Questions Traders Will Be Asking In Q2
Stocks were lower on higher oil prices.
Goldman Sachs said that oil could make a ‘super spike’ to $105. Goldman is a
large energy derivatives trader.
It was the worst performance for the S&P 500 in 2 years. For Q1, the Dow was off
2.61%, the SPX, -2.62%, the Russell 2000, -6.5% and the Nasdaq, -7.8%. Among Dow
components, GM was down 26%, AIG -13%, VZ -13%, HD -11%, JPM -10%, MSFT -10%.
For the quarter, energy rose 18%, hospitals gained 12.4%, homebuilders were up
by 7.8% and steel rose 6.7%. Utilities rose 6.94%. Airlines were the big loser,
down almost 20%. Internet stocks were also down; eBay lost 35% and Amazon.com
fell 22%. The dollar had its best quarter since 2001.
Here are some questions traders will be asking in Q2:
Will energy and materials stocks continue to outperform?
Will the China story remain strong?
Higher interest rates: what will the impact be on financials and homebuilders?
What is breaking point for oil?
How will the Warren Buffett inquiry affect investor confidence?
Jobless claims for the week ending 3/26 rose 20K to 350,000. Personal
income rose +0.3% in February.
Freddie Mac
(
FRE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) posted 2004 net income that was off 40%.
Biogen Idec
(
BIIB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Elan
(
ELN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) are in focus
after a third patient contracted an often fatal infection linked to the MS drug, Tysabri.
Two patients have died from this previously. BIIB is off 8% and ELN is 51%
lower.
S&P cut American International Group’s
(
AIG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) debt ratings to AA+
from AAA and said they may cut them again, saying accounting errors raise
questions about the management’s integrity. Moody’s also cut its rating on AIG’s
debt. Bank of America reiterated its ‘buy’
rating.
Johnson & Johnson
(
JNJ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Biomet
(
BMET |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Stryker
(
SYK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) will be in focus as the Justice Department begins an investigation of
orthopdedic companies.
JC Penney
(
JCP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose 10% on a report in Women’s Wear Daily
that a leveraged buyout is in the works.
Friday before the open, look for the jobs number–consensus is 225K.
Strong sectors were: Â Oil Services
(
$OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +3.09%Â Â Â
Natural Gas
(
$XNG.X$ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.46%Â Â Gold
(
$HUI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+1.48%
Weak sectors were:Â Â Airlines
(
$XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.66%Â
Insurance
(
$IUX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.16%Â Biotech
(
$BTK.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-0.85%
| Dow | -38.72 | 10,502.21 |
| Nasdaq | -6.44 | 1999.23 |
| S&P 500 | -1.03 | 1180.38 |
The dollar was -0.21 at
84.07
Crude Oil was +1.31 at
55.30
Gold was +1.80 at 428.20
billion on the Nasdaq
Market breadth was mixed.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1974 | Up Vol 1021 |
| Declining | 1330 | Down Vol 815 |
| 1.48 | 1.25 | |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1280 | Up Vol 560 |
| Declining | 1804 | Down Vol 928 |
| 1.40 | 1.65 |
Stocks in the News
Ruby Tuesday
(
RI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) cut its Q4 earnings forecast.
Western Digital
(
WDC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) raised its Q3 targets; the stock is in focus
as are competitors Seagate
(
STX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Maxtor
(
MXO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
The FDA said that Forest Labs’
(
FRX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Lexapro was not approvable
for social anxiety disorder.
Yum Brands
(
YUM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) downgraded at CSFB, to neutral.
Brice Wightman