The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined to 12,710.56 staying below its 50-day simple moving average at 12,985. If this trend continues it will confirm that the Dow peaked at its 52-week high at 13,297.11 set on April 2nd. The NASDAQ’s declined to 2987.00 trending away from its 52-week high at 3134.17 set on March 27th. The 50-day simple moving average was tested at 2989.
Asian stocks were lower on Tuesday on US economic worries. The Nikkei 225 ended their session at 9,538 – down 0.09% on the day. The Hang Seng ended their session at 20,356 – down 1.15% on the day. European stocks traded significantly lower on its first chance to react to Friday’s employment data here in the States. The FTSE 100 ended their session at 5,596 – down 2.24% on the day. The DAX ended their session at 6,606 – down 2.49% on the day. The CAC 40 ended their session at 3,218 – down 3.08% on the day.
The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury declined from 2.067 percent to 1.961 below its 50-day simple moving average at 2.067. Gold rebounded from $1632.5 the Troy ounce to $1664.8 staying below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at $1700.8 and $1689.4, which are converging towards a “death cross”. Crude oil declined from $102.96 per barrel to $100.68 staying below its 50-day simple moving average at $104.04. The euro versus the dollar declined from 1.3143 to 1.3058 staying below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.3212.
Energy
Chevron (CVX) says it found an oil leak in an offshore Brazilian oil field run by Petrobras (PBR) near the site of a November leak that led to criminal and civil charges. Chesapeake Energy (CHK) will be selling $2.6 billion in assets and plans to use the funds to reduce debt and finance development. Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) is initiated with a Neutral rating at Piper Jaffray. McDermott International (MDR) has been initiated with a Neutral at JP Morgan. InterOil (IOC) has been upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. Valero Energy (VLO) has been added to the Top Picks Live list at Citigroup. Dow components Chevron (CVX) is down 1.5% in morning trading with Exxon Mobil (XOM) down 1.2%.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $68.26 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.94 on the day – down 1.26% year-to-date.
Materials
Thompson Creek Metals (TC) has been upgraded to Hold fro Sell at Deutsche Bank. Dow components – Alcoa (AA) opens the first quarter earnings season after the close today and shares were down 1.25% this morning. DuPont (DD) was lower by 0.4%.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $35.21 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 2.06% on the day – up 5.10% year-to-date.
Industrials
Foster Wheeler (FWLT) is initiated with an Overweight rating at JP Morgan. Harley-Davidson (HOG) has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup. AeroVironment (AVAV) has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Lazard. MDC Holdings (MDC) has been upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan. Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) has been removed from the Focus List of favored stocks at JP Morgan, who also downgraded to Neutral from Overweight Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC). Dow components Boeing Co (BA) was down 0.35%, Caterpillar (CAT) lost 1.35%, General Electric (GE) slumped 0.86%, 3M Company (MMM) was lower by 0.8%, and United Technologies (UTX) was lower by 0.8%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $35.63 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 2.03% on the day – up 5.57% year-to-date.
Consumer Discretionary
Priceline.com (PCLN) which recently traded to an all time high is initiated with an Outperform rating at Cowen & Company. Cowen also initiates Expedia (EXPE) with an Outperform. Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS) a recent spin-off, is initiated with a Neutral rating at Credit Suisse. Penn National Gaming (PENN) is initiated with an In-line rating by Imperial Capital, who assigned a $40 price target. Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) on the strength of movies Mad Men and The Hunger Games has been upgraded to Overweight at from Equal Weight at Evercore Partners. Dow Components Disney (DIS) was lower by 1.14%, and McDonalds (MCD) slipped by 0.4%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $43.50 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 2.47% on the day – up 11.48% year-to-date.
Consumer Staples
Dow components Home Depot (HD) was lower by 0.5%, Kraft (KFT) fell by 0.6%, Coca Cola (KO) slipped by 0.4%, Procter & Gamble (PG) fell by 0.4% and Wal-Mart (WMT) gained 0.35% in morning trading.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $33.46 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 0.83% on the day – up 2.99% year-to-date.
