S&P 500

Apple Stock Closes at All Time High Breaking $100 a Share

August 19, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

Apple stock reaches an all time high at over $100 per share

Those who own Apple stock had something to celebrate today. It’s been a two year journey, but the technology company’s stock reached a record all-time high, closing at $100.53 per share, ahead of the $100.30 split-adjusted price per share from September 11, 2012. The latest rally in the stock has seen it rise by 25% since the beginning of the year, over three times as much as the S&P 500, which is up 7.2% for the year. It also makes Apple the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization 30% higher than Exxon Mobile, which is number two.

Investors soured on the stock with questions of whether or not the company could produce the innovative tech gadgets that capture consumer’s attention without Steve Jobs at the help of the company. They have come to the conclusion that the company can, especially with an anticipated iPhone 6 (retailers started discounting the iPhone 5s a few weeks ago) and an Apple device to be worn on the wrist set to hit the market later this year. Analysts are predicting the iPhone 6 will bring about record sales with the iWatch device providing an entirely new gadget from which the company will be able to produce revenue.

The question is will the stock be able to continue its momentum after the release of the next generation of iPhone. Apple has a history of its stock rising in the weeks ahead of a major new product launch, then dip in the months following it. The iPhone 6 is expected to launch in early September. The company has also had a hard time maintaining a price above the $100 a share barrier, which investors seem to have trouble overcoming.

The rise in stock prices is seen as an affirmation toward Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook, and his vision for the company going forward, and his insistence that the company will enter a new product category in 2014 which is assumed to be the smartwatch market. The anticipation of new products has caused a lot of excitement, especially when insiders like iTunes chief Eddy Cue say that those devices in line to be released are the best new slate of products the company has had in 25 years.

(Photo courtesy of Jon Rawlinson)

Ukraine Rattles Stocks but Dow Ends Week in Positive Territory for the Year

August 16, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

Stocks end the week mixed, but all indexes gained for the week and the dow moved into positive territory for the year

Last week was tough for US stocks with the Dow Jones industrial average falling enough to place it in negative territory for the year. This week looked better as it managed to get back into positive territory during the week, but those gains looked to be in jeopardy on Friday. The Dow briefly fell to the 16,575.42 level on Friday, pushing it back into negative territory for the year, but managed to only fall 50.67 points (-0.30%) on the day. This was enough to allow it to stay in positive territory for the year. The Dow ended the week by closing up 0.7% at 16,662.91.

The S&P 500 almost ended the day even, but did retreat 0.12 points (-0.01%) to end the week at 1,955.06. That was up 23.61 points overall for the week, or a 1.2% increase. The S&P 500 had been flirting with the 2,000 point barrier last month, but a bad couple of weeks took it far off that mark. The last two weeks have seen it inch it way back from that mark to the point where it’s now almost 50 points away from that milestone.

The NASDAQ composite rose 11.93 points on Friday (0.27%) to end the week at 4,464.93. That was a a gain of 93.94 points for the week and a 2.2% rise for the entire week for the composite.

The markets seemed to continue to be heavily influenced by the tensions on the Russian and Ukraine border. Both the dips and rises in the market over the week seemed to follow news of rising or easing of tensions between the two countries, and the continued tension in this region may likely dictate how stocks perform next week.

The winners for the week included Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway class A stock which managed to top $200,000 a share on Thursday for the first time giving the company a market value of $333 billion. Berkshire Hathaway stock has been outperforming all three indexes this year by a wide margin.

Monster Beverage Corporation saw its stock rise 30.5% to $93.49 a share on the news that Coca Cola would buy a 16.7% stake in the company. That $2.15 billion investment send Coca Cola shares rising as well, as they gained 1.7% to $40.88 a share on the news. While the soda industry market share has been flat lately, energy drinks have seen solid gains making the partnership a win-win for both companies in the eyes of investors.

Gilead Sciences saw its stock increase to $99.49 a share (+3.3%) on positive news it had won an arbitration ruling on a patent infringement claim against Roche Holding.

