Tick tock. Another day the market is open and goes up. Essentially the same story as the entire month of October - there have only been 2 down days since this rally began in the S&P 500. The S&P 500 gained 0.56% and the NASDAQ 0.31%. Nothing really new to add to the overall market analysis here; we are in a major uptrend of parabolic nature, and you are seeing rotation under the surface as different groups take turns being leaders each day. No one is worried much about tomorrow's Federal Reserve decision as there is zero expectation of anyhing but full steam ahead from the Fed. IBM was a highlight today as the massive DJIA component announced a huge $15B addition to its buyback program. The only major economic report on the day were monthly retail sales - they were above expectations but mostly due to iPhone sales...
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline and building materials, increased 0.5 percent last month after a 0.2 percent gain in August. The so-called core sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. Core sales last month were boosted by a 0.7 percent advance in receipts at electronics and appliance stores. Economists polled by Reuters had expected core retail sales to increase 0.4 percent in September. The increase last month probably reflected sales of Apple's new iPhone. Those sales likely boosted receipts at non-store retailers, mostly Internet sites, which increased 0.4 percent in September.
No changes to the indexes...
The NYSE McClellan Oscillator has worked off some of its very overbought condition with a read back below 40.
One area that has been hot hot hot are the consumer staples. Usually they rally when people are worried about the economy but with the Fed on the sideline from any reduction in quantitative easing for seemingly at least 6 more months, the yield on government debt is falling so people want alternatives and these type of stodgy stocks usually have good dividends.
Two well known internet names reported after the bell - LinkedIn (LNKD) and Chinese "Google", Baidu.com (BIDU) - the initial reaction was quite different with the former down about 4% and the latter up 5%. LinkedIn is trading back under $240, while Baidu is up near $170 in the after hours.
LinkedIn Corp. posted a loss for the third quarter, but the results were stronger than Wall Street expected as the professional networking service boosted its user base and increased revenue. Its outlook for the current quarter, however, was below estimates and its stock fell in extended trading after the results were released. LinkedIn lost $3.4 million, or 3 cents per share, in the July-September period compared with earnings of $2.3 million, or 2 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $46.8 million, or 39 cents per share, in the latest quarter, which beat analysts' expectations by 7 cents. Revenue rose 56 percent, to $393 million from $252 million. Analysts predicted $384.8 million, according to FactSet. For the current quarter, LinkedIn forecast a revenue range of $415 million to $420 million, which is below Wall Street's expectations of $438.9 million.
Chinese Internet company Baidu Inc said it experienced strong growth in mobile search revenue during the third quarter and forecast better-than-expected revenue for the final three months of the year. Baidu, the largest Internet search engine in China, projected that revenue in the fourth quarter will range between 9.220 billion yuan and 9.480 billion yuan. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S were looking for Q4 revenue of 8.904 yuan. Baidu's net income saw a slight bump in the third quarter, rising 1.3 percent to 3.048 billion yuan.
Apple reported yesterday after the close and today had a day similar to Netflix last week - a bearish outside reversal day where the stock first went higher than the previous day's range and then closed below it. So as with Netflix some caution is now necessary as this is usually a bearish short term signal.
Here is the move on IBM - bad chart but the news helped lift it.
BP rallied after the oil giant topped earnings expectations. Also, the company hiked its quarterly dividend by 5 percent and said it would sell $10 billion of assets over the next two years.
