Friday, April 20, 2012

Markets pare early gains after G20 meeting ends

Dow lost some of its early gains, finishing up 65, advancers over decliners 2-1 & NAZ fell 7 (led by a 14 drop to 573 at Apple).  Bank stocks sold off, taking the Financial Index down 1 to the 204s.  The MLP index rose 1+ to the 394s & the REIT index gained 3 to 255, flirting with its yearly highs.  Junk bond funds had a good day & Treasuries pared losses as the G-20 met to address the European sovereign-debt crisis.  Encouraging news about business confidence in Germany helped drive oil prices higher.  Gold continued to slosh around the mid 1600s.

JPMorgan Chase Capital XVI (AMJ)


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Treasury yields:

U.S. 3-month

0.066%

U.S. 2-year

0.266%

U.S. 10-year

1.966%

CLK12.NYM...Crude Oil May 12...102.94 ...Up 0.67  (0.7%)

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Britain's top finance official said the IMF will exceed $400B in its drive to significantly bolster its resources to deal with the European debt crisis & other financial emergencies.  The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne expects total pledges will surpass the $400B target set by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.  That would more than double the resources the IMF has available to make new loans to roubled nations.  Britain was committing around $15B.  The effort to increase IMF resources was a key item as officials of the G-20 major countries convened in DC for talks that were part of the spring meetings of the IMF & its sister lending agency, the World Bank.  More money for more mischief.

IMF projected to top $400 billion in pledges AP

  • A worker prepares the logo on the Microsoft stand on the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover in this file photo taken February 26, 2011. Microsoft Corp beat Wall Street's profit forecast as computer sales held up better than expected, lifting its shares 2.5 percent after hours. The world's largest software maker reported quarterly profit of $5.11 billion, or 60 cents per share, compared with $5.23 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter when it posted a one-time tax gain. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz/Files
Photo:   Yahoo

Microsoft, a Dow stock beat the profit forecast as personal computer sales held up better than expected.  Q1 EPS was 60¢ compared with 61¢ last year when it posted a one-time tax gain.  The forecast was for 57¢.  Sales rose 6% to $17.4B, driven by strong demand for its server software products & Office application & beat the forecast of $17.2B.  Worldwide personal computer sales rose a modest 1.9% according to tech research firm Gartner.  That was better than expected in a market facing hard-drive shortages from Thailand & the onslaught of the new iPad.  MSFT jumped $1.43.

Microsoft Shares Advance After Profit Exceeds Estimates on Business Sales

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)


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SanDisk EPS was 46¢ in Q1, dropping in half from 92¢ last year.  Excluding one-time items, EPS was 63¢ , down from $1.03 last year & shy of the 67¢ forecasted.  Revenue fell 7% to $1.2B (matching expectations).  License & royalty revenue rose, but product revenue fell.  Demand for flash memory was unexpectedly weak, while prices were depressed.  Demand is expected to rise, but not until H2.  The market for flash memory is a volatile one, & recovery is uncertain but prices remain lower which will cut into profits. The stock plunged $4.56 (11%) on the news.

SanDisk Drops After Sales Forecast Falls Short of Estimates

SanDisk Corporation (SNDK)


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Rising markets early in the week were good enough to give Dow an almost 200 weekly gain, but its still down 180 in Apr.  Earnings season is not getting a warm reception by investors.  Markets have roared ahead from the lows in early Oct, but have hit overhead resistance.  Dow can't break thru 13K in a meaningful way.  MLPs have come back recently.  The index is up 13 in the last 9 days, helped by regulations on fracking which shouldn't hurt too much.  Apple (AAPL) is down 71 from its highs only last week, not a good sign for the markets,  Dow had a modest amount of selling in the PM & will probably be playing defense next week when the last round of big earnings reports are released. 

Dow Industrials


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