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USRant for Wednesday, December 23rd

Posted by GT on December 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

The following economic data was released during the session:

  • Gross Domestic Product m/m for Oct was released in Canada; the result was 0.2% losing 0.2 from the prior reading of 0.4%, – less than expectations of 0.3%.
  • Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for Dec was released in the US; the outcome was 72.5 a drop of 0.9 from the prior reading of 73.4, – less than the market’s pre-release guess of 74.3.
  • Core Personal Consumption Expenditure – Prices Index m/m for Nov was released in the US; the outcome was 0.0% a decline of 0.2 from the prior reading of 0.2%, – less than expectations of 0.1%.
  • New Home Sales m/m for Nov was released in the US; the series posted a reading of -11.3% declining 17.5 from the prior reading of 6.2%, – less than expectations of 1.9%.
  • New Home Sales for Nov was released in the US; the outcome was 355K falling 45 from the prior reading of 400K, – less than the consensus estimate of 438K.
  • Personal Income m/m for Nov was released in the US; the outcome was 0.4% adding 0.1 from the prior reading of 0.3%, – less than the consensus estimate of 0.4%.
  • Personal Consumption Expenditure Deflator for Nov was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 1.5% rising 1.3 from the prior reading of 0.2%, – less than the consensus estimate of 1.5%.
  • Core Personal Consumption Expenditure – Prices Index y/y for Nov was released in the US; the result was 1.4% losing 0 from the prior reading of 1.4%, – above the consensus estimate of 1.3%.
  • EIA Crude Oil Stocks change for Dec 18 was released in the US; the result was -4.9M sliding 1.2 from the prior reading of -3.7M, – less than expectations of -1.8M.
  • Personal Consumption Expenditures m/m for Nov was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 0.5% losing 0.1 from the prior reading of 0.6%, – less than the consensus estimate of 0.6%.
Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +1.51 points (0.01%) to 10466.44 points. The index high for the day was 10492.06, while the low was 10437.80.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 789.76m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.4 to one, with 17 advancers to 12 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 584.24m to 205.53m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

  • Alcoa (AA) +0.21 (1.3%) to $16 on volume of 26.07m shares;
  • Du Pont (DD) +0.36 (1.1%) to $33.06 on volume of 3.84m shares;
  • Caterpillar (CAT) +0.43 (0.7%) to $58.32 on volume of 4.04m shares;
  • McDonalds (MCD) +0.39 (0.6%) to $63.36 on volume of 5.86m shares; and
  • AT&T (T) +0.14 (0.5%) to $28.04 on volume of 15.56m shares.

The S&P500 Index advanced +2.57 points (0.23%) to 1120.59 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.5bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.1 to one, with 317 advancers to 150 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.37bn to 1.11bn shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

  • New York Times Cl. A (NYT) +1.07 (9.7%) to $12.1 on volume of 4.64m shares;
  • Gannett Co. (GCI) +1.01 (7%) to $15.42 on volume of 10.86m shares;
  • Micron Technology (MU) +0.58 (6.2%) to $9.99 on volume of 60.01m shares;
  • CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) +2.49 (4.9%) to $52.87 on volume of 3.46m shares; and
  • eBay Inc. (EBAY) +1.05 (4.6%) to $23.97 on volume of 22.55m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced +16.97 points (0.75%) to 2269.64 points. while the Nasdaq100 gained +12.48 points (0.68%) to 1851.99 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 511.49m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.6 to one, with 70 advancers to 27 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 422.16m to 87.28m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

