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Date Posted: 4/11/10 3:05:58
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3:30 pm : The CRB Commodity Index climbed to a fresh two-year high earlier today, but it finished flat after it failed to sustain that move.
Oil was a primary source of support for the CRB. The energy component advanced 0.9% to settle pit trade at $84.69 per barrel, even though the latest weekly inventory report showed a bigger-than-expected build.
Natural gas prices were under pressure for the entire session. The commodity closed pit trade at $3.83 per MMBtu, down 1.0%.
Precious metals were down modestly in the early going, but dove sharply as trade progressed. Gold shed 1.4% to finish at $1337.60 per ounce and silver settled 1.6% lower at $24.44 per ounce. DJ30 +15.67 NASDAQ +4.66 SP500 +3.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1337/1.64 bln/1226 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1569/815 mln/1369
3:00 pm : Whipsaw trade continues to take stocks up and down. The latest swing has the stock market back into positive territory.
The stock market's improved position coincides with the renewed weakness in the dollar after it had attempted to pare its loss following news of the Fed's latest quantitative easing effort. The dollar is now down 0.3% against competing currencies.
Treasuries at the long end of the yield curve have fallen out of favor. As such, the 30-year Bond is now down almost two full points so that its yield is up above 4.0%. DJ30 +18.77 NASDAQ +4.60 SP500 +2.49 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1283/1.46 bln/1283 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1478/717 mln/1440
2:30 pm : Volatility has hit the stock market with the 2:15 PM ET release of the latest FOMC statement. Stocks started to slide ahead of the announcement, but quickly rebounded into positive territory, only to run into resistance and then retreat to fresh session lows.
Most of the build up ahead of the FOMC statement was based on expectations for further quantitative easing, dubbed "QE2." To little surprise the Fed left its fed funds target unchanged at 0.00% to 0.25% and continues to anticipate exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period, but announced plans for $600 billion in purchases of longer term Treasuries by the end of the second quarter of 2011 at a pace of about $75 billion per month. The longer term Treasuries are expected to be those of an average duration of five to six years.
The dollar responded to the announcement by dropping from a slight gain to a 0.6% loss, which marked its session low. DJ30 -84.70 NASDAQ -21.10 SP500 -9.75 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 911/1.27 bln/1645 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 933/612 mln/1981
2:00 pm : Stocks remain in the red. The latest FOMC policy statement is just a few minutes away (2:15 PM ET). Participants expect some sort of quantitative easing measure to be unveiled. DJ30 -20.50 NASDAQ -8.06 SP500 -3.05 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1048/1.04 bln/1494 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1178/482 mln/1731
1:30 pm : Stocks continue to chop along in negative territory. They have been left there due to a lack of leadership.
Telecom is up with a 0.2% gain, though. Aside from a midmorning slip, the sector managed to remain in higher ground. The sector is currently led by integrated telecom play Verizon (VZ 32.97, +0.17), which continues to probe a two-week high. DJ30 -26.34 NASDAQ -9.04 SP500 -3.88 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1015/980 mln/1508 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1108/452 mln/1780
1:00 pm : A flat start has given way to modest weakness as the latest FOMC policy statement draws near.
No change to interest rate targets is expected from the Fed at 2:15 PM ET, but many believe some measure of further quantitative easing will be revealed. Implications of any such plan will likely be reflected by the dollar, which is currently up just 0.2% against competing currencies.
Given the importance that the market has placed on an expected plan, many participants have looked past the latest lot of data.
Among this morning's releases, the ADP Employment Change for October indicated that private payrolls increased in October by a greater-than-expected 43,000, the ISM Service Index for October came in at 54.3 to exceed the consensus, and factory orders for September increased at a stronger-than-expected clip 2.1%.
News that Republicans now represent the majority of the House and Democrats maintain their majority in the Senate has also had little influence on the market's mood. Earnings have been mostly in the background as responses to the reports have been rather mixed. Pitney Bowes (PBI 22.82, +0.69), Molson Coors (TAP 48.55, +1.33), and Aetna (AET 30.56, +0.59) are up nicely following their better-than-expected earnings reports, but Electronic Arts (ERTS 15.43, -0.78), Career Education (CECO 17.91, -0.49), and Hertz Global (HTZ 11.30, -0.05) are in the red despite upside earnings surprises of their own.
Hartford Financial (HIG 25.38, +1.96) is one of this session's best performers following a better-than-expected bottom line. Its strength has helped prop up the financial sector, which is clinging to a fractional gain following a flurry of midmorning selling and another push lower about an hour ago.
