-
Bank Notes | College Planning | Debt | Elder Care | Employment | Estate Planning | Health Care | Insurance | Marriage & Divorce | Real Estate | Retirement | Taxes
-
Market Update by Will Swarts (Author Archive)
Stocks Finish Mixed Ahead of Earnings
News at a Glance
- Earnings Wave: Results from Monsanto, Costco and more.
- Gold Crest: Touches high at $1,049 an ounce.
- Oz Impact: Australian rate hike spurs global recovery hopes.
- Alcoa Focus: Earnings coming after close.
The Lowdown
Anticipation kept investors waiting and stocks flat and mixed Wednesday, as traders waffled ahead of a surprise from Alcoa (AA) and the unofficial kickoff of earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session down 6 points at 9726, bringing a two-day winning streak to a close. The Nasdaq picked up 7 to 2110, and the S&P 500 climbed 3 to 1058.
Traders' ambivalence came ahead of the quarterly earnings season's starting gun: a third-quarter beat by Dow component Alcoa, which could offer the market some momentum overnight and abroad.
On Wednesday, financials performed well, as credit card companies like MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V) advanced after a Bank of America (BAC) said it would leave its rates and fees flat until new regulations went into effect. The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing tomorrow on credit card legislation.
Housing stocks like Pulte Homes (PHM) and Lennar (LEN) took a hit despite new data suggesting a pickup in sector activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of mortgage applications for the week ending Oct. 2 rose 16.4% to a reading of 756.3, its highest point since late May. However, share of those applications dedicated to refinancing -- and not, say, the purchase of a new home -- rose to 66.3%, up from 65.3% in the prior week.
On Tuesday, a surprise interest-rate increase by the Reserve Bank of Australia spurred broad-based stock gains, a pullback in the dollar, and a surge in gold and commodities. Gold hit a record high of $1,049 an ounce in Tuesday trading.
Airtran Holdings (AAI) shares sank after the air carrier said that it plans to sell $75 million in convertible senior notes and nine million shares. Avis Budget (CAR) shares sank after the car-rental company said that it plans to sell $250 million in debt, due in 2014, and at the same time enter into a warrant transaction to purchase a hedge against the convertible notes.
Crude oil futures slipped despite a small dip in inventories last week.
Corporate News
- Costco Wholesale (COST) reported a 6% profit slide in its August-ending quarter and said September same-store sales rose 1%. Its shares were up about 2.5%.
- Also Wednesday, Yum Brands (YUM) shares gained after the restaurant operator reported its profits climbed 18% as it pared costs. The company also raised its outlook for the year.
- Agricultural giant Monsanto (MON) reported a wider than expected loss of 43 cents a share, compared with a prior-year loss of 31 cents a share. Excluding restructuring-related and other charges, Monsanto had a 2-cent profit in the latest quarter, compared with a prior-year loss of 3 cents. Revenue decreased 8.3% to $1.88 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 1 cent on revenue of $1.97 billion.
The Economy
- Crude inventories fell by 1 million barrels last week but remain above the upper limit of the average range for this point in the year, the Department of Energy said. REPORT
- Mortgage rates hit their lowest point since May, with a 30-year rate averaging 4.89%, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. New mortgage applications for the week ended Oct. 2, an increase of 16.4% from the previous week. REPORT
Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.
Order Reprints
-0.04
Reprints | About Our Ads | Corrections | Custom Publishing | License Our Content | Media Kit | Press Room | Events | Site Map | Labs |
You Are Viewing: SmartMoney.com — Investing, Saving and Personal Finance.
