The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a morning high at 12,764.49 versus its May 2nd 2011 high at 12,876.00. The Dow was trading around the flat line at 12,720 after a low of 12,665.83 going into the final half hour of trading. The NASDAQ opened with a morning high at 2804.99 versus its May 2nd 2011 high at 2887.75 and entered the final hour of trading above the day’s low at 2768.82.
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday with the Nikkei 225 ending their session 8,766 – flat on the day, while the Hang Seng was closed at 20,110. European stocks traded higher on Monday. The FTSE 100 ended their session at 5,779 – up 0.88% on the day; the DAX ended their session at 6,437 – up 0.50% on the day; and the CAC 40 ended their session at 3,338 – up 0.51% on the day.
The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury note rose to 2.094 on Monday trending above its 50-day simple moving average at 1.963. The yield on the 30-Year bond is trending above 3.00 percent which is a drag on equity valuations. Gold traded up from $1663.0 a Troy ounce to an intraday high of $1681.8 above its 200-day and 50-day simple moving averages at $1637.6 and $1670.1. Crude oil traded up from $97.40 per barrel to below $100.24 above its 200-day and 50-day simple moving averages at $95.41 and $99.13. The euro versus the dollar traded up 1.2882 and 1.3051 approaching its 50-day simple moving average at 1.3111.
Energy
Halliburton (HAL) beat expectations as Q4 EPS rose to $1.00 from $0.94 (beating by a penny) and revenue jumped 37% to $7.06B (beating by $230M). Apache (APA) has agreed to acquire privately-held oil and gas company Cordillera Energy Partners III in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $2.85B. Sinopec (SNP) will pay $1.1B to take an additional 10% stake in the Australia Pacific LNG project, bringing its total equity in the $20B project to 25%. The deal reduces the equity share of ConocoPhillips (COP) and Origin Energy (OGFGF) to 37.5%. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) gets picked up with a Buy at ING Group. Overseas Shipholding (OSG) gets a Hold-from-Sell hoist at Cantor Fitzgerald. ConocoPhillips (COP) is moved to Sell from Neutral at UBS. Jefferies cuts both Continental Resources (CLR) and Forest Oil (FST) to Hold from Buy. McMoRan Exploration (MMR) is moved to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. In afternoon trading: Shares of Forest Oil are up about 11.25%.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $71.95 at 3:40 PM on Monday, up 0.80% on the day – up 4.08% year-to-date. The 2011 change was +1.29%.
Materials
JP Morgan resumes RTI International Metals (RTI) at an Underweight and assigns a Neutral on Titanium Metals (TIE). In afternoon trading: Shares of Solvay SA (SVYZY) are up about 26.25%. Shares of Pan American Silver (PAAS) are down about 8.5%. Heavily Traded Stocks: Shares of Alcoa (AA) are relatively unchanged. Shares of Freeport McMoran (FCX) are up about 1.75%. Shares of Vale SA (VALE) are up about a half of a percent.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $36.56 at 3:40 PM on Monday, relatively unchanged on the day – up 9.13% year-to-date. The 2011 change was -12.78%.
Industrials
JB Hunt Transportation (JBHT) is cut to Hold from Buy at BB&T Capitals. In afternoon trading: Shares of AMR (AAMRQ) are up about 24%. Shares of YRC Worldwide (YRCW) are up about 16%. Shares of Twin Disc (TWIN) are down about 18.25%. Heavily Traded Stocks: Shares of General Electric (GE) are down about 0.7%. Shares of Corning (GLW) are down about 0.8%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $36.12 at 3:40 PM on Monday, down slightly on the day – up 7.02% year-to-date. The 2011 change was -3.21%.
Consumer Discretionary
Daimler AG (DDAIF) is moved to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie. Borg Warner (BWA) is upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight by Barclays. Capella Education (CPLA) is moved to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Panera Bread (PNRA) is reduced to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) gets moved to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) is reduced to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital. Lear Corp (LEA) is lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays. PulteGroup (PHM) is lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays. Johnson Controls (JCI) is taken to Equal Weight from Overweight by Barclays. In afternoon trading: Shares of PetMed Express (PETS) are up about 13.25%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $41.13 at 3:40 PM on Monday, up slightly on the day – up 5.41% year-to-date. The 2011 change was +4.30%.
Consumer Staples
SABMiller plc (SBMRY) is boosted to Buy from neutral at Citigroup. Procter & Gamble (PG) gets downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus. The research firm also removes it from their Income List due to valuation concerns. In afternoon trading: Shares of China-Biotics (CHBT) are down about 15%. Heavily Traded Stocks: Shares of Procter & Gamble are down about 1.9%. Shares of Altria Group (MO) are down about 0.4%. Shares of Safeway (SWY) are up about 1.6%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $32.37 at 3:40 PM on Monday, down slightly on the day – down 0.37% year-to-date. The 2011 change was +10.85%.
