Portfolio Crafter
10-22-2006, 04:16 AM
End of Day Market Summary Friday, 10/20/2006
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Stocks ended mixed after a profit warning from Caterpillar Inc. wrapped up an otherwise largely positive week for quarterly earnings reports. While, the Nasdaq and the S&P rose, Caterpillar dragged the Dow industrials down from record levels.
Today, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed down 9.36 or 0.08% to 12,002.37, the broader S&P 500 index closed up 1.64 or 0.12% to 1,368.6, and the tech-laden Nasdaq index closed up 1.36 or 0.06% to 2,342.3. On the week, the Dow rose 0.3% while the S&P 500 gained 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite logged a weekly loss of 0.6%.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 17 to 14 on volume of 1.63 billion shares. On the Nasdaq market decliners topped advancers 18 to 11 as 1.89 billion shares changed hands.
This week, the market has been able to overcome a little bit of adverse news in terms of data pointing to a slowdown in the economy, which has been somewhat balanced by benign PPI and CPI reports and an in-line earnings season so far. On balance there was no reason to go up and no reason to go down so the market chose the path of least resistance which at the moment is to move higher. The profit warning from Caterpillar fueled concerns that corporate earnings may be feeling the pinch of a slowing economy. It also caused investors to once again re-think the soft landing scenario for the economy. However, a further decline in oil prices helped limit market losses.
Shares of Caterpillar closed down $10.02 or 12% to $59, after profits rose but fell short of estimates. The company also warned of slower economic growth ahead. It said that a number of factors weighed on third-quarter results, costs related to settling a dispute with Navistar International Corp. and slowing machinery sales. Profits rose 15.3%, to $769 million, up from $667 million a year earlier. Sales rose 17% to $10.52 billion.
Shares of Google closed up $33.61 or 7% to $459.67, as profits nearly doubled. The company reported sales of $2.69 billion, up 70% from a year earlier. It reported a net income of $733 million, up 92% from last year. These results beat all market expectations.
Stock of 3M closed up $1.94 or 3% to $78.34, on reporting results that beat forecast. It reported third-quarter net income of $894 million, or $1.18 a share, up from $840 million, or $1.08 a share, a year earlier. Sales rose nearly 9% to $5.86 billion, above the $5.77 billion expected by the market. The company forecast a fourth-quarter EPS of $1.10 to $1.16.
Shares of Merck & Co closed up $1.15 or 2.6% to $45.64. The company has set aside an additional $598 million to fight lawsuits over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. The company raised its full-year 2006 earnings guidance to an EPS range of $2.48 to $2.52.
U.S. light crude fell $1.68 to $56.82 a barrel on the U.S. Mercantile Exchange. OPEC agreed to curb its output by 1.2 million barrels per day to halt a precipitous fall in prices. This reduction was deeper than anticipated and trims OPEC output to 26.3 million bpd from Nov. 1.
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by Portfolio Crafter (http://www.portfoliocrafter.com?a_aid=fiasco)
30-day risk-free trial (http://www.portfoliocrafter.com?a_aid=fiasco)
Stocks ended mixed after a profit warning from Caterpillar Inc. wrapped up an otherwise largely positive week for quarterly earnings reports. While, the Nasdaq and the S&P rose, Caterpillar dragged the Dow industrials down from record levels.
Today, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed down 9.36 or 0.08% to 12,002.37, the broader S&P 500 index closed up 1.64 or 0.12% to 1,368.6, and the tech-laden Nasdaq index closed up 1.36 or 0.06% to 2,342.3. On the week, the Dow rose 0.3% while the S&P 500 gained 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite logged a weekly loss of 0.6%.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 17 to 14 on volume of 1.63 billion shares. On the Nasdaq market decliners topped advancers 18 to 11 as 1.89 billion shares changed hands.
This week, the market has been able to overcome a little bit of adverse news in terms of data pointing to a slowdown in the economy, which has been somewhat balanced by benign PPI and CPI reports and an in-line earnings season so far. On balance there was no reason to go up and no reason to go down so the market chose the path of least resistance which at the moment is to move higher. The profit warning from Caterpillar fueled concerns that corporate earnings may be feeling the pinch of a slowing economy. It also caused investors to once again re-think the soft landing scenario for the economy. However, a further decline in oil prices helped limit market losses.
Shares of Caterpillar closed down $10.02 or 12% to $59, after profits rose but fell short of estimates. The company also warned of slower economic growth ahead. It said that a number of factors weighed on third-quarter results, costs related to settling a dispute with Navistar International Corp. and slowing machinery sales. Profits rose 15.3%, to $769 million, up from $667 million a year earlier. Sales rose 17% to $10.52 billion.
Shares of Google closed up $33.61 or 7% to $459.67, as profits nearly doubled. The company reported sales of $2.69 billion, up 70% from a year earlier. It reported a net income of $733 million, up 92% from last year. These results beat all market expectations.
Stock of 3M closed up $1.94 or 3% to $78.34, on reporting results that beat forecast. It reported third-quarter net income of $894 million, or $1.18 a share, up from $840 million, or $1.08 a share, a year earlier. Sales rose nearly 9% to $5.86 billion, above the $5.77 billion expected by the market. The company forecast a fourth-quarter EPS of $1.10 to $1.16.
Shares of Merck & Co closed up $1.15 or 2.6% to $45.64. The company has set aside an additional $598 million to fight lawsuits over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. The company raised its full-year 2006 earnings guidance to an EPS range of $2.48 to $2.52.
U.S. light crude fell $1.68 to $56.82 a barrel on the U.S. Mercantile Exchange. OPEC agreed to curb its output by 1.2 million barrels per day to halt a precipitous fall in prices. This reduction was deeper than anticipated and trims OPEC output to 26.3 million bpd from Nov. 1.
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