Portfolio Crafter
02-02-2007, 07:54 PM
End of Day Market Summary Friday, February 2, 2007
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Stocks closed mixed Friday but chalked up gains for the week, after a weaker-than-expected January employment report eased investor concern about inflation but weighed on economically-sensitive stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Often short-term traders try to catch some profit and today's down trend can be attributed to that.
Today, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed down 20.19 or 0.16% to 12,653.49, the broader S&P 500 closed up 2.45 or 0.17% to 1,448.39, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed up 7.50 or 0.30% to 2,475.88. For the week, the Dow was up 1.3%, the S&P 500 gained 1.8% and the Nasdaq rose 1.7%. The S&P 500 recorded its biggest weekly gain since August, while the Dow notched its best weekly performance since November.
Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers 18 to 13 on volume of 1.43 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers narrowly edged out decliners 4 to 3 on volume of 1.9 billion shares.
Job growth slowed in January, and the labor market was roughly in line with Wall Street forecasts. Employers added 111,000 jobs in January, short of 150,000 jobs that economists' had forecasts. Average hourly earnings rose only 0.2% in January, versus forecasts for a rise of 0.3%. The unemployment rate rose to a higher-than-expected 4.6%. The report added to bets that the economy is heading for a soft landing, rather than a recession, inflation is contained and the Federal Reserve can stay on hold.
Consumer sentiment rose in January to its highest in two years on favorable expectations for the U.S. economy and for higher wage gains. The final January reading on the consumer sentiment index rose to 96.9 from 91.7 at the end of December. This is the highest since December 2004. The one-year inflation index edged up to 3.0% in January from 2.9% in late December, and its five-year inflation index stood at 3.0% for a third straight month.
Stock of Amazon closed down $1.31 or 4% to $37.39, after the company reported lower fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates and lifted its revenue forecast for the first quarter. The company reported net income of $98 million, down from $199 million a year earlier. Sales jumped 34% to $3.99 billion as shoppers took advantage of its unlimited free-shipping incentives.
Shares of Electronics Arts gained 1.2% at $51.13, as investors looked past a 37% drop in profit and a sales forecast that lagged Wall Street estimates. The results came as a pleasant surprise to several analysts who had expected the company to come in below consensus forecasts. The company also outlined a plan for the coming fiscal year that includes stepped-up development for Nintendo platforms, including the popular Wii that debuted on the market in November and has outsold PlayStation 3.
Shares of Chevron closed down $0.43 to $74.04, after reporting lower fourth-quarter profit, hurt by falling natural gas prices. Net income in the quarter dropped to $3.77 billion, from $4.14 billion in 2005. Revenue in the quarter fell to $47.75 billion from $53.79 billion last year. The company said that it added slightly more oil and gas to its reserves than it produced in 2006 - 950 million barrels of oil equivalent, or 101% of production
U.S. light crude oil for March delivery rose $1.72 to $59.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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by Portfolio Crafter (http://www.portfoliocrafter.com?a_aid=fiasco)
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Stocks closed mixed Friday but chalked up gains for the week, after a weaker-than-expected January employment report eased investor concern about inflation but weighed on economically-sensitive stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Often short-term traders try to catch some profit and today's down trend can be attributed to that.
Today, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed down 20.19 or 0.16% to 12,653.49, the broader S&P 500 closed up 2.45 or 0.17% to 1,448.39, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed up 7.50 or 0.30% to 2,475.88. For the week, the Dow was up 1.3%, the S&P 500 gained 1.8% and the Nasdaq rose 1.7%. The S&P 500 recorded its biggest weekly gain since August, while the Dow notched its best weekly performance since November.
Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers 18 to 13 on volume of 1.43 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers narrowly edged out decliners 4 to 3 on volume of 1.9 billion shares.
Job growth slowed in January, and the labor market was roughly in line with Wall Street forecasts. Employers added 111,000 jobs in January, short of 150,000 jobs that economists' had forecasts. Average hourly earnings rose only 0.2% in January, versus forecasts for a rise of 0.3%. The unemployment rate rose to a higher-than-expected 4.6%. The report added to bets that the economy is heading for a soft landing, rather than a recession, inflation is contained and the Federal Reserve can stay on hold.
Consumer sentiment rose in January to its highest in two years on favorable expectations for the U.S. economy and for higher wage gains. The final January reading on the consumer sentiment index rose to 96.9 from 91.7 at the end of December. This is the highest since December 2004. The one-year inflation index edged up to 3.0% in January from 2.9% in late December, and its five-year inflation index stood at 3.0% for a third straight month.
Stock of Amazon closed down $1.31 or 4% to $37.39, after the company reported lower fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates and lifted its revenue forecast for the first quarter. The company reported net income of $98 million, down from $199 million a year earlier. Sales jumped 34% to $3.99 billion as shoppers took advantage of its unlimited free-shipping incentives.
Shares of Electronics Arts gained 1.2% at $51.13, as investors looked past a 37% drop in profit and a sales forecast that lagged Wall Street estimates. The results came as a pleasant surprise to several analysts who had expected the company to come in below consensus forecasts. The company also outlined a plan for the coming fiscal year that includes stepped-up development for Nintendo platforms, including the popular Wii that debuted on the market in November and has outsold PlayStation 3.
Shares of Chevron closed down $0.43 to $74.04, after reporting lower fourth-quarter profit, hurt by falling natural gas prices. Net income in the quarter dropped to $3.77 billion, from $4.14 billion in 2005. Revenue in the quarter fell to $47.75 billion from $53.79 billion last year. The company said that it added slightly more oil and gas to its reserves than it produced in 2006 - 950 million barrels of oil equivalent, or 101% of production
U.S. light crude oil for March delivery rose $1.72 to $59.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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