The DJIA jumped above 12,000 in the opening minutes of trading this morning and had topped 12,200 by mid-afternoon. European Union leaders have agreed on a deal that would make up to $1.4 trillion as a bailout fund for troubled European banks, offer a 50% haircut to Greek debt holders, and recapitalize the continent’s banks. Apparent euphoria over the deal in Europe caused investors to miss the weak number on pending home sales. The euro rose to more than $1.42, its highest level in nearly two months, and oil prices were about $3/barrel higher this morning and had gained nearly another dollar by mid-afternoon. The day closed with a few uncertainties still remaining on the agreement announced earlier in Europe.
The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly more than 340 points to 12,209.23 (2.87%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 88 points (3.32%) to 2,738.63, and the S&P 500 rose 3.43% or more than 42 points to 1,284.54.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) maintained at ‘neutral’ with price target cut from $16 to $14 at Credit Suisse; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup (ahem!); Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) started at ‘outperform’ with a $60 price target at Credit Suisse and maintained at ‘buy’ with a $50 target at Canaccord Genuity; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) cut to ‘market perform’ at FBR; and Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) reiterated at ‘sell’ by Canaccord Genuity.
Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Proctor & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) up about 0.5%, at $65.25; Colgate Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) up about 1%, at $91.49; Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) up 0.84%, at $81.75; Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) up nearly 11%, at $96.59; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) up nearly 2.5%, at $48.98; Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) up 2.2%, at $33.32; Bristol Meyers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) up 1.8%, at $33.10; and Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) up 1.5%, at $27.69.
Several other standouts from today are as follows…
QuickLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QUIK) is up nearly 25%, at $2.87. The company announced an agreement under which mobile phone maker Kyocera will use QuickLogic chips in new products for the Japanese market.
Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYB) is up nearly 28%, at $16.75. The company is set to announce earnings on November 9th, and is glimmering in the glow of a solid earnings report today from Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW).
LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK) is up more than 21%, at $4.00. Germany has announced another cut to its solar power feed-in tariff at the first of the year, and that could unleash a horde of new projects to take advantage of the current higher tariff rate.
Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is up more than 19%, at $11.74. The company reported an EPS loss yesterday, even though sales were up 24%. Investors must like the revenue report more than they hate the EPS loss.
McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) is down nearly -26%, at $10.85. The engineering and construction company lowered its third-quarter profit and revenue guidance. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.29 and McDermott is now saying EPS will be just $0.03-$0.05.
Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is down about -18%, at $18.87. The company missed its earnings expectations, but the worse news is that the SEC have begun a formal investigation into bribery charges against the company for actions it took in foreign markets.
Stay tuned for Friday. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):
- 8:30 a.m. – Consumer spending
- 8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
- 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
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Paul Ausick
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