Chip equipment maker Applied Materials also had a nice 6.3% gain to $22.48 when it beat quarterly earnings estimates.

(Photo courtesy of Ken Lund)

Wall Street Ends Week Higher on Strong Friday Rally But Still Below All-Time Highs

August 9, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 1 Comment

Stock market rises on 1% rise in stocks on Friday

It appeared it was going to be another down week for stocks until Friday arrived. The last day of the week produced the best day for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average since March, and it pulled stocks high enough to post gains for the week. Stock indexes are still well below their all time highs, but the strong end to the week was good news and it’ll send the market into next week on a positive note.

The Dow rose 182.52 points (1.12%) on the day to end the week at 16,550.79, a 0.4% increase for the week. That is still well below the 17,000 barrier it had reached last month, and still slightly lower than where it stood at the beginning of the year.

The S&P 500 gained 21.84 points (1.14%) to end the week at 1,931.41. That was a 0.3% increase for the week, and the best one-day performance since earlier this year. While the S&P 500 had been flirting with the 2,000 point barrier earlier in July, it still has a ways to go before flirting with that milestone again. The S&P 500 remains in positive territory for the year, up over 4%.

The NASDAQ composite increased 36.02 points on Friday (0.83%) to end the week at 4,370.99. That was a 0.4% rise for the entire week for the composite. The NASDAQ, like the S&P 500, remains in positive territory of more than 4% for the year.

The markets seemed to rise on the fact there was positive news out of Russia of easing tensions on the Ukraine border. While the US did say they would, then actually did, carry out new air strikes in Iraq, the announcement seemed to clarify the US stance in the area, and didn’t spook traders into selling.

The big winner of the day was Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, which saw its stock price surge by just over 45% to $20.70 a share. The large increase came on news that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had cleared the company’s experimental Ebola treatment in humans as part of the current Ebola outbreak crisis management. With nearly 30 million (28.4 million) shares traded on the news, Friday ended up being the busiest trading day for the stock in the company’s history.

Both utilities and energy shares in the S&P 500 sectors also did well on the day. The utility sector secured a 2% gain for the day, while energy secured nearly as much, with a 1.7% increase.

(Photo courtesy of Emilio Labrador)

Wall Street End Week with Best Day Since March, Still Well Below All-Time Highs

August 9, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 1 Comment

Stocks have best day since March, end week up

It didn’t look like it was going to be a good week for stocks, but a Friday rally which produced the best day for stocks on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average since March, pulled stocks higher for the week. They’re still well below their all time highs, but the strong end to the week sends the market into next week on a positive note. It also helped to shake off the week before when the Dow fell far enough to be in negative territory for the year, and the S&P 500 fell the most it had in two years.

The NASDAQ composite increase 36.02 points on Friday (0.83%) to end the week at 4,370.99. That was a 0.4% rise for the entire week for the composite. The NASDAQ, like the S&P 500, remains in positive territory of more than 4% for the year.

The big winner of the day was Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, which saw it’s stock price surge by just over 45% to $20.70 a share. The large increase came on news that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had cleared the company’s experimental Ebola treatment in humans as part of the current Ebola outbreak crisis management. With nearly 30 million (28.4 million) shares traded on the news, Friday ended up being the busiest trading day for the stock in the company’s history.

Both utilities and energy shares in the S&P 500 sectors also did well on the day. The utility sector secured a 2% gain for the day, while energy secured nearly as much with a 1.7% increase.

(Photo courtesy of Mike Czumak)

S&P 500 has Worst Week in Two Years and Dow in Negative Territory for the Year

August 2, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

The S&P 500 had its worst week in 2 years and the Dow is negative for the year

It only took a couple of days at the end of the week to completely change the recent stock market momentum. On Wednesday it appeared there still might be a chance for the Dow Jones industrial average to reach a record high, and the S&P 500 to top 2,000 points. That all changed on Thursday as stocks retreated enough for the Dow to fall into negative territory for the year, and the S&P 500 to fall more during the week than it had in two years.

