MARKET SNAPSHOT--A mixed picture for stocks
Market digests gaggle of economic news
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:39 AM ET Aug 1, 2000 NewsWatch
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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The U.S. equity market began Tuesday's session with split screens as blue chips found some sponsorship while investors snubbed technology stocks following a one-day rally.
Within the broad market, pockets of strength were seen in the biotech, oil service, drug, utility and financial sectors. Retail and airline stocks were among the few areas in the red on Tuesday.
The tech sector, on the other hand, saw plenty of red, with investors lightening positions in chip stocks -- a sector that saw gains for two straight sessions following two weeks of heavy losses. Internet stocks also struggled.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26 points, or 0.3 percent, to 10,547 at 10:38 a.m.
Leading on the upside were shares of Walt Disney, Alcoa, Coca-Cola and General Motors. Moving lower were shares of Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Honeywell.
Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG: news, msgs) posted fourth-quarter earnings-per-share of 55 cents, in line with the First Call's lowered estimate and matching last year's quarter. The stock lost 1 1/4 to 55 3/4. P&G warned of an earnings shortfall for the fourth quarter on June 8 and of a third-quarter earnings miss on March 7.
Going forward, P&G said it's comfortable with Wall Street's earnings estimates for 2001. But P&G now estimates July-September earnings-per-share to come in at around flat levels compared to the same period last year while earnings-per-share growth is expected to accelerate to about mid-single digits in October-December and return to double-digit growth rates in the second half of the year.
The Nasdaq Composite trimmed 36 points, or 1.0 percent, to 3,730 while the Nasdaq 100 Index erased 46 points, or 1.3 percent, to 3,562.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index edged up 0.2 percent while the Russell 2000 Index of small-capitalization stocks slipped 0.3 percent.
Elsewhere, volume stood at 216 million on the NYSE and at 336 million on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Breadth was mixed, with winners outnumbering losers by 13 to 10 on the NYSE while decliners bested advancers by 18 to 14 on the Nasdaq.
Inside the data
The morning's spate of economic news was generally favorable for the market.
June personal income rose 0.4 percent compared to the expected 0.5 percent increase while June personal consumption expenditures added 0.5 percent versus the expected 0.4 percent rise. The personal consumption expenditure deflator, which the Fed closely watches for signs of inflation, added 0.3 percent while the core rate, which excludes food and energy prices, came in at flat levels. See full story.
The July NAPM index was inadvertently released about 45 minutes early, coming in at 51.8 percent in July, flat from June's reading. The new orders sub-component checked in at 49.9 percent from June's 50.6 percent. Read the story.
"Most of the key components [in the NAPM] were little changed, though the new orders index slipped below 50 for the first time since December 1998. Most of the softness, surprisingly, seems to be in export orders," observed Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
Finally, June construction spending fell a lofty 1.7 percent vs. expectations for a 0.1 percent increase. View Economic Preview, economic calendar and forecasts and historical economic data
Specific movers
EchoStar Communications (DISH: news, msgs) checked in with a second-quarter loss of 28 cents a share, ahead of the First Call estimate of a loss of 34 cents a share. The company lost 20 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. See story. The stock added 1 1/16 to 40 1/2.
CVS Corp. registered a second-quarter profit of 46 cents a share, matching the First Call estimate. The company earned 40 cents in the year-ago period. Shares (CVS: news, msgs) fell 1 11/16 to 37 13/16.
CVS is a component of the S&P Retail Index ($RLX: news, msgs), which shed 1.0 percent after falling a heady 3.6 percent on Monday, led by steep losses in shares of Wal-Mart, which was also the downside leader in the Dow Industrials. On Tuesday, Wal-Mart (WMT: news, msgs) trimmed 1 1/2 to 53 3/4. See retail sector story.
Priceline (PCLN: news, msgs) added 2 3/8, or almost 10 percent, to 26. The company received a $190 million investment from Liberty Media and Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures. The agreement calls for the purchase of 8 million shares of Priceline stock. Priceline will use the proceeds to participate in the third round of financing of WebHouse Club -- a privately held licensee of Priceline, which began operations in Nov. 1999.
Treasury focus
Government prices gained some minor ground following the release of the morning's dose of data.
The 10-year Treasury note rose 1/8 to yield 6.01 and the 30-year bond added 7/32 to yield 5.76 percent. See Bond Report.
In the currency arena, dollar/yen gained 0.1 percent to 109.35 while euro/dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 0.9274. See latest currency rates.
In the commodity market, September crude added 15 cents to $27.58 while the Bridge CRB index eked out a gain of 0.18 to 218.60. See related story.
Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
