Stock Market News for January 08, 2010 - Market News
A day before the government’s eagerly awaited December employment report, market participants refrained from making big moves even as hope grew the nation will break a 23-month streak of job losses. Stronger-than-expected retail sales number, nevertheless, helped calm nerves as concerns about interest rate increases played in the minds of traders.
The Dow Jones industrial average, awaiting a fresh catalyst for an upside breakout, added 33.18 points, or 0.3% to close at 10,606.86. The Nasdaq, however, was dragged down by weakness in tech shares. The index slipped 1.04 points to 2,300.05. The broader S&P 500 index rose 4.55 points, or 0.4%, to 1,141.69.
This morning’s stock futures suggest Wall Street would open in the red, after the government reported that employers cut more jobs than expected last month. Dow futures are down 34 points, or 0.3%, at 10,511. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures are down 5 points, or 0.4%, at 1,132.50, while Nasdaq 100 index futures are down 8.75 points, or 0.5%, at 1,868.75.
Nevertheless, on Thursday, both the S&P500 and the DJIA reached 15-month highs as better-than-expected December same-store sales, analyst upgrades on Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and General Electric (NYSE:GE) helped sentiments on the Street. A Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) report that said commercial real estate losses will not have a major impact on the economy in 2010 was also welcomed by investors.
Among S&P500 sector action, financials (+1.9%), industrials (+1.0%), consumer services (+0.7%), health care (+0.4%), consumer goods (+0.1%) led the gainers. Losses were recorded by: telecommunications (-0.8%), technology (-0.5%), basic materials (-0.5%), utilities (-0.4%), oil and gas (-0.2%).
General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares, up 5.2%, led the gainers on the DJIA, after JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) named the company its top pick among industrials, and raised its price target to $22 from $20, based on expectations for "significantly better than expected" GE Capital results.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) shares gained after Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) upgraded the shares to "outperform" from "neutral," as the analyst noted the stock was "cheapest" among the large-cap bank stocks.
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) fell 2.1% after Citigroup (NYSE:C) lowered its rating to "hold" from "buy." JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) analysts lowered 3M's (NYSE:MMM) rating to "neutral" from "overweight," with the price target lowered to $75 from $79, citing valuation concerns.
Nevertheless, a holiday spending spree helped retailers post better-than-expected December same-store-sales. According to ICSC, December sales rose 2.8% from last year, which suffered a 5.8% sales decline, for its strongest post since April 2008. For 2010, ICSC economists project January sales up no more than 1%; however, annual sales should increase 3.5%, the best increase since 2006.
A number of retailers came out with figures that were above Street expectations. Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) topped the list of gainers on the S&P500 and NASDAQ, after it raised guidance for the quarter and year as strength in its Kmart chain helped results. Target's (NYSE:TGT) sales beat estimates, up 1.8%, and the firm projected fourth-quarter earnings will meet or top the Street's $1.11 estimates. Limited Brands (NYSE:LTD) lifted its fourth-quarter guidance and Macy's (NYSE:M) numbers were above projections.
The preceding article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.
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