Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Markets rise cautiously on earnings reports

Dow lost 11, advancers over decliners 3-2 & NAZ added 19.  The MLP index soared 4+ to 529 (yet another record) & the REIT index slid a fraction in the 308s.  Junk bond funds rose & Treasuries went up, bringing the yield on the 10 year Treasury near a 13 month low.  Oil & gold climbed higher.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)



CLU14.NYM...Crude Oil Sep 14...102.58 Up ...0.19 (0.2%)

GCN14.CMX...Gold Jul 14.........1,313.40 Up ...7.30 (0.6%)












Separatists shot down 2 Ukrainian fighter jets in the same eastern region where MH17 was destroyed, the gov said.  Rebels downed 2 SU-25 fighters in the Donetsk region, Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkovsky said.  They were hit from a rebel missile-defense system over the village of Dmytrivka.  The pilots ejected & their whereabouts are unknown.  The incident comes nearly a week after MH17 was hit by a missile that the US says was probably fired from a Russian-supplied launcher.  If verified, it raises the question of whether pres Putin’s military is still allowing the pro-Russian rebels access to weaponry capable of downing fighters.  Insurgents also have used less advanced anti-aircraft weapons, which could be used to target low-flying planes.  “This shoot-down shows the separatists are pressing ahead even as the Ukrainian army advances,” Joerg Forbrig, senior program officer for central & eastern Europe at the Berlin bureau of the German Marshall Fund said.  “The rebels are clearly determined to resist and Russia is determined to help them.”  The attacks bring the number of Ukrainian aircraft destroyed by rebels to at least 16 during the conflict.  This is a very tense situation.

Two Ukraine Fighter Jets Downed by Rebels Near MH17 Site


Boeing, a Dow stock, raised its full-year profit forecast as it reaps gains from faster production that is driving jetliner deliveries to record levels.  EPS for 2014 excluding some pension expenses will be $7.90-$8.10, compared with a previous projection for $7.15-$7.35.  Q2 EPS on that basis of $2.42 a share beat the $1.98 estimate.  BA expects to recover the losses over a contract to deliver 179 tankers to the US military by 2027, Chris Chadwick, who heads the defense unit, told reporters.  The company handed over 181 commercial jets to customers in Q2, the most ever.  Sales increased 1% to $22B, trailing the $23B projected.  Revenue in the commercial business rose 5% to $14.3B & slid 5.4% to $7.75B in the defense operations as the US gov pares military spending.  Results were boosted by 2 tax-related gains: $116M that had been previously announced as well as a $408M benefit disclosed today.  Since last year, BA has used a profit measure dubbed core EPS, a figure the company says gives a clearer picture by adjusting for market fluctuations in the pension cost.  EPS jumped to $2.24 from $1.41 a year earlier.  BA also spent $1.5B to repurchase shares in the period after committing $2.5B to a buyback in Q1.  BA is benefiting as its factories churn out 737, 777 & 787 aircraft at the fastest pace ever amid an order backlog valued at about $1T.  The stock fell 3.16.  If you would like to learn more about BA, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/BA?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

Boeing Boosts 2014 Forecast as Jetliner Deliveries Surge

Boeing (BA)




Delta Air Lines Q2 profit beat estimates, buoyed by strong US demand & it said the domestic business would help boost margins in Q3.  EPS excluding some items were $1.04, beating the $1.03 estimate.  Revenue rose 9.4% to $10.6B.  Passenger unit revenue, a key measure of performance for the industry, increased 5.7%, driven by a 10% gain in the US.  The airline’s fuel bill, excluding regional carriers, declined 6.2% to $2.4B.  COO Paul Jacobson called Q2 pretax profit of $1.4B the largest “ever reported in the airline industry.”  EPS rose to 94¢ from 80¢ a year earlier.  The stock gained 1.26.  If you would like to learn more about DAL, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/DAL?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

Delta Quarterly Profit Tops Estimates on Domestic Demand

Delta Air Lines (DAL)




Inconsistant earnings reports are limiting what could have been a big day of gains for stocks.  Microsoft (MSFT), a Dow stock, reported good earnings last night (as expected) & Facebook (FB) is up1 today in anticipation of the earnings report after the close tonight.  But the world remains very troubled.  Shooting down 2 jets in Ukraine is making a bad situation worse, Gaza fighting continues & ISIL (in northern Iraq) has given Christians a few days to convert or they will be killed.  No wonder stocks are having a difficult time moving ahead.
   
Dow Jones Industrials



3 Stocks You Should Own Right Now - Click Here!






No comments: