Active broad-market exchange-traded funds at mid-day:
SPDR S&P 500 (
SPY
): -0.6%
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 (
QQQ
): -0.2%
Financial Select Sector SPDR (
XLF
): -1.2%
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures (
VXX
): -0.1%
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (
EEM
): -0.05%
Broad Market Indicators
Broad-market exchange-traded funds, including SPY, IWM, IVV and
others, are mostly lower. Actively traded PowerShares QQQ (
QQQ
) is down 0.2%.
U.S. stocks are edging lower at session's half, failing to hold
on to pre-bell gains. Casting a shadow over the markets are fears
of a further economic slowdown -- stemming from the fact that
factory orders for April declined 0.6%, missing economists'
estimates for a rise of 0.1%, according to a Market Watch poll.
Earlier, China reported a disappointing non-manufacturing PMI
reading that declined from the previous month. Tech stocks are
firmly in the red despite the videogame industry's annual E3
conference, unable to shake off the impact of declining retail
sales.
Winners and Losers
Financial -
Select Financial Sector SPDRs (
XLF
) is down 1.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X shares (FAS) is
down 3.4%. Its bearish counterpart, FAZ, is up 3.4%.
Among actives: Bank of America (BAC) is down 1.7%, Goldman Sachs
(GS) is down 1.9%; Morgan Stanley (MS) is down 3.3%, Citigroup (C)
is down 2.7%.
Regions Financial (RF) is down 4.5% after it was downgraded to
Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Technology -
ETFs and shares in this space are weaker, even as the videogame
industry holds its annual E3 conference. Declining of sales have
hurt videogame console manufacturers and game developers alike, and
despite the conference, tech stocks are slipping into negative
territory, with some hitting fresh year lows: Groupon (GRPN), down
8% at $8.90, having hit a year low of $8.85; Facebook (FB), down
3.4% at $26.79, after hitting the new year low of $26.57; Zynga
(ZNGA), down 3.83%, off the new year low of $5.76; and Research in
Motion (RIMM), down 6.2% at $9.62, just above the new 52-week low
of $9.61.
Among tech actives: Apple (AAPL) is down 1.4%; Microsoft (MSFT)
is down 0.07%; Intel (INTC) is down 1%; Google (GOOG) is up 0.3%;
Cisco (CSCO) is up 0.09%; Yahoo (YHOO) is down 0.3%.
Salesforce.com (CRM) is down 1.7% after it entered into a
definitive agreement to acquire Buddy Media, for approximately $689
million payable in cash and salesforce.com equity. The transaction
is expected to be completed during salesforce.com's fiscal third
quarter ending October 31, 2012.
Facebook (FB) is down 3.28% to $26.81, after hitting a new low
of $26.57. Shares were initiated at Underperform by Bernstein. The
firm set a price target of $25 per share.
In the ETF space, iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF (IYW) is
down 0.8%; Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is down 0.4% and
iShares S&P North American Technology ETF (IGM) is down 0.55%.
iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index (IGV) is
down 0.75%.
SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) is down 1.20% and Semiconductor
Sector Index Fund (SOXX) is down 1.10%.
SPDR S&P International Technology Sector ETF (IPK) is
flat.
Energy -
Dow Jones U.S. Energy Fund (IYE) is down 1.26% while Energy
Select Sector SPDR (XLE) is down 1.42%.
SandRidge Energy (SD) is down 4.5%, above a day low $5.55 but
reversing earlier gains of some 2% after it said that it has closed
the sale of its non-core tertiary assets to a private party for
cash proceeds of $130 million. The divested properties are located
in West Texas and currently produce approximately 1,100 Boe per
day.
Chesapeake Energy (CHK) is up 4.7% after it disclosed this
morning that extensive discussions with its two largest
shareholders, Southeastern Asset Management and Carl C. Icahn and
his affiliated entities, who own, respectively, approximately 13.6%
and 7.6% of the company's common stock, Chesapeake has agreed to a
plan to reconstitute its Board of Directors by adding four new
independent directors to replace four existing independent
directors who will resign from the Board upon the appointment of
the new directors.
LRR Energy (LRE) is down 0.9% at $13.62, just above its new
52-week low of $13.50, after the company revised guidance for full
year 2012, forecasting production to average 5,900 - 6,300 Boe per
day; LOE on a Boe of production basis to average $9.25 - $9.75. LRR
Energy expects to spend approximately $25.7 million of total
capital expenditures on the development of its oil and natural gas
properties in 2012, including approximately $19.8 million of
maintenance capital expenditures. The company said it expects to
spend the remaining $5.9 million of estimated expenditures
primarily on cost cutting projects. On a go forward basis, it
expects annual maintenance capital expenditures to be $21.0
million.
Commodities -
Crude is down 0.32% at $82.96 a barrel. United States Oil Fund
(USO) is down 0.29% at 31.34.
Gold is down $8.10 at $1,614 an ounce. SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is
down 0.19% at 31.36. Silver is down 1.87% at $27.97 a pound.
iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is down 1.30% at 27.26.
Consumer -
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) is down 0.30%; iShares
Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) is down 0.92%; and Vanguard
Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) is down 0.32%.
SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) is down 1.01%, PowerShares Dynamic
Retail (PMR) is down 0.58% and Market Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) is
down 0.17%.
AutoNation (AN) is currently little changed after gaining nearly
6% in pre-market trading, when it reported that retail new vehicle
unit sales in May 2012 were 23,763, a 45% increase from a year ago.
For the company's operating segments were 7,260 for domestic, up
21% versus May 2011; 12,300 for Import, up 78% versus May 2011; and
4,203 for Premium luxury, up 23% versus May 2011.
Power Play -
Healthcare -
Health Care SPDR (XLV) is down 0.28%; iShares NASDAQ
Biotechnology Index (IBB) is down 0.85%; Vanguard Health Care ETF
(VHT) is down 0.35%; and iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare (IYH) is
down 0.42%.
ImmunoGen (IMGN) is flat, trimming earlier gains of more than
10% after presenting positive clinical data for its investigational
compound, SAR3419, at an oncology conference. SAR3419 is a
potential treatment for CD19+ non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and
other B-cell malignancies. The data reported today are from the
Phase I evaluation that established the dosing schedule being used
with SAR3419 in its Phase II evaluation.
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL) is up 12% after it announced
positive top-line results from its IMPRESS (The Investigation for
Maximal Peyronie's Reduction Efficacy and Safety Studies) trials,
the phase III studies that assessed XIAFLEX (collagenase
clostridium histolyticum or CCH), a novel, in-office,
first-in-class biologic therapy for the potential treatment of
Peyronie's disease (PD).