Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
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JEFF YASTINE: Stocks sold off from the opening bell on Wall Street today as recession worries heated up. The Dow dropped more than 200 points at the open, as investors digested that ISM number. Merrill Lynch says the data increases the odds for another intra-meeting rate cut by the Fed and that kept stocks under pressure for the rest of the day and the major averages settled at their lows of the day. So the Dow sank 370 points and a fraction to finish at 12,265.13. The NASDAQ tumbled 73.28 to end at 2,309.57 and the S&P 500 Index dropped 44.18 to 1,336.64. The bond price sparking higher on flight to safety buying and the 10-year note climbing 18/32 to 105 17/32 and the yield at 3.58 percent. Starting things off, Citigroup (C) dropping $2.17. The firm leading the rest of the banks and brokers lower after today's drop in the ISM service sector index. Even the idea of another intra-meeting rate cut put forth by Merrill Lynch today not helping to stem the declines in the group. General Electric (GE) falling $1.16.
Bank of America (BAC) off $1.66.
Pfizer (PFE) losing $0.67.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) down more than $2.
Ford Motor Co (F) dropping a fraction.
And then Wells Fargo & Co (WFC), again part of the weak financial sector today, losing $0.92.
ExxonMobil (XOM) down more than $3.
Micron Tech (MU) gaining just a fraction.
And Motorola (MOT) off $0.71.
Taking a peek at some other blue chips caught in today's sell-off, American Express (AXP) falling $1.96, bringing its two-day loss to nearly $4. Yesterday, UBS issued a "sell" on the credit card issuers' group.
And American Intl Group (AIG) dropping $2.50.
Caterpillar (CAT) losing more than $3.43.
And IBM (IBM) sliding nearly $3.
Verizon Comm (VZ) off $1.78.
And then we have Whirlpool (WHP) which went the other way today, gaining more than $8, $8.41 to be specific. The appliance maker delivering a healthy 72 percent jump in fourth quarter profits, thanks in large part to strong sales in its Maytag division. Earnings were $0.23 above analyst targets.
Then we have Las Vegas Sands (LVS) jumping $7.45. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock after it reported a big 65 percent jump in revenues.
And then Corporate Express (CXP) vaulting more than $2. Some think it could be taken over by the Staples retail chain, although Corporate Express denied any takeover rumors.
On the downside, NYSE Euronext (NYX) sliding $11.70. The exchange group says it sees a slight shortfall in fourth quarter earnings and the cost-saving synergies after buying Euronext last year will not be fully seen for another two years.
Then we have National Semiconductor (NSM) off $1.43. The chip maker lowering its sales outlook because of declining shipments to cell phone makers in China.
Then Barnes & Noble (BKS) losing $3.55. JPMorgan says the weaker economy and more retail competition will make it harder for the book seller to hit its sales targets this year.
Over to the NASDAQ, where we had Google (GOOG) climbing $11.37, one of the few gainers in that index today and you could really say the enemy of my enemy is my friend here as Google shares were buoyed by reports that Yahoo! may be interested in some kind of partnership deal with Google, perhaps swapping its advertising assets for Google's cash and avoiding Microsoft's hostile acquisition offer.
Apple (AAPL) down more than $2.
There's Microsoft (MSFT) dropping $1.12.
Baidu.com (BIDU) losing nearly $19. The company the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit from music giants Universal, Warner and Sony BMG.
Then Cisco Systems (CSCO) dropping $0.56.
Research in Motion (RIMM) ending off $4.87.
Yahoo! (YHOO) dropping $0.35.
Intel (INTC) off nearly $1.
Oracle (ORCL) off by nearly the same amount.
And First Solar (FSLR) off about $15.
Then finally, Sirf Technology (SIRF) skidding nearly $9. It missed analyst estimates with its fourth quarter results of $0.28 a share and the company's first quarter forecast was also less than analyst expected.
And then VCA Antech (WOOF), the chain of veterinary clinics, seeing 2008 results and fourth quarter revenues below analyst targets. They blame shortfalls on uncertainty in the economy and slower revenue growth.
Those are our stocks in the news tonight.
