US midday: Bernanke labels jobs market as weak overall
Wed 22 May 2013
- Stocks rise after Bernanke remarks
- In-line existing home sales figures
Dow Jones Industrials: 0.47%
Nasdaq Composite: 0.22%
S&P 500: 0.41%
Wall Street had moved up by a notch come midday, following testimony by US Federal Reserve President, Ben S.Bernanke, before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, in Washington D.C..
The Fed Chief indicated that "the job market remains weak overall," apparently signalling that a tapering of quantitative easing may be further out on the horizon than had initially been thought by some observers in the markets.
Acting as a backdrop, New York Federal Reserve President Charles Dudley told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday morning that it may take the central bank between three and four months to determine whether the economy can accommodate a tapering in its quantitative easing.
No less relevant, there was quite a bit of 'market-chatter' in the last 24 hours regarding the need for more forceful policy action in the Eurozone. In a related theme, some observers called attention to the recent rise in Japanese bond yields and the potential obstacle which they may pose for the government's reflation efforts.
Shares of Saks were rocketing by 14% after Bloomberg News reported that the company had hired Goldman Sachs to explore its strategic options, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Luxury-home builder Toll Brothers said fiscal second-quarter earnings increased by more than expected alongside a rise in the company's revenue.
The latest quarterly results out of the likes of Staples and Lowes have come in lower than forecast, as has guidance from retail chain Target.
From a sector standpoint the best performance is now to be seen in the following industrial groups: Home construction (2.40%), Home improvement retailers (2.19%) and Pharmaceuticals (1.86%).
Existing home sales grew by 0.6% month-on-month in April, to reach an annualised rate of 4.97m (Consensus: 4.99m).
Front month West Texas crude futures are now down by 0.92% to the 95.81 dollar mark on the NYMEX.
10 year US Treasury yields are now flat at 1.92%.
S&P 500 - Risers
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $60.39 +4.32%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $38.17 +4.20%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $45.89 +4.15%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $144.70 +4.12%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.96 +4.10%
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $43.67 +2.87%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $126.89 +2.74%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $57.89 +2.59%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.48 +2.23%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $21.27 +2.01%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Target Corp. (TGT) $68.96 -3.23%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $54.50 -2.03%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $33.13 -2.01%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $34.45 -1.85%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $63.15 -1.80%
Amphenol Corp. (APH) $79.59 -1.74%
Deere & Co. (DE) $86.40 -1.36%
Priceline.Com Inc. (PCLN) $814.77 -1.36%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $57.47 -1.32%
Monsanto Co. (MON) $105.30 -1.21%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.96 +4.10%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $53.89 +1.64%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $79.88 +1.49%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.44 +1.20%
American Express Co. (AXP) $75.98 +1.16%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $47.84 +1.08%
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.88 +0.93%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $89.30 +0.80%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $13.51 +0.52%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.80 +0.46%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $34.50 -1.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.63 -0.85%
3M Co. (MMM) $111.50 -0.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.91 -0.42%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $101.86 -0.27%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $62.70 -0.27%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $97.32 -0.24%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $56.25 -0.23%
AT&T Inc. (T) $36.86 -0.22%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $92.77 -0.03%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $60.39 +4.32%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $38.17 +4.20%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $126.89 +2.74%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $57.89 +2.59%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $76.10 +2.44%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.48 +2.23%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $57.51 +1.84%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $447.34 +1.75%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $105.82 +1.52%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $234.67 +1.44%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Catamaran Corp (CTRX) $48.06 -4.61%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $34.45 -1.85%
Priceline.Com Inc. (PCLN) $814.77 -1.36%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $46.00 -1.20%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $265.86 -1.11%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $29.89 -1.02%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $34.50 -1.00%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $79.22 -0.98%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $36.33 -0.93%
Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $37.34 -0.80%
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