  • eBay (EBAY) +1.05 (4.6%) to $23.97 on volume of 22.55m shares;
  • Foster Wheeler (FWLT) +1.27 (4.4%) to $30.11 on volume of 2.05m shares;
  • Yahoo! (YHOO) +0.69 (4.3%) to $16.67 on volume of 22.39m shares;
  • Amazon.com (AMZN) +5.19 (3.9%) to $138.94 on volume of 9.49m shares; and
  • Baidu.com (BIDU) +15.39 (3.9%) to $414.2 on volume of 1.35m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index added +0.17 points (0.87%) to 19.71 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index fell 0.03 points (0.15%) to 19.67 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3919 issues traded today on the NYSE; today’s total volume was 3.53bn shares. A total of 2696 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 2.02bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1068 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.45bn shares. 460 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 62 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2839 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.55bn shares. A total of 1857 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.15bn shares changing hands in the day’s winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 854 losers, and total declining volume was 0.38bn shares. 207 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 16 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Major Market Statistics
Index Close Gain(Loss) %
Dow Jones Industrial Average 10466.44+1.510.01%
S&P500 Index 1120.59+2.570.23%
Nasdaq Composite 2269.64+16.970.75%
Nasdaq100 1851.99+12.480.68%
CBOE Volatility Index 1971+0.170.87%
CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index 19.67-0.03-0.15%

Dow Darlings

  • Alcoa (AA) +0.21 (1.3%) to $16 on volume of 26.1m units
  • Du Pont (DD) +0.36 (1.1%) to $33.06 on volume of 3.8m units
  • Caterpillar (CAT) +0.43 (0.7%) to $58.32 on volume of 4m units
  • McDonalds (MCD) +0.39 (0.6%) to $63.36 on volume of 5.9m units
  • AT&T (T) +0.14 (0.5%) to $28.04 on volume of 15.6m units

Dow Duds:

  • Merck (MRK) -0.5 (1.3%) to $37.25 on volume of 12.7m units
  • Home Depot (HD) -0.29 (1%) to $29 on volume of 9.8m units
  • Bank Of America (BAC) -0.14 (0.9%) to $15.19 on volume of 101.6m units
  • JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.38 (0.9%) to $41.56 on volume of 24.4m units
  • Chevron (CVX) -0.45 (0.6%) to $77.04 on volume of 7.3m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

  • Bank Of America (BAC)-0.14 (0.9%) to $15.19 on volume of 101.6m units
  • General Electric (GE) +0.03 (0.2%) to $15.41 on volume of 42.2m units
  • Intel (INTC) +0.06 (0.3%) to $20.1 on volume of 29.9m units
  • Microsoft (MSFT) +0.1 (0.3%) to $30.92 on volume of 27.9m units
  • Pfizer (PFE)-0.03 (0.2%) to $18.58 on volume of 26.7m units
Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows –

Index
Precious Metals Futures
Close Gain(Loss) %
Gold 1094 7.3 0.67
Gold 1090.6 3.9 0.36
Silver 17.19 0.16 0.94
Silver 17.145 0.115 0.68
Palladium 357.35 3.1 0.88
Palladium 358.15 3.9 1.1
Platinum 1432.9 30 2.14
Platinum 1428 25.1 1.79

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) rose 5.42 points (3.27%) to 171.37 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 77.83m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 16 of the 16 index components rose, with total upside volume of 77.83mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

  • Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.76 (4.2%) to $18.83 on volume of 6.19m shares;
  • GoldCorp (GG) +1.53 (4%) to $40.03 on volume of 9.5m shares;
  • Royal Gold (RGLD) +1.79 (3.8%) to $48.91 on volume of 0.52m shares;
  • Barrick Gold (ABX) +1.34 (3.4%) to $40.23 on volume of 10.42m shares; and
  • Freeport McMoran (FCX) +2.48 (3.2%) to $80.93 on volume of 9.79m shares.
Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows –

Energy Futures
Commodity Close Gain(Loss) %
Crude Oil 76.67 2.27 3.05
Crude Oil 76.39 1.99 2.67
Heating Oil 2.0329 0.0629 3.19
Heating Oil 2.0288 0.0588 2.98
Natural Gas 5.852 0.118 2.06
Natural Gas 5.855 0.121 2.11
Gasoline RBOB 1.9868 0.0742 3.88
Gasoline RBOB 1.9822 0.0696 3.64

