Active broad-market exchange-traded funds at mid-day:
SPDR S&P 500 (
SPY
): -0.2%
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 (
QQQ
): -0.3%
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (
EEM
): -0.2%
Financial Select Sector SPDR (
XLF
): -0.2%
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (
VXX
): -0.6%, hit year lows
Broad Market Indicators
Broad-market exchange-traded funds, including SPY, IWM, IVV and
others, are weaker. Actively traded PowerShares QQQ (
QQQ
) is down 0.3%.
U.S. stocks have reversed direction, giving up modest gains in
the pre-market, which were mostly fueled by mild optimism as the
earnings season began. But fears over a global and U.S. economic
slowdown persist, despite Spain's 10-year bonds slipping to just
under 7% following the decision by euro-region leaders to
accelerate rescue loans for the nation's banks. The U.S. dollar has
advanced on this uncertainty in Europe, pressuring energy and
natural resource companies.
Winners and Losers
Technology -
Tech actives are mostly lower: Apple (AAPL), has turned positive
to be up 0.2%; Microsoft (MSFT), down 0.8%; Intel (INTC), down
1.6%; Google (GOOG), up 0.03%; Cisco (CSCO), down 0.6%; Yahoo
(YHOO), has turned positive to be up 0.3%.
Apple (AAPL) announced today that its new third generation iPad
will arrive in China on Friday, July 20, one week earlier than
previously announced.
ASML Holding ADRs (ASML) are up 9%, earlier reaching a new
52-week high of $53.30. The company said that it has commenced a
program to enable minority equity investments in ASML by its
largest customers, with Intel (INTC) as the first participant in
the program. INTC has committed to acquire up to a 15% equity
ownership interest at a subscription price of EUR 39.91 or $49.03
per share and to also provide EUR 829 mln or $1.02 bln to ASML in
R&D funding, which will be dedicated to the development of
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) technology.
Google Inc. (GOOG) is close to paying $22.5 million to settle
charges that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using
Apple's Safari browser, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fine
would be the largest penalty ever levied on a single company by the
U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Journal said late Monday. The
charges involve Google's use of special computer code, or
"cookies," to trick Apple's Safari browser so Google could monitor
users that had blocked such tracking, the newspaper said.
SemiLEDs (LEDS) fell 10% and hit year lows after reporting a Q3
loss of $0.29 per share, ex one-time items, versus the Capital IQ
consensus of $0.23 loss per share. Revenues were $9.2 mln, versus
the analyst estimate of $8.51 mln. In the same period last year,
the company reported a loss of $0.16 per share on revenues of $5.6
mln.
Research In Motion (RIMM) is down near 4%, losing earlier gains
of 1% after the company failed to come up with much new positive
news at its shareholders' meeting in Canada. Meanwhile, Bloomberg
reported the company is selling one of its two business jets under
a plan to save $1 billion in operating costs. The maker of
BlackBerry devices put its nine-passenger Dassault Aviation SA
(DSY) F50EX up for sale, trying to fetch $6 million to $7 million,
one of the people said. Selling the midrange jet would leave RIM
with one Dassault F900EX, a longer-range aircraft that can fit 14
passengers, the report said.
ETFs in the space are mostly lower: iShares Dow Jones US
Technology ETF (IYW), down 0.4%; iShares S&P North American
Technology ETF (IGM), down 0.6%; iShares S&P North American
Technology-Software Index (IGV), down 0.6%; and Technology Select
Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), down 0.5%.
SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) is down 2%; likewise,
Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (SOXX) is down 1.8%.
SPDR S&P International Technology Sector ETF (IPK) is down
0.1%.
Industrial -
ETFs in the sector are mixed: Vanguard Industrials (VIS), down
0.02%; iShares Trust Dow Jones U.S. Industrial Sector Index Fund
(IYJ), down 0.1%; and Select Sector SPDR-Industrial (XLI), up
0.2%.
Alcoa (AA) is down 3.7% and closer to year lows after reporting
in yesterday's after hours its Q2 FY2012 results. AA met consensus
estimates regarding its earnings (Capital IQ at $0.06 per share and
Thomson Reuters at $0.05 per share), bringing in $0.06 per share,
and topped analyst revenue expectations of $5.83 billion. The
company's sales totaled $5.96 billion for the period.
Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) is down 11.5% after announcing plans
for concurrent underwritten public offerings of common stock and
tangible equity units intending to raise $150 million gross
proceeds. The homebuilder is offering $75 million of its common
stock and 3 million equity units priced at about $25 each, raising
another $75 million. The units are comprised of a prepaid stock
purchase contract and an unsecured senior amortizing note due 2015.
BZH has tabbed net proceeds from the offerings for growth capital,
including targeting about $100 million for potential land
investments in Florida, California, Texas, North Carolina and
Arizona as well as paying down existing debt.
Energy -
Dow Jones U.S. Energy Fund (IYE) is down 0.7% while Energy
Select Sector SPDR (XLE), down 0.8%.
