Domestic markets are down slightly today on weak economic data.
Goldman Store sales beat week over week (2.0% vs. 0.0%) but fell
short year over year (2.7% vs. 3.6%). Redbook store sales echoed
this, coming in at an annual gain of 2.3% over 2.4% the previous
year. Measures of Consumer Confidence also disappointed. The index
was 62.0, down from 64.9 prior and consensus estimates of 63.5,
albeit within the consensus range of 58.0 to 66.3.
In Europe, EU officials unveiled a plan that would have an
entity, possibly the European Central Bank, oversee the banks
within the eurozone in exchange for the ability to use bailout
funds to insure deposits. The plan may also require EU countries to
get approval from other member countries for budget deficits and
monetary plans, particularly with regard to spending and
taxation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 17.41 (-0.14%) at
12,482.91.
The NASDAQ Composite was up 2.63 (+0.09%) at 2,838.68.
The S&P 500 was down 0.09 (-0.01%) at 1,313.47.
In Europe, the markets were also somewhat depressed. The FTSE
100 index was down -0.01% to around 5,450.50. The DAX was down
0.14% to 6,124 and the CAC 40 was at around 3,010, down 0.40%.
Crude oil prices were at $78.61 a barrel, down 0.60. Natural gas
was down 1 cent to $2.742 per 1 million BTU. Gold was down 16.2 to
$1,572.20 an ounce, while silver was down 0.68 to $26.84 an ounce.
Copper was down 0.02 to $3.31 a pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund (
USO
) was down 0.87% to $29.54 with the United States Natural Gas (
UNG
) fund was up 0.65% to $18.60. Among precious-metal funds, the
Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GMI) was down 2.5% to $44.04 while
SPDR Gold Shares (
GLD
) were down 0.81% to $152.51. The iShares Silver Trust (
SLV
) was down 2.13% to $26.13.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
NYSE Composite Index down 0.20% (-18.96) to 7,476.87
Dow Jones Industrial Index down 0.14% (-17.86) to 12,484.80
S&P 500 up 0.04% (+0.61) to 1,314.42
Nasdaq Composite Index up 0.18% (+5.22) to 2,841.45
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Nikkei 225 down 0.81% (-70.63) to 8,663.99
Hang Seng Index up 0.45% (+84.39) to 18,981.84
Shanghai China Composite Index down 0.09% (-2.05) to
2,222.07
FTSE 100 is up 0.07% (+3.97) to 5,454.71
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.29% (+39.01) to 13,623.20
NYSE Financial Sector Index up 0.09% (+4.25) to 4,619.85
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index up 0.35% (+25.09) to 7,256.75
UPSIDE MOVERS
ROSG (+7%): Reported that the New York State Department of
Health (NYSDOH) has approved the company's miRview lung assay for
testing on patient samples from the State.
APOL (+8.5%): Reported adjusted earnings of $1.20 a share on
$1.13 billion in revenue during its fiscal Q3. Analysts, on
average, were expecting the for-profit higher education company to
post a $0.97 a share profit on $1.12 billion in revenue.
CHOP (+10%): Announced the company has begun to export its
high-end wide- and narrow-strip steel to customers located in
Turkey and India.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
STP (-6.2%): Goldman Sachs slashed its price target on Suntech
Power (
STP
) to $0.80 from $1.20, and maintained its Sell rating on the
stock.
TSL (-7%): Goldman Sachs cut its price target to $5.50 from
$6.90. Goldman maintained its Neutral rating on the shares.
PCX (-11.9%): Dropped to a new year low of $1.02 this morning
and is currently down 11% at $1.05 due to declining natural gas
prices.