Materials stocks have been hit the hardest. The sector is down 1.1%.
Commodities have also succumbed to some selling, which has caused the CRB Commodity Index to fall to a loss after it set a two-year high this morning. It has since recovered to the flat line as a 1.0% gain by oil prices to $84.70 per barrel offsets weaker natural gas prices (-1.1%, $3.83 per MMBtu), gold prices (-1.4%, $1338.50 per ounce), and silver prices (-1.7%, $24.43 per ounce). DJ30 -23.23 NASDAQ -11.17 SP500 -3.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 974/899 mln/1541 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1090/414 mln/1790
12:30 pm : While the broader market probes session lows, Pitney Bowes (PBI 22.89, +0.76), Hartford Financial (HIG 25.56, +2.14), Molson Coors (TAP 48.36, +1.14), and Aetna (AET 30.30, +0.33) are all up nicely following their better-than-expected earnings reports.
Still, not every company's report has been so well received. Specifically, Electronic Arts (ERTS 15.37, -0.83), Career Education (CECO 17.91, -0.49), and Hertz Global (HTZ 11.30, -0.05) are in the red despite upside earnings surprises of their own.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN 110.16, -2.47) is also in the red. It reported in-line earnings results and announced a special dividend of $8 per share.DJ30 -18.69 NASDAQ -10.91 SP500 -2.87 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 977/832 mln/1505 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1076/380 mln/1784
12:00 pm : Stocks have stemmed their recent slide. Still, the major averages remain in the red with modest losses.
Commodities have also come under increased pressure in recent trade. In turn, the CRB Commodity Index is now down 0.4% after it had been up solidly to a new two-year high. Precious metals have weighed most heavily on the CRB -- gold was last quoted with a 1.7% loss at $1335 per ounce and silver was last seen at $24.24 per ounce, down 2.3%.DJ30 -20.66 NASDAQ -9.76 SP500 -3.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1062/732 mln/1376 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1111/332 mln/1721
11:30 am : Stocks have extended their slide, but overall losses remain relatively modest in scope.
Materials stocks have been pushed down to a 1.3% loss, though. It has been led lower by diversified metals and miners, which are collectively down 2.5%. Gold stocks are under stiff pressure, too; they are currently off by 2.2%. Of the 31 members in the sector, only U.S. Steel (X 45.03, +0.18) and Owens Illinois (OI 27.56, +0.03) are still in positive territory. DJ30 -27.59 NASDAQ -12.48 SP500 -4.06 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1013/625 mln/1407 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1069/295 mln/1736
11:00 am : A sudden flurry of selling pressure has hit stocks. The effort has taken each of the three major indices to fresh session lows.
While the recent slide has been broad based, basic materials stocks are under the most pressure. Weakness in that space has the sector down 0.8%.
In contrast to the past couple of sessions, financials have found favor among participants. In turn, the sector has managed to hold on to a 0.3% gain. Hartford Financial (HIG 25.29, +1.87) has been a leader in that bunch following a better-than-expected earnings report. DJ30 -0.50 NASDAQ -4.95 SP500 -1.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1140/520 mln/1235 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1314/242 mln/1460
10:30 am : Trade among stocks remains rather lackluster. Action in the commodity pits has been a bit more interesting, though.
The CRB Commodity Index is currently up 0.4%. That puts it at a two-year high and up about 8% year to date.
Higher oil prices have been the biggest driver of the CRB's advance today. Oil was last quoted with a 1.6% gain at $85.20 per barrel following news of a 1.95 billion barrel build in inventories for the week ended October 29. Even though a build of 1.5 million barrels had been expected, the news has taken oil prices back toward their morning highs -- in the few minutes that preceded the report, oil prices were up about 1%.
Natural gas prices are under pressure this morning. The commodity was last quoted with a 1.1% loss at $3.83 per MMBtu.
Precious metals have seen little interest this morning. As such, gold was last priced at $1354.20 per ounce, down 0.2%, and silver was last seen at $24.82 per ounce, down 0.1%. DJ30 +18.05 NASDAQ -0.88 SP500 +1.29 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1208/368 mln/1089 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1496/180 mln/1205
10:00 am : Stocks continue to chop along listlessly. The latest dose of data has had no real influence over early action.
The ISM Service Index for October came in at 54.3, which is above the 53.4 that had been expected among economists polled by Briefing.com. The October reading also marks an improvement from the 53.2 that was posted for the prior month.
