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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — August 28, 2012: Markets Mixed on Mixed Data (AKS, IACI, CHK, VMW, GSK, STP, BWS, MY, MOV, SAFM, TFM, GCO, HNZ, ISLE, JASO, JOY, YGE, ZLC, SBX, ESGR, LXK, NOK, AAPL)

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By Paul Ausick Updated Published
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The three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower this morning and bounced around the flat line for most of the day. It seems that everyone is waiting to hear what Ben Bernanke has to say at the Fed’s summer retreat in Jackson Hole. Except ECB President Mario Draghi who announced today that he’s too busy to attend (our story here). There was little data out in Europe today, while in Asia Japan lowered its outlook based on declining exports. In the U.S., the Conference Board’s index on consumer confidence came in sharply lower than expected (our coverage here) and the monthly manufacturing survey from the Richmond Fed was also weak (more coverage here). U.S. house prices are rising, but buyers are still cautious (more coverage here).

The US dollar index fell today, now down 0.39% at 81.337. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.5% today at 666.96, with commodities prices mixed and corn dropping to below $8.00/bushel. WTI crude oil finished up 0.9% today, closing at $96.33/barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.04% at $112.31/barrel. Natural gas is down 1% today to $2.627/thousand cubic feet. Gold settled at $1,669.70/ounce, down 0.4%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 22 points to 13,102.99(-0.17%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 4 points (0.13%) to 3,077.14, and the S&P 500 fell -0.08% or just over 1 point to 1,409.30.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS (more coverage here) ; IAC/InteractiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $62 target price at Canaccord Genuity; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) maintained as ‘hold’ at Argus, VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $120 at BofA/ML; and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) cut to ‘neutral’ at UBS.

There were only a few earnings reports of note since markets closed last night, including Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (NYSE: BWS) down 7.2% at $14.29; China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. (NYSE: MY) down 0.1% at $1.21; Movado Group Inc. (NYSE: MOV) up 18.1% at $35.57 after posting a new 52-week high of $36.11 earlier today; and Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) up 9% at $44.26.

Earnings releases scheduled before markets open tomorrow morning include Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM), Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO), H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ), Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), Joy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY), Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE), and Zale Corp. (NYSE: ZLC).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

SeaBright Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SBX) is up 32.2% at $10.93 after posting a new 52-week high of $11.01 earlier today. The insurance company will be acquired by Enstar Group Limited (NASDAQ: ESGR) for $11.11 a share.

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK)) is up 13.1% at $21.49. The printer and services company announced a restructuring today. More coverage here.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is down 7.4% at $3.01. The mobile device maker is giving back gains from yesterday that were related to the jury verdict in the patent trial involving Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung Electronics. Investors had hoped that Nokia would get a market share boost, but those hopes are not so high today.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

  • 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
  • 8:30 a.m. – GDP
  • 8:30 a.m. – Corporate profits
  • 10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales index
  • 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
  • 1:00 p.m. – 5-year note auction
  • 2:00 p.m. – Beige book released

Paul Ausick

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — August 29, 2012: Markets Rise on Slim Economic News (WPI, SCHN, IBM, BIDU, IDXX, TFM, GCO, HNZ, ISLE, JASO, JOY, YGE, ZLC, LTRX, P, TIVO, VRA, TD, YELP, MCP, NOK)

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened slightly higher this morning following an upward revision to the U.S. second quarter…

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — June 11, 2012 (AKS, DUK, WY, SO, EMC, UEC, AEPI, KORS, FDS, GAME, FNSR, COOL, ES, NOK, CNC)

The three major US stock indexes opened higher this morning as investors reacted positively to the $125 billion bailout of…

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — September 5, 2012: Markets on Hold for ECB Announcement (FDX, FB, TWX, CHK, RIO, BLMN, FNSR, PBY, DG, FCEL, HWD, KFY, PAY, LAYN, NAV, NOK, BONT, FRAN)

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened flat to slightly lower again this morning even though word leaked out of…

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — September 24, 2012: Markets Can’t Overcome Tech Weakness (AKS, VECO, ORCL, DRI, VLO, LEN, PSDV, RHT, FDS, NEOG, MTN, PPHM, QCOR, LMLP, GOOG, AAPL, FB)

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower this morning following weak economic data from Germany (more coverage here). The…

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 17, 2013: Markets Open Down, Track Lower All Day

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a downturn in Europe and mixed markets in Asia. Data releases were…

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 30, 2012 (NOK, LNKD, AIG, ABX, LULU, BAH, TFM, HSOL, YGE, JOSB, CIEN, JDAS, JOY, MOV, SAI, VRA, PBY, SHLD, EPD)

The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning as investors did not pay attention to a report that…

Paul Ausick |

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — August 23, 2012: Markets Lose Ground on Weak Data (XOM, NOC, SWY, CS, WFM, HPQ, KKD, FLWS, BIG, HRL, JKS, ADSK, BEBE, CRM, SCVL, SOL, MSG, NOK, ROSG, JKS)

The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning and spent most of the day heading lower still. Economic…

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — January 29, 2013: Markets Shake Off Slow Start, Post Gains (STX, TSN, SBUX, ANF, CAT, YHOO, STX, STLD, BSX, DHI, F, BTU, PFE, VLO, AMZN, BRCM, RYL, RHI, ADT, LLL, PSX, NOC, SO, KERX, VMW, OCZ)

U.S. equity markets opened slightly lower this morning following not-much in the way of new data and a wait-and-see attitude…

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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — December 10, 2012: Markets Open Lower, Close with Small Gain (CME, BBY, SKS, NBL, APA, UEC, TEA, FGP, IN, HON, GRPN, GOOG, NXY, CEO, CSFS)

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning, probably as a reaction to the news that Italy’s prime minister has said…

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