Stocks are mixed but had best month since July ‘09 (AP)
WHAT A MONTH: The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s had their best month since July 2009 and their first winning month since this past April. Strong earnings were behind the big gains.
BUT THE FUTURE’S UNCERTAIN: Trading at the end of July, including Friday’s narrowly mixed finish, showed that investors are cautious because of economic numbers that point to a slowing recovery.
THE NUMBERS: The Dow rose 7.1 percent for July, while the S&P 500 gained 6.9 percent.
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What is the best stock to Sell Short right now?
I’m already short shares of CME and ICE. Both are financial companies that look overbought and poised for a fall. Do you have any other ideas of good stocks to short?
I’m not looking for companies that have already eaten the dust. I’m looking for companies that are flying high due to the renewed(and likely false) optimism in the markets. Thanks!
Wall Street marks best week in a year (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) –
Wall Street closed out its best week in a year on Friday, snapping back from a long stretch of selling, as investors looked ahead to what many expect will be a solid earnings season.
Stocks ended near the day’s highs, but trading was thin. Just 6.197 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, making it the lowest-volume day of the year.
Google Inc (GOOG.O) helped lift the Nasdaq, rising 2.4 percent to $467.46 after Beijing gave the company the green light to continue operating its China Internet search page. U.S.-listed shares of rival Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) fell 1.7 percent to $71.20.
The major stock indexes advanced 5 percent in the holiday-shortened week, as investors put a string of dismal data behind them to focus on what is expected to be another solid quarter for corporate results.
“We expect to see good margins, very healthy balance sheets
and companies basically saying that even with the slowdown, we are very well prepared for it,” said Marc Pado, U.S. strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. in San Francisco.
“We have been seeing from previous data that companies are not building inventory and not adding workers. In other words, they are very well positioned for the worst case scenario,” Pado said.
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 59.04 points, or 0.58 percent, at 10,198.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was up 7.70 points, or 0.72 percent, at 1,077.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 21.05 points, or 0.97 percent, at 2,196.45.
The earnings season unofficially begins with Alcoa Inc (AA.N) after the closing bell on Monday. Analysts are expecting overall second-quarter earnings to grow by 27 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. This is up from the 22.4 percent that analysts were anticipating at the beginning of the year.
Alcoa, the first Dow component to report, is expected to swing to a second-quarter profit, though falling aluminum prices have prompted analysts to cut their estimates on the stock.
The S&P 500 rose for a fourth straight day, up 5.4 percent this week, its best week since mid-July 2009. But the index is still down about 11.7 percent from its most recent closing high in late April.
The Dow rose 5.3 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 5 percent this week.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) was the biggest drag on the Dow, falling 1.4 percent to $60.54 a day after it recalled more Tylenol and other over-the-counter drugs following consumer complaints of odors. The move expands a recall started in January.
In addition to Alcoa, companies reporting next week include JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and General Electric Co (GE.N).
Banks will be scrutinized by investors concerned about delinquencies and loan demand to gauge the sustainability of a recent improvement in credit quality.
In deal news, Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD.N) late Thursday raised its hostile bid for rival Airgas Inc (ARG.N) by 5.8 percent to $5.3 billion, but the offer remained slightly below the company’s current market value.
Air Products rose 1.4 percent to $69.74, while Airgas rose 1.6 percent to $64.90.
In economic news, U.S. wholesale sales fell unexpectedly in May, lifting inventories to their highest level in 11 months, a government report showed. Analysts said a slackening in demand could lead businesses to try to curb the inventory buildup, weighing on economic growth.
Recent U.S. data showing slowing growth in the services and manufacturing sector, weakness in housing and a stagnating jobs market also worried investors, although most say it is too early to call a double-dip recession.
The day’s trading volume fell well below last year’s estimated daily average of 9.65 billion. Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2383 to 627 while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by 1979 to 642.
(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Kenneth Barry)
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Summary Box: Stocks log best weekly gain in a year (AP)
BIG WEEK: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 59 points Friday, putting its gain for the week at 5.3 percent. That the biggest weekly climb in about a year.
EARNINGS OUTLOOK: Investors bid up stocks of companies that start to report earnings for the April-June quarter next week. Alcoa Inc. shares rose 2.1 percent.
LIGHT DAY: Trading volume was light Friday, as it had been all week. That suggests many skeptical investors are staying out of the market.
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Dow ends week up 5.3 pct, its best gain in a year (AP)
NEW YORK – The stock market ended its best week in a year with another gain Friday as investors bet that companies will report strong second-quarter earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 59 points, or 0.6 percent. That gave the Dow its biggest weekly advance in a year, 5.3 percent. Broader indexes posted bigger gains. Trading volume was light, signaling that many investors were staying out of the market. But those who were trading appeared optimistic about the company reports that will be announced starting next week.
