Hewlett Packard Isn’t The Only Story Today
Stocks are
mixed this midday. Worse-than-expected
earnings from computer giant Hewlett Packard
(
HPQ |
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PowerRating) weighed on stocks from
the get-go. However, the major indices are battling back from session lows. The
Nasdaq
(
$COMPX |
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PowerRating) even recovered from a 14-point deficit to head into the
green. Despite a turnaround from last year’s results, the Hewlett Packard fell 3
cents short of analysts’ estimates. HPQ’s enterprise systems and personal
systems divisions posted losses. CEO Carly Firorina commented “The third quarter
is always tough, but we still should have done better.” She also added that
overly aggressive pricing and weak PC demand contributed to the sub-par
performance. Bonds are down ahead of tomorrow’s jobless claims numbers while the
dollar is slightly higher.Â
The Dow Jones Industrial
Average
(
$INDU.X |
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PowerRating) is -0.26% at 9404.04. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
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PowerRating)
is -0.07 at 1001.59. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
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PowerRating) is +0.10% at 1762.83.
The day’s leading sectors are
Disk Drives
(
$DDX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.04%, Oil Services
(
$OSX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+2.00%, Natural Gas
(
$XNG.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.46%, Utilities
(
$UTY.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.09%. and Gold & SilverÂ
(
$XAU.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.93%.
Weak today are Healthcare
(
$HMO.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.88%, Insurance
(
$IUX.X |
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PowerRating), -0.61%,
Healthproviders
(
$RXH.X |
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PowerRating), -0.56%, Computer Technology
(
$XCI.X |
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PowerRating),
-0.47%, and Homebuilders
(
$HGX.X |
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PowerRating), -0.39%.
No economic news to report
today. Tomorrow we will have weekly jobless claims, leading economic indicators,
and the Philadelphia Fed Index.Â
The 10-year U.S. Note
is -140 at 111 180.
The dollar is +0.14 at
97.62.
Gold is +3.30 at 366.30.
Crude Oil +0.33 at
31.03.
Volume is 677,000,000 on
the NYSE, and 915,000,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by 1.07, and up over down
volume by 1.01. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues at 1.01, and up
volume over down volume at 1.10.
Top Dow stocks are:
Merck
(
MRK |
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Chart |
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PowerRating), +2.33% at 52.02,
Altria Group
(
MO |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.05% at 39.77, J.P. Morgan
(
JPM |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.04%
at 34.89, Home Depot
(
HD |
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Chart |
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PowerRating), +1.02% at 32.49, and SBC Communications
(
SBC |
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PowerRating), +0.23% at 23.89.
Stocks in the news:
Department store operator
Dillard’s
(
DDS |
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PowerRating) is lower by 6% after losing 10% earlier in the session.
The company reported a second-quarter loss of 60 cents a share compared to a
profit of 8 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. The results included charges
of 13 cents a share due to store closing and impairment costs as well as 12
cents a share in interest expenses. Sales fell 5.6% to $1.78 billion.Â
Computer manufacturer
Hewlett Packard
(
HPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is lower by nearly 10% after the company missed
its third-quarter estimates. Late yesterday, the company reported earnings of 10
cents a share compared to a loss of 67 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding items, the Dow component earned 23 cents a share or 3 cents shy of
analysts’ estimates. Revenues rose 4.9% to $17.35 billion or slightly below
estimates of $17.5 billion. Looking ahead, the company is projecting earnings
of between 34 to 36 cents a share on revenues between $18.8 and $19.1 billion,
the figures are in line with current consensus estimates.Â
The maker of the popular
Quicken and Turbo Tax sofware, Intuit
(
INTU |
Quote |
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News |
PowerRating) is higher by 2.67%
reversing earlier losses. Late yesterday, the company reported a fourth-quarter
loss of 12 cents a share compared to a loss of 15 cents a share in the year-ago
quarter. Excluding items, the company lost 5 cents a share, beating expectations
of 8 cents a share. Intuit also warned that it expects to lose between 26 to 30
cents in the current quarter, worse than analysts’ forecasts of a loss of 22
cents a share.Â
Network Appliance
(
NTAP |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is higher by more than 13% after the company reported better-than-expected
first-quarter results. The network storage company reported profits of 8 cents a
share compared to 5 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected
the company to earn 7 cents a share. Revenues jumped 26% to $260.5 million
compared to analysts’ estimates of $250.5 million. Â
Pet supplies retailer Petco
(
PETC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is higher by 14% after the company reported better-than-expected
second-quarter results. In its latest quarter, the company earned 23 cents a
share compared to 17 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. The results topped
analysts’ estimates by 4 cents. Revenue rose 12.1% to $398.5 million.Â
If you have any comments or
questions, please feel free to email me.
vincentm@tradingmarkets.com