Stocks stumbled following a day of mixed earnings reports, although the Dow did squeak out a small gain. Higher beta stocks, particularly in technology, once again took the brunt of investor selling. Silver got pounded for a second-straight day following what had been a huge run-up, as new margin requirements forced some traders to liquidate positions. Commodities as a group, meanwhile, were generally lower. Overall, we think commodities drifting lower would be good for the economy and the market as well.
The Radiology Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by Merge Healthcare (Nasdaq: MRGE -News) with a 21% gain. The Discrete Semiconductor Stocks Indexwas the day's worst performing tickerspy Index, with Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE: VSH - News) down -8%.
Stocks ended mixed on the day, with the Dow the only index managing a gain, up fractionally at 12,808. The S&P fell -5 points to 1,357, while the Nasdaq dropped -20 points to 2,842. Oil tumbled -$2.47 to $111.05 a barrel, while gold slipped -$16.70 to $1,540.40 an ounce.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said March factory orders jumped 3.0% to a seasonally adjusted $463 billion, easily beating the 1.9% increase economists were expecting. March's increase is the fifth straight month factory orders have increased.
Payment processor MasterCard (NYSE: MA - News) said its first-quarter profit rose to $562 million, or $4.29 per share, from $455 million, or $3.46 per share, a year earlier as revenue climbed 15% to $1.5 billion. Analysts expected a profit of $4.08 a share on revenue of $1.45 billion. New York-based MasterCard forecast full-year profit growth of 20% on revenue growth of 12%-14%. Analysts were expecting full-year revenue of $6.19 billion, implying 12% growth, and a profit of $16.71 a share, which implies an increase of 19%. Shares of MasterCard rose 2.6%.
Engineering and construction firm Foster Wheeler (Nasdaq: FWLT - News) said its first-quarter earnings plunged -68% to $23 million, or 18 cents per share, from $72.1 million, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 10% to $1.04 billion. Excluding one-time items, Foster Wheeler earned 19 cents a share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 40 cents a share on revenue of $1.11 billion. Shares of Foster Wheeler fell -3.0%.
Agriculture commodities producer Archer-Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM - News) said its first-quarter profit rose to $578 million, or 86 cents per share, from $421 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier as revenue surged 33% to $20.08 billion. Analysts were expecting a profit of 86 cents on sales of $16.88 billion. Shares of the Illinois-based company slipped -6.7%. Nearly 30 pros held Archer-Daniels Midland in their portfolios at the end of 2010, and more than 560 tickerspy members own the stock in their portfolios.
Shares of industrial conglomerate Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR - News) fell -6.5% after the company said its fiscal second-quarter profit missed Wall Street estimates. Missouri-based Emerson said it earned $556 million, or 73 cents per share, compared with $405 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting a profit of 75 cents. Revenue rose 18% to $5.85 billion topping the $5.83 billion consensus estimate. The company forecast a full-year profit of $3.20-$3.30 a share. Analysts were expecting $3.28. More than 140 pros held Emerson Electric in their portfolios at the end of 2010 and more than 540 tickerspy members own the stock in their portfolios.
No comments:
Post a Comment