Stocks End A Rocky Session With Gains
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Starting at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time, check here to see how the market looks before the open, then follow the action throughout the trading day. You’ll also get a look at how leading stocks are performing — which are moving up or down in heavy volume.
After getting rattled midday by fresh credit jitters, stocks found their footing and closed modestly higher.
The NYSE composite rose 0.2%, the Nasdaq 0.3%, while the Dow and S&P 500 each added 0.5%. Preliminary data show volume trailed off in the final hour to come in below Tuesday’s level.
Crude’s rise of $2.32 to $75.88 a barrel appeared to boost energy stocks, many of which got a late-afternoon lift.
Noble (), a contract oil and gas driller, rose 1.80 to 106.96 in above-average trade. Noble broke out of a cup-with-high-handle over 83.22 in late April. It has lodged four straight high-volume sessions two on the upside, two on the downside.
Among machinery and equipment makers for the oil and gas industry, FMC Technologies () shot up 3.02 to 94.64, Grant Prideco () gained 1.55 to 56.26 and Smith International () rose 2.49 to 63.34. These gains came on above-average volume. Grant Prideco’s rally pushed it back over its 10-week line.
Among the Oil & Gas-Field Services group, W-H Energy Services () leapt 2.31 to 68.01, and Tidewater () advanced 1.43 to 76.90. Field Services was the sixth-ranked group out of the 197 industries tracked by IBD, as of Wednesday’s edition.
Elsewhere, Air Products & Chemicals () leapt 2.75 to 90.10 in 2 1/2 times its normal business. The provider of specialty gases, chemicals and equipment to industrial customers netted $1.16 in the recent quarter, 33% more than a year ago and a dime over views.
Inter Parfums () plunged 3.75 to 22.38 in five times its normal trade. The perfume company said late Tuesday its second-quarter sales rose 18% to $82.8 million, a hair better than expected. Earnings will be released Aug. 8. But Piper Jaffray and Oppenheimer downgraded the stock.
3 p.m. ET update: Stocks Turn Red, Try To Claw Their Way Back
By DONALD H. GOLD
Credit jitters continued to push the major indexes into the loss column in late trading.
While they bounced from their worst levels, stocks were mixed. As of 2:56 p.m. Eastern, the Nasdaq composite was off 0.2%, the Dow was up 0.1%, and the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged.
Volume is still on a pace to beat Tuesday’s total. Declining stocks topped advancers by an 8-to-5 ratio on the NYSE and by 7-to-5 on the Nasdaq.
Portfolio Recovery Associates () crashed 7.35 to 53.93 in frantic trade. The manager of defaulted consumer receivables reported 80 cents a share in the latest quarter, just meeting views.
Portfolio recovery is in the business of buying, pooling, managing and collecting on consumer receivables gone bad. The market for these subprime credit assets has been under assault recently.
Chipotle Mexican Grill () swooned 2.75 to 79.46, its second straight high-volume decline. The stock had been quietly meandering around its 10-week line on low volume for weeks. But Tuesday’s loss broke that line, and Wednesday’s selling just pushed the stock further below its 50-day line.
Joy Global () crashed 8.73 to 50.83 after the mining equipment maker cut 2007 guidance, citing a weak U.S. coal market. The stock is on pace for its fourth-straight high-volume loss. At this rate, it will be the biggest loss on the biggest volume for this streak. The huge downside gap lodged today cleanly breaks the 10-week moving average.
Manitowoc (), a maker of machinery for mining, slid 4.37 to 75.90 while on pace to register four times its usual business. This stock, too, has breached its 10-week line.
Sotheby’s () vaulted 1.98 to 49.81. The auction house’s quarterly report, seen Monday, revealed a bottom line of 25 cents a share. That compares to a loss in the year-ago. Views were for a profit of 6 cents.
1 p.m. ET update: Stocks Give Up Much Of Morning’s Gains
By DONALD H. GOLD
Stocks had lodged some gains early on in the session, thanks to a fabulous report from Amazon (). But most of those gains had been surrendered by 1 p.m. Eastern.
