"The
S&P 500 Index (SPX)
once again continued its battle with 1,500 and actually ended up
slightly above it," summarized Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst
Joe Bell. "After being rejected near the area during yesterday's
trading, the fact that the index finished just above this big
round-number level was a nice way to end the week," he noted. In
other index news, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
ended in the green for the sixth straight session and remains on
pace for its best January since 1994.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including
:
plus...
- Apple (
AAPL
) falls into second place, eBay (
EBAY
) speculators stay hopeful, and the housing recovery takes a
breather.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
turned in a sixth consecutive winning performance, adding 71
points, or 0.5%. For the week, the blue-chip index settled with a
1.8% gain. Of the 30 Dow components, 23 closed in positive
territory, led by Procter & Gamble (
PG
), which added 4% after issuing strong earnings results.
Caterpillar (
CAT
) and Wal-Mart (WMT) brought up the rear, with losses of 1.1%
each.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX)
muscled above round-number resistance at the 1,500 level,
ultimately closing up 8 points, or 0.5%. The
Nasdaq Composite (COMP)
bounced back from yesterday's declines, moving 19 points, or 0.6%,
higher. For the week, the SPX gained 1.1% while the COMP advanced
0.5%.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX)
trekked higher on the day but was contained south of the 13 level,
closing with a gain of 0.2 point, or 1.6%. On a weekly basis, the
VIX moved 3.5% higher.
A Trader's Take
:
"The day got off to a pretty nice start after being greeted by
strong price action in Europe," said Bell. "Earnings once again
took the spotlight on the domestic front and, overall, were pretty
good. We again saw consumer discretionary stocks help lead, while
technology names were among the laggards," he added.
3 Things to Know About Today's Market
:
- Dow component Procter & Gamble (
PG
) issued a
positive earnings surprise
, booking profits of $1.22 per share (excluding items), exceeding
analysts' expectations. In response, the company was able to lift
its fiscal 2013 outlook north of earlier projections.
(USA Today)
- New-home sales
eased 7.3%
in December (compared to the previous month) to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 369,000. While this reading was below
analysts' estimates, the number for November was revised higher
to the best monthly sales rate since April 2010.
(Chicago Tribune)
- A day after disappointing earnings resulted in a 12% drop,
Apple (
AAPL
)
lost its perch
as the largest U.S. company. In intraday trading today, Exxon
Mobil (XOM) regained the number-one spot (in terms of
stock-market value), $416.9 billion to $415.09 billion,
respectively.
(The Wall Street Journal)
5 Stocks We Were Watching Today
:
- eBay (
EBAY
) optimists
scooped up
short-term, in-the-money calls.
- Ctrip.com International (CTRP) bulls
gambled on
a rebound.
- Oracle Corporation (ORCL) was
downgraded at Goldman Sachs
this morning, even while options players have taken a bullish
stance.
- Under Armour (UA) traders bought calls in spite of the
stock's
increased volatility
.
- In the wake of its earnings-induced rush higher, Netflix
(NFLX) attracted
eleventh-hour traders
executing a variety of strategies.
For a look at today's options movers and commodities
activity, head to page 2.
Commodities
:
Oil futures edged lower on Friday, as the March-dated contract
gave back 7 cents, or 0.07%, to end at $95.88 per barrel. For the
week, black gold added 0.3%. Gold futures declined for a third
straight session; the February-dated contract lost $13.30, or 0.8%,
to close at $1,656.60 per ounce. For the week, gold dropped
1.8%.
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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