The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose more than 2 1/2 points to 72.4, its best reading in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded to a low of 12543.1 before ending Friday down about 0.80%. The NASDAQ traded to a low of 2827.51 before ending Friday down about 1.20%.
Asian stocks were mixed on Friday with the Nikkei 225 down 0.9% to 9,649. The FTSE 100 ended Friday at 5,925.87 (down 0.32%), while the DAX was down 0.55% and the CAC 40 was down 0.11%. On Thursday the Dow Industrial Average rebounded 66 points to 12,696 raising the year to date gain to 9.7%. The NASDAQ tacked on 18 points to 2863 for a year to date gain of 7.9%. The yield on the 10-Year traded between 3.236 and 3.191 overnight, then rallied to a low yield of 3.129 midday, before ending Friday at 3.189. Comex gold rallied to $1516.4 the Troy ounce overnight, but then fell to a low of $1482.0 midday, before ending Friday at $1492.5. Nymex crude oil traded between $97.87 and $100.70 per barrel overnight, then weakened to a low of $97.09 midday, before ending Friday at $99.33. The euro traded between 1.4187 and 1.4339 overnight, then tumbled to a low of 1.4065 midday, before ending Friday at 1.4106.
Energy
Sunpower (SPWRA) missed estimates by 2 cents and revenue by $28M. Denison Mining (DNN) is lifted to Hold from Reduce at TD Newcrest. Sunpower (SPWRA) is cut to Hold from Buy at ThinkEquity. In afternoon trading: Shares of Atlas Energy (ATLS) are up about 12.5%. Actives: Shares of Petroleo Brasilerio (PBR) are down about 1.5%. Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) are flat. Shares of International Coal (ICO) are flat. Shares of Chesapeake Energy (CHK) are down about 1.8%.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $73.79 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.49% on the day – up 8.12% year-to-date.
Materials
Alumina (AWC) gets a Buy-from-Hold boost at the Royal Bank of Scotland. In afternoon trading: Shares of Zagg (ZAGG) are down about 7%. Shares of Horsehead Holding (ZINC) are down about 7.25%. Shares of China Shen Zhou (SHZ) are down about 5.2%. Shares of ADA-ES (ADES) are up about 6.8%. Actives: Shares of Vale (VALE) are down about 1.6%. Shares of ALCOA (AA) are down about 1.3%. Shares of Freeport McMoran (FCX) are down about 0.4%. Shares of Silver Wheaton (SLW) are up about 1.2%.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) traded at $38.65 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 1.28% on the day – up 0.62% year-to-date.
Industrials
W.W. Grainger (GWW) is boosted to Hold from Sell at Citigroup. In afternoon trading: Shares of TBS International (TBSI) are down about 7.1%. Shares of Alliant Technologies (ATK) are down about 5.75%. Shares of KForce (KFRC) are down about 5%. Actives: Shares of General Electric (GE) are down about 1.3%. Shares of DryShips (DRYS) are down about 3.6%. Shares of Tyco International (TYC) are up about 3.1%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) traded at $37.68 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 1.21% on the day – up 8.06% year-to-date.
Consumer Discretionary
Nordstrom (JWN) missed estimates by 2 cents with revenue in-line with estimates. Wells Fargo established Market Perform coverage on Starbucks (SBUX) with a $38 target price, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) with a $29 target price, Pepsico (PEP) with a $71 target price, Altria Group (MO) with a $27 target price, and Lorillard (LO) with a $108 target price. They also resume Outperform coverage on Reynolds American (RAI) with a $39 price objective, Philip Morris International (PM) with a $75 target price, Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) with a $44 target price, and Coca-Cola (KO) with a $76 target price. MakeMyTrip (MMYT) is lowered to Neutral from Buy at Lazard. In afternoon trading: Shares of Dillards (DDS) are up about 13.5%. Shares of Imax (IMAX) are up about 5.1%. Shares of Focus Media (FMCN) are down about 5.1%. Shares of MakeMyTrip are down about 5.2%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) traded at $40.56 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.76% on the day – up 8.42% year-to-date.
Consumer Staples
Wells Fargo established Market Perform coverage on Starbucks (SBUX) with a $38 target price, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) with a $29 target price, Pepsico (PEP) with a $71 target price, Altria Group (MO) with a $27 target price, and Lorillard (LO) with a $108 target price. They also resume Outperform coverage on Reynolds American (RAI) with a $39 price objective, Philip Morris International (PM) with a $75 target price, Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) with a $44 target price, and Coca-Cola (KO) with a $76 target price. Dean Foods (DF) is upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman. In afternoon trading: Shares of USANA Health Sciences (USNA) are down about 11%. Shares of Synutra International (SYUT) are down about 7%. Shares of Dean Foods (DF) are up about 10%. Shares of Darling International (DAR) are up about 8.1%. Shares of Yuhe International (YUII) are up about 7.8%. Shares of Imperial Sugar (IPSU) are up about 6.1%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) traded at $32.11 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down slightly on the day – up 9.55% year-to-date.
