclosure filed by Mark Cuban which indicates he owns a 7.4% stake in the company.DJ30 +49.61 NASDAQ -25.70 SP500 -2.56 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1108/674.8 mln/1307 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1446/262.7 mln/1503

11:30 am : The major indices remain mixed as the Dow holds a 0.6% gain, the S&P 500 trades flat, and the Nasdaq is down 0.6%.

Endocyte (ECYT 7.70, +3.90) is up 102.6% after Merck (MRK 38.00, +0.22) announced it purchased the rights to Vintafolide, the company’s experimental cancer drug, for as much as $1 billion. The drug is currently being evaluated in a Phase III clinical trial for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and a phase II trial for non-small cell lung cancer.  DJ30 +76.78 NASDAQ -17.86 SP500 -0.05 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1169/591.6 mln/1205 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1546/229.0 mln/1369

11:00 am : The major averages continue their mixed trade with the Dow and S&P 500 seeing respective gains of 0.5% and 0.1% while the Nasdaq holds a loss of 0.5%.

Shares of Citigroup (C 34.19, +0.78) are trading up 2.3% despite the company missing on both the top and bottom lines. The banking giant announced earnings per share of $0.95 on revenues of $19.41 billion as both numbers missed their consensus estimates by fairly wide margins. The Capital IQ Consensus estimate was calling for earnings of $1.00 per share on revenues of $19.94 billion. Credit Value Adjustment/Debt Valuation Adjustment was a negative $1.3 billion during the first quarter, resulting from the tightening of the company’s spreads, compared to -$256 million in the prior year. DJ30 +66.60 NASDAQ -16.42 SP500 +0.52 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1159/501.7 mln/1191 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1594/193.0 mln/1290

10:30 am : Apple (AAPL 590.42, -14.81) is showing notable relative weakness amid a generally stronger market. Apple shares are now -2.5% and at a new four-week low, weighing on the technology sector. So far the move doesn’t appear to be related to a specific fundamental catalyst. In addition to Apple, Google (GOOG 607.64, -16.96) has moved below its 50-day moving avearges in early trade, continuing last Friday’s negative reaction to earnings and adding pressure to the tech sector. Overall, the technology sector, as measured by the Nasdaq 100, is down 0.9% versus a 0.2% decline in the broader S&P 500.DJ30 +59.75 NASDAQ -29.97 SP500 -2.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 844/401.4 mln/1468 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1275/158.0 mln/1581

10:05 am : Just released, business inventories for February increased by 0.6%, which is slightly greater than the 0.5% increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com.

Meanwhile, The Housing Market Index for April fell to 25 from 28 in the prior month, exceeding the Briefing.com consensus call for an improvement to 29. The drop was the first in seven months for the index. Shares of homebuilders have been hit hard on the news, resulting in a quick drop to session lows by the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB 20.65, -0.08). DJ30 +77.50 NASDAQ -25.14 SP500 -0.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 982/242.7 mln/1241 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1556/105.8 mln/1242

09:45 am : The major averages are seeing solid gains in the opening minutes of trade, buoyed by the better than expected retail sales data. The Dow is leading this morning’s climb with a 0.9% advance while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq trail with respective gains of 0.4% and 0.2%. Financials are the top performing sector, trading up 1.2%, despite the earnings miss by Citigroup.DJ30 +109.74 NASDAQ +6.02 SP500 +6.09 NASDAQ Vol 107.0 mln NYSE Vol 67.1 mln

09:13 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +7.80.  Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.00.   Equity futures are trading at their best levels of the session following the strong retail sales figures, and despite the weak Empire Manufacturing survey. S&P futures are up 9 and Dow Jones futures are higher by 90 as markets are set to open the week on a positive note. The strong open will also come on the heels of disappointing earnings from Citigroup, which announced earnings of $0.95 per share on revenues of $19.41 billion. The Capital IQ Consensus Estimate was calling for earnings of $1.00 per share on revenues of $19.94 billion. Data still to be released today includes business inventories and the NAHB Housing Market Index with both due out at 10 am ET.”

