The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.34% at 83.377. The GSCI commodity index rose about 0.4% to 614.91, with commodities prices mostly higher today. WTI crude oil rose 1.2% today, closing at $87.10/barrel, up 3.1% for the week. Brent crude trades up 1.5% at $102.58/barrel. Natural gas is up 0.1% today to $2.877/thousand cubic feet. Gold settled at $1,592.00/ounce, up 0.8% for the week.
The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 203 points to 12,777.09 (1.62%), the NASDAQ rose more than 42 points (1.48%) to 2,908.47, and the S&P 500 rose 1.65% or about 22 points to 1,356.77.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML; Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) started as ‘buy’ at ThinkEquity; Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) started as ‘neutral’ at Wedbush.
Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: JPMorgan is up 5.8% at $36.00; Wells Fargo is up 3% at $33.83; Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) is down -16.1% at $20.40 after posting a new 52-week low of $20.26 earlier today; and Ocean Power Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTT) is down -11% at $2.66.
On Monday we are scheduled to get earnings results from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT), Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI), and Joe’s Jeans Inc. (NASDAQ: JOEZ).
Take a look at our preview of tech company earnings due next week, including heavyweights Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Google.
Some standouts from today include the following stocks:
Bridgepoint Educations Inc. (NYSE: BPI) is down -24.1% at $9.85 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.39 earlier today. The for-profit education company is in jeopardy of losing its accreditation. More coverage here.
Presidential Life Corp. (NASDAQ: PLFE) is up 36.6% at $13.$13.94 earlier today. The insurer is being acquired for $14/share, or $415 million.
Box Ships Inc. (NYSE: TEU) is down -17.8% at $6.67. The container shipping company priced a secondary offering of 30 million shares at $7/share, a discount of -14% to last night’s closing price.
Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is up 8.9% at $2.81. The homebuilder has reached a $125 million land-bank agreement with The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX).
Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):
- 8:30 a.m. – Retail sales
- 8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
- 10:00 a.m. – Business inventories
- 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions
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Have a great weekend!
Paul Ausick
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