Todays Stock Market
-
Draghi Dampens Rally in the Stock Market Today
After a nice three-day run going back to last Friday's session, the stock market today is down following dreary statements from Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday morning, Draghi commented that the Eurozone would recover gradually and offered little optimism for the region.
"The risks surrounding the economic outlook for the euro area continue to be on the downside,"Draghi said at the news conference. "We see now weakening spots of growth in the whole of euro area including countries that had not experienced that before."
The ECB lowered its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 0.75% and lowered its deposit rate to zero. The People's Bank of China also cut several key interest rates for the second time in less than a month, bringing its lending rate down by 0.31 percentage point to 6%.
The Bank of England decided to enact stimulus measures through quantitative easing, increasing asset purchases by 50 billion euros ($78.1 billion).
Domestically better-than-expected job reports were released, showing the fewest layoffs in 13 months and fewer initial unemployment claims filed than in the previous week.
For the week ended June 30, about 374,000 initial jobless claims were filed, down 14,000 from the previous week. ADP employment numbers showed that 176,000 private jobs were added last week.
This number is a preview to unemployment numbers to be released tomorrow by the Labor Department. Economists expect jobs to be added in the range of 80,000 - 100,000, factoring in government layoffs.
These positive labor numbers follow very weak manufacturing reports issued earlier this week and a poor reading from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on U.S. non-manufacturing businesses. The ISM services index fell to 52.1 in June from the prior month's 53.7.
These numbers keep the volatile trend of the markets going as investors go back and forth from hope to worry over European and domestic concerns.
Some notable headline-makers in the stock market today include Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL).
To continue reading, please click here... -
Stock Market Today: This 85% Gainer is Leading the Rebound
The stock market today is rebounding from yesterday's dismal session, the second worst day of the year. The Dow Jones Thursday sunk more than 250 points, or 1.96%, to 12,573.57 and the S&P 500 fell 2.23% to 1,325.51.
Stocks are fighting back today, trying to ignore Moody's rating downgrades of five of the six largest U.S. banks.
The downgrades included Citigroup (NYSE: C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). Each of these stocks were up Friday as the markets already discounted the downgrades.
The markets, led by financials, opened Friday's trading with a jolt upwards before settling back to modest gains. Investors remained focused on Europe as leaders from Germany, France, Spain and Italy met in Rome. Little is expected to amount from this meeting, but it could establish a framework for what is to come in the European Union summit next week.
Besides the financial stocks there are three other companies to keep your eye on today: First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR), Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) and Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR).
First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), the largest maker of thin film solar panels, jumped in early trading after receiving permission to continue construction on a $1.36 billion power project in Los Angeles County.
First Solar stock has been beaten down this year amid steep losses and criticism over its involvement with the U.S. government. The Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One plant, which had been suspended until today, is partially funded by a $646 million loan from the U.S. Energy Department.
Shares of First Solar have slipped over 85% over the past twelve months from a 52-week high of $142.22.
To continue reading, please click here... -
Stock Market Today: Who to Avoid, Who to Consider
In a volatile trading session two companies are making news in the stock market today (Thursday): mobile phone provider Nokia Corp. (NYSE ADR: NOK) and supermarket chain The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR).
Nokia Corp. (NYSE ADR: NOK) struggles continue: On Thursday Nokia announced it would cut 10,000 jobs, or one out of five workers, worldwide by the end of the year. It also warned of lower-than-expected financials for the second and third quarters.
The Finnish company had been the leading cell phone maker for 14 years and just last year was the leader in smartphones. Competition from rival companies, especially in the smartphone sector, has been a driving downward force for Nokia.
"The job cuts and profit warning underline the seriousness of the challenges Nokia is facing, particularly in light of the eye-watering competition from Apple and Samsung," Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight, told Reuters.
Prior to this announcement Nokia stock had taken a beating, down more than 50% in the past three months and has been down more than 15% today.
The stock's performance looks even worse going back three years. In June 2009 it traded around $15 a share, and has now fallen below $2.40.
Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop hopes these cuts can turnaround the company's prospects as many investors worry about Nokia's ability to stay afloat amid their cash problems.
"These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength," Elop said in a statement.
To continue reading, please click here...
-
Stock Market Today: What Investors Can't Miss
Companies making headlines in the stock market today include Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM).
After Tuesday's closing bell Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) gave shareholders good news: it will begin paying a dividend later this year.
The struggling tech company expects to pay quarterly cash dividends of 8 cents per share on all common stock starting during the third quarter of this year.
Using Tuesday's closing price of $11.97 as a benchmark would give Dell a dividend yield of 2.7%, higher than the average yield of the stocks in the S&P 500.
Dell's CFO Brian Gladden hopes this move can turnaround the beleaguered company whose stock is trading well below its 52-week high of $18.36.
"The payment of a quarterly cash dividend to Dell's shareholders adds another element to our disciplined capital allocation strategy," Gladden said.
Dell stock was up more than 4.5% in early trading Wednesday.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced after market close Tuesday that it will be able to complete its acquisition of Swiss medical device maker Synthes on Thursday, much earlier than expected.
JNJ initiated the $19.7 billion deal, its largest ever, in April 2011. The purchase will make JNJ a prominent player in the orthopedic surgery business. Synthes also offers a strong presence in emerging markets like Russia, China and India.
In a turnaround of expectations JNJ stated that the deal will actually add 3 to 5 cents per share to its annual earnings. Earlier projections by the company stated the move would trim up to 22 cents off of its profits.
To continue reading please click here...