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NYSE

New Highs 28 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Alamo Grp                     ALG         31.66                1,813 
Amer Intl Grp Inc. Wt         AIG/WS      12.35               19,730 
Annie's Inc.                  BNNY        45.00               60,107 
Bluegreen Corp                BXG         5.06                11,549 
Dick's Sporting Goods         DKS         50.00               68,213 
Embraer ADS                   ERJ         35.29               65,046 
Essex Property Trust          ESS         152.61               5,868 
Fidelity Ntl Financial        FNF         18.64              140,292 
Fst Niagara Finl Pfd B        FNFGpB      28.09                1,358 
Hlth Care REIT 6.50 Pfd J     HCNpJ       25.39                2,936 
Home Depot                    HD          51.80              923,254 
Hospitality Properties Tr     HPT         27.22               14,579 
KKR Finl 7.5% Notes 2042      KFI         25.52                3,393 
Lowe's Cos                    LOW         32.29            1,958,211 
Macerich                      MAC         58.70               17,444 
MarriottVacations             VAC         29.63               16,511 
PS Business Parks             PSB         66.81                3,386 
Primus Telecommunications     PTGI        17.89               97,309 
Sally Beauty Hldgs            SBH         25.85               45,237 
Schiff Nutrition Intl         WNI         13.45                5,938 
Sherwin-Williams              SHW         117.86              87,873 
Stewart Info Svcs             STC         15.35                4,034 
Taubman Ctrs                  TCO         74.20                7,352 
Tempur-Pedic                  TPX         87.27              111,909 
Terra Nitrogen                TNH         298.50              20,293 
Wstrn Asset Emerg Mkts        ESD         20.93               29,370 
Wstrn Asset Worldwide Inc     SBW         14.86                9,620 
Williams Cos                  WMB         32.52              253,165 

New Lows 13 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Cenveo                        CVO         2.53                53,028 
Chesapeake Energy             CHK         19.56            1,555,038 
DelhaizeGrp                   DEG         47.55                5,290 
Emergent Biosoltns            EBS         14.17                4,529 
Enerplus                      ERF         18.62              194,733 
Gafisa                        GFA         4.28               233,378 
Harmony Gold Mining           HMY         9.64               222,839 
Ivanhoe Mines                 IVN         12.06              804,522 
Nokia                         NOK         3.93             7,821,171 
Quicksilver Resources         KWK         4.02               328,275 
RPC Inc                       RES         8.88               107,342 
Standard Register             SR          0.90                 7,895 
Transalta Corp                TAC         17.08               19,112

NASDAQ

New Highs 33 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Acorn Energy                  ACFN        12.00               53,433 
Amer Cap Agency Pfd A         AGNCP       25.24               10,611 
Anika Therapeutics            ANIK        16.13               57,189 
Arc Wireless Solutions        ARCW        3.80                 5,550 
Bassett Furniture Inds        BSET        10.41               47,124 
Benihana                      BNHN        13.85                1,005 
Cynosure  (Cl A)              CYNO        19.97               18,513 
Discovery Comm C              DISCK       48.52               15,828 
Erickson Air-Crane            EAC         8.50                11,538 
Flexsteel Industries          FLXS        19.21                3,911 
Fonar Corp                    FONR        4.25               147,797 
Infinity Pharmaceuticals      INFI        13.18                2,051 
IntegraMed America            INMD        13.22                  837 
Intel                         INTC        28.55            3,824,155 
Key Tronic                    KTCC        11.69               19,581 
Liquidity Services            LQDT        52.26               23,243 
Mantex Intl                   MNTX        8.96                33,452 
Mattress Firm Holding         MFRM        46.17                3,241 
PDF Solutions                 PDFS        8.69                 2,902 
Pacer Intl                    PACR        6.95                 7,931 
Pozen                         POZN        7.40               119,224 
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals     REGN        124.50              25,652 
Retalix                       RTLX        20.94               15,190 
SBA Comm                      SBAC        52.75               88,925 
SLM CPI-Lnkd Md Trm Nts A     OSM         23.72                3,876 
SXC Health Solutions          SXCI        79.88               36,059 
SeagateTech                   STX         29.00            3,955,748 
Select Comfort                SCSS        35.00              123,863 
Spirit Airlines               SAVE        21.99               33,150 
Starbucks                     SBUX        62.00              898,958 
Ulta Salon Cosmetics          ULTA        95.85               35,996 
VeriSign                      VRSN        40.99              101,420 
WisdomTree Emg Mkts Corp      EMCB        79.14                  670 

New Lows 15 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Alaska Comm Sys Grp           ALSK        2.54                27,410 
American Learning             ALRN        0.79                 5,464 
Cadence Pharmaceuticals       CADX        3.25                25,765 
ChinaNet Online Holdings      CNET        0.85                14,894 
Diamond Foods                 DMND        20.66               37,720 
Double Eagle Petroleum        DBLE        5.09                 3,300 
Education Management          EDMC        12.45               15,969 
NCI                           NCIT        6.06                11,558 
Origin Agritech               SEED        1.85                31,159 
Pan American Silver           PAAS        19.86              159,728 
Pendrell                      PCO         1.11             3,940,125 
Perfumania Holdings           PERF        9.00                   537 
SMF Energy                    FUEL        0.27               883,903 
WVS Fincl                     WVFC        7.16                   300 
Wave Systems  (Cl A)          WAVX        1.49                17,654

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