The Oil Services index (OSX) gained 2.98 points (1.54%) to 196.89 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 52.53m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 14 to one, with 14 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 48.73m to 3.79m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were –

  • Global Industries (GLBL) +0.26 (3.8%) to $7.05 on volume of 1.67m shares;
  • Cameron International (CAM) +1.42 (3.5%) to $42.09 on volume of 3.13m shares;
  • Weatherford International (WFT) +0.52 (3%) to $17.76 on volume of 9.25m shares;
  • Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.62 (2.8%) to $22.88 on volume of 3.01m shares; and
  • National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +0.94 (2.1%) to $44.77 on volume of 3.15m shares.
Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows –

Currency Futures
Index Close Gain(Loss) %
U.S. Dollar Index 78.24 -0.37 -0.47
Euro FX 1.4334 0.0082 0.58
Australian Dollar 0.8729 0.0033 0.38
Canadian Dollar 0.9543 0.007 0.74
Japanese Yen 0.01091 1e-05 0.09
New Zealand Dollar 0.7005 0.002 0.29

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0.5%. The fallout occurred as follows:

  • General Electric (GE) +0.03 (0.2%) to $15.41 on volume of 42.17m units.
  • Citigroup (C) -0.05 (1.5%) to $3.29 on volume of 355.72m units.
  • Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.02 (0.04%) to $53.32 on volume of 8.55m units.
  • IBM (IBM) +0.07 (0.05%) to $130.00 on volume of 4.11m units.
  • Intel (INTC) +0.06 (0.3%) to $20.10 on volume of 29.89m units.
  • Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.03 (0.13%) to $23.78 on volume of 23.38m units.
  • Google (GOOG) +10.56 (1.76%) to $611.68 on volume of 2.05m units.
  • Fannie Mae (FNM) -0.03 (2.78%) to $1.05 on volume of 17.07m units.
  • Freddie Mac (FRE) -0.04 (2.96%) to $1.31 on volume of 8.66m units.
Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) dipped 0.49 points (1.13%) to 42.87 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 589.53m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 3.4 to one, with 17 decliners to 5 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 573.48m to 16.05m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

  • New M&I Corporation (MI) -0.19 (3.3%) to $5.53 on volume of 3.92m shares;
  • Regions Financial (RF) -0.16 (2.9%) to $5.38 on volume of 7.62m shares;
  • Suntrust Banks (STI) -0.57 (2.7%) to $20.28 on volume of 4.98m shares;
  • Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) -0.27 (2.6%) to $9.93 on volume of 8.66m shares; and
  • Zions Bancorp (ZION) -0.3 (2.3%) to $12.92 on volume of 3.79m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) was unchanged at 0 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 188.58m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.3 to one, with 9 advancers to 7 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 156.32m to 30.21m shares. The index’s rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being –

  • Micron Technology (MU) +0.58 (6.2%) to $9.99 on volume of 60.01m shares;
  • Sandisk (SNDK) +0.83 (3%) to $28.27 on volume of 12.06m shares;
  • Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.24 (2.5%) to $9.67 on volume of 19.5m shares;
  • Broadcom (BRCM) -0.46 (1.4%) to $31.54 on volume of 5.05m shares; and
  • Novellus Systems (NVLS) -0.3 (1.3%) to $23.56 on volume of 1.93m shares.

The ChildKiller (“Defence”) index (DFX) fell 0.59 points (0.18%) to 336.38 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 60.19m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.1 to one, with 8 decliners to 7 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 47.02m shares to 12.03m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were –

  • Raytheon (RTN) -0.55 (1%) to $52 on volume of 2.57m shares;
  • Rockwell Collins (COL) -0.58 (1%) to $55.57 on volume of 1.27m shares;
  • L-3 Holdings (LLL) -0.55 (0.6%) to $85.13 on volume of 0.52m shares;
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) -0.42 (0.6%) to $75.23 on volume of 2.21m shares; and
  • Northrop Grummanl (NOC) -0.24 (0.4%) to $55.87 on volume of 1.21m shares.

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