Portfolio Crafter
01-26-2007, 06:23 PM
End of Day Market Summary Thursday, January 25, 2007
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Stocks closed sharply lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffering its worst day of the year so far, as investors were shaken by a sell-off in the bond market, which sent long-term interest rates to five-month highs and fueled jitters about the housing market and the economy. The weak housing report added fuel to the fire.
Today, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed down 119.21 or 0.94% to 12,502.56, the broader S&P 500 closed down 16.23 or 1.13% to 1,423.9, and the Nasdaq closed down 32.04 or 1.3% to 2,434.24.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 25 to 7 on volume of 1.70 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers 21 to 8 on volume of 2.2 billion shares.
Roughly one-third of the S&P 500 has reported earnings for the December quarter so far. Earnings are currently on track to rise 9.4% combining reported and expected earnings. This marks the slowest quarter of growth in nearly 5 years, reflecting both the effects of a slower growing economy and the tougher year-over-year comparisons after several years of strong growth. The slowdown in the global economy and its subsequent pressure on earnings may be an issue for stock investors, but that in the short term, stocks should be able to hang on to the upward bias that has been in place since last summer. The strength we've seen in the economy has pushed back the likelihood of a Fed rate cut and that's put some jitters in the market.
The report on existing home sales saw the biggest drop last year in 17 years. Home sales in December also saw a bigger-than-expected decline. However, the report also showed that home prices may have bottomed out in December. There was a 8.4% drop in the existing home sales in 2006, falling to 6.48 million. It was the largest decline since a 14.8% drop in 1989.
Stock of eBay closed up $2.45 or 7.5% to $32.45, after reporting higher quarterly earnings that topped forecasts and issued a bullish first-quarter and full-year profit outlook. It reported an EPS of 31 cents against the expected 28 cents. Revenue was higher at $1.72 billion, up 29% from the $1.33 billion last year, and higher than the $1.67 billion predicted by analysts. The total value of all items sold on the site in the quarter reached $14.4 billion, up 20% from $12.0 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Shares of AT&T closed up $0.21 to $36.84, after reporting quarterly earnings that rose from a year earlier and topped estimates. The company also raised its forecast on the predicted benefits of its merger with SBC. The fourth-quarter income rose 17% to $1.9 billion, compared with $1.7 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 23.1% to $15.9 billion from $12.9 billion.
Stock of Nokia Corp. rose 5.4% after delivering a forecast beating 19% increase in fourth-quarter profit. It also plans to buy back up to 4 billion euros in stock, and proposed an annual dividend of 0.43 euro a share, up 16% from 2005. Quarterly net income improved to 1.27 billion euros, from 1.07 billion euros a year earlier. Sales climbed 13% to 11.7 billion euros.
Shares of Ford Motor closed up $0.04 to $8.24, despite a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. The automaker also said it would cut production for the current quarter. Weak sales of its key pickup trucks in the quarter and $9.9 billion in after-tax charges due to employee buyouts and plant closing plans resulted in $12.7 billion loss for 2006.
U.S. light crude oil for March delivery fell $1.14 to settle at $54.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Stocks closed sharply lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffering its worst day of the year so far, as investors were shaken by a sell-off in the bond market, which sent long-term interest rates to five-month highs and fueled jitters about the housing market and the economy. The weak housing report added fuel to the fire.
Today, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed down 119.21 or 0.94% to 12,502.56, the broader S&P 500 closed down 16.23 or 1.13% to 1,423.9, and the Nasdaq closed down 32.04 or 1.3% to 2,434.24.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 25 to 7 on volume of 1.70 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers 21 to 8 on volume of 2.2 billion shares.
Roughly one-third of the S&P 500 has reported earnings for the December quarter so far. Earnings are currently on track to rise 9.4% combining reported and expected earnings. This marks the slowest quarter of growth in nearly 5 years, reflecting both the effects of a slower growing economy and the tougher year-over-year comparisons after several years of strong growth. The slowdown in the global economy and its subsequent pressure on earnings may be an issue for stock investors, but that in the short term, stocks should be able to hang on to the upward bias that has been in place since last summer. The strength we've seen in the economy has pushed back the likelihood of a Fed rate cut and that's put some jitters in the market.
The report on existing home sales saw the biggest drop last year in 17 years. Home sales in December also saw a bigger-than-expected decline. However, the report also showed that home prices may have bottomed out in December. There was a 8.4% drop in the existing home sales in 2006, falling to 6.48 million. It was the largest decline since a 14.8% drop in 1989.
Stock of eBay closed up $2.45 or 7.5% to $32.45, after reporting higher quarterly earnings that topped forecasts and issued a bullish first-quarter and full-year profit outlook. It reported an EPS of 31 cents against the expected 28 cents. Revenue was higher at $1.72 billion, up 29% from the $1.33 billion last year, and higher than the $1.67 billion predicted by analysts. The total value of all items sold on the site in the quarter reached $14.4 billion, up 20% from $12.0 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Shares of AT&T closed up $0.21 to $36.84, after reporting quarterly earnings that rose from a year earlier and topped estimates. The company also raised its forecast on the predicted benefits of its merger with SBC. The fourth-quarter income rose 17% to $1.9 billion, compared with $1.7 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 23.1% to $15.9 billion from $12.9 billion.
Stock of Nokia Corp. rose 5.4% after delivering a forecast beating 19% increase in fourth-quarter profit. It also plans to buy back up to 4 billion euros in stock, and proposed an annual dividend of 0.43 euro a share, up 16% from 2005. Quarterly net income improved to 1.27 billion euros, from 1.07 billion euros a year earlier. Sales climbed 13% to 11.7 billion euros.
Shares of Ford Motor closed up $0.04 to $8.24, despite a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. The automaker also said it would cut production for the current quarter. Weak sales of its key pickup trucks in the quarter and $9.9 billion in after-tax charges due to employee buyouts and plant closing plans resulted in $12.7 billion loss for 2006.
U.S. light crude oil for March delivery fell $1.14 to settle at $54.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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