Equities Sector Coverage: Stocks Close Higher on Jobs

Initial Jobless Claims rose to 367,000 staying above the 350,000 recessionary threshold. Factory Orders fell 5.2% in August the biggest drop since January 2009. Freddie Mac set its 30-year fixed rate mortgage at a new record low at 3.36%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up to 13,594.33 on Thursday with the NASDAQ as high as 3153.48.

In Asian, the Nikkei 225 ended the day at 8,825 – up 0.89%. The Hang Seng ended the day at 20,908 – up 0.09%. European exchanges traded back and forth around the flat line all day. The FTSE 100 ended the day at 5,828 – up 0.03%. The DAX ended the day at 7,305 – down 0.23%. The CAC 40 ended the day at 3,401 – down 0.14%. The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury rose from 1.618% to 1.673% versus its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at 1.668% and 1.812%.

Comex gold rallied from $1779.9 the Troy ounce to $1797.7 setting a new 2012 high. Nymex crude oil rebounded from $87.91 per barrel to $91.84 staying below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at $93.62 and $96.17. The euro versus the dollar rallied from 1.2904 to 1.3031 staying above its 200-day simple moving average at 1.2821.

Energy

Enbridge Inc. (ENB) is lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital. HollyFrontier (HFC) is now Neutral from Buy at UBS. Big Movers – James River Coal (JRCC) is up about 11%. Dow components – Chevron (CVX) up 1.03%, Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 0.68%. Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $73.78 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 1.04% on the day – up 6.73% year-to-date.

Materials

CF Industries (CF) is a new Sector Perform at RBC Capital. Eldorado Gold (EGO) gets downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie. Dow Components – Alcoa (AA) up 2.88%, DuPont (DD) up 0.79%. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $37.025 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 1.30% on the day – up 10.52% year-to-date.

Industrials

Ametek (AME) is a new Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley. Ryder System (R) is upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust. United Parcel Service (UPS) is reduced to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital. Big Movers – Genco Shipping & Trading (GNK) is up about 13%. Dow components – Boeing Co (BA) down 0.11%, Caterpillar (CAT) up 0.88%, General Electric (GE) down 0.22%, 3M Company (MMM) up 0.51%, United Technologies (UTX) up 0.10%. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $36.99 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 0.43% on the day – up 9.60% year-to-date.

Consumer Discretionary

McDonald’s (MCD) filed a trademark with the USPTO to use its name for ground and whole-bean coffee products in a move that could signal a plan to sell bagged coffee. Gambling revenue in Macau rose a weaker-than-forecast 12.3% to $2.99B in September, marking the second lowest tally of the year. Though analysts expect a bounce back in October, casino players in the region such as Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) will be on edge to see if visitor levels keep trending lower. Tesla (TSLA) will make an advance payment on the DOE loan principal payment that’s due in March, says CEO Elon Musk in a blog post. Also, Musk claims Tesla is “on the verge of becoming cash flow positive,” and defends the company’s Q3/Q4 guidance cut by claiming Tesla is “at the steepest portion of our production ramp.” Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle Paperwhite e-reader appears to be sold out until November as the e-commerce giant’s site shows a shipping time of 4-6 weeks for both the Wi-Fi and 3G models. The market for streaming video is getting a bit more crowded as Toys R Us launches its own service to provide movies and TV shows for kids. Powered by Rovi (ROVI), the store will include over 4,000 titles with movies priced at $2.99 for a 24-hour rental and TV shows at $1.99 a pop. Wet Seal (WTSLA) has appealed to its shareholders to help it end an attempt by Clinton Group to replace the company’s board with its own candidates. International Speedway (ISCA) missed estimates by 7 cents and revenue by $12M. Marriott International (MAR) beat estimates by 4 cents and revenue by $50M. The company narrowed its FY outlook range however, now seeing $1.68 to $1.72 per share, compared with previous guidance of $1.65 to $1.75. For Q4, earnings are expected to be $0.52 to $0.56 per share, the consensus estimate of $0.57. National American University Holdings (NAUH) missed estimates by 3 cents on revenue of $29.5M. Lamar Advertising (LAMR) is a new Buy at Deutsche Bank. Steven Madden Ltd. (SHOO) is started with a Buy at Brean Murray. TripAdvisor (TRIP) is initiated with a Buy and $38 target at Needham. Time Warner (TWX) is moved to Hold from Buy at Argus. Dow Components – Disney (DIS) relatively unchanged, Home Depot (HD) down 0.35%, McDonalds (MCD) up 0.76%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $47.47 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 0.91% on the day – up 21.66% year-to-date.

Consumer Staples

Unilever (UL) is reportedly seeking a buyer for its popular Skippy peanut butter brand as it lines up Lazard to help it find potential acquirers. Village Super Market (VLGEA) beat estimates by a penny on revenue of $369.9M. B&G Foods (BGS) is a new Neutral at Credit Suisse. Dow components – Coca Cola (KO) up 0.21%, Procter & Gamble (PG) up 0.48%, Wal-Mart (WMT) up 0.82%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $36.36 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 0.44% on the day – up 11.91% year-to-date.

