The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined to 12,734.86 on Tuesday afternoon after momentum on the daily chart shifted to negative at Monday’s close. The NASDAQ declined to 2900.28 on Tuesday afternoon after its daily chart shifted to negative at Monday’s close. Failure of the Dow Transports and Russell 2000 to achieve their 2011 all time highs at 5627.85 and 868.57 in 2012 has been a huge stock market warning.
Asian stocks were lower on Tuesday on growing fears of a global economic slowdown. The Nikkei 225 ended their session at 9,638 – down 0.63% on the day. The Hang Seng ended their session at 20,806 – down 2.16% on the day. European stocks were lower on the risk that Greece and private bondholders may not meet a looming deadline to complete a debt swap. The FTSE 100 ended their session at 5,778 – down 1.65% on the day, the DAX ended their session at 6,656 down 3.06% on the day, and the CAC 40 ended their session at 3,363 – down 3.58% on the day.
The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury declined from 2.017 percent to 1.929 below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.949. Gold traded down from $1709.8 the Troy ounce to $1663.4 below the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at $1688.3 and $1672.9. A trend below these moving averages where the 50-day falls below the 200-day defines a “death cross.” Crude oil traded down from $107.34 per barrel to $104.51. The euro versus the dollar declined from 1.3225 to 1.3106.
Energy
PDC Energy (PETD) is hoisted to Buy from Hold at Brean Murray.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $73.05 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 1.63% on the day – up 5.67% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +5.93%. The 2011 change was -1.29%
Heavily Traded: (EP) -1.8%, (ANR) -1.5%, (PBR) -4.7%, (HAL) -3.3%, (ACI) -3.1%, (BTU) -2.9%, (XOM) -1.5%, (PCX) +2.7%.
Materials
Akzo Nobel (AKZOY) gets a Buy-from-Hold boost at Société Générale. Worthington Industries (WOR) is lifted to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $35.94 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 2.04% on the day – up 7.28% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was -0.56%. The 2011 change was -12.78%.
Heavily Traded: (VALE) -6.2%, (AA) -3.9%, (FCX) -2.8%, (CX) -5.3%, (AKS) -5.4%.
Industrials
Companies sold $19.7B worth of bonds yesterday as they sought to exploit what feel like eternally low interest rates and heavy demand from investors looking to do something semi-useful with their cash. DirecTV (DTV) led the way by raising $4B, with UnitedHealth (UNH), Philips (PHG) and CenturyLink (CTL) also joining the party. Covanta (CVA) is increased to Overweight from Equal Weight by Barclays.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $36.05 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 2.25% on the day – up 6.81% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +2.79%. The 2011 change was -3.21%.
Heavily Traded: (GE) -2.6%, (GLW) -0.9%, (CSX) -1.3%, (CAT) -3.9%.
Consumer Discretionary
GM (GM) and Peugeot (PEUGY) will develop at least four cars together by 2016 as part of their alliance in which GM will pay €320M for a 7% stake in the French automaker. Companies sold $19.7B worth of bonds yesterday as they sought to exploit what feel like eternally low interest rates and heavy demand from investors looking to do something semi-useful with their cash. DirecTV (DTV) led the way by raising $4B, with UnitedHealth (UNH), Philips (PHG) and CenturyLink (CTL) also joining the party. Vail Resorts (MTN) missed estimates by 17 cents and revenue by $7M. Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) reported Q4 EPS of $0.88 (in-line) and revenue of $1.61B (in-line). The company sees FY12 EPS of $2.38-$2.41, and expects same-store sales to increase 2%-3% for the year. Shuffle Master (SHFL) beat estimates by 3 cents and revenue by $5M. NutriSystem (NTRI) missed estimates by 2 cents, while beating revenue by $2.5M. Vera Bradley Inc (VRA) is initiated with a bullish Outperform by brokers William Blair. Vera Bradley (VRA) is cut to Hold from Buy at Keybanc. Lululemon athletic (LULU) is cut to Hold from Buy at Argus. Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) gets cut to Market Perform from Outperform with Wells Fargo. Express (EXPR) is lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight by Barclays.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $42.80 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 1.56% on the day – up 9.69% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +10.09%. The 2011 change was +4.30%.
Big Mover: (NTRI) -10%.
Heavily Traded: (F) -3.5%, (SIRI) -2.4%, (NWSA) -2.2%, (GM) -4.9%, (MGM) -3.1%, (LOW) -1.3%, (CMCSA) -0.7%, (SPLS) +1.7%, (CCL) -2.7%.
Consumer Staples
Casey’s General Stores (CASY) reported Q4 EPS of $0.44 (in-line), while beating revenue by $200M. Nature’s Sunshine (NATR) reported strong Q4 results on improving gross margin. NATR earned $0.48/share, reversing a year-ago loss of $0.02/share, and revenue rose 2.4% Y/Y to $92.1M. Income from continuing operations soared 171% to $9.6M, vs. $3.5M in the year-ago period. Calavo Growers (CVGW) reported FQ1 revenue of $117.4M and EPS of $0.18 (missing Street estimates by $11.2M and $0.06). The company expects FY12 EPS to exceed its historical record of $1.22, but given the consensus forecast stands at $1.64, more seems to be expected.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $33.08 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 0.84% on the day – up 1.82% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +3.75%. The 2011 change was +10.85%.
