Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
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PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street welcomed the plunge in oil prices and the better-than- expected news on damages from Hurricane Gustav with an opening surge. That rally lifted the Dow 225 points by 10:00 a.m. as the NASDAQ gained 41 points. The early buying binge subsided over the next several hours as traders took profits in the belief that the rally was overdone. Then, in the final part of the trading day, stocks turned modestly negative. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 26.63 at 11,516.92. The NASDAQ Composite was off 18.28, ending at 2,349.24. While the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell exactly 5.25 points to 1,277.58. In the bond market, the 10-year note rose 24/32 to 102 6/32, putting the yield at 3.74 percent.
New York Exchange volume leader on nearly 14 million shares, Citigroup (C) moving up $0.12.
Then Freddie Mac (FRE) with a $0.67 gain.
And Fannie Mae (FNM) with a $0.59 gain. The New York Times reports the idea of a merger between Fannie and Freddie has been floating around. Bank of America (BAC) up $1.49. Goldman Sachs reinstates coverage with it with a buy recommendation and a $40 a share target on Bank America.
GE (GE), a $0.43 advance there.
Ford Motor (F) gained a nickel.
And Time Warner (TWX), a $0.33 advance.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) fell $0.35.
AT&T (T), a $0.26 gain.
And then Exxon Mobil (XOM) down $2.69 in a very weak oil sector because of the plunge in oil.
Let's have a look at some other major oils. And they all had substantial losses: BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), Conoco (COP), Marathon Oil (MRO), and Occidental (OXY) substantial losses indeed.
But that was good for the airlines, that drop in oil. And look what they did: AMR (AMR) up $1.17, Continental (CAL) and Delta (DAL) and UAL (UAUA) up nicely. U.S. Airways (LCC) closed up only $0.33, but it traded as high as $10.13 in the morning when oil was really down. A very strong group today.
The coal stocks were very weak because of weakening prices and demand in China. Arch Coal (ACI), CONSOL Energy (CNX), Massey (MEE), Patriot Coal (PCX), and Peabody (BTU), all significant losses there.
Elsewhere Lowe's Companies (LOW) up $1.69. Goldman Sachs upgraded it from neutral to buy. And in sympathy, Home Depot (HD) moved up $1.17 to $28.07.
Prudential Financial (PRU) rising $3.73. This week's Barron's Financial reports the company is pushing into international markets, especially Japan and South Korea, and its conservative standards will limit its exposure to credit losses. Very positive comments there.
Regions Financial (RF) up $1.78. That's a positive reaction to the company's assumption from the FDIC of about $900 million in total deposits from the insolvent Integrity Bank, positive reaction, indeed.
International Shipholding (ISH) gained $3.48. Liberty Shipping Group has made a $25.75 per share cash buyout bid for International Shipholding.
Ensco International (ESV) losing nearly $5 a share. JPMorgan downgraded it from neutral to underweight in the belief the stock had little upside potential at the moment.
And then Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) up $1.72. Morgan Stanley upgraded it from equal weight to overweight in the belief that lower commodity prices could raise the company's profit margins.
Ambac Financial (ABK) closed up -- or I should say, down $0.09. But after the close, the stock rose $1 on word that the state of Wisconsin gave it regulatory approval to capitalize and reactive Connie Lee Insurance Company. Up $1 from that price after hours.
Apple (AAPL) down $3.34. The high of the day, $173.50 on speculation Apple will unveil a new iPod next week. In the meantime, Thomas Weisel brokerage noted the shares -- or the sales have been slowing towards 3G iPhone over the last few weeks.
Google (GOOG) up $1.96, positive reaction to Chrome, the new Internet browser.
Research In Motion (RIMM) down $3.25.
Microsoft (MSFT), a $0.19 drop there.
Cisco (CSCO) was off $0.30 a share.
Dell (DELL), a $0.90 drop.
Qualcomm (QCOM) fell a $1.48.
Intel (INTC) losing $0.29.
Oracle (ORCL) lost $0.38.
But Sciele Pharma (SCRX) up $11.40. It's going to be acquired by a Japanese pharmacy company for $31 a share.
And Gilead Sciences (GILD) down $2.40. Bank America downgraded it from buy to just a neutral rating.
Those are the "Stocks in the News" tonight.
