Active broad-market exchange-traded funds at mid-day:
SPDR S&P 500 (
SPY
): -0.1%
Financial Select Sector SPDR (
XLF
): -0.4%
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (
EEM
): -0.72%
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures (
VXX
): +2.6%
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 (
QQQ
): -0.5%
Broad Market Indicators
Broad-market exchange-traded funds, including SPY, IWM, IVV and
others, are lower. Actively traded PowerShares QQQ (
QQQ
) is down 0.5%.
U.S. stocks are moving between postive and negative territories,
on the one hand getting support from upbeat U.S. economic data,
with jobless claims falling by 2,000 last week to 370,000, and
durable goods in April seeing a rise of 0.2% in orders; on the
other, stocks feel pressure from worries over Greece's new
elections next month and how this will affect the EU debt crisis.
This appears to be weighing on banks.
Winners and Losers
Financial -
Select Financial Sector SPDRs (
XLF
) is down 0.4%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X shares (FAS) is
down 1%. Its bearish counterpart, FAZ, is up 1%.
Among actives: Bank of America (BAC) was up but is now down
1.1%%, Goldman Sachs (GS) was up slightly but is now down 1.5%,
Morgan Stanley (MS) is down 0.8%, Citigroup (C) is down 2%.
Citibank (C) is selling a 404 million share stake in Turkey's
Akbank, valued at $1.27 billion, Bloomberg reports.
Knight Capital (KCG) is down 0.2% after the company said it
expects at least $30 million in trading losses on Facebook (FB)
shares during its first day on the market last week. KCG also
expects the anticipated losses will hurt its Q2 results, according
to a regulatory filing last night.
Technology -
Among tech actives: Apple (AAPL) is down 0.3%; Microsoft (MSFT)
is down 0.1%; Intel (INTC) is up 0.9%; Google (GOOG) is down 1%;
Cisco (CSCO) is down 0.9%; Yahoo (YHOO) is little changed.
Pandora Media (P) is up 14% at $11.80 but off a day high $12.30
after the Internet radio firm reported a $0.12 a share net loss
that was narrower than the $0.20 a share loss forecast by most
analysts. Sales also topped Wall Street expectations. P raised its
FY12 revenue outlook to a new range of $420 million to $427
million, up from $410 million to $420 million in its previous
forecast. It also expects to narrow its non-GAAP net loss to $0.07
to $0.11 per share, down from a $0.11 to $0.16 loss. Analysts
expected the company to report a $0.17 net loss, ex items, on
$415.87 million in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from
Thomson Reuters.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) is up 2.4%, paring down earlier gains
of some 7%, after announcing plans to lay off 27,000 workers, or
about 8% of its workforce, in a cost-cutting move. The company also
reported Q2 profit of $1.6 billion, or $0.80 a share, down from
$1.05 a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue slid 2.8% year
over year to $30.7 billion. Adjusted profit, excluding certain
items, was $0.98 a share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.91
a share on $29.9 billion in revenues, according to a consensus
survey by FactSet Research.
On the downside, NetApp (NTAP) is down 14% at around $28.20,
after sinking to a new 52-week low of $27.79. The company earlier
released revenue guidance of $1.4 to $1.5 billion versus estimates
of $1.61 billion.
In the ETF space, iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF (IYW) is
down 1%; Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is down 0.64%; and
iShares S&P North American Technology ETF (IGM) is down 0.91%.
iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index (IGV) is
down 1.4%.
SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) is down 1% and Semiconductor
Sector Index Fund (SOXX) is down 1.1%.
SPDR S&P International Technology Sector ETF (IPK) is down
0.13%.
Energy -
Dow Jones U.S. Energy Fund (IYE) is down 0.6% while Energy
Select Sector SPDR (XLE) is down 0.6%.
Bristow Group (BRS) is down 3% after edging higher in
Wednesday's after-hours trading. The specialty oilfield services
company reported Q4 earnings of $1.22 per share, ex one-time items,
on $358.4 million in revenue. Analysts, on average, were expecting
a $1.00 a share gain on $326.44 million in sales. Looking forward,
BRS sees FY12 adjusted earnings in a range of $3.25 to $3.55 a
share, also beating the analyst consensus, according to Capital IQ.
The company also increased its dividend 33% to $0.20 a share, up
from $0.15 previously and payable June 15 to stockholders of record
on June 5.
Commodities -
Crude is up $1.27 or 1.41% at $91.16 a barrel. United States Oil
Fund (USO) is up 0.88% at $34.90. Natural gas is down 1.14% at
$2.76. United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) is down 1.03%.
