Stock Market Wrapup Mar. 9
Stocks partially rebounded from a spate of Friday afternoon profit taking to finish mixed. A government employment report that came in as expected and a drop in the U.S. trade deficit helped give traders some confidence in the economy going forward. The 10-year Treasury note and crude oil futures both dropped sharply. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 4.59%, while crude slipped to just above $60 a barrel.
The Labor Department reported the unemployment rate fell from 4.6% to 4.5% in February as U.S. employers added 97,000 non-farm workers. A drop in construction jobs was offset by gains in the services sector. Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents to $17.16. The employment numbers were in line with expectations. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, reported that the January U.S. trade deficit narrowed by -3.8% to $59.1 billion.
In today's market action, Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO - News) dropped -5% on a report in The Wall Street Journal that the company might lose a long-standing contract with AT&T (NYSE: T - News). Subscribers can read our take on the Journal article and the market's reaction to it in today's issue. National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM - News) was one of the day's better performers after it raised its full-year guidance, despite the fact that it reported a -45% drop in earnings. The maker of analog chips cited improved bookings for its increased outlook. For the quarter ended February 25th, the company reported profits of $71.5 million, or 22 cents a share, down from $130 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue dropped to $431 million, well below last year's $548 million.
In other earnings-related news, homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV - News) dropped -4% after the company reported a FQ1 loss and cut its full fiscal year target. The company lost -$57 million, or -91 cents per share, for the quarter ended January 31st. The loss was less than the company had forecast, but it nonetheless reduced its full-year earnings target to $1.10-1.50 per share from earlier guidance of $1.50-2.00 a share.
Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN - News) slid -2% to a 52-week low after the Food & Drug Administration announced new label warnings for the company's top-selling anemia treatments Arenesp and Epogen. The new warnings will note an increased risk of death, heart trauma, blood clots, and tumor growth when used at higher-than-recommended doses. The warning also applies to Procrit from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ - News), but that stock finished modestly higher.
Shares of wireless Internet provider Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR - News) sank -10% on their second day of trading following its IPO Wednesday. Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), which are significant investors in the company founded by cable mogul Craig McCaw, were also slightly lower today.
In the transportation sector, package-delivery giant FedEx (NYSE: FDX - News) was upgraded to a "buy" by Stifel Nicolaus. The firm also cut its rating on C.H. Robinson (Nasdaq: CHRW - News) to "sell." Robinson, a logistics company that coordinates global shipping through other freight-haulers, lost -5% today. Stifel Nicolaus said the stock was overvalued and that the company faces challenges to maintaining margins and growing its business.
By the BullMarket.com Staff
The Labor Department reported the unemployment rate fell from 4.6% to 4.5% in February as U.S. employers added 97,000 non-farm workers. A drop in construction jobs was offset by gains in the services sector. Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents to $17.16. The employment numbers were in line with expectations. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, reported that the January U.S. trade deficit narrowed by -3.8% to $59.1 billion.
In today's market action, Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO - News) dropped -5% on a report in The Wall Street Journal that the company might lose a long-standing contract with AT&T (NYSE: T - News). Subscribers can read our take on the Journal article and the market's reaction to it in today's issue. National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM - News) was one of the day's better performers after it raised its full-year guidance, despite the fact that it reported a -45% drop in earnings. The maker of analog chips cited improved bookings for its increased outlook. For the quarter ended February 25th, the company reported profits of $71.5 million, or 22 cents a share, down from $130 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue dropped to $431 million, well below last year's $548 million.
In other earnings-related news, homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV - News) dropped -4% after the company reported a FQ1 loss and cut its full fiscal year target. The company lost -$57 million, or -91 cents per share, for the quarter ended January 31st. The loss was less than the company had forecast, but it nonetheless reduced its full-year earnings target to $1.10-1.50 per share from earlier guidance of $1.50-2.00 a share.
Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN - News) slid -2% to a 52-week low after the Food & Drug Administration announced new label warnings for the company's top-selling anemia treatments Arenesp and Epogen. The new warnings will note an increased risk of death, heart trauma, blood clots, and tumor growth when used at higher-than-recommended doses. The warning also applies to Procrit from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ - News), but that stock finished modestly higher.
Shares of wireless Internet provider Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR - News) sank -10% on their second day of trading following its IPO Wednesday. Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), which are significant investors in the company founded by cable mogul Craig McCaw, were also slightly lower today.
In the transportation sector, package-delivery giant FedEx (NYSE: FDX - News) was upgraded to a "buy" by Stifel Nicolaus. The firm also cut its rating on C.H. Robinson (Nasdaq: CHRW - News) to "sell." Robinson, a logistics company that coordinates global shipping through other freight-haulers, lost -5% today. Stifel Nicolaus said the stock was overvalued and that the company faces challenges to maintaining margins and growing its business.
By the BullMarket.com Staff
Labels: AMGN, CHRW, CLWR, FDX, HOV, INTC, JNJ, MOT, NSM, T, YHOO
posted by Stock Administrator @ 4:10 PM
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