Stock Market Today, Investment News and Hot Stocks
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) closed Wednesday down 1.02% at $11.70. KLIC traded 882 thousand shares yesterday, above its daily average of 817 thousand shares. Barry Waite (Director) sold 3,000 shares at $12.04 on May 7.
The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) closed Wednesday down 0.48% at $22.80. KR traded 3.8 million shares yesterday and trades 5.2 million shares a day on average. Geoffrey Covert (Senior Vice President) sold 40,000 shares at $23.07 on May 7. [Read more...]
European worries are hitting the US futures this morning after news broke that the pro-bailout parties in Greece could not form a coalition government. The focus now shifts towards the leftist parties who are decidedly anti-bailout. Most observers doubt they will be able to form a new government, which could lead to new elections in June. All the uncertainty has domestic futures edging lower this morning. Dow futures are down 72 points, Nasdaq futures are off 16 and the S&P 500 futures are down just over 6 points.
International markets were mixed overnight as investors take a wait and see approach to the French and Greek results. The lack of any domestic economic data will have the market trading sideways according to most analysts. US markets could also be susceptible to knee-jerk reactions on news out of the EU.
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A measure of small business optimisms posted its best post-recession number this morning. The NFIB reported that its index rose by 2 points to 94.5. It was helped along by an 11 point increase in earnings trends.
Commodities are following the broader market lower this morning. Oil prices are dropping again as Nymex crude futures are off a dollar to $96.94 per barrel. Gold prices are following suit, down over $23 to $1616 per ounce. [Read more...]
Stock futures are slightly higher this morning as investors look towards the release of the December jobs number. Dow futures are currently up 25 points to 12,356. Nasdaq 100 futures are trying to follow suit, up nearly a point to 2,350. The S&P 500 futures are adding a point to half to 1,274.60.
The US market is currently in a battle with two conflicting data points. On one hand the recent economic data has been showing signs that the US is finally pulling out of the economic malaise. Then on the other hand you have Europe. The crisis there seems to be deepening with no real solutions in sight. If the EU was to breakup the ripple of effects would almost certainly send the US back into recession.
The economic data calendar today is dominated by the release of the non-farm payroll data for December. Consensus expectations have the US adding 150,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate is expected to tick back up as people are more optimistic about the job outlook and return to the labor pool.
In Europe, stocks are trying to rebound after yesterday’s sharp sell-off. The banking heavy Stoxx 600 index is up nearly half a percent after dropping one percent yesterday. Worries about the the continent’s banking sector persists with UniCredit selling off again today. Shares of the Italian bank have been mauled in recent days as investors question the bank’s ability to remain solvent.
Asian shares sold off overnight due to increased sovereign debt worries coming out of Europe. The Shanghai index did buck the overall trend in the region. The index closed up after setting a 34-month low.
Commodity prices are seeing a boost thanks to renewed saber rattling by Iran. Oil prices are trending higher after the country said it would hold another series of war games around the Strait of Hormuz. Currently crude oil is up 49 cents and is maintaining a firm grip above $100 a barrel.
