| | | From Briefing.com: A bit of a seesaw day of trading in the stock market on Tuesday as participants waited impatiently to see if the latest policy directive from the Federal Reserve (out on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET) will include the word "patient" in it. Reportedly, the removal of that word will be a signal to the market that the Federal Reserve is angling to raise the fed funds rate sooner rather than later (i.e. in June).
The early action was marked by broad-based selling while the afternoon action saw a steady stream of buying interest that helped the major indices rebound from their worst levels of the morning, which followed a disappointing Housing Starts report for February.
At one point, the Nasdaq Composite was down more than 20 points, but it eventually finished with an 8-point gain. A bounce in the biotech stocks and gains in Apple (AAPL 127.04, +2.09, +1.7%) helped spearhead the turnaround effort.
The broader market, measured by the S&P 500, couldn't manage a positive finish, yet it did recapture slightly more than half of an early 16-point loss. It did so with the help of the information technology sector (+0.1%), which was the only sector in the S&P 500 to record a gain on the day.
Notable news items from the sector included:
Adobe Systems (ADBE 79.66, +1.33, +1.7%): Announced Adobe Document Cloud in the office and across devices. Adobe Document Cloud will address the waste and inefficiency associated with document processes. Adobe was slated to report its quarterly results after the close of trading on Tuesday.
Apple (AAPL 127.04, +2.09, +1.7%): There was a Wall Street Journal report that Apple may develop web TV service. There was a subsequent NY Post indicating that Apple may offer shared programming data with TV service.
eBay (EBAY 59.49, -0.08, -0.1%): Company and Sotheby's jointly announced the launch of the Sotheby's live auctions experience on eBay. Part of eBay's new live auctions platform, ebay.com/sothebys is now available for browsing and advance bidding on Sotheby's unique items leading up to the launch of Sotheby's first live auctions on eBay on April 1.
IBM (IBM 156.96, -0.12, -0.1%): Company and Twitter (TWTR 46.93, +0.50, +1.1%) announced the availability of industry-first cloud data services that allow business professionals and developers to extract actionable business insights from Twitter data. With more than 100 early client engagements underway, the IBM and Twitter global partnership is already helping enterprise clients apply social data to business decisions.
Microsoft (MSFT 41.69, +0.13, +0.3%): Premiere Global named Microsoft Skype for Business elite launch partner
Teradata (TDC 42.74, +0.55, +1.3%): Highlighted in Bloomberg M&A column as potential target for shareholder activism and/or a takeoutElsewhere in the technology space:
Cree (CREE 37.54, +0.44, +1.3%): Has expanded its $1.5 million commitment to provide LED lighting for new Habitat for Humanity homes built in the United States. Building on the company's 2010 pledge to provide Cree LED downlights, Cree is now offering Habitat for Humanity affiliates the New Cree LED Bulb, making whole-home LED lighting possible for Habitat homeowners.
Groupon (GRPN 7.84, +0.02, +0.4%): Announced the appointment of two new executives: Carol Campagnolo to Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Jay Sullivan to Senior Vice President of Consumer Product.
OmniVision (OVTI 25.53, -0.61, -2.1%): Announced that its ultra-low power OV788 video processor will enable high-definition video streaming capabilities on Acer's Build Your Own Cloud platform.
Analyst Action:
Alibaba (BABA 84.50, +0.50, +0.6%): upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel; target $99 Added to Stifel Select List
Facebook (FB 79.36, +1.29, +1.8%): initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital; target $96... target raised to $96 from $90 at Nomura; Buy
LinkedIn (LNKD 258.71, -1.46, -0.7%): initiated with a Sell at Brean Capital; target $208
Micron (MU 27.63, -0.88, -3.2%): target lowered to $40 from $44 at RBC Capital Markets; Outperform
Paycom Software (PAYC 32.67, +0.72, +2.3%): initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital; target $45
Salesforce.com (CRM 67.55, +1.12, +1.2%): initiated with a Hold at Brean Capital; target $70
Seagate Technology (STX 53.66, -1.18, -2.2%): target lowered to $62 from $67 at RBC Capital Markets; Outperform
Twitter (TWTR 46.93, +0.50, +1.1%): initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital; target $61
Western Digital (WDC 96.59, -1.61, -1.7%): target lowered to $116 from $122 at RBC Capital Markets; Outperform
Workday (WDAY 83.40, -0.47, -0.7%): initiated with a Hold at Brean Capital; target $86
Yahoo (YHOO 43.79, +0.28, +0.6%): Argus initiates with a Hold
4:10 pm : The stock market ended the Tuesday session on a mixed note ahead of Wednesday's release of the latest policy directive from the Federal Reserve. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
Equity indices endured some selling in the early going, but the Nasdaq spent the day ahead of the broader market thanks to relative strength in the technology sector (+0.1%). Specifically, shares of Apple (AAPL 127.04, +2.09) climbed 1.7%, which underpinned the sector and the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, most large cap components struggled, which was also the case with high-beta chipmakers. The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 0.7%. That being said, the daylong strength within the technology sector helped the broader market erase the bulk of its early decline.
