The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down to 12,661.48 Monday morning then rebounded above 12,760 in the afternoon before fading in the final hour of trading. The NASDAQ traded down to 2898.90 Monday morning then rebounded to 2924.89 then consolidated that range.
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday. The Nikkei 225 ended their session at 8,974 – up 0.23% on the day. The Hang Seng ended their session at 19,735 – down 1.15% on the day. European exchanges were lower on Monday. The FTSE 100 ended their session at 5,466 – down 1.97% on the day. The DAX ended their session at 6,452 – down 1.94% on the day. The CAC 40 ended their session at 3,058 – down 2.29% on the day. The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury declined from 1.839 percent to 1.765, a new year to date low and well below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at 2.057 and 2.033.
Gold traded down from $1585.8 the Troy ounce to $1555.0 well below the “Death Cross” 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at $1651.6 and $1698.2. Crude oil traded down from $95.83 per barrel to $93.65, a new year to date low below its 200-day simple moving average at $96.26. The euro versus the dollar traded down from 1.2904 to 1.2829 below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.3153.
Energy
Chesapeake Energy (CHK) reported that its received a $3 billion unsecured loan from Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Group, which will be repaid from 2012 asset sales. McDermott (MDR) was a major upside mover on Friday after better than expected Q1 earnings and assuring analysts that the company is returning to normal levels of profitability with strong growth in operating margin. Concho Resources (CXO) will buy all the oil and natural gas assets of Three Rivers Operating for $1 billion. Interoil (IOC) beat Q1 EPS estimates by 39 cents with better than expected revenue. Seadrill (SDRL) beats Q1 EPS estimates by eighteen cents with in-line revenue. Walter Energy (WLT) has been initiated with an Outperform rating with Wells Fargo. Arch Coal (ACI) has been upgraded by UBS to Buy from Neutral with $11 price target. McDermott International (MDR) has been upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. Dow components – Chevron (CVX) – down 0.65%, Exxon Mobil (XOM) down 0.87%.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $66.32 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 1.51% on the day – down 4.06% year-to-date.
Materials
IAMGOLD Corp (IAG) beat Q1 EPS estimates by four cents with a miss on the revenue line. Cabot (CBT) will boost its quarterly dividend by 11% to $0.20 from $0.18 per share. Silver Wheaton (SLW) missed Q1 EPS estimates by a penny with a miss on the revenue line. Darling International (DAR) recently reported missed Q1 quarterly results as lower raw material volumes and lower finished product prices weighed on bottom line margins. Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) has been upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital. Dow components – Alcoa (AA) down 0.44%, DuPont (DD) down 0.97%.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $34.55 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 1.31% on the day – up 3.13% year-to-date.
Industrials
Three former executives of General Electric (GE) affiliates were convicted by a federal jury in New York of conspiracy related to rigging contracts in the municipal bond market. On Homebuilders, Guggenheim gives D.R. Horton (DHI), Lennar (LEN), PulteGroup (PHM), and Toll Brothers (TOL) have been upgraded to Buy from Neutral, and Meritage Homes (MTH) and Ryland (RYL) upgraded to Buy from Sell. Magna International (MGA) have been upgraded to Hold from Sell at Société Générale. Dow components – Boeing Co (BA) down 0.18%, Caterpillar (CAT) down 1.21%, General Electric (GE) down 1.45%, 3M Company (MMM) down 0.55%, United Technologies (UTX) down 1.28%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $35.31 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 1.01% on the day – up 4.62% year-to-date.
Consumer Discretionary
Shares of Francesca’s Holdings (FRAN) moved down sharply on Friday on word that the company may float another secondary offering. Gamestop (GME) is initiated with a Neutral rating at Lazard. Tumi Holdings (TUMI), the apparel outfit is a recent IPO that has been initiated with a Buy rating at Jefferies and an Outperform rating with William Blair. Francesca’s (FRAN) have been upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna. Dow Components – Disney (DIS) down 0.50%, Home Depot down 0.50%, McDonalds (MCD) down 0.54%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $43.69 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 1.24% on the day – up 11.97% year-to-date.
