Initial Jobless Claims came in at 370,000 still above the 350,000 recessionary threshold. The Philly Fed Index came in well below estimates at -5.8 in May when a +7.0 reading was expected. Leading Indicators came in at -0.1 in April, below estimates and the first decline in seven months. Freddie Mac reported that their 30-Year fixed rate mortgage is now at a record low of 3.79%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded to 12,611.42 then declined to 12,462.62 going into the final half hour of trading. The NASDAQ traded between up to 2879.22 then down to 2821.02 going into the final half hour of trading.
Asian stocks were lower on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 ended their session at 8,877 – up 0.86% on the day. The Hang Seng ended their session at 19,201 – down 0.31% on the day. European exchanges opened lower on Thursday and closed lower. The FTSE 100 ended their session at 5,338 – down 1.24% on the day. The DAX ended their session at 6,309 – down 1.18% on the day. The CAC 40 ended their session at 3,012 – down 1.20% on the day. The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury declined from 1.795 to a new year to date low at 1.692, well below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at 2.045 and 2.023.
Gold traded up from $1538.4 the Troy ounce to $1579.8 well below the “Death Cross” 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at $1643.1 and $1696.7. Crude oil traded up from $92.65 per barrel to $93.88 then down to $92.09 below its 200-day simple moving average at $96.24. The euro versus the dollar traded between 1.2670 and 1.2750 well below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.3124.
Energy
HollyFrontier (HFC) announced a special dividend of $0.50 per share and a 50% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.15 from $0.10 per share. Atmos Energy (ATO) – Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a price target at $37. WPX Energy (WPX) – Susquehanna downgraded the stock to Negative from Neutral. Dow components – Chevron (CVX) up 0.64%, Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 0.41%.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $64.69 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 0.09% on the day – down 6.42% year-to-date.
Materials
Gold and gold shares have become extremely oversold and several gold minors had a strong rebound on Thursday. Barrick Gold (ABX) up 5.02%, Goldcorp (GG) up 5.96%, IAMGold (IAG) up 5.08%, NovaGold (NG) gained 7.05%, New Gold (NGD) up 5.91% and Newmont Mining (NEM) up 4.64%. Dow components – Alcoa (AA) up 0.77%, DuPont (DD) down 0.97%.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $33.13 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 1.52% on the day – down 1.10% year-to-date.
Industrials
Seaspan (SSW) beat Q1 EPS estimates by 26 cents with in-line revenue. Southwest Airlines (LUV) is deferring deliveries of 30 Boeing (BA) 737-800 jets by four years, saving more than $1 billion as the carrier works to curb rising costs until it hits financial targets. LSB Industries (LXU) shares fell another 7.9% on Wednesday a day after an explosion at one of its facilities shut down the plant indefinitely. Precision Castparts (PCP) beat FQ4 EPS estimates by four cents with in-line revenue. Harsco (HSC) has been upgraded to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James. Dow components – Boeing Co (BA) down 2.03%, Caterpillar (CAT) down 3.44%, General Electric (GE) up 0.21%, 3M Company (MMM) down 0.56%, United Technologies (UTX) down 1.05%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $34.34 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 2.00% on the day – up 1.75% year-to-date.
Consumer Discretionary
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) reported mixed Q1 results beating on a per share basis but missing the revenue estimates. Revenues were weak on declining guest counts, but the bottom line was helped by a boost in the average guest check, better operating profit margins and tighter expense management. Boyd Gaming (BYD) will acquire Peninsula Gaming for $1.45 billion which will add five new casino properties in Iowa, Kansas, and Louisiana. Jack in the Box (JACK) missed FQ2 EPS estimates by four cents with a beat on the revenue line. Buckle (BKE) beat Q1 EPS estimates by three cents with in-line revenue. Dow Components – Disney (DIS) down 0.78%, Home Depot down 2.30%, McDonalds (MCD) down 1.02%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $42.56 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 2.12% on the day – up 9.07% year-to-date.
