Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Markets decline on fear of a Chinese slowdown

Dow was under water all day & finished with a loss of 68, decliners over advancers 2-1 & NAZ slipped 4 (another gain for Apple to a new record reduced the loss).  Bank stocks digested recent gains, with the Financial Index up a fraction to 214 (a new high since May 19). 

The MLP index fell 1 to just under 401 & the REIT index was off 1+ to 252 (1 below its yearly highs).  Junk bond funds were a little higher after the sell-off last week.  Treasury 10-year notes fluctuated after dropping for a 10th consecutive trading day, the longest run of declines since 1985, as investors bet a strengthening economy will diminish the refuge appeal of US gov securities.  Oil was down on worries about a slowdown in Chinese economic growth.  Gold continued its recent decline.

JPMorgan Chase Capital XVI (AMJ)


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Treasury Yields:


U.S. 3-month

0.097%

U.S. 2-year

0.395%

U.S. 10-year

2.374%


CLJ12.NYM...Crude Oil Apr 12...105.68 ...Down 2.41  (2.2%)

Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]




Neel Kashkari, who heads global equities at Pimco, said Greece & Portugal will need additional bailouts.  “We don’t think that Greece will actually be able to deliver on the austerity measures they’re promising,” Kashkari said.  “Risks in Europe remain, so we’re being very selective.”  Bailout II doesn’t solve the region’s sovereign-debt crisis, he said.  While U.S. economic indicators have been improving, risks of further “shocks” coming out of Europe & slowing growth in the emerging markets are leading Pimco to buy stocks only selectively, he said.  “We do think that China will have a soft landing,” Kashkari said, citing Pimco’s forecast of 7-8% real GDP growth in the country.  “It’s still very strong growth relative to the rest of the world.”  Pimco funds hold the largest portfolio of bonds in the world.

Pimco’s Kashkari Says Greece, Portugal to Need More Bailouts


  • A HP Invent logo is pictured in front of Hewlett-Packard international offices in Meyrin near Geneva August 4, 2009. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Photo:   Yahoo

Hewlett Packard, a Dow stock, plans to combine its PC & printing divisions in a major internal overhaul intended to spur combined sales of hardware to customers.  That reorganization, expected to be announced "soon," would see printing division chief Vyomesh Joshi step down & current PC chief Todd Bradley head up the combined unit.  HPQ is struggling to keep its core personal computing business in the black as mobile devices from tablets to smartphones eat into sales.  It considered but abandoned a proposal to sell or spin off its PC arm last year.  CEO Whitman is looking to streamline the organization so that it is easier for customers to buy the 2 products together, & to reinvest any savings into research & development.  Earnings plummeted 44% in the fiscal Q1 as revenue slid 7%.  It has been struggling to galvanize computer sales.  The stock has an unusually dismal chart, down 35¢ today.

Hewlett-Packard Said to Combine PC With Printing, Imaging Unit

Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ)


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Caterpillar shares, a Dow stock, fell after it said the pace of its retail machine sales has slowed in recent months.  US retail machine sales rose 51% in the month ended Dec 11, compared to the year before.  But by mid-Jan sales were up 47% from 2011 & in mid-Feb the rise had slowed to 39%.  The trend extended across its global operations.  In the Asia/Pacific region, year-over-year growth slowed from 31% in Dec to 20% in Feb.  Sales growth is slowing in part because demand is reaching "normal" levels after a big jump last year.  Its construction equipment sales plunged 66% in 2009 during the global economic downturn but sales snapped back in the last 2 years.  Many companies replaced worn-out machines they were using to get them thru lean times.  This may be a tougher year for CAT.  The stock fell 2.93.

Caterpillar reports slowing global sales growth AP

Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT)


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A possible slowdown in the rate of growth for the Chinese economy got a lot of attention, causing most commodities (they're a big buyer of about everything) to decline.  But gas prices in the US keep heading north.  The average price for gas at the pump was pushing $3.85 yesterday.  Dow is entitled to a rest after its big advance this year & the last 6 months.  Pulling back 62 in the last 2 days is hardly meaningful.  But an abundance of economic issues remain & Pimco has a cautious outlook while keep its eyes on them.

Dow Industrials


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