The Nasdaq received another measure of support from biotechnology with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 356.25, +2.28) climbing 0.6% to a new record. However, the health care sector (-0.3%) could not turn positive.
Similarly, another influential sector-industrials (-0.4%)-ended in the red even though transport stocks displayed relative strength with the Dow Jones Transportation Average ending just below its flat line. The broader sector could not follow suit as the largest component-General Electric (GE 25.31, -0.14)-lost 0.6%.
Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, energy (-0.5%) settled among the laggards as crude oil faced continued pressure. The energy component fell 1.2% to $43.15/bbl after marking a session low at $42.75/bbl this morning. Crude oil endured a volatile day and made a brief appearance in the green while the Dollar Index (99.66, +0.06) spent the session near its unchanged level. However, the Dollar Index is likely to be active tomorrow when investors respond to the FOMC policy statement.
The main point of focus will be whether the Fed decides to keep its reference to remaining "patient" ahead of the first rate hike. In a recent appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that removing the call for patience would open the door to a potential rate hike at any policy meeting that follows.
Treasuries held solid gains in the morning, but the 10-yr note cut its gain in half, sending the benchmark yield lower by two basis points to 2.06%.
Today's participation was below average with roughly 700 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
Economic data was limited to February housing starts, which declined 17.0% to 897,000 from an upwardly revised 1.081 million (from 1.065 million) while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decline to 1.041 million. Record snowfall in the Northeast and extreme cold in the Midwest likely played a large part in curtailing new construction. Housing starts in these regions declined 45.0% in February, from 262,000 in January to 144,000. Those regions accounted for 64.0% of the entire February decline in housing starts.
Still, the weather can't be completely at fault. Poor underlying economic conditions likely caused some of the February pullback. For example, in the West region, warmer-than-normal temperatures should have helped offset some of the decline from the East, but that did not happen. Starts fell 18.2% to 239,000 in February from 292,000.
Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while the Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest policy statement at 14:00 ET.
- Nasdaq Composite +4.3% YTD
- Russell 2000 +3.2% YTD
- S&P 500 +0.7% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.2% YTD
DJ30 -128.34 NASDAQ +7.93 SP500 -6.99 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1399/1.59 bln/1375 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1449/700.3 mln/1609
3:35 pm :
- Natural gas futures rallied today apparently on a Northeast cold blast, boosting demand for heating fuel
- Ultimately, Apr nat gas closed 5.5% higher today at $2.86/MMbtu
- WTI crude oil futures were weak again and fell for a sixth consecutive session
- Apr crude finished $0.51 lower at $43.43/barrel
- Apr gold lost $5.50 today to $1147.90/oz, while May silver fell $0.08 to $15.53/oz
- May copper declined $0.03 to $2.64/lb
12:42 pm Notable movers of interest (:SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).
Large Cap Gainers
AAL (53.36 +6.25%): To replace Allergan (AGN) in the S&P 500.
REGN (466.09 +3.17%): Favorable mention on Monday's Mad Money.
TKC (12.18 +1.92%): Reports out that Alfa Telecom may purchase a stake in Turkcell.
Large Cap Losers
MU (27.52 -3.44%): Unfavorable mention on Monday's Mad Money.
MAC (92.2 -2.83%): Announced that its Board unanimously determined that the unsolicited, conditional proposal from Simon Property Group (SPG) for $91/share undervalues Macerich and is not in the best interests of it and its stockholders.
CAT (78.47 -1.88%): Reaffirmed FY15 guidance ahead of BofA/Merrill Industrials Conf.; Sees FY15 EPS $4.75 vs $4.81 Capital IQ Consensus; revs $50 bln vs $49.98 bln Capital IQ Consensus
Mid Cap Gainers
VEEV (27.77 +11.39%): Announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has selected Veeva for multichannel CRM.
MGM (21.79 +10.83%): Land and Buildings sends letter to MGM resorts proposing a REIT conversion to unlock substantial real estate value and also announced that it intends to nominate four candidates for Board.
QUNR (31.43 +8.16%): Reported Q4 (Dec) results, beat on revs; guided Q1 revs above consensus; upgraded at HSBC Securities.
Mid Cap Losers
AXTA (27.67 -5.4%): Filed for a 35 mln share common share offering by selling shareholders, including affiliates of The Carlyle Group (CG).
