Investing
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell -- July 23, 2012: Markets Fade Eurozone Continues Faltering
Published:
Last Updated:
The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning as Spanish 10-year bond yields rose sharply above 7% (our coverage here) and German magazine Der Spiegel published a story that suggested Greece may not get further support from the IMF to delay its agreed fiscal reforms (our coverage here). In Asia, a representative of the People’s Bank of China questioned the bank’s ability to lower interest rates and suggested annual GDP growth may reach only 7.2% (our coverage here). Equities have come off their session lows, but remain about -1% or more below Friday’s close.
The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.3% at 83.728, almost 13% higher than a year ago. The GSCI commodity index fell about -0.4% to 651.87, with commodities prices mostly lower today on the stronger dollar. Corn fell to around $7.83/bushel today, on a forecast for some much-needed rain (our coverage here). WTI crude oil fell -4% today, closing at $88.14/barrel. Brent crude trades down -3.4% at $103.22/barrel. Natural gas is up 1.14% today to $3.116/thousand cubic feet. Gold settled at $1,577.40/ounce, down -0.3%.
The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 101 points to 12,721.46 (-0.79%), the NASDAQ fell more than 35 points (-1.20%) to 2,890.15, and the S&P 500 fell -0.89% or more than 12 points to 1,350.51.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) maintained as ‘buy’ but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs; Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK) cut to ‘underperform’ at Sterne Agee; and Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) raised to ‘buy’ at Jefferies.
Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) is up 2.7% at $27.56; Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) is up 4.4% at $40.78; Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is up 4.6% at $35.40 (more coverage here); and McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is down -2.5% at $89.25 (more coverage here).
After markets close today we are set to hear from Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD), Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE), and VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) among many others.
Before markets open tomorrow we are scheduled to get earnings results from AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS), Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU), and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS).
Some standouts from today include the following stocks:
Nexen Inc. (NYSE: NXY) is up 52.2% at $25.97 after posting a new 52-week high of $26.19 earlier today. The Canadian oil & gas producer is being acquired by China’s CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE: CEO) for $15.1 billion. More coverage here.
Intermune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) is down -14.9% at $9.97. The drugmaker missed EPS estimates badly this morning.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) is up 28% at $73.16. The coffee roaster and retailer is being taken private in a deal worth about $1 billion. More coverage here.
GenOn Energy Inc. (NYSE: GEN) is up 27.2% at $2.32. The merchant power producer is being acquired by NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) for about $1.7 billion. More coverage here.
Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is giving a speech in the morning. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):
- 8:58 a.m. – PMI flash reading for US from Markit Economics
- 10:00 a.m. – FHFA house price index
- 10:00 a.m. – Richmond Fed manufacturing index
- 11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week bill auctions
- 1:00 p.m. – 2-year note auction
Paul Ausick
Want to Retire Early? Start Here (Sponsor)
Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?
Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