James River Coal (JRCC) is down more than 20%, pressured by
Patriot Coal's (PCX) announcement that it has filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection from creditors late Monday. PCX shares were
halted from trading.
BP (BP) ADRs are up 0.2% following a Reuters report that the
company will "indefinitely suspend" its offshore oil project on
Alaska, citing costly overruns and technical setbacks. Citing a
company spokeswoman, the report stated that after an 18-month
review, the Liberty project would not go forward as planned because
it would have cost more than the $1.5 bln the company planned to
spend there. The company may still try to develop the project
later, the report added.
Commodities -
Crude was down 0.9%; natural gas down 2.5%. Among ETFs, United
States Oil Fund (USO) was down 0.4% and United States Natural Gas
Fund (UNG), down 4%.
Gold was down 0.2%; silver, down 1.4%. Among rare metal funds,
SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) was down 0.5% while iShares Silver Trust
(SLV), down 1.6%.
Healthcare -
ETFs are weaker at mid-day: Health Care SPDR (XLV), down 0.2%;
iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (IBB), down 0.8%; Vanguard
Health Care ETF (VHT), down 0.4%; and iShares Dow Jones US
Healthcare (IYH), down 0.4%.
BioMimetic Therapeutics (BMTI) is up more than 20% after the
company earlier said that that it has submitted to the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) an amendment to its Pre-Market Approval
(PMA) application for Augment Bone Graft for its use as an
alternative to autograft in hindfoot and ankle fusion procedures.
The amendment provides supplemental information requested by the
FDA in a post-panel response letter announced by the company
earlier this year.
MAKO Surgical (MAKO) is down 40% and has hit a new 52-week low
of $14.51. It warned late yesterday that based on a slower than
expected start during the first six months of the year, MAKO now
anticipates selling 42 to 48 RIO systems in 2012, which compares to
prior guidance of 52 to 58 RIO system sales. Additionally, as a
result of adjusted guidance for 2012 RIO sales, MAKO is narrowing
2012 MAKOplasty annual procedure guidance to 11,000 to 12,000,
which compares to prior guidance of 11,000 to 13,000
procedures.
Hi-Tech Pharmacal (HITK) is off 0.3% after it earlier reported
Q4 earnings of $0.73 per share, ex one-time items, versus the
Capital IQ consensus of $0.78. Revenues were $61.3 mln, versus the
analyst estimate of $57.94 mln. In the same period last year, the
company reported EPS of $0.98 on revenues of $57.2 mln.
Consumer -
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) is up 0.3% to near
year highs; iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK), up 0.3%; and
Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC), up 0.2% to near year
highs.
SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) is up 0.05%; PowerShares Dynamic
Retail (PMR), up 0.4% and Market Vectors Retail ETF (RTH), up 0.4%
and has hit year highs.
Helen of Troy (HELE) is down 9% after it reported Q1 sales of
$300.2 mln, just shy of the analyst consensus of $302 mln on
Capital IQ. Earnings were $0.74 per share. The Street was at $0.88
per share, but it's unclear if the two are comparable. For FY 2013,
the company expects revenue in the range of $1.3 to $1.325 bln. EPS
is seen between $3.70 and $3.80, vs. its previous guidance of $3.80
to $3.90 per share.
Wolverine World Wide (WWW) is up 6.5% after it slipped about 3%
in pre-market trading. The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.41
per share, ex one-time items, versus the Capital IQ consensus of
$0.44. Revenues were $312.7 mln, versus the analyst estimate of
$314.42 mln. The company reaffirms its guidance for FY12, still
expecting EPS of $2.70 - $2.80, excluding non-recurring items,
compared with the Street view of $2.71. It sees revenues of $1.46
bln - $1.50 bln, compared with the analyst estimate of $1.48
bln.
Power Play -
Financial -
ETFs and stocks in the sector have gone in to reverse and are
mostly weaker. Earlier, the sector saw gains following news that
Euro finance ministers agreed on the terms of a bailout for Spain,
and will ready EUR 30 bln or $36.88 bln for the country's troubled
banks by the end of July.
Select Financial Sector SPDRs (
XLF
) is down 0.5%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X shares (FAS) is
down 1.5%. Its bearish counterpart, FAZ, is up 1.5%.
Actives in the sector are mostly weaker: Bank of America (BAC),
now down 0.3%; Goldman Sachs (GS), down 1%; Morgan Stanley (MS),
down 1.5%; and Citigroup (C), down 0.6%.
Barclays PLC (BCS) ARDs are up 1.1% following reports that
former CEO Robert E. Diamond Jr., will forgo deferred stock bonuses
that amount to about GBP 20 mln or $31 mln, as well as his annual
bonus, according to media reports. Diamond resigned from his
position last week after regulators in the U.K. and the U.S.
determined that BCS sought to manipulate interest-rate benchmarks.
BCS paid about $450 mln as settlement. Diamond claims to have had
no knowledge of the interest rate rigging.