Dow pulled back 25, decliners over advancers 5-4 & NAZ rose 4 with Apple hitting a new record (see below). The Financial Index was down 1½ to 213, still within striking distance of its multi months highs reached last week. The MLP index was down a fraction in the 392s & the the REIT index fell a fraction in the 255s from yesterday's yearly high. Junk bond funds & Treasuries were mixed. Oil & gold drifted lower in uneventful trading.
Photo: Bloomberg
Businesses ordered more machinery & equipment from US factories in Feb, a signal that many are investing in their companies despite the expiration of a tax credit. Orders to factories increased 1.3% according to the Commerce Dept, offseting a similar decline in Jan. Demand for core capital goods, a gauge of business investment plans, rose 1.7%, above the gov preliminary estimate last week & followed a steep drop in Jan. Factory orders have been steadily rising since the recession ended nearly 3 years ago. Orders totaled $468B in Feb, just 3.4% below the previous peak hit in 2008. Orders for durable goods, expected to last at least 3 years, increased 2.4%, slightly higher than the estimate the gov made in last week's preliminary report. Transportation orders rose a solid 3.9%. Demand in the volatile commercial aircraft category increased 6% & orders for cars & auto parts edged up 0.2%. Orders for nondurable goods rose 0.4% in Feb. Another fairly good economic report.
Photo: Yahoo
The auto industry is riding the appeal of smaller cars to its best monthly performance in almost 4 years. General Motors US sales rose 12% in Mar on solid demand for cars & small crossovers that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better on the highway. Chrysler sales jumped 34% on strong sales of Fiat small cars & Chrysler sedans. Sales at Ford rose 5% as sales of the Focus small car rose sharply compared with a year ago. With gas above $4, buyers are leaning toward new fuel-efficient compacts like the Chevrolet Cruze & sub-compacts such as the Honda (HMC) Fit to save money. Also, incentives on trucks are good enough to lure buyers who want something bigger. LMC Automotive predicts US sales of new cars & trucks reached 1.37M last month, up 6% from Mar of 2011 & the highest number since May 2008. Analysts estimate sales could run at an annual rate of 14.1-14.5M, continuing the strong performance in Jan & Feb. Some companies could break sales records. Compact & subcompact models combined are expected to account for 23% of retail sales for Mar. GM dropped 45¢ but Ford was up 22¢.
Chrysler’s Sales Rose 34% in March on Fiat Record; Ford Gains
Photo: Bloomberg
Apple, with the world’s largest market cap, will see its stock price reach $1001 within 12 months, lifted by growth in China & the debut of a new television product, according to an optimistic analyst. The new target is the highest among the 45 analysts tracking AAPL & represents a 62% increase over the current price. The gains will also be fueled by demand for the next iPhone. He said China Mobile, the Asian country’s largest wireless network, will start carrying the iPhone within a year, adding millions of new potential customers. He also believes that AAPL could become the first company to generate $1T in revenue, possibly in the next decade. AAPL had sales of $108B in its last fiscal year. However, a risk is the uncertainty over who will make critical decisions about future products (among other problems like work conditions in China). Not surprisingly, the stock popped $11 to $629 for a another new record.
‘Apple Fever’ to Push Stock to $1,001, Topeka Capital Says
This is turning out to be an uneventful day as the markets are waiting for earnings season to being next week. Bulls should be disturbed that good data did not get a warmer response. The most excitement comes from AAPL & its bullish call which is sending it to the stratosphere. I view being #1 in market cap as a long term negative. Companies such as Exxon Mobil (XOM), Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco (CSCO), General Electric (GE) & IBM (IBM) have all held that position in recent years. And they are Dow stocks.
JPMorgan Chase Capital XVI (AMJ)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.066% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.329% | |
U.S. 10-year | 2.171% |
| CLK12.NYM | ...Crude Oil May 12 | ...104.58 | .... 0.65 | (0.6%) |
| GCJ12.CMX | ....Gold Apr 12 | .........1,676.10 | .... 1.40 | (0.1%) |
Get the latest daily market update below:
Businesses ordered more machinery & equipment from US factories in Feb, a signal that many are investing in their companies despite the expiration of a tax credit. Orders to factories increased 1.3% according to the Commerce Dept, offseting a similar decline in Jan. Demand for core capital goods, a gauge of business investment plans, rose 1.7%, above the gov preliminary estimate last week & followed a steep drop in Jan. Factory orders have been steadily rising since the recession ended nearly 3 years ago. Orders totaled $468B in Feb, just 3.4% below the previous peak hit in 2008. Orders for durable goods, expected to last at least 3 years, increased 2.4%, slightly higher than the estimate the gov made in last week's preliminary report. Transportation orders rose a solid 3.9%. Demand in the volatile commercial aircraft category increased 6% & orders for cars & auto parts edged up 0.2%. Orders for nondurable goods rose 0.4% in Feb. Another fairly good economic report.
The auto industry is riding the appeal of smaller cars to its best monthly performance in almost 4 years. General Motors US sales rose 12% in Mar on solid demand for cars & small crossovers that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better on the highway. Chrysler sales jumped 34% on strong sales of Fiat small cars & Chrysler sedans. Sales at Ford rose 5% as sales of the Focus small car rose sharply compared with a year ago. With gas above $4, buyers are leaning toward new fuel-efficient compacts like the Chevrolet Cruze & sub-compacts such as the Honda (HMC) Fit to save money. Also, incentives on trucks are good enough to lure buyers who want something bigger. LMC Automotive predicts US sales of new cars & trucks reached 1.37M last month, up 6% from Mar of 2011 & the highest number since May 2008. Analysts estimate sales could run at an annual rate of 14.1-14.5M, continuing the strong performance in Jan & Feb. Some companies could break sales records. Compact & subcompact models combined are expected to account for 23% of retail sales for Mar. GM dropped 45¢ but Ford was up 22¢.
Chrysler’s Sales Rose 34% in March on Fiat Record; Ford Gains
General Motors Company (GM)
Ford Motor Company (F)
Photo: Bloomberg
Apple, with the world’s largest market cap, will see its stock price reach $1001 within 12 months, lifted by growth in China & the debut of a new television product, according to an optimistic analyst. The new target is the highest among the 45 analysts tracking AAPL & represents a 62% increase over the current price. The gains will also be fueled by demand for the next iPhone. He said China Mobile, the Asian country’s largest wireless network, will start carrying the iPhone within a year, adding millions of new potential customers. He also believes that AAPL could become the first company to generate $1T in revenue, possibly in the next decade. AAPL had sales of $108B in its last fiscal year. However, a risk is the uncertainty over who will make critical decisions about future products (among other problems like work conditions in China). Not surprisingly, the stock popped $11 to $629 for a another new record.
‘Apple Fever’ to Push Stock to $1,001, Topeka Capital Says
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
This is turning out to be an uneventful day as the markets are waiting for earnings season to being next week. Bulls should be disturbed that good data did not get a warmer response. The most excitement comes from AAPL & its bullish call which is sending it to the stratosphere. I view being #1 in market cap as a long term negative. Companies such as Exxon Mobil (XOM), Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco (CSCO), General Electric (GE) & IBM (IBM) have all held that position in recent years. And they are Dow stocks.
Dow Industrials
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