PortfolioCrafter - Market Commentary 4/26/07
April 26th, 2007 / 6:53 pm / by portfoliocrafter
Stocks ended mostly higher after blowout earnings from Apple Inc. and upbeat results from the likes of 3M Corp. and Ford Motor Co. helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average further above 13,000, allowing it to set a new record closing level.
Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 15.61 or 0.12% to 13,105.50, at an all-time high. The broader S&P 500 closed down 1.17 or 0.08% to 1,494.25, and the Nasdaq composite closed up 6.57 or 0.26% to 2554.46.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by 17 to 14 on volume of nearly 1.7 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a slim margin of 15 to 14 on volume of 2.47 billion shares.
The markets were on both sides of breakeven throughout the session, as investors struggled to position themselves yesterday’s record-breaking session. However, the day’s performance was pretty positive. Upbeat earnings are continuing to fuel the relative strength. With roughly 58% of the S&P 500 having reported results, earnings are currently on track to have risen about 6.8% in the first quarter from a year ago. That’s a slowdown after 14 quarters of double-digit percentage growth, but an improvement from the start of the quarter, when analysts were forecasting growth of just 3.3%.
In economic news, the number of Americans filing new weekly claims for unemployment fell a greater-than-expected 20,000 last week to 321,000. This is from the upwardly revised 341,000 for the previous week.
Shares of Apple closed up $3.49 or 3.7% to $98.84, after reporting quarterly earnings and sales that beat forecasts. It reported an EPS of on revenue of $5.26 billion. Net income rose 88% to $770 million, up from $410 million in the 2006.
Stock of Qualcomm closed down $0.04 to $45.30, despite reporting higher earnings and revenue that beat estimates. The wireless chipmaker also forecast that current-quarter and full-year earnings will top forecasts.
Shares of Amazon.com closed up $5.97 or 10% to $62.78, rising for the second session in a row after reporting higher earnings late Tuesday.
Stock of LSI Logic closed down $0.98 or 10% to $8.94, after the chipmaker warned that second-quarter sales and earnings will miss estimates. The company also reported higher quarterly earnings that missed estimates.
U.S. light crude oil for June delivery dropped 78 cents to $65.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
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