Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) closed yesterday at $64.54. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $35.05 and 52-week high of $71.10. The proprietary Key Risk Ranking for SL...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)
Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) closed yesterday at $64.54. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $35.05 and 52-week high of $71.10. The proprietary Key Risk Ranking for S...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)
Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) closed yesterday at $64.54. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $35.05 and 52-week high of $71.10. Schlumberger stock has been showing support around 62.73 and resistance in the 67.23 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives SLB a weak 2 STAR (out of...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)
U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday as concerns about a subdued economic recovery played in the minds of investors. Safer bets like dollar strengthened and oil prices slumped. As investors turned to safe havens, Treasury prices rose, sending corresponding yields lower. Yields on three-month bills, considered one of the safest bets, turned negative for the first time since December. A Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgrade of semiconductor industry also added to the downward pressure.
The spike in bond prices came even as the Treasury announced plans to auction a record $118 billion in new notes next week – an auction schedule of $44 billion 2-year notes on Monday, $42 billion 5-year notes Tuesday, and $32 billion 7-year notes on Wednesday.
The Dow, which had plunged as much as 170 points during the session, ended down 93.87 points, or 0.9%, to 10,332.44. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 14.90 points, or 1.3%, to 1,094.90, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 36.32 points, or 1.7%, to 2,156.82. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Vix, jumped more than 4%. Crude prices dropped $1.93 to $77.46. Gold prices rose to their fifth straight record close, up 70 cents to $1141.90.
As glimmers of a full-blown economic recovery fade, investors have increasingly become intolerant, locking in profits at every opportunity. Also, a lack of conviction on part of the market to push beyond the current rally has been a dampener and concerns of an asset bubble build-up due to accommodative monetary policies have diminished risk appetites, sending daily average volume to levels of only about 1 billion.
Nevertheless, to show not all is bad, the OECD raised its growth estimates for its 30-country members to 1.9% in 2010 from June's estimate of a 0.7% growth, and to a 2.5% GDP expansion in 2011.
Tech shares, already up 54.3% year-to-date, fell 1.7% Thursday, after Merrill's analyst slashed 2010 global growth targets, and downgraded ten companies in the semiconductor sector. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares fell 4.1%, and Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) retreated 3.4% after the downgrade. Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) shares plunged 6.1% in premarket trading, after the company reported earnings that missed analysts’ projections.
Among the S&P 500 industry groups, energy producers, off 2.1%, were the biggest decliners. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) fell 1.9% and Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) dropped 2% as crude prices fell for the first time in four days. Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB) shares fell 3.3%.
Citigroup gave the Oil & Gas Equipment & Services industry some good news as it announced an upgrade on one of its stocks.
Smith International Inc. (SII) [Chart - News - Analysis] was upgraded from Hold » Buy on 11/18/2009---a positive sign for the stock that investors typically welcome. FYI, Citigroup uses the following rating scale when analyzing stocks: Buy, Hold, Sell.
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Smith International Inc. has an average analyst recommendation score of 2.8 and competes for investment dollars with BJ Services Company (BJS) [Chart - News - Analysis] and Schlumberger Limited (SLB) [Chart - News - Analysis]---two other stocks in the Oil & Gas Equipment & Services industry that have average analyst recommendation scores of 3.2 and 2.2 respectively.
Analyst recommendations are averaged and scored using the following rating scale:
- 1.0 = Strong Buy
- 2.0 = Buy
- 3.0 = Hold
- 4.0 = Sell
- 5.0 = Strong Sell
Why are Upgrades and Initiations Good and Downgrades Bad?
One event that is almost certain to get a reaction from Wall Street is an analyst upgrade or downgrade. Everyone is looking for an edge in the stock market, and quite often, traders turn to stock analysts to get that edge.
Upgrades and coverage initiations are typically good for stocks because they show that analysts either believe that the stock is going to perform better in the future or that the stock is worth covering and providing analysis on.
Downgrades are typically bad for stocks because they show that analysts believe that the stock is going to perform worse in the future.
A stock analysts is a person---typically employed by a large bank, investment firm or analysis company---who devotes his/her life to learning and making predictions about a company and its future performance.
Stock analysts sift through company reports and filings, talk to company management, probe customers and competitors and basically do whatever they can to find out if a company is healthy and growing or sick and shrinking. Because this is incredibly demanding work, stock analysts typically only monitor one or two companies at a time.
Last weekend, in my Market Forecast, I said,
"For the new week, the market will start the week in a neutral position. If SPX and Nasdaq can rise above their respective daily MAs, the market can rally higher. The immediate resistance levels above the daily MAs are SPX 1080 and Nasdaq 2150. Although VIX closed below 25, [...]
Asian shares were mostly higher Monday with S.Korean shares helped by upbeat economics.Bank failures in US exceed 100 for this year, most closings since 1992.China's September coal imports increase 7% from August as economy recoversOil prices slipped to near $80 a barrel in AsiaDollar falls versus Euro as recovery signs, stock gains sap safety demand.Japan to punish BNP Paribas's unit over convertible bond, share price manipulation.Japan's PM Hatoyama says recovery 'unpredictable,’ unemployment may worsen.S Korea's Q3 GDP rises 2.9% - fastest quarterly pace in more than seven years.SEC considering filing securities fraud charges against ICAP's US subsidiary.[More...]
Companies featured in this segment: Pfizer Incorporated (NYSE:PFE), Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON), Alstom SA (EPA:ALO), Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB), American Electric Power Company Incorporated (NYSE:AEP), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), StatoilHydro ASA (NYSE:STO), E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY), Total SA (NYSE:TOT), Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A), National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG), ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY), E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY), Nestle S.A. (OTC:NSRGY)
Companies featured in this segment: Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE), Constellation Energy Group Incorporated (NYSE:CEG), Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN), Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Honeywell International Incorporated (NYSE:HON), Air Liquide (OTC:AIQUY), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BSE:500103), Steel Authority of India (BSE:500113), JSW Steel Limited (BSE:500228)
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