Reply #79: closing the day with piddly stock gains ('cept for the Nasdaq)

[ozymandius]

Dow 11,370.69 Up 21.41 (0.19%)
Nasdaq 2,310.53 Up 30.42 (1.33%)
S&P 500 1,257.76 Up 5.22 (0.42%)
10-Yr Bond 4.1110% Up 0.0950
NYSE Volume 4,580,285,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,050,454,000

4:25 pm : The stock market traded in choppy fashion Friday before finishing the session just 0.4% higher. The advance was too small to give stocks a gain for the week, finishing a bit below the unchanged mark instead. Still, the stock market is up 4.8% from its low last week.

Early session gains were driven by upbeat economic data and pleasing earnings results. Yet when the financial sector began trading without clear direction the broader market fluctuated as no clear leader emerged.

A rise in durable goods orders for June lifted early sentiment. The increase in orders totaled 0.8%, which is up from the prior increase of 0.1% and better than economists expected. Excluding transportation, orders increased 2.0%, up from the 0.5% downturn in the prior month. Importantly, the report suggests businesses continue to spend, which bodes well for second quarter economic growth.

June new home sales totaled 530,000, which is down from the upwardly revised 533,000 new homes sold in May. The results were also better than expected and suggest signs of stabilization, despite yesterday’s existing home sales data.

Earnings announcements were also generally upbeat. Wynn Resorts (WYNN 90.44, -1.55), YRC Worldwide (YRCW 17.23, -3.06), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI 98.05, -0.72), and Fortune Brands (FO 58.78, +0.49) all exceeded expectations.

From the financial sector, Legg Mason (LM 39.51, +1.30) posted a loss, but T Rowe Price (TROW 56.62, +0.61) announced earnings results that matched the consensus earnings per share estimate.

Following yesterday’s concerted selling effort the financial sector struggled to make a sustainable advance Friday. The sector finished 0.6% lower after being up as much as 2.2% in early action.

Particular weakness was seen among mortgage thrifts for the second straight session as Fannie Mae (FNM 11.55, -0.47) and Freddie Mac (FRE 8.27, -0.54) were the subject of continued credit and housing concern. Importantly, rating agency Standard & Poor's placed the two on CreditWatch Negative.

In the end, technology emerged as the best performing economic sector, advancing 1.6%. In turn, the tech-rich Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts, trading in positive territory for the entire session before finishing 1.3% higher.

The Nasdaq was aided by strong gains from heavyweights Microsoft (MSFT 26.16, +0.72), Apple (AAPL 162.12, +3.09), Qualcomm (QCOM 54.45, +2.02), and Google (GOOG 491.98, +16.36). With the exception of communications equipment maker Qualcomm, each encountered heavy selling pressure in yesterday’s session.

Fellow communications equipment company Juniper Networks (JNPR 26.57, +4.00) reported strong earnings per share results that topped Wall Street's forecast and issued upside guidance.

As a side note, oil finished the session below $124 per barrel, bringing its week-to-date decline to 4.3%. Oil is currently more than 19% below its record high, but still up more than 28% year-to-date. Importantly, lower oil prices ease inflationary pressures.DJ30 +21.41 NASDAQ +30.42 NQ100 +1.6% R2K +1.1% SP400 +0.4% SP500 +5.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1706/2.03 bln/1078 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1760/1.29 bln/1339