US midday: Oil turns around to trade higher
May 20, 2013
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- Most indebted companies' stock rallying hardest -Bbg
- Heavy M&A news-flow
Dow Jones Industrials: 0.09%
Nasdaq Comp.: 0.03%
S&P 500: 0.13%
The main stock-market averages had moved slightly into the blue come midday Monday, as traders paused for breath following Friday's record closing prices for the Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500 after a four week advance.
Of interest, the Financial Times's John Authers today highlighted how global stocks have kept rising when earnings growth rates outside the United States have actually peaked. As well, revenues have actually stagnated in the US since one year ago. So where are the increased profits coming from? Bigger margins he wrote, in part as a result of the decline in energy costs as well as lower interest rates.
For its part Bloomberg called attention to how the largest gains year-to-date in the S&P 500 have come from its most indebted components.
No major data was on tap. Hence, investors are thought to be simply keeping a close eye on speakers from the Federal Reserve given the recent ramp-up in speculation about a potential exit strategy from quantitative easing. Minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting were also due out on Wednesday.
The head of the Dallas Fed, Richard Fisher (not a FOMC member), told CNBC that a sudden stop of purchases of mortgage backed securities (MBS) would be "too violent" for the market and suggested the Fed should taper off its asset purchases instead. Meanwhile, Charles Evans, President of the Chicago Fed and another FOMC member, was due to speak this afternoon.
Yahoo! confirms Tumblr acquisition
In the corporate world, Yahoo! dominated headlines after confirming news that it is to buy social-media website Tumblr for $1.1bn.
"Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business," Yahoo said in a press release.
In other M&A news, Websense soared on reports that the internet security group is to go private in a deal valued at around $1.0bn. Actavis edged higher after the generic drugmaker said it would take over Warner Chilcott, in a stock deal worth approximately $5.0bn.
JPMorgan Chase & Co was being closely watched ahead of the shareholder vote tomorrow on whether to split Jamie Dimon's jobs of Chairman and Chief Executive. The vote could be an "inflection point" in shareholders' push for a greater say in the boardroom, according to The New York Times.
Goldman Sachs was expected to sell a $1.1bn stake in the world's largest lender by market value - Chinese outfit Industrial & Commercial Bank of China - a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Deere&Co. to 'sell' from 'neutral.'
Soup-maker Campbell released better than expected results, despite which its shares were falling, given the drop seen in the company's margins.
From a sector standpoint the best performance was being seen in the following industrial groups: Gold mining (4.98%), Mining (4.45%) and Coal (4.49%).
Led by declines in production-related indicators, the Chicago Fed national activity index (CFNAI) decreased to -0.53 points in April from -0.23 in March.
Crude futures turn around to trade higher
Front month West Texas crude futures were up by 1.07% to the 97.02 dollar per barrel mark on the NYMEX.
10 year US Treasury yields were flat 1.95%.
S&P 500 - Risers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $54.34 +8.72%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $32.13 +4.90%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $35.50 +4.50%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $7.05 +4.47%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $21.11 +4.17%
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $47.33 +3.88%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $64.58 +3.76%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $62.12 +3.74%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $19.54 +3.50%
Noble Corp (NE) $42.06 +3.46%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Red Hat Inc. (RHT) $52.72 -4.13%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $102.16 -3.29%
Dean Foods Co. (DF) $20.36 -2.82%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.30 -2.71%
Adt Corp (ADT) $42.22 -2.48%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $100.37 -2.46%
Safeway Inc. (SWY) $24.54 -2.43%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $22.19 -2.42%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $67.64 -2.13%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $46.65 -2.06%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.73 +1.39%
American Express Co. (AXP) $74.29 +1.32%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $124.63 +0.98%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $88.50 +0.95%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $13.54 +0.82%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $92.44 +0.74%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $56.15 +0.47%
3M Co. (MMM) $111.85 +0.41%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $52.47 +0.33%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $34.94 +0.20%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.83 -1.69%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $45.36 -1.37%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.49 -1.12%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $79.14 -1.11%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $86.17 -0.38%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $66.37 -0.32%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $62.68 -0.25%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $77.68 -0.24%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $21.22 -0.24%
AT&T Inc. (T) $37.38 -0.17%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $97.72 +3.17%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $73.59 +2.96%
Priceline.Com Inc. (PCLN) $837.36 +2.91%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $15.26 +2.14%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $441.79 +1.97%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $14.79 +1.93%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $143.31 +1.65%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $48.00 +1.07%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $58.11 +1.03%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $26.77 +0.94%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $102.16 -3.29%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $100.37 -2.46%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $77.72 -2.23%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $67.64 -2.13%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $37.09 -1.98%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $25.77 -1.83%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $58.81 -1.82%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $41.89 -1.76%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $30.95 -1.75%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $97.11 -1.74%
AB
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