Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Friday, January 16, 2009
|
|
|
|
PAUL KANGAS: A stock market starved for good news finally got a little this morning in the report of an unexpected rise in January consumer confidence and a 0.7 percent decline in December consumer prices. This helped the Dow gain 83 points an hour into the trading session, with the NASDAQ up 13 points. Persistent worry about the banks and a 2 percent drop in December industrial production sent the blue chips to an 80 point midday loss. But bargain buyers stepped in later on and lifted the market to a positive close. The Dow Industrial Average ended with a gain of 68.73 points at 9291 - 8281.22. The week, it rose twice, fell three times, had a net weekly loss of 317.96 points or 3.7 percent. The NASDAQ Composite closed up 17.49 at 1529.33 today. It rose in three out of the last five sessions, still had an overall drop of 42.26 points or 2.7 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 6.38 points to 850.12 today, but it was the hardest hit this week of the major indices, falling 40.23 points or 4 1/2 percent. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note lost 1 10/32 to 112 10/32, putting the yield at 2.34 percent.
Most active big board issue today was Citigroup (C) and traded 74.8 million shares. You heard the company had a fourth quarter loss of $8.2 billion or $1.72 a share. The Street estimate was for a loss of $1.32 and the company is reorganizing which you already heard.
Bank of America (BAC) down $1.14. It had a fourth quarter loss of $0.48 a share, versus a nickel earnings a year ago and the company is cutting its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to only a penny a share. And of course, the government's going to give the company $20 billion.
General Electric (GE) moved up $0.19.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) down $1.52. Standard & Poor's downgraded JPMorgan from a "strong buy" to just a "hold" on concerns it may cut its dividend.
Wells Fargo (WFC) off $1.48 in the weak banking group. Pfizer (PFE) up $0.11. The "Wall Street Journal" reports Pfizer is close to laying off up to 2,400 people in its sales force.
ExxonMobil (XOM) gained $1.44.
AT&T (T) an $0.11 advance.
SprintNextel (S) lost $0.08.
While Ford Motor Co (F) was down $0.04.
Best Buy Co (BBY) moving up $2.20 a share. Standard & Poor's said Circuit City's liquidation plan will create tremendous opportunities for Best Buy to capture market share and repeated a "buy" on Best Buy.
Barclays Plc (BCS), the big bank, down $1.15. The company said it couldn't account for the mysterious drop which was (INAUDIBLE) as low as $5.72 today. Some analysts say that the lifting of a ban on short selling could be one of the reasons behind the weakness.
Mastercard (MA) down $2.08. Keybanc brokerage downgraded it from "buy" to "hold," did the same with Visa whose stock fell $1.97.
Avon Products (AVP) losing $1.69. BMO Capital brokerage downgraded it from "out perform" to a "market perform."
And then Estee Lauder (ESL) $2.92 loss there. The company sees second quarter sales down 6 percent versus its previous estimate for growth of 2 to 3 percent, quite a change.
Terra Industries (TRA), the fertilizer maker, up $4.20. CF Industry Holdings is offering to buy all the outstanding shares for about 4.2 of its CF shares. That's worth about $20.50 today. CF was up $1.29.
And Puget Energy (PSD) jumping $3.12. Puget Holdings will buy all the outstanding shares at $30 a share in cash.
And Belden (BDC), which makes coaxial cable, things like that, down $2.75 after the company cut its high end 2008 earnings guidance from $3 a share down to $2.58.
NASDAQ's most active was Apple (AAPL) down $1.05.
Research in Motion (RIMM) moving up $1.87.
Google (GOOG) $0.68 gain.
$0.47 advance in Microsoft (MSFT).
Intel (INTC) up $0.45.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) gained a penny.
Qualcomm (QCOM) up $1.22.
First Solar (FSLR) rising $2.84.
Then Oracle (ORCL) with a $0.38 advance.
Apollo Group (APOL) up $2.27 after a good gain yesterday on news the Obama education plan will offer ample increases on spending and on education.
Elizabeth Arden (RDEN) tumbling $4.50. The company sees second quarter sales down at least 12 1/2 percent from a year ago.
Those are the stocks in the news tonight.
