What Disney Said After The Close
Stocks were
up Thursday, in part due to a
second-quarter GDP that grew at a faster-than-expected pace, a job market that
is again showing signs of life, and a regional manufacturing index that came in better
than expected. Merrill
Lynch had positive comments on the semiconductor sector, saying “the
underpinning now exits for a much more sustained fundamentally based upward move
in stock prices.” The long bond fell over two points, gold was down, and
the dollar rose slightly. OPEC left its production unchanged.
The Dow Jones Industrial
Average
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$INDU.X |
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rose 2.82 to 990.31. The Nasdaq
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$COMPQ |
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PowerRating) added 14.23 to 1735.14.
The day’s leading sectors are
Semiconductors
(
$SOX.X |
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(
$DOT.X |
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+2.52%, Airlines
(
$XAL.X |
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PowerRating), +1.58%, and Oil Services
(
$OSX.X |
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PowerRating), +1.48%.
Weak today are Healthcare
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$HMO.X |
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(
$RXH.X |
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PowerRating), -0.68%,
and Pharmaceuticals
(
$DRG.X |
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PowerRating), -0.51%.
In economic news today, GDP
for the second quarter grew at a 2.4% annual rate versus an expected 1.5%
rate. The majority of the gains could be attributed to a 44% jump on defense as
we went to war with Iraq. Weekly jobless claims for the week ended 7/26
fell by 3,000 to 388,000. Economists had expected claims to come in at 400K.
Lastly, the National Association of Purchasing Managers Index came in at
55.9 versus expectations of 53.8. This was up from June’s 52.5.
The 10-year U.S. Note
was -110 at 110 200.
The dollar was +0.79 at
96.86..
Gold fell -3.10 at 354.60.
Crude Oil fell -0.08 at
30.54.
Volume is
1,427,759,000 on
the NYSE, and 1,638,140,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was mixed,
with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a 1.08, and up volume over
down volume by 1.45. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining issues at 1.42, and
up volume over down volume at 2.60.
Top Dow stocks were:
General Electric
(
GE |
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28.44, Alcoa
(
AA |
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(
INTC |
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PowerRating), +0.40 at
24.89, Hewlett Packard
(
HWP |
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PowerRating), +0.15 at 21.17, and McDonalds
(
MCD |
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PowerRating), +0.61 at 23.01.
Stocks in the news:
After the close, Disney
(
DIS |
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reported quarterly profit up almost 10%, three cents better than estimates.
Media and network businesses were strong, but theme park revenue softened.
Adobe
(
ADBE |
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PowerRating) said it was going to hit its third quarter profit and
revenue forecasts.
Laboratory equipment maker
Beckman Coulter
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increase in quarterly earnings. For the second quarter, the company earned 82
cents a share compared to 64 cents in the year ago quarter. This was 5 cents
better than consensus estimates. Beckman Coulter also raised its quarterly
dividend by 2 cents to 11 cents a share. Looking ahead, the company sees third
quarter results between 59 to 64 cents a share or within consensus estimates of
62 cents a share.
Chubb
(
CB |
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PowerRating) rose after the insurance holding company reported better-than-expected
quarterly results and raised full-year guidance. For the second quarter, the
company earned $1.45 a share compared to $1.20 a share in the year-ago period.
Analysts had predicted earnings of $1.02. Looking ahead, the company raised
full-year guidance to between $4.90 to $5.30 a share up from its previous range
of $4.60 to $5.00. J.P. Morgan also upgraded the stock from “underweight” to
“neutral”.
Halliburton
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HAL |
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gained after the company reported second-quarter income of 6 cents a
share compared to a loss of $1.15 in the year ago period. Analysts had expected
2 cents a share. Looking ahead, the company sees Q3 earnings of 32 cents a share
or a penny better than current estimates. HAL closed at 22.17, up 1.06.
Drug maker Kos
Pharmaceuticals
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KOSP |
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PowerRating) was substantially higher after reporting
better-than-expected earnings and lifted its full year forecast. For the second
quarter, the company earned 31 cents a share, compared to a loss of 50 cents a
share in the year ago quarter. The company also raised its full-year guidance
from 65 to 75 cents a share to $1.20 to $1.30 a share due to anticipated strong
sales of its Advicor and Niaspan drugs. KOSP closed at 34.14, up 7.13.
Newell Rubbermaid
(
NWL |
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PowerRating)
was lower after the company lowered guidance for Q3 and full-year
estimates. For the second quarter, the company reported earnings excluding items
of 42 cents a share compared to 39 cents a share in the year-ago period. The
results were in line with estimates. Looking ahead, the company sees Q3 results
of 40 to 44 cents a share compared to current estimates of 52 cents a share. For
full year the company sees results of $1.60 to $1.68 compared to current
estimates of $1.72. NWL closed at 23.63, down 4.79.