7:30pm (EST)
The market stayed in a tight trading range on Friday as volume was light following another snow storm that hit the upper east coast. The blizzard that hit New York City kept a lot of traders away from Wall Street and light volume days can be choppy and violent, meaning huge swings, but the market stayed near even for much of the day.
We mentioned the good economic data we got on Friday which seemed to help the bulls case. The Commerce Department reported a 5.9% increase in 4Q gross domestic product (GDP), versus Wall Street’s estimate of 5.7%. Meanwhile, the February Consumer Sentiment Survey from University of Michigan was little changed at 73.6 and in-line with expectations.
The Dow managed to pull out a 4 point gain to close at 10,325 but lost 77, or -0.7%, for the week. However, the index added 2.6%, or 258 points, for the month of February.
The S&P 500 added a little over a point to settle at 1,104 but lost 5 points, 0.4% for the week. The good news is that the index gained 2.9% for the month, or 31 points.
Finally, the Nasdaq added 4 ticks on Friday to finish at 2,238. The index shed just 5 points, or 0.3%, for the week and ended February with a solid gain of 4.2%, or 90 points higher.
Once again, the targets we set back in August will now come into play and they are: 1,175 for the S&P 500; 2,275 for the Nasdaq; 10,800 for the Dow. Although we are still getting mixed signals as far as market direction, we think there is a chance of a decent rally and a retest of the January highs over the next few weeks could come into play.
As far as economic news this week, there are quite a few reports we will need to watch but the big one will be Friday’s unemployment update.
Bad weather could be blamed for a small rise in the February unemployment rate as the number of people filing first-time unemployment claims may have jumped, in part because of the weather. The jobless rate fell to 9.7% in January from 10% in December but is expected to come in at 9.8%.
On Monday, we get a look at January personal income and spending as well as January construction spending. The market will also digest the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) figures on the February manufacturing index.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book and on Thursday the government’s revised figures on fourth-quarter productivity are due along with reports on January factory orders and January pending-home sales.
As far as earnings (quotes from Friday’s close):
Monday: AnnTaylor Stores (ANN, $17.21, up $0.90), AutoZone (AZO, $165.93, down $0.15), Churchill Downs (CHDN, $35.58, up $0.54), Dish Network (DISH, $19.97, up $0.10), Dress Barn (DBRN, $24.86, up $0.03), Foot Locker (FL, $12.97, up $0.20), H&R Block (HRB, $17.28, down $0.06), Kenneth Cole (KCP, $11.72, down $0.46), National Healthcare (NHC, $36.79, down $0.38), Public Storage (PSA, $82.19, up $0.28), Perfect World (PWRD, $39.39, up $2.04), PetSmart (PETM, $27.22, down $0.27) and TiVo (TIVO, $9.48, down $0.13).
Tuesday: Bank Of Montreal (BMO, $53.17, down $0.65), Cooper Tire & Rubber (CTB, $17.54, up $0.35), Diamond Foods (DMND, $34.85, down $3.86), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ, $12.49, up $0.06) and Staples (SPLS, $25.76, down $0.17).
Wednesday: Big Lots (BIG, $33.50, up $0.60), BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ, $36.17, up $0.18), Canadian Solar (CSIQ, $19.12, down $0.17), Cinemark Holdings (CNK, $16.11, up $0.08), Famous Dave’s of America (DAVE, $6.68, up $0.09), Joy Global (JOYG, $50.79, up $0.56), Royal Bank Of Canada (RY, $54.05, up $0.10) and Sun Healthcare Group (SUNH, $8.89, up $0.09).
Thursday: Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR, $36.76, up $0.51), Ciena (CIEN, $14.34, down $0.347), Costco Wholesale (COST, $60.97, down $0.43), Del Monte Foods (DLM, $11.72, down $0.16), Overstock.com (OSTK, $12.31, down $0.15), Nash Finch (NAFC, $35.27, down $0.10) and Wendy’s / Arby’s Group (WEN, $4.88, up $0.10).
Friday: Urban Outfitters (URBN, $32.30, up $0.32) and Vivus (VVUS, $8.40, down $0.01).
Speaking of earnings, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A, $119,000, up $1,000), (BRK/B, $80.13, up $0.73) reported over the weekend and said net income rose to $3 billion, or $1,969 per Class A share, from $117 million, or $76, a year earlier, on revenue of $30 billion for the quarter.
For 2009, net income jumped 61% and came in at $8.1 billion, or $5,193 per class A share, versus $5 billion, or $3,224 per class A share, in 2008. Berkshire’s net worth rose nearly 20% in 2009 which is the way Mr. Buffett prefers to measure the company’s performance.
No doubt, this will be a story the market follows and Mr. Buffet will be on TV talking about the results on Monday. We will be back in the morning to give you an update on where the market is headed and a full review on all of the current open positions in the portfolio.
As we head to press, Dow futures are higher by 45 points to 10,356 while the S&P 500 futures are up 6 to 1,109. The Nasdaq 100 futures are showing a 10 point pop and are at 1,828. If things hold, we are going higher at the open Monday morning…
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MomentumOptionsTrading.com Weekly Wrap for 2/28/10
7:30pm (EST)
The market stayed in a tight trading range on Friday as volume was light following another snow storm that hit the upper east coast. The blizzard that hit New York City kept a lot of traders away from Wall Street and light volume days can be choppy and violent, meaning huge swings, but the market stayed near even for much of the day.
