The U.S. dollar index is lower today, now down 0.21% at 81.062. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.5% today at 668.72, with commodities prices mostly higher and corn remaining below $8.00/bushel. WTI crude oil closed up 0.2% today, at $95.53/barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.46% at $113.61/barrel. Natural gas is down 0.8% today to $2.772/thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,705.60/ounce, up 0.7% today, the yellow metal’s highest settlement price since March.
The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 244 points to 13,291.93 (1.87%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 67 points (2.17%) to 3,185.31, and the S&P 500 rose 2.04% or nearly 29 points to 1,432.11.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank, SocGen, and S&P Equity Research; Barlcays PLC (NYSE: BCS) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) raised to ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray; Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) raised to ‘outperform’ at Zacks; and SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan.
Some companies that reported earnings since markets closed last night and have recent share price changes today include FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) is down 11.4% at $0.89; Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (NYSE: HWD) is up 5.5% at $12.91; Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) is down 6.6% at $14.27; and Layne Christensen Co. (NASDAQ: LAYN) is down 5% at $18.05.
Earnings releases scheduled before markets open on Friday morning include Mattress Firm Holding Co. (NASDAQ: MFRM), Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC), Comverse Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT), Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), and Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU).
Some standouts from today include the following stocks:
OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ) is down 20.5% at $4.26 after posting a new 52-week low of $3.86 earlier today. The solid state hard drive maker will miss quarterly revenue targets as a result of chip shortage. More coverage here.
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) is up 17.7% at $24.03. The truck and engine maker reported better-than-expected EPS and revenues this morning. More coverage here.
Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is down 13.4% at $30.63. The electronic payment provider reported lousy earnings after markets closed last night. More coverage here.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is up 1.9% at $250.93 after posting a new all-time high of $252.69 earlier today. The ecommerce giant introduced new models of its Kindle and Kindle Fire tablets today, and benefited from a court settlement involving several publishers. More coverage here.
Stay tuned for Friday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):
- 8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payroll report
- 3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS
Paul Ausick
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