Stock Market Wrapup Aug. 21st
By the BullMarket.com Staff
Investors appeared to be somewhat hesitant to take positions as they try to decipher the next move by the Fed. At the end of the day, the Dow declined -30 points, while both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 advanced slightly. Over in the energy pits, crude oil fell -$1.65 to end at $69.47. Treasuries ended the session with the benchmark 10 year yielding 4.59%.
In economic-related news, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is "absolutely" prepared to use all tools he has at his disposal to address the credit crisis in the U.S. financial system. The comments were made following a closed-door meeting between Dodd, Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffery Lacker, however, came out separately and said that market volatility alone is no reason for the Fed to cut the Fed funds target rate.
On the earnings front, the nation's second-largest discount retailer behind Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News), Target (NYSE: TGT - News), said second-quarter profits rose 13% to $686 million, or 80 cents a share, up from $609 million, or 70 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales rose 9.5% to $14.62 billion from $13.55 billion last year. Same-store sales in the quarter just ended rose 4.9%. The discount retailer also backed its full-year profit forecast of $3.60 a share. Shares rose 1.7%. Subscribers can read our analysis of Target in today's issue.
Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS - News), the world's largest office supplier, reported a mixed quarter before the bell this morning. For its second quarter, it posted a profit of $178.8 million, or 25 cents a share, up from $161.2 million, or 22 cents a share, last year. Sales climbed to $4.29 billion from $3.88 billion in the second quarter of 2006, but North American comparable-store sales were down -2% in Q2. It sees third-quarter and full-year EPS growth of 15%, but anticipates its North American retail division to see flat to slightly negative same-store sales in the third quarter, and flat same-store sales for the full year.
In other news, financial services company Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF - News) slashed 2007 earnings guidance and cut 1,900 jobs after it announced it was exiting the wholesale mortgage business. The company is closing its GreenPoint Mortgage unit after conditions in the overall secondary mortgage market weakened considerably. It will take an $860 million charge in the current quarter. The company now sees full-year earnings of $5 a share, down from $7.15 prior to the closing of the unit. Shares rose 2.6%, as excluding the charges, its forecast remained intact.
Investors appeared to be somewhat hesitant to take positions as they try to decipher the next move by the Fed. At the end of the day, the Dow declined -30 points, while both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 advanced slightly. Over in the energy pits, crude oil fell -$1.65 to end at $69.47. Treasuries ended the session with the benchmark 10 year yielding 4.59%.
In economic-related news, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is "absolutely" prepared to use all tools he has at his disposal to address the credit crisis in the U.S. financial system. The comments were made following a closed-door meeting between Dodd, Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffery Lacker, however, came out separately and said that market volatility alone is no reason for the Fed to cut the Fed funds target rate.
On the earnings front, the nation's second-largest discount retailer behind Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News), Target (NYSE: TGT - News), said second-quarter profits rose 13% to $686 million, or 80 cents a share, up from $609 million, or 70 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales rose 9.5% to $14.62 billion from $13.55 billion last year. Same-store sales in the quarter just ended rose 4.9%. The discount retailer also backed its full-year profit forecast of $3.60 a share. Shares rose 1.7%. Subscribers can read our analysis of Target in today's issue.
Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS - News), the world's largest office supplier, reported a mixed quarter before the bell this morning. For its second quarter, it posted a profit of $178.8 million, or 25 cents a share, up from $161.2 million, or 22 cents a share, last year. Sales climbed to $4.29 billion from $3.88 billion in the second quarter of 2006, but North American comparable-store sales were down -2% in Q2. It sees third-quarter and full-year EPS growth of 15%, but anticipates its North American retail division to see flat to slightly negative same-store sales in the third quarter, and flat same-store sales for the full year.
In other news, financial services company Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF - News) slashed 2007 earnings guidance and cut 1,900 jobs after it announced it was exiting the wholesale mortgage business. The company is closing its GreenPoint Mortgage unit after conditions in the overall secondary mortgage market weakened considerably. It will take an $860 million charge in the current quarter. The company now sees full-year earnings of $5 a share, down from $7.15 prior to the closing of the unit. Shares rose 2.6%, as excluding the charges, its forecast remained intact.
Labels: Capital One Financial Corp., COF, Mortgages, SPLS, Staples Inc., Target, TGT, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., WMT
posted by Stock Administrator @ 7:15 PM
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