The U.S. dollar index rose today, now up 0.31% at 79.574. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.8% at 663.96, with commodities prices mostly higher lower on the stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down 1% today, at $91.93 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 1.5% at $109.74 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.4% today to $2.846 per thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,764.60 an ounce, down 0.8%.
The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 19 points to 13,559.85 (-0.14%), the NASDAQ fell more than 19 points (-0.60%) to 3,160.78, and the S&P 500 fell -0.22% or more than 3 points to 1,456.89.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) cut to ‘sell’ at Citigroup; Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $39 at Argus; Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus.
Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday were very scarce. The only earnings report of note was Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) which is down 1.4% at $36.98 after posting a new 52-week high of $40.00 earlier today (more coverage here).
Before markets open tomorrow we are scheduled to hear from pSivida Corp. (NASDAQ: PSDV), Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS), Neogen Corp. (NASDAQ: NEOG), and Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN).
Some standouts from today include the following stocks:
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PPHM) is down 78.3% at $1.17. The drugmaker disclosed some with research data discrepancies this morning. More coverage here.
Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR) is down 35% at $19.57 after posting a new low of $18.81 earlier today. The drug company said today that the U.S. government has begun an investigation into Questcor’s promotional practices. More coverage here.
LML Payment Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: LMLP) is up 81.3% at $3.39. The Canadian electronic payment systems company is being acquired by Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) for $97.3 million, or $3.45 per share, a premium of 85% over the company’s Friday closing price.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is up 1.9% at $748.11. The online search giant posted a new all-time high today of $749.99, while both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) saw their share prices fall. More coverage here.
Stay tuned for Tuesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):
- 9:00 a.m. – S&P Case-Shiller housing price index
- 10:00 a.m. – Conference Board’s consumer confidence index
- 10:00 a.m. – FHFA house price index
- 10:00 a.m. – Richmond Fed manufacturing survey
- 10:00 a.m. – State Street investor confidence index
- 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
- 1:00 p.m. – 2-year note auction
Paul Ausick
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