The Commerce Department reported that orders for Durable Goods fell 0.1% in August when economists expected no change. The final reading of Q2 GDP comes on Thursday, and Personal Income & Spending and Chicago PMI are released on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up to 11,317.08 then down below 11,050 into the final half hour of trading. The NASDAQ tested its 50-day simple moving average at 2565 to the upside then declined below 2505 into the final half hour of trading.
Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday with the Nikkei 225 up slightly to 8,616 and the Hang Seng down by 0.66% to 18,011. European stocks wobbled on pending debt deal. The FTSE 100 declined by 1.44% to 5,218 with the DAX down 0.89% to 5,578 and the CAC 40 lower by 0.92% to 2,996. The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury remains well above last Friday’s all time low of 1.671 percent, which is a level that likely discounts the Fed policy called “Operation Twist.”
This yield traded up from 1.938 to 2.067 on Wednesday then down to 1.997. Gold, which traded as low as $1535.0 the Troy ounce on Monday and as high as $1679.2 on Tuesday, traded down from $1672.0 to $1600.5 on Wednesday. Crude oil declined from $84.62 per barrel to $81.06 on Wednesday back below its 200-week simple moving average at $83.66, as inventory data was higher than expected. The euro versus the US dollar traded between 1.3545 and 1.3688 on Wednesday.
Energy
Transmontaigne Partners (TLP) is taken to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. Teekay Tankers (TNK) is taken to Underperform from Neutral at Bank of America/Merrill. In afternoon trading: Shares of General Maritime (GMR) are down about 11.5%. Shares of Rosetta Resources (ROSE) are down about 10%. Shares of First Solar (FSLR) are down about 9%. Shares of Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) are down about 10%. Shares of ION Geophysical (IO) are down about 8.8%. Shares of InterOil (IOC) are down about 8.5%. Shares of SunPower (SPWRA) are up about 8.5%.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $59.71 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 3.27% on the day – down 12.51% year-to-date.
Materials
MeadWestvaco (MWV) is upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. Boise (BZ) is moved to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan. In afternoon trading: Shares of Boise are down about 11%. Shares of Senomyx (SNMX) are down about 10.5%. Shares of Stillwater Mining (SWC) are down about 10.2%. Shares of Horsehead Holding (ZINC) are down about 8.7%. Shares of China Shengda (CPGI) are down about 8.1%. Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) are down about 8%.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $30.45 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 4.42% on the day – down 20.72% year-to-date.
Industrials
Caterpillar (CAT) is a new Overweight at Barclays, which assigns identical ratings on Cummins (CMI), Deere (DE), and Eaton (ETN). Masco (MAS) is now Neutral from Sell at UBS. In afternoon trading: Shares of YRC Worldwide (YRCW) are down about 21.7%. Shares of Broadwind Energy (BWEN) are down about 8.9%. Shares of A-Power Energy (APWR) are down about 8.8%. Shares of Mueller Water Products (MWA) are up about 9.1%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $29.80 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 2.55% on the day – down 14.54% year-to-date.
Consumer Discretionary
Weight Watchers (WTW) – $71 target, Nutrisystem (NTRI) – $19 target, and Medifast (MEDI) – $27 target are all begun with Buys at Auriga. Virgin Media (VMED) is now Buy from Neutral at Nomura. Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) is reduced to Hold from Buy at Citigroup. Peugeot SA (PEUGY) is cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. In afternoon trading: Shares of Blockbuster (BLOAQ) are up about 71% on positive reports that – thanks in part to their new steaming deal with Dish Network (DISH) – they are back in competition with Netflix (NFLX). Shares of Home Inns & Hotels Management (HMIN) are down about 16.7%. Shares of Eastman Kodak (EK) are down about 13.2%. Shares of Sealy (ZZ) are down about 12%. Shares of Xueda Education Group (XUE) are down about 11.4%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $36.19 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 1.71% on the day – down 3.26% year-to-date.
Consumer Staples
Sysco (SYY) is initiated with an Underperform at Credit Suisse. Weight Watchers (WTW) – $71 target, Nutrisystem (NTRI) – $19 target, and Medifast (MEDI) – $27 target are all begun with Buys at Auriga. Colgate-Palmolive (CL) is downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup, which also has Kimberly Clark (KMB) crying into its Kleenex after an identical cut. Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) is downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup. In afternoon trading: Shares of Coffee Holding (JVA) are down about 8.4%. Shares of American Oriental Bioengineering (AOB) are down about 8%. Shares of Rite Aid (RAD) are down about 5.6%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $29.68 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 1.88% on the day – up 1.26% year-to-date.