Healthcare
Prosecutors are pushing Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to pay $1B to resolve a long-standing investigation into whether the company marketed its Risperdal anti-psychotic medicine for unapproved uses. Pfizer (PFE) is spending $772M to resolve claims that hormone-replacement treatments made by its Wyeth unit caused breast cancer. A trial showing that early anti-retroviral drug treatment makes HIV sufferers less infectious yesterday boosted shares in pharmaceutical companies involved in the assessment. The drug makers included Abbott Labs (ABT), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Gilead Sciences (GILD), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Merck (MRK). Aetna (AET) is upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup with a new target of $56. It also boosts to Buy from Hold on Coventry Health Care (CVH) with a price objective increased to $41, CIGNA Corp (CI) with a $57 price objective, Healthspring (HS) with a $52 price objective, Unitedhealth Group (UNH) with a $61 price objective, and Wellpoint (WLP) with a $96 price objective. Alkermes (ALKS) is upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen & Company. Tengion (TNGN) is lowered to Market Perform at Leerink Swann. Questcor Pharmaceuticals (QCOR) is reduced to Neutral from Buy at Citadel. Animal Health International (AHII) is now Neutral from Outperform at brokers Robert W. Baird ahead of its approaching takeover by Lextron/Private Equity. In afternoon trading: Shares of Tenigion are down about 16.8%. Shares of Biostar Pharmaceuticals (BSPM) are up about 7.7%. Shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) are up about 6.5%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) traded at $36.08 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.30% on the day – up 14.54% year-to-date.
Financials
The SEC is reportedly pushing to indict executives involved in alleged mortgage bond fraud as part of agreements it is negotiating with firms caught up in its investigation into collateralized debt obligations and other mortgage-related products. Banks deemed as ‘systemically important financial institutions’ face having to hold large amounts of top-quality capital to cope with unforeseen losses. Gladstone Commercial (GOOD) gets initiated with a good Buy rating Janney Montgomery Scott. American International Group (AIG) is moved to Market Perform from Underperform at Wells Fargo, which also takes TD Ameritrade (AMTD) to Outperform from Market Perform. Ventas (VTR) is now Neutral from Underweight at HSBC Securities with a target of $50. Health Care REIT Inc. (HCN) is downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. In afternoon trading: Shares of Life Partners (LPHI) are down about 13.2%. Shares of Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ) are up about 8.6%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) traded at $15.77 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 1.44% on the day – down 1.13% year-to-date.
Information Technology
The U.S. government is investigating Google (GOOG) for accepting ads from companies selling unlicensed pharmaceuticals. Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) missed estimates by 2 cents, while beating estimates by $1.7M. Nvidia (NVDA) beat estimates by 8 cents and revenue by $1.5M. Amazon.com (AMZN) is initiated with a Neutral at Suntrust. ON Semiconductor (ONNN) is a new Neutral at Susquehanna. NetApp (NTAP) is now Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity. NVIDIA (NVDA) is now Hold from Buy at Needham after the semiconductor maker reported earnings after close. In afternoon trading: Shares of Evergreen Solar (ESLR) are down about 23.5%. Shares of Rambus (RMBS) are down about 14.3%. Shares of NVIDIA are down about 9.3% after the chip company reported upbeat results which did not erase worries about its core business and market opportunities. Shares of CA (CA) are down about 9.2% after missing estimates by 2 cents. Shares of MediaMind (MDMD) are up about 11.75%. Shares of Youku.com (YOKU) are up about 8.8%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) traded at $26.46 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 1.23% on the day – up 5.04% year-to-date.
Telecommunications Services
Telefonica’s (TEF) Q1 2011 net profit dropped 1.9% to €1.62B ($2.31B) due to lower margins and surging operating expenses, in a sign that troubles in its Spanish home market remain a headache for the company. In afternoon trading: Actives: Shares of Level 3 Communications (LVLT) are down about 3.6%. Shares of Sprint Nextel (S) are down about 1.2%. Shares of AT&T (T) are down about 0.5%. Shares of Verizon (VZ) are down about 0.4%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) traded at $223.51 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.79% on the day – down 0.83% year-to-date.
Utilities
Overruling political opposition, Japanese PM Kan has approved a rescue plan for TEPCO (TKECF.PK) to make sure the firm can pay compensation to victims. In afternoon trading: Actives: Shares of AES (AES) are down about 0.8%. Shares of Duke Energy (DUK) are down slightly. Shares of FirstEnergy (FE) are down about 2.25%. Shares of Exelon (EXC) are down about 0.5%. Shares of Edison International (EIX) are down about 0.2%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) traded at $33.91 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.47% on the day – up 8.20% year-to-date.
STOCKS: SPWRA, DNN, ATLS, PBR, XOM, ICO, CHK, AWC, ZAGG, ZINC, SHZ, ADES, VALE, AA, FCX, SLW, GWW, TBSI, ATK, KFRC, GE, DRYS, TYC, JWN, SBUX, CCE, PEP, MO, LO, RAI, PM, DPS, KO, MMYT, DDS, IMAX, FMCN, DF, USNA, SYUT, DF, DAR, YUII, IPSU, JNJ, PFE, ABT, BMY, GILD, GSK, MRK, AET, CVH, CI, HS, UNH, WLP, ALKS, TNGN, QCOR, AHII, BSPM, AMLN, GOOD, AIG, AMTD, VTR, HCN, LPHI, LEHMQ, GOOG, CSOD, NVDA, AMZN, ONNN, NTAP, ESLR, RMBS, CA, MDMD, YOKU, TEF, LVLT, S, T, VZ, TKECF, AES, DUK, FE, EXC, EIX
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