For the second straight session, the Dow was down while the S&P and NASDAQ sported small gains.
A bifurcated market is often one which is about to change direction, so, since the general direction has been up, up and up, a change would indicate, what, lower prices for stocks?
Bernanke, Yellen and company simply cannot have that, thus, like everything else since 2008, everything depends solely upon the whims of the central bank. So sad.
Aftre the bell, eBay announced 4Q earnings, which were decidedly upbeat, with revenues up 14% from a year ago, and earnings per share of 81 cents, a decisive beat. Additionally, the company announced a $5 billion stock buyback program and also received a proposal from meddling Carl Icahn, who wants to see PayPal split out and an independent company, a move which would make a good deal of sense, since PayPal is the company's main profit driver. Shares soared more than eight percent in after-hours trading.
Netflix also announced fourth-quarter earnings after the bell and absolutely blew out the estimates. The company earned $48 million, or 79 cents per share, during final three months of 2013, compared to $8 million, or 13 cents per share, at the same time in 2012.
Revenue rose 24 percent from the previous year to nearly $1.2 billion and the US subscriber base grew by 2.3 million in the quarter. The stock was up more than 17% in the after-hours.
Look for NASDAQ futures to be up about 25 points prior to Thursday's open.
DOW 16,373.34, -41.10 (-0.25%)
NASDAQ 4,243.00, +17.24 (+0.41%)
S&P 1,844.86, +1.06 (+0.06%)
10-Yr Note 99.02, -0.06 (-0.06%) Yield: 2.87%
NASDAQ Volume 1.88 Bil
NYSE Volume 3.36 Bil
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3467-2224
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 424-43
WTI crude oil: 96.73, +1.76
Gold: 1,238.60, -3.20
Silver: 19.84, 0.031
Corn: 426.00, +1.25
Showing posts with label Carl Icahn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carl Icahn. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Monday, November 18, 2013
Stocks Drop on Carl Icahn Comments?
So, is Carl Icahn the modern-day version of legendary investor J.P. Morgan, upon whose words - as legend has it - hung the fate of stocks and the economy?
Doubtful. Icahn may have a high opinion of himself, but he's probably not as influential as the TV-commercial version of E.F. Hutton, the company which used the tag line, "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen."
Whatever the case, after Icahn made remarks at an investment conference today, saying he was "very cautious," stocks took an immediate nosedive, sending the Dow into negative territory after gaining as many as 68 points earlier in the session.
More likely, Icahn was the scapegoat du jour, giving cover to a well-planned exit by heavy holders in kay equities.
Markets don't need excuses to move one way or the other, or even to do nothing, but, in the age of instant communications, instant causation is expected, though it is almost never on the mark.
Icahn is no financial genius. Anyone with two eyes can see that stocks are priced nearly to perfection and ripe for a correction, though guessing ahead on that assumption, as has been well-learned over the past five years, can be a costly maneuver.
Stocks, as J.P. Morgan once said when pressed for direction, "will fluctuate."
And that's exactly what they did today.
Dow 15,976.02, +14.32 (0.09%)
Nasdaq 3,949.07, -36.90 (0.93%)
S&P 500 1,791.53, -6.65 (0.37%)
10-Yr Bond 2.68%, -0.03
NYSE Volume 3,152,413,250
Nasdaq Volume 1,793,143,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2127-3522
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 496-45
WTI crude oil: 93.03, -0.81
Gold: 1,272.30, -15.10
Silver: 20.36, -0.41
Corn: 421.00, -9.50 (new low)
Doubtful. Icahn may have a high opinion of himself, but he's probably not as influential as the TV-commercial version of E.F. Hutton, the company which used the tag line, "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen."
Whatever the case, after Icahn made remarks at an investment conference today, saying he was "very cautious," stocks took an immediate nosedive, sending the Dow into negative territory after gaining as many as 68 points earlier in the session.
More likely, Icahn was the scapegoat du jour, giving cover to a well-planned exit by heavy holders in kay equities.
Markets don't need excuses to move one way or the other, or even to do nothing, but, in the age of instant communications, instant causation is expected, though it is almost never on the mark.
Icahn is no financial genius. Anyone with two eyes can see that stocks are priced nearly to perfection and ripe for a correction, though guessing ahead on that assumption, as has been well-learned over the past five years, can be a costly maneuver.
Stocks, as J.P. Morgan once said when pressed for direction, "will fluctuate."
And that's exactly what they did today.
Dow 15,976.02, +14.32 (0.09%)
Nasdaq 3,949.07, -36.90 (0.93%)
S&P 500 1,791.53, -6.65 (0.37%)
10-Yr Bond 2.68%, -0.03
NYSE Volume 3,152,413,250
Nasdaq Volume 1,793,143,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2127-3522
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 496-45
WTI crude oil: 93.03, -0.81
Gold: 1,272.30, -15.10
Silver: 20.36, -0.41
Corn: 421.00, -9.50 (new low)
Monday, February 5, 2007
Uninspired Opening to Week
Stocks traded in an extremely narrow range for the second straight day. Friday was similarly sluggish and there was nothing to get traders excited on Monday.
The Dow ranged between 12,629 and 12,661, finishing higher by 8.25. The NASDAQ lost 5.28, the S&P was lower by 1.40. Volume was low to moderate, with gainers outpacing losers by a 4-5 margin.
Investors seemed content to sit on their hands awaiting something noteworthy in the way of economic reports or merger news. Once again, the price of oil exhibited volatility, peaking just a nickel below $60, but closing down 28 cents to $58.74.
Supertrader Carl Icahn made a $2.4 billion bid for Lear Corp. (LEA), boosting shares more than 4 points. There were a few other deals in the works, but none of them noteworthy.
With corporate earnings reports slowing to a trickle by the end of this week, the markets will be looking for some kind of spark.
The period from February through the second week of April is notorious for directionless trade, consolidation or outright selling. The Dow experienced declines in 3 of the past 5 years during that time span, and the last big near-crash occurred in April of 2000, though that was primarily experienced on the NASDAQ.
The Dow ranged between 12,629 and 12,661, finishing higher by 8.25. The NASDAQ lost 5.28, the S&P was lower by 1.40. Volume was low to moderate, with gainers outpacing losers by a 4-5 margin.
Investors seemed content to sit on their hands awaiting something noteworthy in the way of economic reports or merger news. Once again, the price of oil exhibited volatility, peaking just a nickel below $60, but closing down 28 cents to $58.74.
Supertrader Carl Icahn made a $2.4 billion bid for Lear Corp. (LEA), boosting shares more than 4 points. There were a few other deals in the works, but none of them noteworthy.
With corporate earnings reports slowing to a trickle by the end of this week, the markets will be looking for some kind of spark.
The period from February through the second week of April is notorious for directionless trade, consolidation or outright selling. The Dow experienced declines in 3 of the past 5 years during that time span, and the last big near-crash occurred in April of 2000, though that was primarily experienced on the NASDAQ.
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