Dow finished up 6 (closing near the lows), decliners over advancers 3-2 & NAZ gained all of 1 (below 5K again). The MLP index lost 4+ to the 311s & the REIT index was fractionally higher int the 313s. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries rose. Oil & gold experienced selling.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.5156269805838851)
Wal-Mart's (a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat) push to revamp US stores may be starting to show results. Q3 profit topped estimates, lifted by gains in same-store sales & foot traffic. It also raised the low end of its annual profit forecast. The numbers brought a dose of good news to investors after a dour profit outlook crushed the shares in Oct, sending them into their worst tailspin in almost 3 decades. WMT showed progress on its turnaround plan, especially the store-improvement campaign. Almost ¾ of its US locations now pass the company’s new standards for customer service, cleanliness & convenience. EPS were 99¢ excluding some items. Analysts had predicted 98¢. The company now expects EPS of $4.50-4.65 this year, compared with a previous forecast of $4.40-4.70. CEO Doug McMillon has invested in e-commerce & smaller-format stores, a bid to cope with online rivals. But the supercenters remain key to his turnaround bid, & he’s working to make them more enticing. Same-store sales rose 1.5% in the US, while traffic grew 1.7%. “We will grow the company faster,” McMillon said. "We will add between $45 and $60 billion in revenue to the company in the next three years. That is a lot of growth -- it just happens to be on a big base." WMT is fixing up its 4.6K US stores after years of customer complaints about out-of-stock items, poor customer service & long waits at the checkout line. As part of an effort to improve operations, McMillon announced plans in Feb to raise wages for ½M workers. The idea is the higher pay will help the company recruit & retain better employees. The retailer bumped its starting level to $9 an hour earlier this year & plans to make it $10 in 2016. The stock rose 2.05. If you would like to learn more about WMT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WMT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Home Depot, another Dow stock, reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly same-store sales, helped by strong demand from both retail customers & professional contractors & builders. The company also said it expected profit & same-store sales for the year ending Jan to come in at the top end of its forecasts. Consumers spent more on houses, home improvement products, appliances & autos than on discretionary items such as apparel in Q3. Same-store sales rose 5.1%, above the 4.6% growth expected. Comparable sales at its US stores rose 7.3%, comfortably ahead of the estimate for 5.9%. The company expects overall same-store sales to grow 4.9% in the year ending Jan. EPS rose to 1.35. Excluding items, EPS was 1.36, beating the estimate of 1.32. Net sales rose 6.4% to $21.82B. Analysts had expected revenue of $21.83B. The company expects full-year EPS of $5.36 & analysts were expecting 5.34. The stock shot up 5.34. If you would like to learn more about HD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/HD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Apparel retailer Urban Outfitters comparable sales rose far less than expected in Q3 due to weaker demand for its Anthropologie brand. The retailer said comparable sales at Anthropologie, its biggest brand by sales, was flat in Q3. Analysts had expected the brand to grow 1.6%. Q3 comparable sales growth of 1% was also lower than the 3.4% rise expected. Analysts have said the long spell of warm weather in Sep & Oct, which hurt sales of cold weather apparel like coats & jackets, could also affect retailers like URBN. EPS was 42¢, up from 35¢ a year earlier. Analysts had expected EPS of 42¢. Net sales rose 1.3% to $825M, well below the $869M expected. The stock dropped 87¢. If you would like to learn more about URBN, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/URBN?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Stocks were sold in the PM after a German soccer match was canceled reportedly due to a possible bomb threat. These are highly volatile times & the dramatic market rise in yesterday & this AM were overdone. A major war has been declared which should increase demand for safe haven investments. Analysts are still assessing how these events will affect the global business world. Stocks continue to be risky investments.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CLZ15.NYM | Crude Oil Dec 15 | 40.92 |  0.82 (2.0%) |
Wal-Mart's (a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat) push to revamp US stores may be starting to show results. Q3 profit topped estimates, lifted by gains in same-store sales & foot traffic. It also raised the low end of its annual profit forecast. The numbers brought a dose of good news to investors after a dour profit outlook crushed the shares in Oct, sending them into their worst tailspin in almost 3 decades. WMT showed progress on its turnaround plan, especially the store-improvement campaign. Almost ¾ of its US locations now pass the company’s new standards for customer service, cleanliness & convenience. EPS were 99¢ excluding some items. Analysts had predicted 98¢. The company now expects EPS of $4.50-4.65 this year, compared with a previous forecast of $4.40-4.70. CEO Doug McMillon has invested in e-commerce & smaller-format stores, a bid to cope with online rivals. But the supercenters remain key to his turnaround bid, & he’s working to make them more enticing. Same-store sales rose 1.5% in the US, while traffic grew 1.7%. “We will grow the company faster,” McMillon said. "We will add between $45 and $60 billion in revenue to the company in the next three years. That is a lot of growth -- it just happens to be on a big base." WMT is fixing up its 4.6K US stores after years of customer complaints about out-of-stock items, poor customer service & long waits at the checkout line. As part of an effort to improve operations, McMillon announced plans in Feb to raise wages for ½M workers. The idea is the higher pay will help the company recruit & retain better employees. The retailer bumped its starting level to $9 an hour earlier this year & plans to make it $10 in 2016. The stock rose 2.05. If you would like to learn more about WMT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WMT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Wal-Mart Makes Progress on Campaign to Spiff Up U.S. Stores
Wal-Mart (WMT)
Home Depot, another Dow stock, reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly same-store sales, helped by strong demand from both retail customers & professional contractors & builders. The company also said it expected profit & same-store sales for the year ending Jan to come in at the top end of its forecasts. Consumers spent more on houses, home improvement products, appliances & autos than on discretionary items such as apparel in Q3. Same-store sales rose 5.1%, above the 4.6% growth expected. Comparable sales at its US stores rose 7.3%, comfortably ahead of the estimate for 5.9%. The company expects overall same-store sales to grow 4.9% in the year ending Jan. EPS rose to 1.35. Excluding items, EPS was 1.36, beating the estimate of 1.32. Net sales rose 6.4% to $21.82B. Analysts had expected revenue of $21.83B. The company expects full-year EPS of $5.36 & analysts were expecting 5.34. The stock shot up 5.34. If you would like to learn more about HD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/HD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Home Depot Shares Jump on Same-Store Sales
Home Depot (HD)
Apparel retailer Urban Outfitters comparable sales rose far less than expected in Q3 due to weaker demand for its Anthropologie brand. The retailer said comparable sales at Anthropologie, its biggest brand by sales, was flat in Q3. Analysts had expected the brand to grow 1.6%. Q3 comparable sales growth of 1% was also lower than the 3.4% rise expected. Analysts have said the long spell of warm weather in Sep & Oct, which hurt sales of cold weather apparel like coats & jackets, could also affect retailers like URBN. EPS was 42¢, up from 35¢ a year earlier. Analysts had expected EPS of 42¢. Net sales rose 1.3% to $825M, well below the $869M expected. The stock dropped 87¢. If you would like to learn more about URBN, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/URBN?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Urban Outfitters' Comparable Sales Growth Disappoints
Urban Outfitters (URBN)
Stocks were sold in the PM after a German soccer match was canceled reportedly due to a possible bomb threat. These are highly volatile times & the dramatic market rise in yesterday & this AM were overdone. A major war has been declared which should increase demand for safe haven investments. Analysts are still assessing how these events will affect the global business world. Stocks continue to be risky investments.
Dow Jones Industrials
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