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February 10th, 2012
S&P 500 – U.S. stocks fell, snapping a five- week-rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, amid concern plans to help Greece avoid default were unraveling.
Citigroup Inc. (C), Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) dropped more than 1.2 percent to pace losses in financial companies. Commodity producers retreated as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX), Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Halliburton Co. (HAL) slid at least 1.2 percent. LinkedIn Corp., the biggest professional-networking website, jumped 10 percent after it reported sales that more than doubled and forecast higher 2012 revenue.
The S&P 500 declined 0.8 percent to 1,340.92 as of 9:39 a.m. New York time. The benchmark gauge for American equities has fallen 0.3 percent since Feb. 3, snapping the longest weekly rally since January 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 101.57 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,788.89 today.
“We’ve had a flip-flop that triggered global selling,” Frederic Dickson, who helps oversee $28 billion as chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon, said in a telephone interview. “Investors are responding to the sudden change in direction or the lack of resolution of the Greek/European problem that they felt was resolved.”
Equities followed a global slump as emergency talks of euro-area finance chiefs broke up late last night with Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker saying Greece must turn its budget cuts into law, flesh out 325 million euros in spending reductions and have its major party leaders sign up to the program so they don’t retreat after upcoming elections.
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Feb 8, 2012
S&P 500 Futures – U.S. stocks were little changed, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached the highest level since 2008, as Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos began talks with political leaders on terms required for a bailout.
Equities reversed gains after a report that the European Central Bank was still divided on its role in a Greek debt restructuring. Six out of 10 groups in the S&P 500 retreated as energy and utility shares had the biggest declines. Sprint (S) Nextel Corp., the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, slumped 2 percent after reporting a wider loss. Hartford (HIG) Financial Services Group Inc. climbed 9.2 percent after billionaire John Paulson demanded action to boost the stock performance.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 1,346.88 at 1:01 p.m. New York time, after rising as much as 0.3 percent earlier today. The Dow lost 15.48 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,862.72.
“It seems as if everyone is holding their breath and waiting for some kind of resolution in Greece to let us know what direction to take next,” Michelle Gibley, senior market analyst at San Francisco-based Charles Schwab Corp., said in a telephone interview. Her firm has $1.68 trillion in client assets. “A deal will be made ultimately, but policy makers have already proven that deadlines mean little to them.”
Papademos began negotiating with leaders of the political parties supporting his caretaker government as he tried to make up for lost time to secure a second aid package. ECB policy makers are still divided on what contribution the central bank could make, Reuters reported, citing two unidentified euro-zone monetary-policy sources.
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February 3rd, 2012
S&P 500 Futures – U.S. stocks advanced, extending the best start to a year for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 1989, after a report showed that employment growth topped estimates and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 8.3 percent.
Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Alcoa Inc. (AA) rallied at least 2.4 percent to pace gains among companies most- tied to economic growth. The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 1.2 percent as FedEx Corp. (FDX) climbed 1.4 percent. Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW), a mortgage guarantor and life insurer, surged 14 percent after swinging to a profit. Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) rose 5.3 percent as earnings at the meat processor beat estimates.
The S&P 500 added 1.3 percent to 1,342.83 at 11:55 a.m. New York time. The benchmark gauge has rallied for five straight weeks, the longest streak in a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 144.71 points, or 1.1 percent, to 12,850.12, the highest level on a closing basis since 2008. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies jumped 2.1 percent to 829.62.
“Spectacular,” Ron Florance, managing director of investment strategy for Wells Fargo Private Bank, said in a telephone interview from Phoenix. His firm manages $169 billion. “It’s a very, very strong jobs number. It shows that companies have confidence that they see global demand growth through their products and services. That will support risk assets.”
Stocks and bond yields jumped as the report fueled optimism the economy is weathering the European debt crisis. The 243,000 increase in payrolls was the most since April and exceeded all forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The unemployment rate dropped to the lowest since February 2009.
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January 31st, 2012
S&P 500 – U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will cap the best January since 1997, as most countries in Europe agreed to tighter budget controls and Greece made progress on debt talks.
Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley increased at least 1.1 percent, following gains in European lenders. Eli Lilly & Co. rallied 2.1 percent as the drugmaker’s profit beat projections. Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world’s largest grain processor, slumped 3.2 percent amid disappointing results.
S&P 500 futures expiring in March added 0.5 percent to 1,315.40 at 9:13 a.m. New York time. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 50 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,652.
“Most market participants will raise their glasses to usher out what has proved to be a decent January for performance, data and sentiment,” said Jim Reid, a global strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London.
Global stocks rose today as European Union leaders, meeting in Brussels yesterday, completed a fiscal-discipline treaty that speeds sanctions on high-deficit states. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said he’s “strongly committed” to reaching a debt-swap pact with bondholders. Residential real estate prices fell more than forecast in November, showing distressed properties are hampering improvement in the U.S. housing market.
Stocks fell yesterday, sending the S&P 500 lower for a third day, as European leaders sparred with Greece over a second rescue program. The decline followed a four-week rally, which was driven by the Federal Reserve’s plans to keep interest rates low through at least late 2014 and better-than-estimated earnings. Of the 184 S&P 500 companies that reported results since Jan. 9, 123 posted per-share earnings that beat projections, Bloomberg data show.
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