Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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PAUL KANGAS: Falling oil prices were a positive for stocks early today, as was Wall Street's reaction to the Lehman Brothers news this morning. The Dow rose 81 points in the first hour of trading while the NASDAQ gained 18 points. Around midday, Lehman's stock gave up its early gain and the market faded. Stocks rallied again, led by a rebound in the commodity sector this afternoon. At 3 p.m., the Dow was up 105 points, but then investor uncertainty cut the gains by the final bell. The Dow Industrial Average closed up 38.19, at 11,268.92. NASDAQ rose 18.89, ending at 2,228.70. And the Standard & Poor's 500 was up 7.53 at 1,232.04. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note fell 17/32 to 103 1/32, putting the yield at 3.64 percent.
Most active Big Board issue on 24.5 million shares, Washington Mutual (WM) down another $0.98 at an 18-year low. Yesterday, as we reported, Standard & Poor's changed the company's ratings outlook from stable to negative.
Then Lehman Brothers (LEH) down $0.54 on the close, traded as high as $9.10 and as low as $6.93. You heard most of the news, the company is slashing its dividend 93 percent, from $0.68 to only a nickel annually. And Moody's said that the bank will have to take action beyond the steps it announced today to avoid a ratings cut.
Citigroup (C) in there with a $0.20 loss.
American International Group (AIG) dropping $0.87.
Bank of America (BAC) down $0.12. The company has agreed to buy back $4.5 billion of illiquid auction rate securities, settling a probe led by Massachusetts state regulators.
Moving along in the actives, GE (GE), a $0.03 loss.
Followed by Wells Fargo (WFC) with a $0.53 gain.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) down $0.07.
Wachovia (WB) fell a $1.16.
And Companhia Vale (RIO) was up a $1.12 per share, 10th in volume.
FedEx Corp. (FDX) up $3.11, traded as high as $89.08 today. After the close yesterday, as we reported, the company forecast first-quarter earnings at $1.23. And that's $0.28 better than the Street was expecting. Rails strong today. Norfolk Southern (NSC) up $2.91. UBS Financial upgraded it from neutral to buy.
And did the same for Burlington Northern (BNI), which was up $2.98.
And the other rails followed suit with gains in CSX (CSX), Genesee & Wyoming (GWR), Kansas City Southern (KSU), and Union Pacific (UNP) a nice gain of $3.03.
International Rectifier (IRF) gained $1.47. Vishay Intertechnology (VSH) has sweetened its buyout bid from $21.22 a share up to $23 a share in cash. Robbins & Myers (RBN) gained $3.95. Two brokerages, namely BB&T and Sidoti, both issued buy recommendations on RBN today.
Sunrise Senior Living (SRZ) dropping $1.82. Second-quarter loss out today, $0.63 in the red versus earnings of $0.15 last year. And the company cut its earnings guidance.
Webster Financial (WBS) dropping $1.49. Stifel Financial brokerage downgraded it from hold to a sell recommendation. And then PNC Financial (PNC) losing almost $2. The company expects to report significant third-quarter write-downs on the ownership of preferred stock in Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE).
And finally, Ultra Petroleum (UPL) up $6.33. Standford Research upgraded it from sell to hold in the belief the company can boost its reserves 20 percent this year.
Apple (AAPL) down $0.07.
Google (GOOG), a $4.50 loss.
Research In Motion (RIMM) up $5.31. Second-quarter earnings are due out on the 25th of this month for RIMM. And the company got some pretty good analyst fanfare today about its new BlackBerry flip-phone.
Microsoft (MSFT), a $0.34 gain.
Intel (INTC) down $0.17.
Moving along, Qualcomm (QCOM) up $1.12.
Oracle (ORCL) fell a penny.
Cisco Systems (CSCO), a $0.02 gain there.
First Solar (FSLR) up nearly $11.
And Baidu.com (BIDU) gained $9.97.
ImClone Systems (IMCL) gaining $4.29. The company said a large pharmaceuticals firm it didn't name has proposed to acquire it for $70 a share. ImClone told Bristol-Myers Squibb that its $60 a share buyout bid was inadequate.
And finally, shares of American Community Bancshares (ACBA) soared $3.51 on news it was being acquired by Yadkin Valley Financial (YAVY) for $12.35 per share cash or 0.8 per share in Yadkin stock, and that stock tumbled $4.45 to $12.54 per share.
