Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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PAUL KANGAS: Lehman Brother's shares tumbled 40 percent at the opening on Wall Street today, and that set the tone for trading overall. By 11 -- or I should say, by 10:00, the Dow was down 138 points and the NASDAQ off 28 points. Thanks to a firm dollar and weak oil prices, stocks rebounded, and by noon, the Dow was off only 5 points and the NASDAQ posted a 12-point gain. The market turned choppy this afternoon until bargain hunters stampeded in the final minutes of trading on those reports of a sale of Lehman could be in the works. The Dow Industrial Average ended with a gain of 164.79 at 11,433.71. The NASDAQ Composite was up 29.52, ending at 2,258.22. Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose just over 17 points to 1,249.05. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note fell 2/32 to 102 30/32, putting the yield at 3.65 percent.
Big Board volume on 24.5 million shares, WaMu, Washington Mutual (WM) up $0.51. Standard & Poor's repeated a hold recommendation, but there are still doubts around about the company's viability. It did trade as low as $1.75 this morning.
Then came Lehman Brothers (LEH), losing $3.03. It traded as low as $3.80 today. You've already heard the news there. American International Group (AIG) managed to gain a nickel, but it was as low as $13.82 earlier today on fears it would post another third-quarter loss. But it did participate in that late rally on Wall Street.
Citigroup (C) losing $0.07.
Ford Motor (F) gained $0.21.
Merrill Lynch (MER) down $3.87. Analysts at Sanford Bernstein brokerage see Merrill as the most vulnerable Wall Street firm next to Lehman.
Wachovia (WB) was down $0.80.
General Electric (GE) moved up $0.07.
Bank of America (BAC), a $0.66 advance.
And then Wells Fargo (WFC) gained $2.15.
General Motors (GM) had a good day, up $1.33. Support is growing for the big three auto firms to get $25 billion in government loans to fund advanced vehicle technology.
United Technologies (UTX) up $0.61, the CEO says the company's takeover of Diebold (DBD) at $40 a share is not likely. And Diebold stock fell $2.27 to $35 and $0.22 a share.
CSX (CSX), the big rail, up $5.85. The company sees 2008 earnings of as much as $3.75, well above its previous estimate high of $3.60. Standard & Poor's upgraded it from hold to a buy.
Allergan (AGN) up $5.95. The company's late-stage trials of Botox treatment for adult migraine headaches is showing promise. Another pharmaceutical here, AstraZeneca (AZN) losing $0.87, it traded as low as $44.49. Goldman Sachs downgraded it from neutral to a sell recommendation.
Sunoco (SUN) up $5.25. The stock up on a rise in gasoline futures on possible shutdown of refineries in Texas due to Hurricane Ike. Then Continental Airlines (CAL) up $2.44. Airlines were firm as crude oil fell to just above $100 a barrel, as we heard. But in addition to that, Continental is comfortable with its forward bookings for the next six weeks.
And finally we see New York Times (NYT) moving up $1.27. The company reports Mexico's billionaire Carlos Slim and his family own 6.4 percent of the stock in New York Times.
NASDAQ's most active, Apple (AAPL), moving up $1.04.
Research In Motion (RIMM) up $4.71. The company is in partnerships with Microsoft (MSFT), TiVo (TIVO), and some others to broaden appeal of its products to a wider audience.
Google (GOOG) had a good day, up just over $19.50 a share.
And then Microsoft (MSFT), a $0.90 gain.
A $0.03 advance in Intel (INTC).
Qualcomm (QCOM) was up $2.35. The company said demand for its 3G products has been strong.
Baidu.com (BIDU) rising $18.42.
Cisco (CSCO) a $0.06 gain there.
And Oracle (ORCL) up $0.19.
First Solar (FSLR) fell $1.55.
Software firm Kenexa (KNXA) tumbling $5.85. The company cut its third- quarter outlook due to order delays. And Credit Suisse downgraded it from outperform to just a neutral rating.
And then Ticketmaster (TKTM) losing $3.32, a negative reaction to word that Live Nation (LYV), the concert promoter, is going to do the ticketing for SMG. Live Nation stock was up $1.03 to $16.90.
Those are our "Stock in the News" tonight.
