Reply #84: closing numbers and $24.12 billion clydesdales for everybody! [View All]

[UpInArms]

Dow 13,010.00 189.87 (1.48%)
Nasdaq 2,480.71 67.91 (2.81%)
S&P 500 1,409.34 23.75 (1.71%)
10-Yr Bond 3.749% 0.01

NYSE Volume 4,449,778,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,362,707,250

Thursday the stock market closed at its session high of 1409, which is the first time since January that the stock market closed above 1400. The S&P 500 is now 12% off its 52-week low, which was hit in March, but still almost 11% off its 52-week high, which was hit in October 2007.

Financials (+3.9%) provided leadership to the market, receiving particular help from regional banks (+5.1%) and consumer finance firms (+6.5%). Dow Jones components Bank of America (BAC 39.39, +1.85), American International Group (AIG 48.25, +2.05), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 49.25, +1.60) were the most influential leaders in the financial sector.

Energy (-2.2%), on the other hand, was the worst performing sector of the session. Industry stalwart Exxon Mobil (XOM 90.27, -2.80) announced it earned $2.03 per share for its most recent quarter, missing the consensus earnings per share estimate by $0.11. In similar fashion, energy exploration and production company Apache (APA 126.23, -8.45) announced this morning it missed the consensus earnings estimate.

Energy was also knocked lower by a drop in oil prices. Oil traded more than 2.0% lower during the session, partly fueled by strength in the dollar. The dollar index rose more than 1.0% Thursday to its best level in more than a month.

Strength in the greenback also pushed commodities lower, causing the CRB Commodities Index to reach its lowest level in four weeks. In turn, the materials sector (-0.7%) also underperformed the rest of the market, but finished off its session low.

Gold finished the day down $13.70 to $851.40 per ounce. Although the precious metal is up 1.5% this year, it has plummeted 18% from its all-time nominal high of $1033.90 per ounce that was reached on March 17.

Large-cap tech players fared well as the Nasdaq 100 finished more than 3.0% higher. Particular strength came from Apple (AAPL 180.00, +6.05) and Microsoft (MSFT 29.40, +0.88). Various reports indicated Microsoft may be willing to raise its offer to acquire Yahoo! (YHOO 26.81, -0.60) to as much as $33 per share. Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, is remaining stern in his offer.

Equities were the primary focus for the session, pushing Treasuries out of favor. The benchmark 10-year Treasury Note fell 10 ticks to yield 3.77%.

April's ISM Manufacturing survey posted a reading of 48.6, which is a bit above the 48.0 reading that was widely anticipated. The reading was unchanged from the prior month, seemingly indicating that manufacturing conditions have not worsened.

Construction spending during March took a dip, however. According to government data released today, construction spending for March slipped 1.1% month-over-month. The decline was more pronounced than the 0.7% decline that economists expected.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending April 26 totaled 380,000. The consensus estimate pegged jobless claims at 365,000. Though reported claims exceeded expectations, we continue to note that the average weekly claims never breached levels often associated with a recession.

Personal spending continues to rise, despite challenging macro trends. March's personal consumption expenditures, announced this morning, increased 0.4% in March, which is more than the expected 0.2% increase. Core PCE increased 0.2%, exceeding the estimated 0.1% increase. The increase was not much of a surprise as many already concluded that a rise in consumer spending helped first quarter GDP increase modestly. DJ30 +189.87 NASDAQ +67.91 SP500 +23.75 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 894/1956/2.35 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 928/2217/1.40 bln

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080501/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_credit_crisis">Fed auctions $24.12 billion in Treasuries to ease credit

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve has auctioned $24.12 billion in super-safe Treasury securities to big investment firms, part of an ongoing effort to ease credit problems.

The auction — the sixth of its kind — was held Thursday and fetched bids slightly less than the $25 billion being made available. That small reduction could suggest that demand for Treasuries may be moderating a bit. That might be viewed as a sign of some improvement in credit conditions.

In exchange for the 28-day loan of Treasury securities, bidding firms can put up more risky investments, including certain shunned mortgage-backed securities, as collateral. Bidders' identities are not made public.

The program began on March 27.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has auctioned $24.12 billion in super-safe Treasury securities to big investment firms, part of an ongoing effort to ease credit problems.

The auction — the sixth of its kind — was held Thursday and fetched bids slightly less than the nearly $25 billion being made available.

...more...