Stock Market News for February 3, 2012 - Market News
February 03 2012 - 4:06AM
Zacks
Thursday witnessed a lackluster
trading session with the benchmarks hardly willing to make a move
in either direction as investors waited for the government to
release its nonfarm payroll data on Friday. Markets finally closed
mixed, amidst a drop in initial claims and a mixed bag of earnings
results. Meanwhile, social media companies showed strength as
Facebook filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
for an Initial Public Offering.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI) moved in a narrow range, gaining up to 25 and losing up to 40
points, and finally dropped 0.1% to close at 12,705.41. The
Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) edged up 0.1% and settled
hardly unchanged at 1,325.54. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index
was up 0.4% and finished yesterday’s trading session at 2,859.68.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) closed 3.1% lower at
17.98. Total volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 4.13 billion
shares. For 55% of the stocks that gained, 41% of the stocks traded
lower. The remaining 4% of the stocks were left unchanged.
The labor department had a positive
report to share, as it reported a drop in initial claims. According
to The U.S. Department of Labor, the advance figure for seasonally
adjusted initial claims dropped by 12,000 from the previous week to
367,000 for the week ending January 28, 2012. Initial claims
showed a declining trend, and the report was all the more cheerful
as the drop in jobless claims was larger than what the Street had
estimated. Consensus estimates had projected the initial claims to
touch 371, 000.
The jobs market undoubtedly plays a
key role in shaping the economy’s health, and back-to-back positive
reports on that front likely hint at an improving financial
scenario. On Wednesday, the ADP National Employment Report
suggested that the private sector had added 170,000 jobs in
January. However, yesterday’s report could not manage to spark off
a robust rally for the markets, as the investors kept waiting for
non-farm payroll data from the government, scheduled for release on
Friday. Despite apprehensions on this count, a Reuters survey has
predicted that nonfarm payroll data is expected to log gains of
150,000 in January.
Corporate results came in mixed
yesterday, thus providing little indication about the markets’
direction. While a few companies impressed, others posted
disappointing results, somewhat justifying the benchmarks’ narrow
trading range. However, the technology arena received a boost after
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) came out with record-setting
first-quarter fiscal 2012 results. While the company’s earnings
crushed estimates, its shares hit a 12-year high and finally
settled 2.0% higher at $60.73 a share. The technology sector
managed to emerge as one of the strongest winners in the broader
markets and the Technology SPDR Select Sector Fund (XLK) was up
0.3%. Among other tech shares, Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU), Sina
Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA), Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ:SOHU) and NVIDIA
Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained 2.4%, 1.9%, 1.0% and 3.7%,
respectively.
Separately, Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI)
and Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) also managed to beat estimates and
their shares gained 7.1% and 2.6%, respectively. Meanwhile,
retailer Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE:SLE) managed to sail past
earnings estimates, but its revenues fell short of expectations.
The company’s shares were up 4.4%. However, not all companies were
as lucky with their quarterly performances and companies like Merck
& Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW)
and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) came out with dismal figures and
their share prices dropped 0.5%, 1.2% and 0.6%, respectively.
Additionally, after Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF)
projected lower than expected earnings, the shares slumped
13.7%.
Social networking giant Facebook
announced that it has completed filing with the SEC for an IPO. The
company is expecting to raise up to $5 billion. Amidst this
development, other social media shares managed to clock up gains
and shares of Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Groupon, Inc.
(NASDAQ:GRPN), LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) and Renren Inc.
(NYSE:RENN) gained 16.8%, 7.4%, 6.4% and 8.2%, respectively.
ABERCROMBIE (ANF): Free Stock Analysis Report
BAIDU INC (BIDU): Free Stock Analysis Report
CUMMINS INC (CMI): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEUTSCHE BK AG (DB): Free Stock Analysis Report
DOW CHEMICAL (DOW): Free Stock Analysis Report
GROUPON INC (GRPN): Free Stock Analysis Report
KELLOGG CO (K): Free Stock Analysis Report
LINKEDIN CORP-A (LNKD): Free Stock Analysis Report
MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report
NVIDIA CORP (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report
QUALCOMM INC (QCOM): Free Stock Analysis Report
SINA CORP (SINA): Free Stock Analysis Report
SARA LEE (SLE): Free Stock Analysis Report
SOHU.COM INC (SOHU): Free Stock Analysis Report
ZYNGA INC (ZNGA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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