| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||
|
12:30 ET
Stocks Enter Relatively Narrow Range
Dow -211.08 at 12128.18, Nasdaq +49.59 at 2715.06, S&P -20.95 at 1298.76
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 has spent the past two hours drifting along in a four-point range. Although that range would sometimes make for a fair range of movement, today the span appears relatively tight because of the scope of this morning's opening drop, which took the S&P 500 down about 20 points in little more than five minutes.The dramatic drop at the open of trade was largely the culmination of weak action in Europe and news that analysts at S&P assigned a negative outlook on the AAA rating of the U.S. The latter headline also undercut Treasuries, but they have managed to rebound so that the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is back at 3.40%.
12:00 ET
Volatility Heats Up
Dow -202.96 at 12130.11, Nasdaq -48.93 at 2714.63, S&P -20.13 at 1298.78
[BRIEFING.COM] Although stocks remain deeply into the red, pressure has eased a bit in the last 30 minutes. That has helped the stock market gradually ease up from its session low.Today's decline has stoked volatility, such that the Volatility Index, often euphemistically dubbed the Fear Gauge, is up 18%. At its session high, the VIX was above its 50-day average for the first time in a little more than two weeks.
11:30 ET
Advancing Issues Remain Limited
Dow -213.05 at 12128.78, Nasdaq -50.84 at 2713.81, S&P -20.97 at 1298.71
[BRIEFING.COM] The overall tone of trade has been negative since the opening bell, but a handful of stocks have managed to tick higher. Akamai Technologies (AKAM 39.37, +1.28) is among them; the stock's 3% surge comes even though there has been now headline or other catalyst to account for the move. Meanwhile, financial plays Citigroup (C 4.46, +0.04) and M&T Bank (MTB 87.15, +1.80) are up after the pair posted upside earnings surprises for the latest quarter.
11:00 ET
Energy Stocks Slump
Dow -209.94 at 12130.33, Nasdaq -50.74 at 2713.91, S&P -20.50 at 1299.13
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 pushed through the 1300 line after only a brief pause above it. It attempted to stage a bit of a bounce, but failed to sustain the move so that stocks are now sitting at back at session lows.Although weakness is widespread, energy stocks have suffered the worst losses this session. In turn, the sector is down 2.3%. Integrated plays like Chevron (CVX 103.73, -2.51) and ConocoPhillips (COP 77.46, -1.66) are primary sources of weakness, but even Halliburton (HAL 46.42, -0.40) is down nearly 1% after the company announced an upside earnings surprise for the latest quarter.
10:35 ET
Commodities Remain Lower; Dollar Index Recovers from Pullback
Dow -192.69 at 12149.14, Nasdaq -47.60 at 2717.05, S&P -18.57 at 1301.11
[BRIEFING.COM] The dollar index has erased all of its losses in recent trade, which has weighed on commodities. While the commodities complex is getting hit, some commodities with the most exposure to China are seeing, or may see, additional pressure after China raised banks' reserve requirements for the fourth time this year. These commodities include soybeans (-0.6%), copper (-1.1%) and crude oil (-2.4%).
Crude oil has been in the red all session. In recent activity, crude hit new session lows of $106.74/barrel and is currently down 2.4% at $107.06/barrel.
Natural gas was slightly lower overnight and in the early morning session. At 8:00am ET, the energy component gained steam and rallied into positive territory. However, this was short-lived as natural gas erased all of its gains and fell to new session lows of $4.12/MMBtu. Nat gas is now 1.4% lower at $4.14/MMBtu.
Precious metals have been volatile as well this morning. Gold and silver both just pulled back sharply, falling back into negative territory. In current action, gold is 0.1% lower at $1484.70/ounce, while silver is down 0.7% at $42.26/ounce.
10:00 ET
Stocks Test Multi-Week Lows
Dow -213.34 at 12128.03, Nasdaq -50.10 at 2714.80, S&P -19.53 at 1300.85
[BRIEFING.COM] After stabilizing for a few minutes, stocks have started to slide lower. The descent has the S&P500 sitting just above the psychologically significant 1300 line. The stock market hasn't been below that point in more than three weeks.Treasuries have failed to attract much support, even though stocks have been shunned. The weakness surrounding Treasuries comes in the wake of news that analysts at S&P assigned a negative outlook to the AAA rating of the U.S.Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-2.0%), Materials (-1.9%), Industrials (-1.9%), Tech (-1.8%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.8%), Financials (-1.5%), Telecom (-1.0%), Consumer Staples (-0.9%), Utilities (-0.7%)
09:45 ET
Stocks Start Session Sharply Lower
Dow -170.78 at 12170.90, Nasdaq -38.06 at 2726.29, S&P -17.05 at 1302.63
[BRIEFING.COM] A concerted selling effort has taken stocks down sharply in the first few minutes of trade. The effort has been broad based, but financials are suffering from some of the hardest hits as they trade with a 1.9% loss.Despite weakness in the financial sector, Citigroup (C 4.48, +0.06) is still up more than 1% this morning. The stock's resilience comes in the wake of an upside earnings surprise.
09:15 ET
Morning Mood Sours
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -13.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -23.10. News that analysts at S&P have issued a negative outlook on U.S. ratings, which were affirmed at AAA status, has sent stock futures another leg lower. Stock futures had already been imbued by weakness in Europe, where pessimism has been spurred by speculation of a debt restructuring in Greece. Concern about the financial health of countries in the eurozone contingent had put pressure on the euro, but news of the outlook change for U.S. debt has helped the euro cut its loss against the greenback so that the euro is now down 0.6% at $1.43. Meanwhile, precious metals have moved higher so that gold is now out of the red to a 0.5% gain at $1494 per ounce and silver is up 1.4% to more than $43 per ounce. Oil prices are still down 1.7% to just below $108 per barrel. Corporate news has been of secondary concern. In turn, upside earnings surprises from Citigroup (C), Eli Lilly (LLY), and Halliburton (HAL) have been shrugged off by permarket participants.
