The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.1% at 79.335. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 658.35, with commodities prices mostly higher today on the weaker dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.5% today, at $92.89 a barrel, but closed the week down 6%. Brent crude trades up 1.2% at $111.30 a barrel. Natural gas is up 3.3% today to $2.888 per thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,780.00 an ounce, up 0.6%.
The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 16 points to 13,580.40 (-0.12%), the NASDAQ rose 4 points (0.13%) to 3,179.96, and the S&P 500fell -0.01% or less than 1 point to 1,460.13.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) started as ‘buy’ at Cantor Fitzgerald; International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) started as ‘hold’ at Jefferies; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) started as ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) started as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML.
Earnings reports since markets closed last night have affected several stocks, including Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) is up 1.2% at $32.65 (more coverage here); Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ: CTAS) is down 1.2% at $40.72; Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) is up 4.6% at $57.21 after posting a new high of $57.91 earlier today (more coverage here); and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is up is up 16.3% at $15.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $15.65 earlier today (more coverage here).
Before markets re-open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear from Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN). Other notable earnings reports on Monday are set to come from pSivida Corp. (NASDAQ: PSDV) and Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT).
Some standouts from today include the following stocks:
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is up 3.6% at $5.64 after coming to within a penny of the stock’s 52-week high of $5.71 earlier today. The wireless carrier is getting a bump on the new iPhone 5 from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and the carrier’s unique unlimited data package.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down 5.9% at $6.50. The smartphone maker suffered a service outage earlier today, just a few days before the company hosts a developer conference to round up support for its new Blackberry 10 operating system. More coverage here.
Dehaier Medical Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: DHRM) is up 57% at $2.42. The Chinese medical equipment maker scored a three-year contract to provide air compressors and customized trolleys to a Ukrainian manufacturer.
Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is down 12.8% at $20.70. The drugmaker said it expects its Qsiva anti-obesity drug to be rejected by the European drug agency. More coverage here.
Stay tuned for Monday. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):
- 8:30 a.m. – Chicago Fed national activity index
- 10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
- 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctionsd
Have a great weekend!
Paul Ausick
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