Gold is up $17.70 at $1,566.10 an ounce. SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)
is up 0.34% at $152.14. Silver is up 2.58% at $28.23 a pound.
iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is up 1.48% at $27.45.
Healthcare -
Health Care SPDR (XLV) is up 0.29%; iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology
Index (IBB) is up 0.19%; Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) is up 0.34%
and iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare (IYH) up 0.86%.
Dynasil (DYSL) is up 21.53% at $1.64 a share, trimming earlier
gains of nearly 50% after it announced that it has entered into a
technology collaboration agreement with the Mayo Clinic. The first
project under the agreement will focus on the development of a
therapeutic hypothermia core cooling technology designed to protect
the brain during cardiac arrest and traumatic brain injury.
Separately, Dynasil and Mayo Clinic are working together on a blood
storage technology designed to extend the shelf life of blood
products.
MediciNova Inc (MNOV) continues to plunge, though it has trimmed
losses slightly, now down 45.09% at $1.51 and just off the new year
low of $1.29. The company said in yesterday's after hours session
that its experimental asthma drug showed no improvement compared
with a placebo during a recent Phase II clinical trial. The drug
candidate, known as MN-221, is intended to treat acute asthma by
bypassing constricted airways and delivering the drug directly into
the lungs. It aims to increase the amount of air exhaled in the
first second. The trial, however, reduced the number of hospital
admissions when MN-221 was added to standard treatments, the
company said in a statement. MNOV said it plans to continue
development of the drug.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is inching up 0.54%, reversing
earlier losses of 0.66% after Xarelto, an oral anticoagulant
developed by its company Janssen Research and Development, failed
to get the approval of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Advisory Committee, according to a report by Reuters. The FDA
Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee voted against the
approval of XARELTO or rivaroxaban to reduce the risk of secondary
cardiovascular events in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome in
combination with standard antiplatelet therapy, the report said.
The FDA advisers were concerned about missing data and bleeding
risks, the report added. A final decision by the FDA is expected by
the end of June.
Power Play
Consumer -
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) is up 0.6%; iShares
Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) is up 0.38%; and Vanguard
Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) are lois up 0.66%. SPDR S&P Retail
(XRT) is down 0.52%; PowerShares Dynamic Retail (PMR) is up 0.32%
and Market Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) is up 0.34%.
Costco Wholesale (COST) is up 1.3% after reporting Q3 earnings
of $0.88 per share, ex one-time items, versus the Capital IQ
consensus of $0.87. Revenues were $22.32 mln, versus the analysts'
estimate of $22.09 mln. Total comparable same store sales increased
by 5% for the quarter.
PVH Corp. (PVH) is up 6.8%, adding to earlier gains of about 4%,
after the company raised its profit outlook for the FY12, saying
margin pressures should wane in the second half of the year. PVH
now sees full-year adjusted earnings of between $6.15 to $6.25 a
share, up from $6.10 to $6.20 in its previous call. For the current
quarter, the company forecast adjusted EPS of $1.18 to $1.20 a
share. Analysts on average are expecting a $1.18 a share profit in
Q2 and $6.17 a share in FY12, according to Thomson Reuters. The Q1
results also topped expectations with PVH posting adjusted earnings
of $1.30 a share on $1.43 billion in sales. Analysts, on average,
predicted a $1.26 a share gain on $1.40 billion in revenues.
On the downside, Signet Jewelers (SIG) is down 11% after
reporting Q1 EPS of $0.96, topping estimates for $0.91. Revenue for
the quarter came in at $900 million, falling short of the $912.26
million consensus. The company says it sees Q2 EPS of $0.78-$0.84.
The Street is at $0.89.
Tiffany & Co. (TIF) is also weaker, down 8% at $57 after
touching a new 52-week low of $55.75. The company earlier reported
Q1 EPS of $0.64, below the mean analyst estimate of $0.69 per share
on Thomson Reuters. Sales were $819 mln, vs. expectations of $817
mln. For FY13, the company expects sales to increase 7% to 8%, vs.
its previous guidance of 10% growth. EPS is seen in the range of
$3.70 to $3.80 per share, down from its prior forecast of $3.95 to
$4.05 per share. The company said that approximately $0.20 of the
decrease is tied to a reduction in operating expectations and $0.05
is related to the additional debt incurrence. All of the annual
earnings growth over 2011 is expected to occur in the fourth
quarter, with net earnings in the second and third quarters
expected to be below last year.