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MarketView
Events defining the day's trading activity on Wall Street
Lauren Rudd
Friday, November 2, 2012
Summary
The financial markets ended an unusual
storm-shortened trading week with a selloff on Friday, as major indexes
erased early gains provided by a stronger-than-expected payrolls report.
Energy stocks were a drag on the market after Chevron posted earnings
that missed expectations. The stock fell 2.9 percent to $108.26 and was
one of the worst performing members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The dollar's strength also hurt energy and materials shares. Eventually,
all 10 S&P 500 sectors succumbed to selling pressure to end lower. For the week, the Dow was down 0.1 percent; however
the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent, while the Nasdaq ended the week down 0.2
percent. Keep in mind that the trading week was shortened by a historic
two-day market closure on Monday and Tuesday, spurred by super storm
Sandy's devastating sweep through the Northeast. From New York City's Staten Island to the popular
beach towns of the Jersey Shore, rescuers and officials continued on
Friday to face widespread destruction wrought by Sandy, as well as a
rising death toll and frustration over delayed relief and fuel
shortages. Government data showed employers added 171,000
people to their payrolls last month, topping expectations. The jobless
rate ticked up to 7.9 percent as more workers restarted job searches, a
positive signal for the economy. The jobs report is the last one before the U.S.
presidential election on Tuesday, and it could improve President Barack
Obama's odds at the ballot box, though polls continue to indicate a
close race between Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Chevron also was the second-largest weight on the
S&P 500. The S&P energy index, down 1.7 percent, was one of the worst
performers among the 10 major S&P 500 sector indexes. Strength in the
dollar was also cited for a decline in crude prices, which hurt energy
shares as well. The S&P materials index fell 2 percent, pulled lower
by a slide of 8.4 percent in Newmont Mining to $48.74 after its profits
missed expectations. According to Thomson Reuters data through Friday, of
the 378 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far,
61.9 percent have topped expectations, in line with the 62 percent
quarterly average since 1994. The revenue picture is much bleaker, with only 38.2
percent of companies having posted revenue above expectations, well
below the 62 percent quarterly average since 2002 and the 55 percent
average over the past four quarters. The S&P 500 index is down 3.5 percent from a recent
peak on September 14, and is below its 50-day moving average, amid
investor caution ahead of the election and tough government budget
negotiations at the end of the year. Starbucks was up 9.1 percent to $50.84 after raising
its earnings forecast for the fiscal year as sales in the United States,
its top market, exceeded expectations, providing the company optimism
that has eluded much of the U.S. restaurant industry in recent months. Restoration Hardware shares soared 29.6 percent to
$31.10 in their market debut after the upscale furniture retailer's
initial public offering was priced at the high end of the expected
range. The shares hit an intraday high at $33.15 - up 38.1 percent from
the IPO price of $24. Verizon said it expected fourth-quarter results to
be hurt significantly due to super storm Sandy, but could not estimate
the effect at this time. The stock slid 1.4 percent to$44.52. Volume was modest, with about 6.35 billion shares
changing hands on the three major equity exchanges, slightly below the
daily average of 6.5 billion shares for the year so far.
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MarketView for November 2
MarketView for Friday, November 2