The Nasdaq, after rising as much as 1%, was up just 0.1%. The Dow and S&P 500 each were riding just 0.2% higher. Volume was tracking higher for both exchanges.
Navigation-device maker Garmin () shot up 3.34 to 83.50 in active trade. That puts the stock within 1.4% of its July 16 peak. The GPS industry got a wake-up call Monday when car-navigation device maker TomTom said it will buy privately held digital mapmaker Tele Atlas for $2.5 billion.
The device makers, like TomTom and Garmin, totally rely on input from data map providers like Tele Atlas and Navteq (). Navteq screamed 19% higher Monday on speculation it would be a buyout target. Logically, Garmin would be a potential buyer of such a firm.
A well-received earnings report sent shares of big-cap National Oilwell Varco () 5.34 higher to 117.67 as volume swelled to 2 1/2 times its norm. The supplier of equipment and spare parts to the oil and gas industry netted $1.79 a share in its Q2. That’s 113% more than its year-ago result, and 25 cents better than views.
National Oilwell broke out of a cup-without-handle over 69.70 in mid-February, although volume failed to kick in.
Lower metal prices couldn’t stop big-cap copper miner and refiner Southern Copper () from rising 1.48 to 114.14 in above-average trade. Southern Copper has been riding its 10-week line higher for months, testing it on a number of occasions.
But another big-cap mining company, Rio Tinto (), slumped 12.18 to 291.50 in double-paced trade. It gave Alcan () shareholders until Sept. 24 to accept its $101-a-share offer. That deal would total $38.2 billion. Alcan shares barely budged.
Construction firm Perini (), another rider on the 10-week line, swooned 5.98 to 65.93 in heavy volume. Perini broke out of a cup-with-high-handle in mid-February over 33.57. Even after Wednesday’s loss, the stock stands more than four points above the 10-week.
11 a.m. ET update: Indexes Up After Swift Decline
By VINCENT MAO
At 11:05 a.m. ET, the Dow and Nasdaq picked up 0.3% each. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%.
Volume was tracking higher on both exchanges.
NutriSystems () gapped below its 50-day line, falling 7.69 to 56.09 in hefty trade. Late Tuesday, the weight-loss firm delivered Q2 earnings ahead of estimates, but it guided third-quarter profit and sales below views. It also gave full-year earnings guidance ahead of expectations, though the full-year sales outlook came in light.
FCStone Group () headed lower for the sixth straight session and further south of its 50-day line. Shares dropped 4.11 to 47.83.
On the upside, CB Richard Ellis () rallied 1.20 to 39.15 on the heels of positive earnings from Jones Lang LaSalle (). CB regained its 50-day moving average after slicing it on heavy trade Tuesday.
New Oriental Education & Technology Group () rose 1.34 to 53.40 as it emerged from a pullback to its 50-day line. On Tuesday, the stock dropped 11% as a spike in marketing and administrative costs frightened investors.
10:15 a.m. ET update: Stocks Open Sharply Higher
By Ed Carson
Stocks opened higher on the backs of strong results of Amazon () and Boeing () as the major averages try to bounce back from Tuesday’s nasty decline.
At 10:07 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose 0.6% while the Dow and NYSE composite gained 0.5%.
Market gains cooled somewhat after 10 a.m. headlines showed existing-home sales fell 3.8% in June to an annual rate of 5.75 million units, the lowest in nearly five years. The median home price edged up 0.1% vs. a year earlier, the first gain in 11 months. Inventories of unsold homes slid 4.2% vs. May.
Earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage applications fell 3.6% to a 5-month low in the latest week as applications for buying a home fell sharply.
At the bottom of the hour, the Energy Dept. will release data on U.S. petroleum stockpiles. Analysts expect to see a decline in crude inventories but a rise in gasoline supplies as refineries come back online. Energy prices have been falling in recent days.