09:05 ET
U.S. Rating Outlook Lowered
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -12.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -22.90. A barrage of selling pressure has knocked stock futures a leg lower. The action comes in response to news that analysts at S&P have affirmed the ratings on the U.S., but issued a negative outlook. The news has caused the greenback to give up some of its gain against the euro, which is now down 0.6% at $1.43.
08:35 ET
Most Overseas Markets Move Lower
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -5.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.30. Europe's major bourses are presently under stiff pressure. The backslide comes amid speculation about a possible debt restructuring by Greece, although officials from the country have refuted those reports. Naturally, some shifted their suspicion toward Portugal and Ireland. Several of Irelands financial institutions, includingAllied Irish Bank (AIB) and Bank of Ireland (IRE), were downgraded by analysts at Moody's after the rating firm revised downward the country's debt rating last week. Ireland's ISEQ is currently off by 0.7%. Spain's IBEX has sunk to a 1.5% loss. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX is down 1.1%. France's CAC is off by 1.5%. Britain's FTSE is off by 1.0%. Amid concerns about the finances of countries in the eurozone contingent, the euro is down a sharp 0.9% against the dollar. The euro was last quoted at $1.43.Overnight action in Asia concluded with Japan's Nikkei down 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.7%, and China's Shanghai Composite up 0.2%. Banks in China and Hong Kong encountered some of the most pressure after traders digested news that the Peoples Bank of China tacked on another 50 basis points to their reserve requirement ratio. The hike came after data last week showed rapid growth and a sharp increase in inflation.
08:05 ET
Dour Tone to Early Trade
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -5.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.30. Stock futures are down this morning. Their retreat comes as Europe's major bourses move lower in response to rekindled concerns about sovereign debt, namely that of Greece. Speculation about a possible restructuring of the country's debt has caused spreads on that debt to widen. Many of Asia's major averages settled lower overnight, although China's Shanghai Composite managed to eke out a narrow gain after traders there shrugged off news that the Peoples Bank of China added another 50 basis points to the reserve requirement ratio following the GDP and inflationary readings that were reported late last week. On the earnings front, Citigroup (C) just reported a slim upside earnings surprise. Halliburton (HAL) and Eli Lilly (LLY) also exceeded what Wall Street had expected for earnings. The latest Housing Market Index is the only piece of data on today's economic calendar. It is due at 10:00 AM ET.
06:26 ET
Early Morning Levels
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.40.
06:26 ET
European Market Data
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...5946.82...-49.20...-0.80%. DAX...7114.87...-63.30...-0.90%.
06:26 ET
Asian Market Data
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...9556.65...-34.90...-0.40%. Hang Seng...23830.31...-177.80...-0.70%.
16:35 ET
Stocks Maintain Modest Gain
Dow +56.68 at 12341.83, Nasdaq +4.43 at 2764.65, S&P +5.16 at 1319.68
[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market settled with a modest gain on Friday. It still finished the week 0.6% lower than where it started.Today's early action was choppy, but the tone of trade gradually improved as participants settled in after being inundated with a barrage of headlines. Among the more notable news stories, Ireland's debt was downgraded to just above junk status at Moody's, eurozone CPI spiked 1.4% in March while China's CPI for March spiked by 5.4%. China's producer prices increased 7.3% in the same month. The country's GDP was said to have officially increased by 9.7% in the first quarter.Corporate news wasn't very inspiring. Earnings from Google (GOOG 530.70, -47.81) failed to hit what Wall Street had forecast for the company. Infosys (INFY 63.21, -9.80) disappointed with its downside guidance.Bank of America (BAC 12.82, -0.31) had a disappointing report of its own. It also announced that it has reached an agreement on mortgage repurchases with Assured Guaranty (AGO 17.60, +3.43).Domestic data helped stocks stretch to mid-day gains. First off, consumer prices for March increased by 0.5%, which is exactly what had been expected. Excluding food and energy, consumer prices increased by 0.1%, which is a tad less than the 0.2% increase that had been expected.The New York Empire Manufacturing Survey for April came in at 21.7, which bested both its prior month reading of 17.5 and the Briefing.com consensus call for a reading of 15.0The preliminary Consumer Sentiment Survey for April from the University of Michigan came in at 69.6, which is greater than the 66.5 that had been expected. The preliminary reading for April is also greater than the 67.5 that was posted for the prior month.Industrial production for March increased by 0.8%, which is better than the 0.6% increase that had been broadly expected. Capacity utilization came in at 77.4%, as anticipated.Although stocks were unable to extend their stretch as the S&P 500 encountered resistance near the 1321-1322 zone, their inability to push higher was never met with any kind of negative response. In turn, stocks generally drifted along listlessly during afternoon trade.Share volume climbed as a result of options expirations. Still, the 1 billion shares that exchanged hands on the NYSE today hardly represents an unprecedented feat. In fact, share volume earlier this year often averages 1 billion shares per year.Advancing Sectors: Utilities (+1.1%), Health Care (+0.9), Energy (+0.9%), Telecom (+0.7%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.6%), Materials (+0.6%), Consumer Staples (+0.5%), Industrials (+0.4%), Financials (+0.1%)..Nasdaq 100 -0.2%. ..S&P Midcap 400 +0.8%. ..Russell 2000 +0.9%.
Declining Sectors: Tech (-0.4%)
No comments:
Post a Comment