*from www.bloomberg.com, April 12, 2013 (To view original article click here.)
Take Away #1: U.S. stocks fell, dragging the S&P 500 Index down from a record as retail sales unexpectedly fell, and commodities plunged.
Key Facts and Figures:
- The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 1,586.82 at 1:06 p.m. in New York.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13.02 points, or 0.1%, to 14,852.12.
- The benchmark indexes closed at all-time highs yesterday as retailers rose and jobless claims fell more than estimated.
- Trading in S&P 500 stocks was in line with the 30-day average at this time of day.
Take Away #2: Government data showed retail sales fell unexpectedly in March.
Key Facts and Figures:
- U.S. retail sales saw a 0.4% decrease in March, Commerce Department figures showed today.
- The decrease is the biggest since June, and follows a 1% gain in February.
- The median forecast of 85 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an unchanged reading in March.
- Department stores and electronics dealers were among the weakest showings.
Take Away #3: Consumer confidence is trending downward.
Key Facts and Figures:
- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index for April fell to 72.3 from 78.6 in March.
- No change was predicted for this month’s reading compared with March, according to the media estimate of 69 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
- Companies in the U.S. added to inventories in February at the slowest pace in eight months, a separate Commerce Dept. report showed.
- This put them in a better position to deal with a subsequent slowdown in demand.
Take Away #4: Euro-area finance ministers agreed in principle at a meeting in Dublin today to extend the maturities on rescue loans to Ireland and Portugal by seven years.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will seek an increase to the nation’s 10-billion euro ($13 billion) bailout from the European Union, according to an unidentified government official.
Take Away #5: The bull market in U.S. equities entered its fifth year last month.
Key Facts and Figures:
- The S&P 500 has surged 134% from a 12-year low in 2009 as companies reported better-than-estimated earnings.
- The S&P 500 surge was also helped as the Fed embarked on three rounds of bond purchases to stimulate the economy.
- Investors will be watching corporate earnings in the weeks ahead to help gauge the health of the economy.
- Profits at S&P 500 companies dropped 1.4% in the first three months of the year, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
- That would mark the first year-over-year decrease since 2009.
Take Away #6: Volatility increased as the VIX rose today, but is still down for the year.
Key Facts and Figures:
- The VIX, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, rose 2.6% to 12.56 today.
- The VIX is down 30% this year and reached its lowest level since February 2007 last week.
Take Away #7: Seventeen out of the 24 groups in the S&P 500 declined today with raw-materials, energy and bank shares dropping the most.
Key Facts and Figures:
- The KBW Bank Index slumped 1.3%, even as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted results that topped analyst estimates.
- Wells Fargo dropped 1.3% to $37.03.
- Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. home lender posted a 22% rise in first-quarter profit that beat forecasts as the bank curbed expense growth.
- However, revenue, mortgage banking income and lending margins fell.
- JPMorgan rose 0.1% to $49.37.
- First-quarter profit rose 33% as improving consumer credit quality allowed the bank to cut loan-loss reserves by $1.2 billion.
- While mortgage volume jumped 37%, mortgage-banking net income dropped 31%.
- JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets said 2013 net interest income will be 1% lower than the year-earlier period.
- M&T Bank fell 4% to $100.71.
- The lender said a Federal Reserve review of tis compliance with money-laundering rules delayed its planned purchase of Hudson City.
- Shares of Hudson City dropped 5% to $8.33.
Take Away #8: Energy and raw-materials companies in the S&P 500 tumbled more than 1.3% as the S&P/GSCI Index of commodities fell to the lowest level since July.
Key Facts and Figures:
- Newmont Mining Corp. slumped 4.6% to $36.89, as gold briefly fell below $1,500.
- Newfield Exploration Co. fell 4.8% to $21.55.
- Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. declined 3.9% to $19.15.
- DuPont Co. slid 1.3% to $49.62, and Alcoa lost 1.3% as well to $8.21.
- Gold slumped 3.8% to $1,505.10 an ounce after touching below $1,500.
- Crude oil lost 2.7%.
Take Away #9: Homebuilders rose, as did several biotech names.
Key Facts and Figures:
- An S&P index of homebuilders added 1.4%.
- Wells Fargo says that it sees strong home sales and building activity, and expects the housing market to continue to improve.
- Zelman & Associates boosted its recommendations on KB Home, Beazer Homes USA Inc. and M/I Homes Inc. to buy.
- KB Home increased 1.1% to $22.22, while Beazer jumped 6.3% to $73.41 for the biggest gain in the Dow.
- An analyst with Jeffries LLC increased his recommendation on the stock to buy from hold.
- Biogen Idec advanced 4.2% to $208.60.
- The biotechnology company was boosted to buy from neutral at Bank of America.
- Ashland Inc. advanced 6.6% to $84.03.
- Activist investor Jana partners LLC acquired a 7.4% stake in the biggest producer of specialty papermaking chemicals.
*To view original article from www.bloomberg.com click here.