S&P 500 closes at new highs
Index & Sector performance 10/17/13
The Market:
The government put the debt ceiling behind the nation….until the beginning of next year. The temporary resolution should take the issue off the front pages, for now. The markets started with a gap lower which was quickly bought up and a strong rally continued to build off the 10/09 lows with the S&P 500 posting all time closing highs.
In economic news Unemployment Claims came in at 358K vs consensus expectations of 357K so inline and then the Philly Fed Manufacturing index saw a small drop but was better than expected. CNBC reported that the September Jobs data release will now be scheduled for 10/22/13 so make sure to mark your calendars.
Story Stocks:
Today Saw the Dow languish while the S&P 500 put in a strong day and much of that was due to weak earnings reports from IBM (IBM), Goldman Sachs (GS), and UnitedHealth (UNH). IBM took the worst of it closing down 6.37% but watch this name as it has been in a down trend and often moves like this can signal bottoms.
The Dow, which closed relatively flat, would have had a much worse day if it wasn’t for American Express (AXP) and Verizon (VZ) which closed up 5.12% and 3.49% respectively on the back of positive earnings reports.
Also moving higher on earnings was SanDisk (SNDK) which closed up 8.83% after beating EPS ($1.59 vs $1.32) and revenue ($1.63B vs $1.57B) handily. The company also raised guidance which send some analysts raising targets into the 80’s and Needham went to $90.
A notable loser today was Amarin (AMRN) which was also a stock I focused on for a long set-up recently and actually worked well tagging the expected 200 day SMA but then fell apart and matters were made worse when the FDA Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9 to 2 against granting approval for the company Vascepa Capsule. After closing over 60% lower, AMRN might be a name for a speculative bottoming play. Please note it is not for the weak!
The following noteworthy companies are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow’s open: GE, SLB, HON, BHI, IR, STI, PH, KSU, TXT
Analyst Comments:
Upgrades 10/17/13
Downgrades 10/17/13
Initiations 10/17/13
Price Target Changes 10/17/13
The Game Plan:
What a strong rally off the 10/09 lows but it is starting to feel as though longs should exercise extreme caution. Interestingly enough we are rallying hard into an options expiration which also happens to coincide with a full moon date and the resolution, albeit short term, of the debt ceiling. If there was a time to see a potential turn date it could certainly be now. Also a date to watch is 11/3/13, since this most recent Bradley turn date worked within 1 day of ideal it is worth noting the next.