Consumer Staples
Limited Brands (LTD) reported in-line Q1 EPS estimates and in-line revenue, but shares dropped 3% in after hours trading Thursday. Spartan Stores (SPTN) beat FQ4 EPS estimates by a penny with a miss on the revenue line. Cost Plus (CPWM) beat Q1 EPS estimates by a nickel with a beat on the revenue line. Hot Topic (HOTT) beat Q1 EPS estimates by two cents with in-line revenue and shares slumped 5.7% after hours Wednesday. Wal-Mart’s (WMT) beat Q1 EPS estimates by a nickel with a beat on the revenue line and shares were up 1.5% pre-market. Dollar Tree Stores (DLTR) beat Q1 EPS estimates by three cents with in-line revenue and shares traded lower by 4.8% in the premarket. Sears (SHLD) report a less than expected Q1 EPS loss and had better than expected revenue.Dow components – Kraft (KFT) down 0.24%, Coca Cola (KO) down 0.88%, Procter & Gamble (PG) down 0.28%, Wal-Mart (WMT) up 5.04%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $33.87 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 0.27% on the day – up 4.25% year-to-date.
Health Care
Dendreon (DNDN) confirmed that the SEC has opened an investigation connected to lawsuits accusing the company over misleading investors over Provenge. While Dendreon had been bullish about the prostate-cancer treatment, the company shocked the market in August 2011 when they cut its revenue forecast. Alkermes (ALKS) beat FQ4 EPS estimates by two cents with better than expected revenue. Quality Systems (QSII) missed FQ4 EPS estimates by two cents with a miss on the revenue line. Dow Components – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) flat, Merck (MRK) flat, Pfizer (PFE) up 0.44%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $36.55 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 0.49% on the day – up 5.36% year-to-date.
Financials
JP Morgan (JPM) remains in focus as its massive trading losses grow, as sources say the loss has increased by $3 billion and counting. Meanwhile the White House intensified talks with the Treasury about ensuring a tough interpretation of the Volcker Rule. Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and Credit Suisse (CS) are suitors who made initial offers for Bank of America’s (BAC) non-US wealth-management business. HSBC (HBC) said it’s on track to meet its goal of slashing up to $3.5 billion in costs by the end of next year. According to Fitch, the world’s 29 largest banks will have to raise $566 billion in additional capital by 2018 to meet tougher Basel III standards. The amount is a 23% increase on what banks held at the end of 2011. US banks will be hit particularly hard by the capital requirements for risky activities. Dow Components – American Express (AXP) down 1.62%, Bank of America (BAC) up 0.21%, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) down 2.66%, Travelers (TRV) down 1.04%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $14.00 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 1.55% on the day – up 7.69% year-to-date.
Information Technology
Ctrip.com International (CTRP) reported in-line Q1 EPS with a beat on the revenue line. 8×8 Inc (EGHT) beat FQ4 earnings on a 33% year over year jump in total revenue, and the stock was up 7.5% in after hours trading. GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) missed FQ4 EPS estimates by two cents and missed on the revenue line. Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) missed Q1 EPS estimates by three cents with a miss on the revenue line. Dow Components – Cisco Systems (CSCO) up 0.23%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) up 0.26%, IBM (IBM) down 0.17%, Intel Corp (INTC) down 0.10%, Microsoft (MSFT) up 0.45%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $27.87 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 0.92% on the day – up 9.51% year-to-date.
Telecommunication Services
Verizon Wireless’ (VZ, VOD) will be offering shared data plans min-summer that the company says will be very innovative something that hasn’t been tried before in the industry. Dow components – AT&T (T) up 0.51%, Verizon (VZ) up 0.97%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $181.88 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 0.96% on the day – down 7.64% year-to-date.
Utilities
Duke Energy (DUK) has been upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie. Dominion Resources (D) down 0.97%, Edison International (EIX) down 0.63%, First Energy (FE) down 0.23%, PG&E Corp (PCG) down 0.63%, Southern Company (SO) down 0.26%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $35.54 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, down 0.42% on the day – down 1.22% year-to-date.
STOCKS: CVX, XOM, HFC, ATO, WPX, AA, DD, ABX, GG, IAG, NG, NGD, NEM, BA, CAT, GE, MMM, UTX, SSW, LUV, LXU, PCP, HSC, DIS, HD, MCD, RRGB, BYD, JACK, BKE, KFT, KO, PG, WMT, LTD, SPTN, CPWM, HOTT, DLTR, SHLD, JNJ, MRK, PFE, DNDN, ALKS, QSII, AXP, BAC, JPM, TRV, RY, CS, HBC, CSCO, HPQ, IBM, INTC, MSFT, CTRP, EGHT, GTAT, TSEM, T, VZ, VOD, D, EIX, FE, PCG, SO, DUK
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