Guidance After The Close…
Stocks were
mixed in light, choppy trading. The
Nasdaq traded in a ten-point range, and is within a few points of where it
started at the beginning of the year. Several pieces of key economic data were
released, including industrial production, +1.1%, much higher than the expected
0.8%. It was the biggest increase since August 1998. Capacity utilization was
also higher at 77.8%. Housing starts were strong at 1.967million with building
permits at 2.077 million.
Goodyear Tires
(
GT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
delayed reporting first-quarter earnings saying it needed more time to compile
the data but hinted that the net loss for the quarter is expected to be in the
range of $75 million and $85 million. The company said it would meet the June 30
deadline set by lenders.
Lennar
(
LEN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) posted
earnings that rose 26% to $201.4 million on sales of $2.1 billion with a 5%
increase in the number of home closings and a 4% boost in average home sale
prices. Land sales saw a 38.5% gross margin and totaled $147 million. The
company ended the quarter with a backlog of homes worth $5.9 billion and raised
outlook for fiscal year to earnings of $5.50 from $5.30 a share.
OPEC urged non-OPEC countries to pump more oil.
Oil and gas exploration companies are making new highs.
After the close, Jabil
Circuit
(
JBL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported Q4 in-line, Ford
(
F |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was halted, and
raised earnings guidance by 0.15, citing strong performance in financial
services.
Tomorrow, look for PPI, with
consensus at 0.6% and core PPI at 0.2%.
| Dow | -0.85 | 10379.58 |
| S&P 500 | +1.59 | 1133.60 |
| Nasdaq | +2.63 | 1998.23 |
Strong today are Oil
Services
(
OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.68%, Energy
(
DXE.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.68%, Oil
Index
(
XOI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.44%, Natural Gas
(
XNG.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.08%
and Biotech
(
BTK.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.44%.
Weak were Semis
(
SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)Â
-0.42%, Homebuilders [HGX.X|HGX.X]Â -0.35%, Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-0.24%.
Economic news release today:
Building permits that rose to 2.077million, housing starts was also
better-than-expected at 1.967 million. Industrial production was strong at 1.1%
and Capacity Utilization at 77.8%.
10-year Notes were -105
at 108 060
The dollar
was +0.93 at 90.01
Gold was -4.80 at 384.30
Crude Oil was +0.26 at
37.68
Volume was 1.16 billion
on the NYSE, and 1.34 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1747 | Up Vol 621 |
| Declining | 1541 | Down Vol 496 |
| Ratio | 1.13 | 1.25 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1680 | Up Vol 607 |
| Declining | 1415 | Down Vol 704 |
| Ratio | 1.18 | 1.15 |
Stocks in the news:
Bear Stearns
(
BSC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported earnings
that jumped 24% at $347.8 million or $2.23 a share. Fixed-income trading was
strong with higher revenue from mortgage-related trading. BSC’s Capital market
unit’s revenue was up 14.7% at $1.35 billion.
Cyberonics
(
CYBX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is up sharply after
an FDA panel recommended approval of its pacemaker-like nerve stimulator for
treatment of severe depression. The stock gained over $15 per share.
Best Buy
(
BBY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported earnings of $114 million
with revenue rising 17% to $5.48 billion on increased sales of high-profit
items. Analysts were concerned with the customer loyalty plan offered by BBY,
saying it may weigh on profit in the near term.
Delta Airlines
(
DAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) CEO Gerald Grinstein said the
company cannot survive as is, despite an improving economy. Delta is still
negotiating with the Airline Pilots Association to reduce costs.
Brice Wightman
bricew@tradingmarkets.com