Stocks also got a lift from news that China renewed Google’s license to operate in the country. The renewal was in doubt because of a strained relationship between the company and China’s government over censorship of search results. Google rose 2.4 percent.
News on the economy wasn’t as upbeat. Inventories held by wholesalers rose in May for a fifth straight month though sales dropped for the first time in more than a year. The government said wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent and sales dropped 0.3 percent. It was the first drop since March 2009, when major stock indexes hit a 12-year low.
But investors didn’t appear fazed by the inventories report. Instead, the market appeared to hold on to optimism fed by Thursday’s report of a drop in the number of newly laid off people seeking unemployment benefits. That report ended a string of bad news about the job market, and likely contributed to investors’ more positive mood going into what’s known as earning season.
Friday’s modest moves weren’t surprising. Traders often avoid making big bets just before earnings releases because the reports provide a good picture of how companies are performing. Investors will look closely at forecasts for future quarters because economic reports in the past two months have raised questions about the pace of the rebound.
“It’s time to determine if this is just a soft patch in the recovery or if it’s the beginning of a second leg down. That’s what the market is struggling with,” said Dan Deming, a trader with Stutland Equities in Chicago.
Investors will want to know whether companies are feeling the effects of slower growth and whether they believe the recovery will gain momentum in the coming months. Stocks fell over the past couple of months because data showed the economy was growing, but not as fast as had been forecast.
Earnings season starts with aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. on Monday. The company’s stock rose 1.9 percent ahead of its report. Other companies scheduled to release results next week include banking giants JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. General Electric Co. and chipmaker Intel Corp. are also scheduled to report earnings next week.
Overseas markets rose after a surprise interest rate hike in South Korea was seen as a sign of confidence that the global economy will continue expand. Central banks around the world, including the U.S., have kept rates at historically low rates to stimulate growth.
The Dow rose 59.04, or 0.6 percent, to 10,198.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7.71, or 0.7 percent, to 1,077.96, while the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index rose 21.05, or 1 percent, to 2,196.45.
For the week, the Dow rose 512 points, or 5.3 percent, its best gain since the week ended July 17, 2009. After a holiday on Monday, stocks rose modestly Tuesday and jumped Wednesday after traders looked for stocks that were bargains after two weeks of selling. The Dow rose 275 points to move back above 10,000. The Dow added another 120 points on Thursday after the unemployment report.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.4 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq gained 5 percent.
Not all traders are confident that the gains will hold because there are still major problems like unemployment facing the economy.
“I think it’s a short-term pop,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC, of the week’s advance. “A lot of people are playing it close to the vest at this point. You don’t really know which way it’s going to go.”
Bond prices fell as stocks rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.06 percent from 3.04 percent late Thursday.
Crude oil rose 65 cents to $76.09 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Google rose $10.93 to $467.59. Alcoa rose 22 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $10.94, while JPMorgan climbed 69 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $38.85. Bank of America advanced 25 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $15.11, while GE rose 12 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $14.95. Intel advanced 14 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $20.24.
About four stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 3.6 billion shares compared with 4.6 billion Thursday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 9.16, or 1.5 percent, to 629.43.
Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX index, France’s CAC-40 and Japan’s Nikkei stock average each rose 0.5 percent.
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Wall Street ends best week in a year (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) –
Wall Street ended higher on Friday, concluding its best week in a year, as investors looked ahead to the start of the earnings season.
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 58.73 points, or 0.58 percent, to 10,197.72. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) rose 7.68 points, or 0.72 percent, to 1,077.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) added 21.05 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,196.45.
For the holiday-shortened week, the three indexes rose more than 5 percent.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
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Which is best the short sell or foreclsure/bankruptcy?
I have a friend that cannot make his monthly payment and cannot sell his home for what is owed. The bank is offering to do a short sale in which the buyer will pay less than what is owed and he would have to agree to pay 5K over 5 years at zero interest and will be 1099ed 35K to claim as income on his tax return. The other option is to say no and let it get foreclosed. Which is the better option?
If he lets it go to foreclosure would he owe anything? Should he consider filling bankruptcy and what are the consequences?
Thank you in advance.
what’s the best info sites for beginning penny stock/lo – cap day traders?
what is the best website for trade other OTC penny stock?
what is the best stock to sell short?
I think the market is already pretty high and all the stocks are valued high. Does any one know what is the best stock to sell short?