Health Care

Advocat (AVCA) is initiated with a Hold at C.K. Cooper. Baxter International (BAX) is begun with an Outperform at Cowen. Morgan Stanley establishes Overweights on Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST), Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX), and NPS Pharmaceuticals (NPSP). Quidel (QDEL) is picked up at Overweight by Piper Jaffray. Thoratec (THOR) is taken to Outperform from Neutral with Wedbush. NuVasive (NUVA) is taken to Underperform from Outperform at RBC Capital. Big Movers – NuVasive (NUVA) is down about 33.5%. Biosante Pharmaceuticals (BPAX) is down about 11%. Dow Components – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) up 0.60%, Merck (MRK) up 0.91%, Pfizer (PFE) up 0.16%, United Health Group (UNH) up 2.09%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $41.125 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 0.60% on the day – up 18.55% year-to-date.

Financials

Maxim begins Buys on Fifth Street Finance (FSC), Medley Capital (MCC), THL Credit (TCRD), and TICC Capital (TICC). Evercore Partners (EVR) is downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities. Lazard (LAZ) is lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities. Dow Components – American Express (AXP) up 1.55%, Bank of America (BAC) up 3.13%, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) up 2.30%, Travelers (TRV) up 0.34%. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $16.045 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 1.36% on the day – up 22.08% year-to-date.

Information Technology

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) declared FY13 to be a “fix and rebuild” year that will see a broad-based profit decline (centered around enterprise services), and has again made cautious remarks about European and Chinese demand. Bloomberg Businessweek’s talks with Apple (AAPL) insiders paint a complex picture of the post-Jobs era. Apple is said to have a “singular focus” on proving doubters wrong, and is deemed “happier and even somewhat more transparent” than before. A peek back also reveals that Steve Jobs reportedly came to “loathe” Google (GOOG) and considered ending its iOS search deal, but decided not to out of fear of upsetting users. The market for streaming video is getting a bit more crowded as Toys R Us launches its own service to provide movies and TV shows for kids. Powered by Rovi (ROVI), the store will include over 4,000 titles with movies priced at $2.99 for a 24-hour rental and TV shows at $1.99 a pop. Analog/security chipmaker O2Micro (OIIM) warned it expects Q3 revenue of $22M-$23.1M, below prior guidance of $24.1M-$26M and a consensus of $24.8M. Accelrys Inc. (ACCL) is a new Outperform at JMP Securities. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gets moved to Neutral from Sell at MKM Partners. eBay Inc. (EBAY) gets a boost to Buy from Neutral at Nomura. Adtran (ADTN) is now Neutral from Buy at UBS. Aruba Networks (ARUN) is now Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. Booz Allen (BAH) is cut to Underperform from Market Perform with Wells Fargo. Polycom (PLCM) is cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS. Big Movers – Informatica (INFA) is down about 24.5%. Dow Components – Cisco Systems (CSCO) relatively unchanged, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) up 0.20%, IBM (IBM) relatively unchanged, Intel Corp (INTC) down 0.63%, Microsoft (MSFT) relatively unchanged. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $31.07 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 0.36% on the day – up 22.08% year-to-date.

Telecommunication Services

Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY) is listed to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. SBA Communications (SBAC) is now Buy from Neutral at Citigroup. MetroPCS (PCS) is downgraded to Reduce from Neutral at Nomura. Sprint Nextel (S) is downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird. Dow Components – AT&T (T) up 0.29%, Verizon (VZ) up 1.12%. The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $199.02 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 0.42% on the day – up 1.06% year-to-date.

Utilities

Edison International (EIX) is assigned an Underperform at Credit Suisse. Consolidated Edison (ED) is upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus. The Big Names – Dominion Resources (D) up 0.58%, Edison International (EIX) up 1.27%, First Energy (FE) up 0.49%, PG&E Corp (PCG) up 0.75%, Southern Company (SO) up 0.33%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $36.795 at 3:30 PM on Thursday, up 0.56% on the day – up 2.27% year-to-date.

STOCKS: CVX, XOM, AA, DD, BA, CAT, GE, MMM, UTX, DIS, HD, MCD, KFT, KO, PG, WMT, JNJ, MRK, PFE, AXP, BAC, JPM, TRV, CSCO, HPQ, IBM, INTC, MSFT, T, VZ, D, EIX, FE, PCG, SO, ENB, HFC, JRCC, CF, EGO, AME, R, UPS, GNK, MCD, LVS, MGM, WYNN, TSLA, AMZN, ROVI, WTSLA, ISCA, MAR, NAUH, LAMR, SHOO, TRIP, TWX, UL, VLEGA, BGS, AVCA, BAX, CBST, NBIX, NPSP, QDEL, THOR, NUVA, BPAX, FSC, MCC, TCRD, TICC, EVR, LAZ, HPQ, AAPL, GOOG, OIIM, ACCL, AMD, EBAY, ADTN, ARUN, BAH, PLCM, INFA, DTEGY, SBAC, PCS, S, EIX, ED