Friday wasn’t as bad as Thursday, but the declines continued mainly over concerns about Argentina defaulting on its debt. The Dow lost 69.93 points (0.42%) on the day to end the week at 16,493.37. That was a 2.8% decrease for the week and has the Dow well below the 17,000 barrier it was just below at the beginning of the week. The Dow is now down 0.5% for the year.

The S&P 500 fell 5.52 points (0.29%) to end the week at 1,925.15. That was a 2.7% decline for the week, and the largest one week percentage drop for the index since the beginning of June in 2012. The S&P 500 had been flirting with the 2,000 point barrier for a couple of weeks, but now has a long way to go to reach that goal. Even with the large weekly drop, the S&P 500 is still up over 4% for the year.

The NASDAQ composite dropped 17.13 points on Friday to end the week at 4,352.64, a decrease of 0.39% for the day. That was a 2.2% drop for the entire week for the composite. Even with the loses this week the NASDAQ remains up over 4% for the year.

It seems that the largest factor in the drop came from jitters about Argentina and its debt problems. The country defaulted on its debt earlier in the week, and a US judge ordered the country to negotiate with investors after criticizing the country for defaulting on the debt.

The Argentina news overshadowed news that unemployment rose and job growth slowed in July. While this news isn’t good for those working, it signals to the stock market that the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates low which is good for the market. Even with this, there’s still tension in the market about interest rate increases.

There were also some stocks that did well on the day, but couldn’t keep the indexes from falling. Procter & Gamble saw its stock rise 3% to $79.65 on news that was hoping to sell about half its brands over the next couple of years to concentrate on those bringing the most value to the company. Tesla stock rose 4.5% to over $230 a share with the announcement that second quarter revenue was almost double what it had been the previous year.

(Photo courtesy of Jose Maria Silveira Neto)

Dow Sees Biggest Decline in Six Weeks as S&P 500 Fails to Extend Record Closes

July 26, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 3 Comments

Dow closes with biggest weekly decline in 6 weeks

The week for stocks looked so promising through Thursday, but Friday brought about a sour note, leaving stocks lower for the Dow than where it began for the week, and erasing record highs the S&P 500 had been achieving during the week. The Friday decline managed to thwart the chance for indexes to end at another week of record highs.

The S&P 500 index has squeezed out three record days in a row from Tuesday through Thursday, but investors found negatives in a number of areas on Friday that wiped out all the gains made during the week. The S&P 500 had been flirting with 2,000 all week, but failed to ultimately make it there. The index was down 9.6 points for the day (-0.48%) ending at 1,978.34 for the week, which was approximately where it had started for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its average dip below the key 17,000 mark once again as a series of disappointing earnings came in on Friday. The result was the largest weekly decline in a month and a half, leaving it down 123.23 points (-0.72%) for the day at 16,960.57. For the entire week, the Dow fell 0.8%, a decline it hadn’t seen since the middle of June.

The NASDAQ Composite closed 22.5 points lower on Friday (-0.50%) at 4,449.56. This actually was a small gain overall for the week of 0.4%, buy still far below the record high of over 5,000 achieved during the dotcom bubble.

Amazon set the tone for the day by disappointing investors by posting a second-quarter loss in excess of what investors had expected. The stock was down almost 10% for the day, and it was a big contributor in the S&P 500 failing to end the week at another record high. Visa was another disappointment on Friday, losing 3.8% of its value when it announced a smaller annual growth forecast.

One bright spot on the day was El Pollo Loco. On the first day of trading, the stock rose 60% in value to $24 a share, well above the $15 a share price of the initial public offering.

The week ahead offers a variety of economic news which will determine whether or not the markets can rebound from Friday and look to reach record highs again. The monthly jobs report will be released, and there could be news out of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting which could determine the direction stocks for the week.

(Photo courtesy of George Rex)