Here's where markets stand at mid-day:
-NYSE up 21.67 (+0.26%) to 8,212.80
-DJIA up 16.53 (+0.13%) to 12,453.65
-S&P 500 up 0.31 (+0.31%) to 1,312.93
-Nasdaq up 17.61 (+0.64%) to 2,780.24
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Nikkei up 0.4%.
Hang Seng down 0.3%.
Shanghai Composite up 0.4%.
FTSE-100 steady.
MID-DAY NYSE INDEX WATCH
NYSE Energy down 5.56% at 13,596.36
NYSE Financial down 8.36% at 4,768.13
NYSE Health Care up 6.71% at 7,282.12
NYSE Arca Tech 100 up 0.33% at 1,154.47
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) GOOG (+12.1%) beats with Q2 results.
(+) C (-0.3%) beats with Q2 results.
(+) CLX (+7.3%) gets $76.50 going private offer.
(+) HK (+62.5%) sold for $38.75 a share.
(+) MAT (+1.7%) beats with earnings.
(+) VICL (+6.5%) continues evening gain that followed pact with
Astellas Pharma.
(+) CY (+0.1%) downgraded
(+) WBS (+1.5%) misses with results.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) RAH (-1.6%) continues evening decline that followed earnings
miss.
(-) TSYS (-1.9%) downgraded.
(-) DCTH (-10.1%) selling shares.
(-) SKH (-3.9%) downgraded.
MARKET DIRECTION
Stocks managed to break a downward move and are just higher at
mid-day, after an address by President Barack Obama on the deficit
talks. Stocks downshifted after consumer sentiment fell far more
than expected.
President Obama signaled this morning that he is ready to move
ahead with cutting deficits at the same time the national debt
limit is raised. He said the move would provide a "unique
opportunity to do something big" and stabilize the U.S. economy for
decades. The government is facing an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the
debt ceiling. Failure to do so could mean "effectively a tax
increase for everybody" if the government defaults, because
interest rates would soar, the president said.
In the latest economic data, the July Thomson Reuters/University
of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 63.8, reaching the
lowest level since March of 2009, from 71.5 in June. Economists
surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the barometer to tick down to
71.3. Before the bell, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that
the US June Consumer Price Index fell 0.2% with the core rate
increasing 0.3%. The move was mostly in line with analysts
forecasts.
In company news:
Petrohawk (
HK
) is up over 63% after reports BHP Billiton (
BHP
) will buy the company for $12.1 billion, paying a premium of 65%
to raise its presence in shale fields, underground rock formations
rich in oil and gas.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (
CBRL
) announced today that due to its cost reduction and organization
streamlining initiative, it will reduce its workforce, eliminating
about 60 management and staff positions, mostly in its home office
in Lebanon, Tenn. The company expects to save $10 million a year on
a pretax basis as a result of the workforce reduction.
In health care M&A, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (
TEVA
) is down $0.20, or 0.41% to $48.23, after the company announced
today that it has completed the acquisition of effectively 100% of
the outstanding shares of Japanese Taiyo Pharmaceutical Industry
Co. Ltd. for $934 million in cash. Also, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (
VRX
) announced today that it signed an agreement to acquire the assets
of the Ortho Dermatologics division of Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Clorox (CLX) has jumped 9.09% to $74.65 a share after reports
that investor Carl Icahn has offered to take the company private in
a $12.6 billion deal. Clorox shareholders would receive $76.50 per
share in cash under the terms of the offer, according to the
Chicago Tribune,
News Corp. (NWS) (NWSA) on Friday announced that News
International Chief Executive Officer Rebekah Brooks will resign
immediately, in the wake of a phone hacking scandal at the media
group's former tabloid, News of the World. In a statement, the
company said Brooks will be replaced by Tom Mockridge, who joins
from Sky Italia, where he has been chief executive officer since
its launch in 2003.
In the latest earnings news:
--Citigroup (C) is higher after the bank reported Q2 net income
of $3.3 billion, or $1.09 per diluted share, on revenues of $20.6
billion. Second quarter net income grew 24% from the prior year
period and 11% from the first quarter 2011, while net revenues were
7% lower versus the prior year period and 5% higher than the first
quarter 2011. The analyst consensus was for revenues of $19.94
billion and EPS of $0.97.
--Shares of Google (GOOG) are up almost 13% at $597.32, after it
announced its results for the second fiscal quarter of this year.
The internet search giant reported Q2 non-GAAP EPS of $8.74 per
share, vs. the Street view of $7.85 per share. Revenue, ex TAC, was
$6.92 billion, well ahead of the analyst consensus of $6.55 billion
on Thomson Reuters.
Commodities are mixed. August gold contracts are down 0.05% to
$1,589 an ounce while August crude oil contacts are up 1.54% to
$97.10 a barrel.
In energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund (USO) is up 1.7% to
$38.19 and the United States Natural Gas fund (UNG) is up 2.9%, to
$11.37.
In precious metal ETFs, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is up 0.16% at
$154.79. Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) is up 1.17% to $59.47.
iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is up 1.5% to $37.97.