Consumer Staples
Avon (AVP) shares are up 8.4% premarket after the cosmetics company indicated it would consider Coty’s improved $10.7 billion bid and expects to respond within a week. Coty will stop making further public steps to acquire the company to allow Avon to conduct due diligence. Caribou Coffee (CBOU) has been upgraded to Buy from Hold at Dougherty. US Airways (LCC) has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee with an $18 price target, citing lower fuel prices, stronger domestic yields, and acquisition opportunities. Dole Food (DOLE) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at Auriga. Jetblue Airways (JBLU) has been downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee. Dow components – Kraft (KFT) up 0.38, Coca Cola (KO) down 0.67%, Procter & Gamble (PG) down 0.31%, Wal-Mart (WMT) down 0.10%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $33.92 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 0.32% on the day – up 4.40% year-to-date.
Health Care
Hologic (HOLX) has been upgraded to Overweight from Neutral by JP Morgan. St. Jude Medical (STJ) has been upgraded by Goldman Sachs giving the medical device maker a Buy from Neutral rating. Medivation (MDVN) has been added to Citigroup’s list of Top Picks. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has been upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. Dow Components – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) down 0.51%, Merck (MRK) up 0.76%, Pfizer (PFE) up 0.15.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $36.89 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 0.32% on the day – up 6.34% year-to-date.
Financials
Three JPMorgan (JPM) executives involved in the $2 billion trading loss will leave the bank this week, according to media reports. “The London Whale” will be stripped of trading duties. Fannie Mae had 114,157 single-family REO properties at the end of the first quarter, and almost half were considered unable to market because of delays in the appraisal process. Major Spanish banks move to comply with new rules. BBVA (BBVA) is setting aside provisions worth $2.3 billion to satisfy new capital requirements. Santander (STD) it will set aside an extra five billion euros to comply with the new rules. Dow Components – American Express (AXP) down 1.16%, Bank of America (BAC) down 0.66, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) down 1.87%, Travelers (TRV) up 0.22%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $14.55 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 1.76% on the day – up 11.92% year-to-date.
Information Technology
Yahoo (YHOO) confirmed that Scott Thompson is out as CEO, and will be replaced by Ross Levinsohn, while Fred Amoroso becomes Chairman of the Board. Apple (AAPL) continues its patent fight with Samsung accusing Samsung of destroying evidence. Hewlett Packard (HPQ) will re-enter the tablet market to take advantage of Microsoft’s (MSFT) forthcoming Windows 8 platform. Teradata (TDC): Barclays takes the tech stock to Overweight from Equal Weight. Yandex (YNDX) has been upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC Securities. Symantec (SYMC) has been downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. Dow Components – Cisco Systems (CSCO) up 1.33%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) down 0.78, IBM (IBM) down 0.61, Intel Corp (INTC) down 1.92%, Microsoft (MSFT) down 0.90%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $28.51 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 0.63% on the day – up 12.02% year-to-date.
Telecommunication Services
Ciena (CIEN) shares surged after Verizon (VZ) said it is using Ciena’s technology as part of plans to build additional control panel technology into its network infrastructure. Nokia (NOK) has been downgraded to Sell from Hold at SocGen. Dow components – AT&T (T) down 0.89%, Verizon (VZ) down 1.06%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $186.12 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 0.12% on the day – down 5.49% year-to-date.
Utilities
WGL Holdings (WGL) has been downgraded to Long-term Buy from Buy at Hilliard Lyons. Dominion Resources (D) up 0.19%, Edison International (EIX) flat, First Energy (FE) up 0.17%, PG&E Corp (PCG) flat, Southern Company (SO) flat.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $35.84 at 3:30 PM on Monday, down 0.39% on the day – down 0.39% year-to-date.
STOCKS: CVX, XOM, CHK, MDR, CXO, IOC, SDRL, WLT, ACI, AA, DD, IAG, CBT, SLW, DAR, LPX, BA, CAT, GE, MMM, UTX, DHI,, LEN, PHM, TOL, MTH, RYL, MGA, DIS, HD, MCD, FRAN, GME, TUMI, KFT, KO, PG, WMT, AVP, VBOU, LCC, DOLE, JBLU, JNJ, MRK, PFE, HOLX, STJ, MDVN, CRTX, AXP, BAC, JPM, TRV, BBVA, STD, CSCO, HPQ, IBM, INTC, MSFT, YHOO, AAPL, TDC, YNDX, SYMC, T, VZ, CIEN, NOK, D, EIX, FE, PCG, SO, WGL
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