Stocks to watch today include Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD), Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) and Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI)
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is up 1.92% in pre market trading at $15.94. YHOO closed yesterday down about 1% and the stock has lost about $0.75 a share since Wednesday. News of Yahoo’s new CEO did little to excite investors as the stock has continued to go lower. The company has a market cap of 19.40 billion.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is up slightly in pre market trading at $27.70. MSFT finished Thursday up more than 1% at $27.68. MSFT trades 50.26 million shares a day on average. MSFT has been in a steady uptrend since Tuesday and has jumped more than $1.50 a share since then. The company has a market cap of 232.85 billion.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) is down 1.27% in pre market at $6.23. BAC was on fire yesterday as it jumped up 8.61% and closed at $6.31. BAC has traded 109 thousand shares this morning and trades 250.70 million shares on average every day. Depending on how the overall market reacts today, BAC could see a bit of selling as day traders take profits from yesterday’s really. The company has a market cap of 63.96 billion.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD) is up 0.93% in pre market trading at $6.48. KKD closed yesterday up nearly 1% at $6.42. The stock trades 530 thousand shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 437.10 million.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is up 8.61% in pre market trading at $5.80. BSX closed yesterday up slightly at 5.34. The stock averages nearly 17 million shares a day in volume. BSX has had some major buying by one of their directors lately as Ernest Mario bought $1.6 million worth of stock late last year. The company has a market cap of 7.91 billion.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) closed yesterday up 11.48% at $2.04. SIRI jumped following news the added 1.7 million new subscribers in 2011. SIRI trades 43.57 million shares on average every day. The company has a market cap of 7.65 billion.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 3 points to 12,031 and those on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index fell 3 points to 1,243. Nasdaq 100 futures were marginally higher at 2,296. Investors seem to be holding the line after a huge rally on Wednesday. The big news today seems to be the weak economic data coming in from China, coupled with a bond sell-off by Spain and France.
Two separate reports on China’s manufacturing sector show contraction for the month of November. The Spanish government successfully sold 3.75 billion euros ($5 billion) of bonds, while France saw its borrowing costs slip at an auction of 10-year bonds.
The blue-chip Dow index surged 490 points, or 4.2%, on Wednesday, posting its biggest point and percentage gains since March 23, 2009. The rally was triggered by news that global central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, were taking coordinated action to reduce the cost of dollar financing. The measures aim to ease monetary funding strains, faced by European banks, and to prevent the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis from creating a global liquidity crunch.
Later today, the market will focus on the Labor Department’s latest report on the jobs market, with the release at 8:30 a.m. EST of weekly jobless claims. Economists forecast a total of 390,000 new filings, compared with 393,000 in the prior week.
The Institute for Supply Management releases its November manufacturing index at 10 a.m. EST. Economists expect a reading of 51.5 versus 50.8 in October.
The Commerce Department reports on October construction spending at 10 a.m. Economists forecast an increase of 0.3 percent, compared with a 0.2 percent rise in September.
Stocks to watch today include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD), Zoltek Companies, Inc., (NASDAQ:ZOLT), Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up slightly in pre-market trading at $382.26. AAPL trades 16.47 million shares a day on average. Over the past five trading sessions, Apple stock has risen about $5 a share. Apple Inc. has a current market cap of 355.22 billion.
Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) is up a little bit in pre-market trading at $28.15. Guess released earnings late yesterday and fell short of analysts expectations. GES reported EPS of $0.71 with analysts expecting EPS of $0.73. Fourth quarter guidance was also lower then consensus. GES trades 1.5 million shares a day on average. The company has a current market cap of 2.61 billion.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD) is down 4.26% in pre-market trading at $7.20. KKD slightly raised guidance for FY 2012 and 2013. KKD trades nearly 600 thousand shares a day on average. Krispy Kreme has a current market cap of 510.85 million.
Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZOLT) closed at $8.21 yesterday and rose more than $2 yesterday. ZOLT trades around 220 thousand shares a day on average. The company has a current market value of 282.16 million.
Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX) is up 6.67% in pre-market trading today at $1.12. PEIX trades 14.09 million shares a day on average. Over the past three trading sessions, PEIX has fallen from $1.40 to $1.05. Pacific Ethanol has a current market cap of 80.96 million.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) is down nearly 1% in pre-market trading at $5.39. BAC has traded over a million shares already today and trades 268.57 million shares a day on average. BAC rose yesterday following the coordinated central bank action to lower borrowing rates. Bank of America has a current market cap of 55.14 billion.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is up slightly in pre-market trading at $64.53. NFLX trades 9.23 million shares a day on average. Over the past two trading sessions, Netflix shares have fallen more than $4 a share. This comes as analysts downgrade the stock and call their business model ‘broken’. Netflix has a current market cap of 3.39 billion.
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