Factory orders for September increased 2.1%, which is greater than the 1.7% increase that had been widely expected. Orders were flat in the prior month.
Participants continue to show caution ahead of the latest FOMC policy statement at 2:00 PM ET. DJ30 +15.14 NASDAQ -0.13 SP500 +0.67 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1194/229 mln/996 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1520/119 mln/1126
09:45 am : There isn't much leadership this morning. That has left the major equity averages mixed in the early going.
Natural resource plays are lagging, though. As such, energy and materials stocks make up the worst performing sectors. They are down 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Treasuries have caught another nice bid to start the session. The benchmark 10-year Note is already up 10 ticks so that its yield is back below 2.55% for the first time in just over a week. DJ30 +7.74 NASDAQ -2.15 SP500 +0.45 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 967/128 mln/1105 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1291/75 mln/1253
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.00. Stock futures continue to trade with a narrow lead over fair value, even though the dollar has poked into positive territory so that it now trades with a slight lead over competing currencies. So far, market participants have been generally unfazed by a better-than-expected ADP Employment Change for October and news that midterm elections have given control of the House to Republicans, but Democrats have kept control of the Senate. Still to come, though, are factory orders figures for September (10:00 AM ET) and the ISM Service Index for October (10:00 AM ET). However, the main event of today is the latest FOMC policy statement at 2:15 PM ET. It is widely expected that the statement will outline plans for further quantitative easing. Implications of any such plan will likely be reflected by the dollar.
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.80. Stock futures continue to trade with a narrow lead over fair value. Meanwhile, Europe's major bourses are up with solid gains. As such, Germany's DAX has made its way to a 0.3% gain after a flat start. Volkswagen is a source of support while BMW has been a drag. In France, the CAC is up 0.6%. Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are primary leaders. GDF Suez has hampered action, however. Britain's FTSE is up 0.2% at the moment. Banking plays HSBC (HBC), Standard Chartered, and Lloyds Group (LYG) have been leaders. BP Plc (BP) is also strong following news of its upgrade at Goldman Sachs. Fellow energy plays Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and BG Group have been backed down, though. As for data, the October PMI Service Index for the United Kingdom improved to 53.2 from 52.8 in September. That data helped the British pound strengthen, such that the currency is currently up 0.5% against the greenback.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei was closed, but the yen moved lower against the dollar. It was last quoted at 80.9 yen per dollar after it set a 15-year best of 80.2 yen per dollar on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 2.0% to settle at a 28-month high. It is now up close to 18% since the start of September. Industrial & Commercial Bank and HSBC were primary leaders in that move, though gains were generally broad based. Of the 45 members in the Hang Seng, only CLP Holdings and Aluminum Corp logged losses. Aluminum Corp was also one of the weakest performers in China's Shanghai Composite, which fell 0.5%. The stock dragged down the materials sector to a 3.9% loss after it was announced that the Ministry of Commerce would cut export quotas for some metals by 2% to 3%. The latest dose of data out of China featured a PMI Service Index for October. It came in at 60.5 after a reading of 61.7 in September. The downturn in the Service Index followed a strong PMI Manufacturing Index yesterday. After the close in Asia, the World Bank released its latest quarterly update for China. The country's GDP is now projected to grow 10%.
08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.80. The ADP Employment Change for October was released at 8:15 AM ET. Its effect on stock futures has been negligible. Nonetheless, the report indicated that private payrolls increased in October by 43,000, which is better than the 23,000 additions that had been expected among economists polled by Briefing.com. The October tally marks a strong improvement from the upwardly revised September count, which showed that a net 2,000 positions were eliminated. The October total also marks the best reading since May.
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.80. Stock futures are up slightly and the dollar is barely down this morning. Such muted moves precede the latest policy statement from the Fed at 2:15 PM ET. No change to interest rate targets is expected, but many believe some measure of further quantitative easing will be revealed. Anticipation for the event will likely overshadow today's data, including the ADP Employment Change number for October (8:15 AM ET), the ISM Service Index for October (10:00 AM ET), and factory orders figures for September (10:00 AM ET). Little has been made of news that Republicans now represent the majority of the House of Representatives and Democrats still hold a majority of seats in the Senate. Earnings also remain in the background as there have been no market movers to report of late.
07:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.30.
07:00 am : Nikkei... Holiday... Hang Seng... 24144.67 +473.30,+2.00%.
07:00 am : FTSE... 5769.47 +12.00,+0.20%. DAX... 6672.94 +18.60,+0.50%.
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