Active broad-market exchange-traded funds at mid-day:
SPDR S&P 500 (
SPY
): +0.73%
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (
EEM
): +2.34%
Financial Select Sector SPDR (
XLF
): +0.78%
iShares Russell 2000 Index (
IWM
): +0.72%
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 (
QQQ
): +0.71%
Broad Market Indicators
Broad-market exchange-traded funds, including SPY, IWM, IVV and
others, are firmer. Actively traded PowerShares QQQ (
QQQ
) is up 0.77%.
U.S. stocks are edging lower at the session's half but are
mostly still holding on to earlier gains, following disappointing
economic data. The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index for March
was unchanged but remains at a post-recession low. May consumer
confidence slipped for the third month in a row, the lowest since
January, and below the economists' forecasts of a reading of 70,
according to a poll by MarketWatch.
Winners and Losers
Financial -
ETFs and stocks in the space are holding on to gains despite
disappointing economic data. Select Financial Sector SPDRs (
XLF
) is up 0.75%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X shares (FAS) is up
1.91%. Its bearish counterpart, FAZ, is down 2.2%.
Among actives: Bank of America (BAC) is up 2.38%, Goldman Sachs
(GS) is up 0.46%, Morgan Stanley (MS) is up 1.43%, Citigroup (C) is
up 1.51%.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is edging higher, up 0.21%
despite news that it could face a new regulatory headache, as
Japan's securities watchdog is probing the company for possibly
leaking insider information, according to a person familiar with
the matter.
Penson Worldwide (PNSN) is down 4.21% after selling certain
assets and liabilities of the futures division of its U.S.
broker-dealer subsidiary, Penson Financial Services to Knight
Capital Group (KCG) for $5 million at closing, a portion of which
is subject to the transfer of certain exchange seats or
memberships.
Goldman Sachs (GS) is up 0.51% after CNBC reported that the
company has been forced to delay the launch of its new corporate
bond trading platform after a series of "logistical issues" beset
its foray into electronic fixed-income trading.
Technology -
Among tech actives: Apple (AAPL) is up 1.2%; Microsoft (MSFT) is
up 1.14%; Intel (INTC) is up 0.9%; Google (GOOG) is up 0.05%; Cisco
(CSCO) is up 1%; Yahoo (YHOO) is down 0.01%.
Ericsson ADRs (ERIC) are up 3.5% after Sprint Nextel (S)
announced that it had entered into a $1 billion credit facility
with Deutsche Bank amongst others to finance equipment purchases
from ERIC for its Network Vision. The secured credit facility
expires March 2017. Sprint is up 0.57%.
Shares of Facebook (FB) continue their descent, down around 8%
to around $29.40, but up from their new all-time low of $29.23
established earlier in the session.
Research In Motion (RIMM) has lost early gains and turned
negative following reports that it may remove as many as 6,000
positions worldwide as part of a major restructuring. Canadian
newspaper The Globe and Mail released a report over the weekend
that the company will cut at least 2,000 jobs, while Reuters came
out with another report that said the job cuts could be as many as
6,000. The company has also announced that its chief legal officer,
Karima Bawa, will be retiring after serving in the company for 12
years. The announcement follows last week's resignation of the
company's head of global sales.
In the ETF space, iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF (IYW) is
up 0.62%; Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is up 0.72%; and
iShares S&P North American Technology ETF (IGM) up 0.87%.
iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index (IGV) is
down 0.15%.
SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) is 1.03% while Semiconductor
Sector Index Fund (SOXX) is up 1.43%.
SPDR S&P International Technology Sector ETF (IPK) is up
0.89%.
Energy -
Dow Jones U.S. Energy Fund (IYE) is up 0.90% while Energy Select
Sector SPDR (XLE) is up 1.07%.
Chesapeake Energy (CHK) is up 4% despite earlier reports that
the head of New York's state pension fund has urged shareholders of
Chesapeake Energy to withhold votes to re-elect two members of the
natural gas producer's board of directors, according to CNBC. In a
letter issued on Tuesday, New York State Comptroller Thomas
DiNapoli said withholding votes from board members V. Burns Hargis
and Richard K. Davidson was a "necessary first step toward
reconstituting a board that is currently entrenched and
unaccountable to shareholders."
BP plc (BP) is down 0.73% while Shell ADRs (RDS.A) are little
changed amid reports that the two companies are among the potential
bidders interested in acquiring parts of the Swedish oil group
Svenska Petroleum Exploration, according the U.K. newspaper The
Independent. Goldman Sachs (GS) is considering selling off Svenska
in chunks, because few would-be suitors appear interested in the
whole group, which has offshore production and exploration fields
in five west African countries, the Norwegian North Sea and Latvia
and is owned by Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein al-Amoud.
Several private equity firms also are keen on Svenska, the
newspaper reported, citing individuals familiar with the investment
bank's thinking.
Commodities -
Crude is down 2 cents or 0.02% at $90.64 a barrel. United States
Oil Fund (USO) is down 0.15% at $34.20.
Gold is up $0.20 at $1,560.00 an ounce. SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is
down 1% at 150.81. Silver is down 0.90% at $27.91 a pound. iShares
Silver Trust (SLV) is down 2% at around $27.
Healthcare -
Health Care SPDR (XLV) is up 0.11%; iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology
Index (IBB) is down 0.6%; Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) is down
0.05%; and iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare (IYH) is up 0.14%.
Horizon Pharma (HZNP) is up 0.12% after it announced that it was
issued patent number 8,168,218 covering the company's
delayed-release formulation of low-dose prednisone, RAYOS, by the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Horizon is the licensee of the
SkyePharma group of companies for SkyePharma's related proprietary
Geoclock technology. RAYOS is indicted for the treatment of
moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) when
accompanied by morning stiffness.
IsoRay (ISR) is adding to earlier gains and is now up 19% after
the company said that Discovery Channel featured the company's
Cesium-131 brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy) treatment for
localized prostate cancer. Discovery Channel Chief Medical Expert
John Whyte, MD, MPH, spoke with UPMC urologist Dr. Ronald Benoit
about the advantages of using Cesium-131 over traditional
isotopes.
On the downside, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is down 12.4%,
paring down earlier losses of more than 20%, after the company
issued a correction to previously reported responder analysis, as
well as additional data from, the recent interim analysis of an
ongoing Phase 2 study of VX-809 and KALYDECO (ivacaftor) that
showed significant improvements in lung function (forced expiratory
volume in one second, FEV1) among adults with cystic fibrosis (CF)
who have two copies (homozygous) of the most common mutation in the
cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene,
F508del. The company provided a correction to the responder
analysis (n=37) for the absolute improvement in lung function
compared to baseline and, for the first time, provides the mean
absolute improvement in lung function compared to placebo observed
among patients who received VX-809 (200mg, 400mg, 600mg; QD) and
KALYDECO (250mg; q12h).
Power Play
Consumer -
Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) is up 0.6%;
Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) is up 0.6%; and iShares
Dow Jones US Consumer (IYC) is up 0.6%.
Interline Brands (IBI) is holding on to earlier gains, now up
39.9% at near $25.10 but off a new year high $25.23 hit earlier.
The company announced that it has entered into a definitive
agreement to be acquired by affiliates of GS Capital Partners LP
and P2 Capital Partners, LLC for $25.50 per share in cash. The
transaction, which was unanimously approved by Interline's board of
directors, is valued at approximately $1.1 billion, including the
assumption of debt.