CRZO (45.39 -4.16%): Priced 4.5 mln share secondary offering of its common stock at $45.50 per share.
FTI (35.63 -3.68%): Initiated with a Reduce at GMP Securities.
11:42 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (136) outpacing new lows (123) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ABC, ACT, AFMD, ALG, ALNY, AMAG, ANAC, ARIA, BBY, BERY, BFR, BIB, BMA, BMRN, BSX, BURL, CAF, CEMP, CENTA, CLDX, CLNY, CNCE, CNK, CONE, CPRX, CTLT, CTSO, CUTR, DDS, DLTR, DRI, DW, EIG, ESLT, ESPR, ETFC, FBMS, FDP, FLKS, FOLD, FRSH, FV, GGAL, GILT, GRUB, GTN, GTT, HAIN, HALO, HBI, HCC, HCHC, HMHC, HPTX, HXL, IBB, IBP, INFN, INSM, IPXL, IRS, ISBC, ITG, JBLU, JEQ, JKHY, JOF, JRN, KAI, KCG, KEYS, KMG, KYO, LEVY, LLNW, LTM, LXFT, MANH, MASI, MATW, MDCA, MHFI, MIK, MLR, MMS, MNK, MSCI, MSO, MTN, MYRG, NBIX, NCLH, NEOG, NLNK, OLED, PAM, PBIP, PCYC, PNK, PRSC, REGN, REV, ROL, SBH, SCHL, SKYW, SPLP, SPNC, SRCL, SRDX, SSD, SSP, SUNE, SUSQ, SVU, TA, TEO, TGS, TGT, TSEM, TSRO, TWOU, TYL, UA, ULTI, USCR, UTHR, VAC, VICR, VLRS, VRTX, WAL, WSM, XL, Y, ZNH
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACRX, ACTG, ANR, ARLP, ASPS, AUMN, AXPW, BELFA, BIS, BOCH, BOOM, CALL, CBD, CIG, CIZN, CMLS, CNNX, CTG, CTIC, CUI, CVEO, DANG, DEJ, DNN, DNOW, DOVR, DSKY, DWSN, EDD, EGF, EGY, EJ, ELON, ETAK, ETF, FENG, FORD, FREE, FTEK, FTGC, GEOS, GHI, GLF, GLRI, GOL, GORO, GULTU, HELI, HNR, IPI, IRG, JOEZ, KBR, KEYW, KYE, LAYN, LEJU, LF, LFL, LITB, LOCM, LOR, MAT, MGF, MIL, MRIN, MRVC, MTLS, MX, NADL, NDRO, NTG, NTP, OII, ORMP, OTIV, PBT, PCOM, PDBC, PFIE, PFMT, PICO, PKX, PLUG, POWL, PRGN, PT, PTY, PVH, QUIK, RCPI, REDF, RENN, ROYT, RYAM, SCHN, SDLP, SFY, SINA, SMLP, SMTX, SPRT, SRF, SSE, SVBL, SXCP, TAHO, TCPI, TGB, TGEN, TMST, TRCH, TRX, TST, UCP, UPIP, WIA, WIW, WLB, WRES, YOKU, ZHNE, ZU
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: IBB, IHF, XBI, XRT
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: AFK, DJP, OIL, PPLT, RJA, USCI, USO
8:05 am NetList announces it has prevailed against a second wave of attacks on the validity of three Netlist patents asserted against the ULLtraDIMM product from SanDisk ( SNDK) and Diablo Technologies ( NLST) : Co announces it has prevailed against a second wave of attacks on the validity of three NLST patents asserted against the ULLtraDIMM product from SanDisk (SNDK) and Diablo Technologies. The United States Patent and Trademark Office for the second time, rejected concerted attempts to invalidate these fundamental patents.
Fifteen petitions in total have been filed against the seven NLST patents asserted against SNDK and Diablo. Both parties are now barred from filing IPR petitions on the '185, '833, and '187 patents in the pending litigation. The PTAB did institute reviews of two NLST patents related to self-test technologies and two patents related to load reduction. These reviews are expected to conclude later this year.
8:04 am JinkoSolar Holding announces Information from fire accident at one of its raw material processing workshops; no casualties and damages to be between RMB0.5 million - RMB1 million ( JKS) : JKS provided information in relation to a fire accident that occurred at one of its raw material processing workshops in Shangrao city, Jiangxi Province, China. The fire broke out on the morning of March 17, 2015 and was put out by firefighters within one hour. There were no casualties and the surrounding area and communities were not impacted. The Company estimates the damages to be between RMB0.5 million to RMB1 million. The incident is not expected to have any material impact on the Company's operations, financials or delivery commitments to its customers.
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