US import prices fell 1% in May as expected, while export prices fell by 0.4%, more than the 0.1% decline expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to 12,548.64 going into the final half hour of trading. The NASDAQ rose to 2836.69 going into the final half hour of trading.
Asian stocks were lower on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 ended the day at 8,537 – down 1.02%. The Hang Seng ended the day at 18,873 – down 0.43%. European exchanges traded higher on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 ended the day at 5,474 – up 0.76%. The DAX ended the day at 6,161 – up 0.33%. The CAC 40 ended the day at 3,047 – up 0.14%. The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury rose from 1.581% to 1.668%.
Gold declined from $1597.6 the Troy ounce to $1586.4 then rallied to $1618.9, testing the low end of the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at $1615.8 and $1681.1. Crude oil traded rose from $81.07 per barrel to $83.72. The euro versus the dollar rose from 1.2454 to 1.2526 then declined to 1.2446.
Energy
Triangle Petroleum (TPLM) reported Q1 production results: four gross operated wells in McKenzie County, all completed in May, with two wells currently producing and two undergoing flow-back testing. HollyFrontier (HFC) has been upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus with a $40 price target. Dow components – Chevron (CVX) up 0.73%, Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 1.23%.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $64.26 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 1.01% on the day – down 7.04% year-to-date.
Materials
Agrium (AGU) expects Q2 EPS to be to be at the upper end of its guidance range, citing the strong performance of its crop input business, high global grain prices, and a favorable supply/demand situation for nutrients. Dow components – Alcoa (AA) up 1.62%, DuPont (DD) up 1.17%.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $34.42 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 1.41% on the day – up 2.75% year-to-date.
Industrials
Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) NetJets placed orders worth $9.6 billion to purchase Bombardier (BDRAF.PK) and Cessna for 425 new aircraft. Boeing (BA) has been upgraded to Outperform-from-Market Perform by Sanford Bernstein saying that the recent share price decline is an overreaction to economic conditions. easyJet (ESYJY) and Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) have been downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC Securities. Dow components – Boeing Co (BA) up 2.35%, Caterpillar (CAT) up 1.02%, General Electric (GE) up 0.78%, 3M Company (MMM) up 0.88%, United Technologies (UTX) down 0.55%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $34.84 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 1.46% on the day – up 3.23% year-to-date.
Consumer Discretionary
Michael Kors (KORS) reported that FQ4 net profit jumps to $43.6 million from $13.6 million on strong performances across the company’s retail, wholesale and licensing operations. Under Armour (UA) has been added to the US 1 List of favored equities at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) – Bank of America-Merrill removed the stock from its US 1 List. Dow Components – Disney (DIS) up 0.38%, Home Depot up 1.27%, McDonalds (MCD) up 0.82%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $43.10 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 0.82% on the day – up 10.46% year-to-date.
Consumer Staples
Sara Lee (SLE) has listed its coffee and tea unit, D.E Master Blenders, on the Amsterdam exchange at a market value of $5.9 billion. Shareholders received one share in D.E for every Sara Lee share. Ascena Retail Group (ASNA) aka Dress Barn has been upgraded to Outperform from Perform with a $23 price target at FBR Capital making the case for some multiple expansion. Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) has been upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. Dow components – Kraft (KFT) up 0.74%, Coca Cola (KO) up 0.32%, Procter & Gamble (PG) up 0.05%, Wal-Mart (WMT) up 0.28%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $34.05 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 0.35% on the day – up 4.80% year-to-date.
Health Care
Sanofi (SNY) – Four new studies suggests that Lantus artificial insulin doesn’t raise the risk of cancer. , Lantus is the top-selling insulin in the US and Sanofi’s leading product. Sanofi (SNY) has been downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. Bio-Reference Labs (BRLI) – Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgrades the stock to Buy from Neutral. IntegraMed (INMD) has been downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. Dow Components – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) up 0.86%, Merck (MRK) up 0.08%, Pfizer (PFE) down 0.09%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $36.53 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 0.72% on the day – up 5.30% year-to-date.
Financial
JP Morgan’s (JPM) management was alerted about the risk in derivative trades in London as long as two years ago according to the Wall Street Journal. Assoc Banc-Corp (ASBC) has been upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James. Citigroup (C) has been removed from the US 1 List at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Dow Components – American Express (AXP) up 1.22%, Bank of America (BAC) up 2.13%, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) up 1.22%, Travelers (TRV) up 0.08%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $14.03 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 1.30% on the day – up 7.92% year-to-date.
Information Technology
Apple (AAPL) signed a global mapping-data agreement with TomTom (TMOAF.PK) one day after the company said that would replace Google Maps with their own functionality including 3D models of cities and turn-by-turn navigation. At the Apple developer conference, CEO Tim Cook also unveiled Apple’s expected MacBook refresh and Facebook (FB) integration in iOS 6. Microsoft (MSFT) considered making an offer for Nokia (NOK) in late 2011 but both parties decided against a sale according to The Registers. Nokia fell 8.3% yesterday after Samsung dismissed takeover interest. Texas Instruments (TXN) used its mid-quarter update to narrow its Q2 revenue and EPS guidance ranges. Finisar (FNSR) beat FQ4 EPS estimates with better than expected revenue. Dow Components – Cisco Systems (CSCO) up 1.70%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) up 1.40%, IBM (IBM) up 0.75%, Intel Corp (INTC) up 1.71%, Microsoft (MSFT) up 0.92%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $28.14 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 0.75% on the day – up 10.57% year-to-date.
Telecommunication Services
Microsoft (MSFT) considered making an offer for Nokia (NOK) in late 2011 but both parties decided against a sale according to The Registers. Nokia fell 8.3% yesterday after Samsung dismissed takeover interest. Dow components – AT&T (T) down 0.12%, Verizon (VZ) up 0.40%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $181.39 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 1.92% on the day – down 7.89% year-to-date.
Utilities
E.ON AG (EONGY) has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS. Dominion Resources (D) down 0.36%, Edison International (EIX) down 0.68%, First Energy (FE) down 0.44%, PG&E Corp (PCG) down 0.68%, Southern Company (SO) down 0.65%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $36.81 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, up 0.05% on the day – up 2.31% year-to-date.
STOCKS: CVX, XOM, TPLM, HFC, AA, DD, AGU, BA, CAT, GE, MMM, UTX, BRK.A, BDRAF.PK,, ESYJY, RYAAY, DIS, HD, MCD, KORS, UA, DKS, KFT, KO, PG, WMT, SLE, ASNA, DPS, JNJ, MRK, PFE, SNY, BRLI, INMD, AXP, BAC, JPM, TRV, ASBC, C, CSCO, HPQ, IBM, INTC, MSFT, AAPL, TMOAF.PK, FB, NOK, TXN, FNSR, T, VZ, D, EIX, FE, PCG, SO, WTR, EONGY
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