Heavily Traded: (SWY) -5.7%, (SLE) -2.2%.
Health Care
“Roche (RHHBY) and Illumina (ILMN) both stand to benefit from a rapid merger,” Roche Chairman Franz Humer said at the company’s annual meeting today. Companies sold $19.7B worth of bonds yesterday as they sought to exploit what feel like eternally low interest rates and heavy demand from investors looking to do something semi-useful with their cash. DirecTV (DTV) led the way by raising $4B, with UnitedHealth (UNH), Philips (PHG) and CenturyLink (CTL) also joining the party. Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL) missed estimates by 8 cents. Agilent (A), Thermo Fisher (TMO), and Waters (WAT) are all new Overweights at Morgan Stanley, which establishes Equal Weights on Illumina (ILMN), PerkinElmer (PKI), and Life Technologies (LIFE). DUSA Pharmaceuticals (DUSA) is started with a Buy at C.K. Cooper, which establishes a price objective of $8. Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (SNSS) is a Buy at Canaccord Genuity. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) is moved to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. Lifepoint Hospitals (LPNT) is lifted to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse. Amgen (AMGN) is moved to Market Perform from Outperform by Sanford Bernstein. Novartis (NVS) is lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $35.76 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 1.30% on the day – up 3.08% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +1.06%. The 2011 change was +10.32%.
Big Movers: (ONTY) -40%, (ZLTQ) -32.25%, (XOMA) +29%.
Financials
Deutsche Bank (DB) is begun with a Buy at ING Groep. Hatteras Financial (HF) is lifted to Market Perform from Underperform at Wells Fargo. Manning & Napier Advisors (MN) gets moved Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette. Annaly Capital Management (NLY) is now Market Perform from Outperform with Wells Fargo. Commerzbank AG (CRZBY) gets downgraded to Hold from Buy at ING Groep.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $14.445 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 2.46% on the day – up 11.12% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +5.02%. The 2011 change was -18.50%; the weakest performing sector for the year.
Big Movers: (MFGLQ) -12%, (WAMUQ) -11.75.
Information Technology
VeriFone (PAY) beat estimates by 6 cents and revenue by $9M. Google (GOOG) is begun with a Buy at Nomura, which assigns a new Neutral on Yahoo (YHOO). Neustar (NSR) and Nuance Communications (NUAN) are fresh Market Performs with Wells Fargo, which starts Outperforms on Synchronoss Technologies (SNCR) and Amdocs (DOX). Yandex (YNDX) is a new Neutral at UBS. Monster Worldwide (MWW) is upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Evercore. Canon (CAJ) is lifted to Buy from Outperform at Crédit Agricole. OmniVision (OVTI) is upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird, which takes its target price up by $4 to $23. Jiayuan.com (DATE) is lowered to Underperform from Neutral by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $28.545 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 0.99% on the day – up 12.16% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +7.08%. The 2011 change was +1.03%.
Heavily Traded: (NOK) -4%, (MSFT) -0.8%, (INTC) up slightly, (MU) -3%.
Telecommunication Services
Companies sold $19.7B worth of bonds yesterday as they sought to exploit what feel like eternally low interest rates and heavy demand from investors looking to do something semi-useful with their cash. DirecTV (DTV) led the way by raising $4B, with UnitedHealth (UNH), Philips (PHG) and CenturyLink (CTL) also joining the party.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $207.48 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 1.42% on the day – up 5.36% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +1.63%. The 2011 change was -12.62%.
Heavily Traded: (S) -1%, (T) -1%, (CLWR) -3%, (VZ) -0.8%, (FTR) -1%.
Utilities
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $34.90 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, relatively up 0.40% on the day – down 3.00% year-to-date. The February 2012 change was +0.61%. The 2011 change was +14.81%; the strongest performing sector for the year.
Heavily Traded: (POM) -0.8%, (GEN) -3.2%, (DUK) -0.3%, (AES) -3.2%, (CPN) +1%, (EXC) -0.7%, (SO) +1.2%.
STOCKS: PETD, EP, ANR, PBR, HAL, ACI, BTU, XOM, PCX, AKZOY, WOR, VALE, AA, FCX, CX, AKS, DTV, UNH, PHG, CTL, CVA, GE, GLW, CSX, CAT, GM, PEUGY, MTN, DKS, SHFL, NTRI, VRA, LULU, CCO, EXPR, F, SIRI, NWSA, GM, MGM, LOW, CMCSA, SPLS,, CCL, CASY, NATR, CVGW, SWY, SLE, RHHBY, ILMN, RIGL, A, TMO, WAT, PKI, LIFE, DUSA, SNSS, SNY, LPNT, AMGN, NVS, ONTY, ZLTQ, XOMA, DB, HF, MN, NLY, CRZBY, MFGLQ, WAMUQ, PAY, GOOG, YHOO, NSR, NUAN, SNCR, DOX, YNDX, MWW, CAJ, OVTI, DATE, NOK, MSFT, INTC, MU, S, T, CLWR, VZ, FTR, POM, GEN, DUK, AES, CPN, EXC, SO
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