From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : Momentum was lost in the final minutes of the session, but the major equity averages still scored gains in excess of 1%. The effort gave stocks their third straight gain.
The S&P 500 is now up 3% week to date. Should the market maintain its positive posture for the next couple of sessions, it will score only its second weekly gain in eight weeks.
Recent buying interest comes in response to improved sentiment related to the precarious fiscal and financial conditions of Europe. In response to such concerns, France and Germany led a call that reportedly concluded Greece will carry out all acts to meet budget plans. That was hardly surprising. Participants also took in stride today news that Credit Agricole and Societe Generale, two of France's leading financial institutions, had their ratings downgraded by analysts at Moody's after the threat of such a decision had already circulated at the start of this week.
Tech proved integral in today's climb. The sector, which is the largest sector by market weight, initially led stocks back from an early slip through near-term resistance. That eventually convinced some traders to set chase. Although the S&P 500 managed to cross 1200, it failed to hold its position there and closed off of its high.
The positive tone to today's trade helped pull down the Volatility Index, which set a two-week high above 43 earlier this week. The VIX is down almost 20% from that mark.
Treasuries had a relatively quiet session, despite strength among stocks and a reduction in expectations for volatility. As such, little reaction was had to the latest 30-year Bond sale, which saw relatively strong demand after auctions earlier this week produced some unimpressive results. The auction drew a bid-to-cover of 2.85, dollar demand of $37.1 billion, and an indirect bidder participation rate of 39.4%.
The dollar had a down day. It shed 0.3% against a collection of competing currencies. Its downturn was largely driven by buying in the euro, which ended the trading day 0.5% higher at $1.375 as sentiment surrounding Europe's situation improved.
Economic data was rather dull. Retail sales for August were flat, which is less than the 0.2% increase that had been broadly expected to follow a downwardly revised 0.3% increase in the prior month. Excluding autos, retail sales increased by 0.1%, but that still failed to meet the 0.3% increase that had been widely anticipated.
The Producer Price Index for August was flat, as had been generally forecasted. Core producer prices increased by a mere 0.1%, which is essentially on par with the 0.2% increase had been anticipated.
Advancing Sectors: Telecom +0.5%, Utilities +0.8%, Health Care +1.0%, Consumer Staples +1.2%, Financials +1.2%, Energy +1.3%, Materials +1.6%, Tech +1.6%, Consumer Discretionary +1.7%, Industrials +1.8%
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +140.88 NASDAQ +40.40 NQ100 +1.5% R2K +1.8% SP400 +1.8% SP500 +15.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1900/2.32 bln/649 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2219/1.09 bln/776
4:01PM Teradyne announces agreement to acquire LitePoint for $510 mln; 10% or more accretive to 2012 consensus EPS estimates (TER) 12.58 +0.41 : Co announces it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase privately held LitePoint, a provider of production line test equipment for wireless products including smart phones, tablets and WiFi-enabled PCs, for $510 mln net of LitePoint cash and tax benefits plus $70 mln if certain performance targets are met extending through 2012. LitePoint had sales of $86 million in 2010 and is projecting sales of $125-$135 million in 2011.
9:41AM Intel announces senior notes offering; Each tranche will be at, or greater than, the benchmark size of at least $500 mln (INTC) 20.89 +0.13 : Co announced its intention to commence a public offering of senior unsecured notes consisting of 5, 10 and 30-year notes pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Each tranche will be at, or greater than, the benchmark size of at least $500 mln. Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering primarily to repurchase shares of common stock; and for general corporate purposes.
Trident Microsystems (TRID) announced its new MAP-X family of audio System-on-Chip designed to deliver HD Audio and Internet connectivity for home audio, AV receivers and sound bars.
09:52 am Dell initiated with a Buy at Merlin; tgt $22: . Merlin initiates DELLwith a Buy and a $22 tgt saying they believe Dell's strategic transformation and associated margin expansion is based on a secular restructuring and not dependent on the vagaries of cyclically driven component price deflation that may be reflected by the current 3.3x EV/EBITDA multiple. Dell's methodical strategic transformation is happening on two fronts with an ongoing series of intellectual property and domain expertise acquisitions complementing the streamlining and simplification of Dell's Client computing business.
10:30 am S&P Tech Sector Outpacing Broader Market; ORCL Upgraded (ORCL)
The tech sector is trading just lower today, outpacing greater losses the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative strength in the tech space, however, with the Philly Semi Index trading 0.3% higher. Among chips in the index, STM (+5.8%) is a notable leader, while TSM (-2.6%) lags. Among other major indices, the S&P 500 is trading 0.8% lower, while the NASDAQ is trading 0.3% lower. The QQQ, meanwhile, is trading 0.4% lower. Among tech bellwethers, VZ (-0.9%) is under notable pressure, while CSCO (+0.5%) and AAPL (+0.5%) are showing strength.
In earnings this morning, LSCC (+2.2%) lowered its Q3 guidance. In news, DELL (+1.0%) authorized an additional $5 billion for stock repurchase. Elsewhere, EBAY (-1.0%) is reportedly being probed by the DOJ over alleged criminal activity regarding Craigslist.
Among rumors, we are hearing renewed RVBD (+0.1%) takeover chatter making the rounds.
Among analyst ratings changes this morning of significance, ORCL (-0.1%) was upgraded to Positive at Susquehanna.
No notable names in tech are set to report results today after the close. |