We mentioned the good economic data we got on Friday which seemed to help the bulls case. The Commerce Department reported a 5.9% increase in 4Q gross domestic product (GDP), versus Wall Street’s estimate of 5.7%. Meanwhile, the February Consumer Sentiment Survey from University of Michigan was little changed at 73.6 and in-line with expectations.
The Dow managed to pull out a 4 point gain to close at 10,325 but lost 77, or -0.7%, for the week. However, the index added 2.6%, or 258 points, for the month of February.
The S&P 500 added a little over a point to settle at 1,104 but lost 5 points, 0.4% for the week. The good news is that the index gained 2.9% for the month, or 31 points.
Finally, the Nasdaq added 4 ticks on Friday to finish at 2,238. The index shed just 5 points, or 0.3%, for the week and ended February with a solid gain of 4.2%, or 90 points higher.
Once again, the targets we set back in August will now come into play and they are: 1,175 for the S&P 500; 2,275 for the Nasdaq; 10,800 for the Dow. Although we are still getting mixed signals as far as market direction, we think there is a chance of a decent rally and a retest of the January highs over the next few weeks could come into play.
As far as economic news this week, there are quite a few reports we will need to watch but the big one will be Friday’s unemployment update.
Bad weather could be blamed for a small rise in the February unemployment rate as the number of people filing first-time unemployment claims may have jumped, in part because of the weather. The jobless rate fell to 9.7% in January from 10% in December but is expected to come in at 9.8%.
On Monday, we get a look at January personal income and spending as well as January construction spending. The market will also digest the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) figures on the February manufacturing index.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book and on Thursday the government’s revised figures on fourth-quarter productivity are due along with reports on January factory orders and January pending-home sales.
As far as earnings (quotes from Friday’s close):
Monday: AnnTaylor Stores (ANN, $17.21, up $0.90), AutoZone (AZO, $165.93, down $0.15), Churchill Downs (CHDN, $35.58, up $0.54), Dish Network (DISH, $19.97, up $0.10), Dress Barn (DBRN, $24.86, up $0.03), Foot Locker (FL, $12.97, up $0.20), H&R Block (HRB, $17.28, down $0.06), Kenneth Cole (KCP, $11.72, down $0.46), National Healthcare (NHC, $36.79, down $0.38), Public Storage (PSA, $82.19, up $0.28), Perfect World (PWRD, $39.39, up $2.04), PetSmart (PETM, $27.22, down $0.27) and TiVo (TIVO, $9.48, down $0.13).
Tuesday: Bank Of Montreal (BMO, $53.17, down $0.65), Cooper Tire & Rubber (CTB, $17.54, up $0.35), Diamond Foods (DMND, $34.85, down $3.86), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ, $12.49, up $0.06) and Staples (SPLS, $25.76, down $0.17).
Wednesday: Big Lots (BIG, $33.50, up $0.60), BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ, $36.17, up $0.18), Canadian Solar (CSIQ, $19.12, down $0.17), Cinemark Holdings (CNK, $16.11, up $0.08), Famous Dave’s of America (DAVE, $6.68, up $0.09), Joy Global (JOYG, $50.79, up $0.56), Royal Bank Of Canada (RY, $54.05, up $0.10) and Sun Healthcare Group (SUNH, $8.89, up $0.09).
Thursday: Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR, $36.76, up $0.51), Ciena (CIEN, $14.34, down $0.347), Costco Wholesale (COST, $60.97, down $0.43), Del Monte Foods (DLM, $11.72, down $0.16), Overstock.com (OSTK, $12.31, down $0.15), Nash Finch (NAFC, $35.27, down $0.10) and Wendy’s / Arby’s Group (WEN, $4.88, up $0.10).
Friday: Urban Outfitters (URBN, $32.30, up $0.32) and Vivus (VVUS, $8.40, down $0.01).
Speaking of earnings, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A, $119,000, up $1,000), (BRK/B, $80.13, up $0.73) reported over the weekend and said net income rose to $3 billion, or $1,969 per Class A share, from $117 million, or $76, a year earlier, on revenue of $30 billion for the quarter.
For 2009, net income jumped 61% and came in at $8.1 billion, or $5,193 per class A share, versus $5 billion, or $3,224 per class A share, in 2008. Berkshire’s net worth rose nearly 20% in 2009 which is the way Mr. Buffett prefers to measure the company’s performance.
No doubt, this will be a story the market follows and Mr. Buffet will be on TV talking about the results on Monday. We will be back in the morning to give you an update on where the market is headed and a full review on all of the current open positions in the portfolio.
As we head to press, Dow futures are higher by 45 points to 10,356 while the S&P 500 futures are up 6 to 1,109. The Nasdaq 100 futures are showing a 10 point pop and are at 1,828. If things hold, we are going higher at the open Monday morning…
Tags: option picks, option signals, options alerts, stock options trading
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 28th, 2010 at 7:31 PM and is filed under Earnings, Market Analysis, Market Commentary, Weekly Wrap. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.