Healthcare
Canaccord Genuity gives Buys to Watson Pharmaceuticals (WPI), Medicis (MRX), Teva (TEVA), and Warner Chilcott (WCRX). It has Holds on Mylan (MYL), Perrigo (PRGO), and Impax (IPXL). Auxilium Pharma (AUXL) is upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup. Biomarin Pharmaceuticals (BMRN) is now Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. In afternoon trading: Shares of Biodel (BIOD) are down about 13.7%. Shares of Complete Genetics (GNOM) are down about 8.3%. Shares of Inhibitex (INHX) are down about 8.3%. Shares of Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX) are down about 7.7%. Shares of Amarin (AMRN) are down about 7.3%. Shares of Skilled Healthcare (SKH) are up about 12.75%. Shares of Questcor Pharmaceuticals (QCOR) are up about 9.5%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $31.93 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 1.72% on the day – up 1.37% year-to-date.
Financials
Shares of U.K. hedge fund Man Group (MNGPF) fell 19% in London after it said AUM fell 8% to $65B despite record fund sales. Comerica (CMA) gets moved to Market Perform from Underperform at Wells Fargo. Zurich Financial (ZFSVY) is upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Exane BNP Paribas. In afternoon trading: Shares of ZipRealty (ZIPR) are down about 24%. Shares of Lazard (LAZ) are down about 7%. Shares of Ashford Hospitality Trust (AHT) are up about 8.6%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $11.91 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 2.90% on the day – down 25.36% year-to-date.
Information Technology
Despite the release of Amazon’s (AMZN) 7-Inch Tablet Called “The Kindle Fire”, which could be serious competition for the iPad, Apple Inc. (AAPL) is begun with a Buy and $495 price objective at Janney Capital Markets. Apple invited reporters yesterday to a “Let’s talk iPhone” event on Oct. 4, widely expected to be the much-anticipated iPhone 5 launch, although Cupertino would be an unusual location to do so. Cisco Systems (CSCO) is a new Outperform at FBN Securities. JP Morgan has new Overweights on Lam Research (LRCX) and Novellus (NVLS). In afternoon trading: Shares of Liquidity Services (LQDT) are up about 14.3%. Shares of Hanwha SolarOne (HSOL) are up about 12.6%. Shares of Jabil Circuit (JBL) are up about 9.5%. Shares of Yandex (YNDX) are down about 13.5%. Shares of RealD (RLD) are down about 12.3%. Shares of Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) are down about 12%. Shares of JinkoSolar (JKS) are down about 11%. Shares of Renesola (SOL) are down about 10.2%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $24.26 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 1.42% on the day – down 3.69% year-to-date.
Telecommunications Services
In afternoon trading: Shares of TerreStar (TSTRQ) are up about 175%. Actives: Shares of Sprint Nextel (S) are up about 0.6%. Shares of AT&T (T) are up about 0.3%. Shares of Level 3 Communications (LVLT) are down about 1.9%. Shares of Verizon (VZ) are up about 0.4%. Shares of Frontier (FTR) are down about 1.5%. Shares of Vodafone (VOD) are relatively unchanged. Shares of Windstream (WIN) are down about 3.4%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $183.87 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 2.02% on the day – down 18.41% year-to-date.
Utilities
In afternoon trading: Actives: Shares of Duke Energy (DUK) are up about 0.3%. Shares of Genon Energy (GEN) are down about 3.4%. Shares of AES Corp (AES) are down about 1.5%. Shares of Southern (SO) are up about a half of a percent. Shares of Exelon (EXC) are up about a quarter of a percent. Shares of NiSource (NI) are down about a half of a percent. Shares of CenterPoint Energy (CNP) are up about 0.4%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $33.46 at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, down 1.01% on the day – up 6.76% year-to-date.
STOCKS: TLP, TNK, GMR, ROSE, FSLR, ANR, IO, IOC, SPWRA, MWV, BZ, SNMX, SWC, ZINC, CPGI, CLF, CAT, CMI, DE, ETN, MAS, YRCW, BWEN, APWR, MWA, WTW, NTRI, MEDI, VMED, RL, PEUGY, BLOAQ, DISH, NFLX, HMIN, EK, ZZ, XUE, SYY, CL, KMB, MJN, JVA, AOB, RAD, WPI, MRX, TEVA, WCRX, MYL, PRGO, IPXL, AUXL, BMRN, BIOD, GNOM, INHX, IDIX, AMRN, SKH, QCOR, MNGPF, CMA, ZFSVY, ZIPR, LAZ, AHT, AMZN, AAPL, CSCO, LRCX, NVLS, LQDT, HSOL, JBL, YNDX, RLD, ENER, JKS, SOL, TSTRQ, S, T, LVLT, VZ, FTR, VOD, WIN, DUK, GEN, AES, SO, EXC, NI, CNP
