After a few brief trips into the red, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
spent the day in positive territory, finishing almost 44 points
higher. "Markets have been quite resilient and managed to churn
higher today throughout the session, finishing near their intraday
peak," observed Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including
:
plus...
- The latest employment figures, Sprint Nextel (
S
) bulls reach for the stars, and some heavy-handed skepticism in
our Tweet of the day.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
enjoyed modest gains today, rising 43.9 points, or 0.3%. Gains were
fairly broad, as 23 of the index's components were higher, led by
Alcoa (
AA
), which rose 2.1%. While Hewlett-Packard (
HPQ
) closed unchanged, Microsoft (
MSFT
) was the worst performer on the day, down 1.9%. For the week, the
Dow closed up 3.8%.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX)
moved up 7.1 points, or 0.5%, on Friday, while the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP)
was little changed, up 1 point, or 0.04%. On a weekly basis, the
SPX rose 4.6% and the COMP tacked on 4.8%.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX)
continued its dramatic backslide, giving back 5%, or 0.7 point. For
the week, the index suffered a whopping 39.1% drop.
A Trader's Take
:
"The day got off to a good start with the solid nonfarm payrolls
report. Financial stocks had a nice day, while technology issues
were among the weaker-performing sectors," Bell observed. "Overall,
though, investors still seem to be taking a little rest after the
big run up earlier in the week," he added.
3 Things to Know About Today's Market
:
- Nonfarm payrolls numbers for December rose by a seasonally
adjusted 155,000, which narrowly exceeded economists'
expectations. The unemployment rate held at 7.8%, after
November's reading was revised a notch higher from the originally
reported 7.7%. In other economic news, factory orders were
unchanged in November from the previous month, falling short of
estimates for a slight rise of 0.1%.
- Congress approved a $9.7 billion aid package for victims of
Superstorm Sandy, which will go toward pending flood insurance
claims. This is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg for
federal aid, however, as the House will vote on Jan. 15 on an
additional $51 billion in relief. Amid the fiscal-cliff crisis,
this vote had been postponed by House Speaker John Boehner,
R-Ohio (spurring great criticism from Northeast
politicians).
- General Motors (
GM
) is recalling 69,000 vehicles from across the globe, as several
of its models -- including the Cadillac Escalade and Silverado
pickup truck -- may have steering-column problems that could
cause the vehicles to roll away. All of the models involved are
from 2013, and many were not even sold yet. GM officials expect
only a very small number of vehicles actually contained the
defect.
Plus
... Dave Mustaine -- the outspoken frontman for '80s metal band
Megadeth -- took to the Internet to log a passionate complaint
against men's apparel retailer Men's Wearhouse (MW). Mustaine
claims to have ordered a gift card for his tour manager that had
not been delivered more than a week later, despite promises for
two-day delivery. Included in the musician's rant on the retailer's
Facebook page was the promise that "I for one, will never set foot
in a Men's Wearhouse, even for a shelter from a blizzard ... I
absolutely GUARANTEE it," he added, poking fun at the chain's
catchphrase.
Today's Top Tweet
:
"So consumers were holding back spending coz of fiscal cliff? I
have a better chance of cameo on #kardashians than that being
true"
@TFMkts,
(TF Market Advisors), 6:00 p.m. (1/3/13)
5 Stocks We Were Watching Today
:
- Microsoft (
MSFT
) -- which is little changed over the last 52 weeks --
was reduced
to a "hold" rating at Argus this morning.
- Sprint Nextel (
S
) bulls are
betting on
a break to new historical highs.
- Under Armour (UA)
was targeted
by short-term bearish traders.
- Delta Air Lines (DAL) speculators
expect a pullback
in the next few weeks.
- Pandora Media (P) traders
bought
short-term puts.
Question of the Day
:
Q
: What are the "Dogs of the Dow" for 2013?
A
: In yesterday's
Market Recap
, we defined what the "Dogs of the Dow" theory is. So what stocks
make up the 2013 list? The 10 stocks with the highest dividend
yields in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, at the close of 2012,
were as follows: AT&T (T), Verizon Communications (VZ), Intel
(INTC), Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), DuPont (DD), Hewlett-Packard (
HPQ
), General Electric (GE), McDonald's (MCD), and Johnson &
Johnson (JNJ). As to whether this strategy works, the jury is
still out
.
For a look at today's options movers and commodities
activity, head to page 2.
Commodities
:
Oil futures for February rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to end at
$93.09 per barrel. Gold futures, on the other hand, moved sharply
lower, surrendering $25.70, or 1.5%, to close at $1,648.90 per
ounce. For the week, oil gained 2.5% while gold lost 0.4%.
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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