Health Care
Activist investor Carl Icahn has blasted Amylin’s (AMLN) board for passing on a takeover offer from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Now is preparing to file another suit if Amylin does not provide copies of its books and records by Wednesday. Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) are initiated with a Buy rating at Citigroup. Repros Therapeutics (RPRX) is a small cap drug company with a Strong Buy rating and a $6 price target at Ascendiant Capital Markets. Patterson Companies (PDCO) is rated a Buy and $38 price target at Auriga, who has a Hold rating on Henry Schein Inc (HSIC). Allos Therapeutics (ALTH) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at Brean Murray. Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) are downgraded to Hold from Buy at Auriga. Dow Components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) lost 0.6%, Merck (MRK) was flat and Pfizer (PFE) picked up 1.6%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $36.64 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.08% on the day – up 5.62% year-to-date.
Financials
HSBC (HBC) is in talks for the possible sale of its Korean retail banking unit and wealth management business to the Korea Development Bank. HSBC is also seeking to sell its Pakistan operations in an effort to divest non-core assets. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans new rules that would force mortgage servicers to be far more transparent about the costs to homeowners with regard to interest rate changes. These rules, if approved, would affect the “too big to fail” banks Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan (JPM). Raymond James Financial (RJF) is resumed with an Outperform rating at Wells Fargo. American International Group (AIG) has been upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform with Wells Fargo. Bryn Mawr Bank (BMTC) has been downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim. First Horizon (FHN) has been downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital. Dow Components American Express (AXP) was fractionally higher, Bank of America (BAC) slipped by 0.12%, and JP Morgan (JPM) was down 0.8%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $14.98 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 2.09% on the day – up 15.23% year-to-date.
Information Technology
Sony (SNE) reported a mush greater than expected annual loss of $6.4 billion, the company’s fourth consecutive annual loss, and shares were down 8.0% premarket. TiVo Inc (TIVO) is initiated with a Neutral rating at JP Morgan. Dell Inc (DELL), Infinera (INFN), and Calix Networks (CALX) are each upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. Dow Components – Cisco Systems (CSCO) slipped by 0.4%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) tacked on 1.7%, IBM (IBM) slid by 0.2%, Intel Corp (INTC) gained 0.2%, and Microsoft (MSFT) slumped 0.8%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $29.53 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.44% on the day – up 16.03% year-to-date. (the best performing sector).
Telecommunication Services
Stocks that declined by more than 3.0% included; Cbeyond Inc (CBEY), General Communications (GNCMA), and USA Mobility (USMO). Dow components AT&T (T) fell 1.0% while Verizon (VZ) lost 0.7%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $207.12 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.91% on the day – up 5.17% year-to-date.
Utilities
Veolia Environnement (VE) has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura. Dominion Resources (D) was down 0.9%, Edison International (EIX) was down 1.2%, First Energy (FE) was down 1.0%, and PG&E Corp (PCG) was down 0.9%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $34.25 at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, down 1.33% on the day – down 4.81% year-to-date (the weakest performing sector).
STOCKS: CVX, XOM, CHK, PBR, CLNE, MDR, IOC, VLO, AA, DD, TC, BA, CAT, GE, MMM, UTX, FWLT, HOG, AVAV, MDC, CBI, JEC, BA, CAT, GE, MMM, UTX, PCLN, EXPE, FBHS, PENN, LGF, DIS, MCD, HD, KFT, KO, PG, WMT, JNJ, MRK, PFE, AMLN, JAZZ, RPRX, PDCO, HSIC, ALTH, HALO, SLXP, AXP, BAC, JPM, HBC, RJF, AIG, BMTC, FHN, SNE, DELL, INFN, CALX, CSCO, HPQ, IBM, INTC, MSFT, T, VZ, CBEY, GNCMA, USMO, VE, D, EIX, FE, PCG