Health Care
NuVasive (NUVA) is now Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity. Waters Corp (WAT) is now Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. Amgen (AMGN) and ViroPharma (VPHM) are each now Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan. Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) is slashed to Market Perform from Outperform at JPM Securities. In afternoon trading: Shares of Alexza Pharmaceuticals (ALXA) are down about 14.5%. Shares of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (PPHM) are up about 10.75%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $35.69 at 3:40 PM on Monday, down 0.45% on the day – up 2.88% year-to-date. The 2011 change was +10.32%.
Financials
Bank of Hawaii (BOH) beat estimates by 3 cents. Bank of Kentucky (BKFY) is raised to Outperform from Neutral at Brokerage Robert W. Baird with a new price objective of $27. Janus Capital (JNUS) is lifted to Neutral from Underperform at JP Morgan. AllianceBernstein (AB) is lowered to Underperform from Neutral by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. SunTrust Banks (STI) is lowered to Underperform from Neutral at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Comerica (CMA) is cut to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James. In afternoon trading: Shares of Alpha Bank (ALBKY) are up about 30%. Shares of Ambac Financial Group (ABKFQ) are up about 18%. Shares of Commerzbank (CRZBY) are up about 11.5%. Shares of Natixis (NTXFF) are up about 10.25%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $14.19 at 3:40 PM on Monday, up 0.35% on the day – up 9.15% year-to-date. The 2011 change was -18.50%; the weakest performing sector for the year.
Information Technology
Research In Motion’s (RIMM) joint CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, stepped down and were replaced by COO Thorsten Heins. Jive Software (JIVE) is a new Neutral at Goldman Sachs, a new Market Perform at Wells Fargo, a new Buy at Citigroup, a new Overweight at Morgan Stanley, and a new Overweight at BMO Capital. Research In Motion (RIMM) is raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank. Altera (ALTR) gets reduced to Hold from Buy at ThinkEquity. Avnet (AVT) and Arrow Electronics (ARW) both get taken to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James. Harris Corp (HRS) is taken to Equal Weight from Overweight by Barclays. Concur Technologies (CNQR) is cut to Market Perform from Outperform at FBR Capital. In afternoon trading: Shares of Shanda Games (GAME) are down about 18.25%. Shares of CyberDefence (CYDE) are up about 12.75%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $26.89 at 3:40 PM on Monday, up 0.34% on the day – up 5.66% year-to-date. The 2011 change was +1.03%.
Telecommunication Services
In afternoon trading: Shares of TerreStar (TSTRQ) are up about 10%. Shares of Clearwire (CLWR) are down about 5.5%. Heavily Traded Stocks: Shares of Sprint Nextel (S) are down about 0.4%, while shares of AT&T (T) are down about 0.6% and shares of Verizon (VZ) are down about 1.5%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $211.76 at 3:40 PM on Monday, dwn 0.58% on the day – up 7.53% year-to-date. The 2011 change was -12.62%.
Utilities
In afternoon trading: Shares of Dynegy (DYN) are down about 5.25%. Heavily Traded Stocks: Shares of Exelon (EXC) are up about 1.1%. Shares of Duke Energy (DUK) are down about a quarter of a percent. Shares of Genon Energy (GEN) are up about 1%. Shares of AES Corp. (AES) are down about 1.1%. Shares of NRG Energy (NRG) are up about 3.75%. Shares of PPL Corp. (PPL) are up about 1.1%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $34.75 at 3:40 PM on Monday, up 0.40% on the day – down 3.42% year-to-date. The 2011 change was +14.81%; the strongest performing sector for the year.
Stocks: HAL, APA, SNP, COP, OGFGF, RDS.A, OSG, CLR, FST, MMR, RTI, TIE, SVYZY, PAAS, AA, FCX, VALE, JBHT, AAMRQ, YRCW, TWIN, GE, GLW, DDAIF, BWA, CPLA, PNRA, SIRI, TXRH, LEA, PHM, JCI, PETS, SBMRY, PG, CHBT, MO, SWY, NUVA, WAT, AMGN, VPHM, SLXP, ALXA, PPHM, BOH, BKFY, JNUS, AB, STI, CMA, ALBKY, ABKFQ, CRZBY, NTXFF, RIMM, JIVE, ALTR, AVT, ARW, HRS, CNQR, GAME, CYDE, TSTRQ, CLWR, S, T, VZ, DYN, EXC, DUK, GEN, AES, NRG, PPL