But earnings dictated the market’s direction in the early going.
Amazon soared 26% to a new high of 87 after last night’s powerful results. Boeing climbed 3% to record territory on its big Q2.
But there were several other winners. Jones Lang LaSalle () rose 5% after the real estate services and money management firm late Tuesday delivered much stronger than expected profit and sales growth.
Business Objects () rose 8% after the French-American maker of business intelligence software reported better-than-expected earnings.
Flir Systems () climbed 2% after the maker of infrared cameras said Q2 profit more than doubled, beating views. Sales growth accelerated for a third straight quarter to 38%, Flir’s best gain in 9 quarters.
DaimlerChrysler () rose 4% after issuing preliminary results that were better than expected. The automaker’s shares have been under pressure in recent days amid concerns that banks were having trouble selling loans for the buyout of the Chrysler division.
ConocoPhillips () rose 1.5% after saying Q2 profit rose 1% to $2.90 a share — excluding a $4.51 billion charge for pulling out of Venezuela. That beat views. Rival oil and gas producer Hess Corp. () climbed 2% after its results.
Industry titan ExxonMobil () reports on Thursday, followed by ChevronTexaco () on Friday.
Dade Behring shot up 34% to 74.89 after the medical diagnostics products firm agreed to a $7 billion, or $77 a share buyout from German conglomerate Siemens (). Dade also easily beat Q2 EPS views, but nobody seemed to care about that.
Medical testing firm Beckman Coulter () gapped up 8.5% to a new high, perhaps on the Dade deal.
Siemens fell 4%. Some analysts said it’s paying too much for Dade, while others noted that Siemens’ quarterly results weren’t that good. Siemens also is probing alleged bribes in five more divisions. It’s also selling its auto parts unit for $15.7 billion.
Toy maker Jakks Pacific () fell 10% after reporting Q2 profit fell 23% to 17 cents a share, defying Wall St. views for a rise to 25 cents. Sales growth missed estimates slightly.
Joy Global () plunged 10% after the mining equipment maker cut 2007 guidance, citing a weak U.S. coal market.
After the market closes, Apple () will report quarterly results. Shares fell 6% Tuesday after AT&T () said far fewer customers signed up for iPhone service than expected in the first two days.
Wireless tech giant Qualcomm () also is on tap for earnings.
9:15 a.m. ET Update: Stocks Set For Higher Open
By Vincent Mao
After a harsh market selloff on Tuesday, stock futures pointed to a solid open Wednesday, thanks to strong earnings from Amazon.com and Boeing.
Amazon () was sharply higher in the premarket. Late Tuesday, the Internet retailer delivered a 280% surge in Q2 earnings easily topping views. The Seattle-based firm also raised its full-year sales outlook.
Boeing () delivered second-quarter income ahead of views and lifted its guidance. For the full year, the world’s second-biggest maker of commercial planes pegged profit at $4.80 to $4.95 a share vs. views of $4.95. The stock was higher in pre-market trading.
National Oilwell Varco () delivered its third straight quarter of triple-digit growth. Q2 income jumped 113% to $1.79 a share, beating views of $1.54. The maker of oil and gas production equipment didn’t give guidance, but said, “We remain optimistic about market conditions for the remainder of this year.”
WellPoint () reported Q2 earnings in line with views and raised its full-year outlook. But the HMO giant’s shares looked set to open lower.
Siemens () said it would buy Dade Behring (), a maker of diagnostic instruments, for $7 billion. It’s also selling its auto parts unit to Germany’s Continental for $15.7 billion. Siemens also released quarterly results amid a flurry of other news. Siemens shares were down in the pre-market. Dade shares are soaring.
At 10 a.m. ET, existing-home sales for June will be released. Economists expect 5.9 million units, down from May’s 5.99 million.
At 10:30 a.m. ET, the Energy Dept. will release data for U.S. oil inventories.
Then at 2 p.m. ET, the Fed will release its beige book survey of regional business conditions.