Schaeffer's Today's Market Features: Microsoft, Pulte Homes, Red Hat, Wendy's International, and Meritage Homes.CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the October 26 edition of Schaeffer's Today's Market are Microsoft (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :MSFT MSFT Microsoft (stock symbol) MSFT Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore (Italy) MSFT Multi-Stage Fitness Test MSFT Master of Science in Family Therapy MSFT Macalester Students for Fair Trade ), Pulte Homes (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :PHM), Red Hat (NASDAQ:RHAT RHAT Red Hat (stock symbol) RHAT Rainwater Harvesting Association of Tanzania RHAT Register Hba Attributes ), Wendy's International (NYSE:WEN), and Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH mth abbr (= month) → m mth abbr (= month) → m mth abbr (= month) → m ). Schaeffer's Today's Market is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. Today's Market is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. The entries are quick updates on the day's most notable market activity and news. To have our weekly column Monday Morning Outlook delivered to you free via email, click on the following link and you'll also get an opportunity to win an iPod Nano. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRMS A full featured ERP system for the AS/400 from SSA Global Technologies, Inc., Chicago IL (www.ssaglobal.com). PRMS dates back to 1980 when the PCR company released its Resource Management System (RMS) software. In 1987, Pansophic Systems acquired PCR and added the "P" to the "RMS. 13M&PAGE=1. Don't forget that many of our observations are available as audio presentations that you can hear on your computer or download from Apple's iTunes Music Store to play on a portable device such as an iPod. To see the full menu of podcasts, please visit http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/podcasts/. 4:25 PM Microsoft Posts First-Quarter Earnings A string of positive earnings announcements and benign economic reports allowed the major market averages to stretch to new heights once again on Thursday, following some early-session malaise. By the time the closing bell sounded, the big-three indices were perched near their intraday heights. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (DJIA DJIA See Dow Jones Industrial Averager (DJIA). - 12,163.7) hit a new all-time high of 12,167 today and closed 28 points higher. Action was fairly mixed across the blue-chip index, with 13 of the 30 Dow components closing lower on the day. The S&P 500 Index (SPX (Sequenced Packet EXchange) The transport layer protocol in the NetWare operating system. Similar to the TCP layer in TCP/IP, it ensures that the entire message arrives intact. SPX uses NetWare's IPX as its delivery mechanism. - 1,389.08) expanded to its highest reading since November 2000 and settled the session up seven points. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,379.1) shuffled up 22.5 points and also put in a new annual high, its first since mid-April. The advance/decline ratio on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. hit 2.21 and reached 2.10 at the Nasdaq. In a widely anticipated earnings report, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) said its quarterly income and revenue both rose 11 percent. Profit climbed to $3.48 billion, or 35 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , from year-ago earnings of $3.14 billion, or 29 cents per share. Revenue rose to $10.81 billion during the period. Analysts were expecting per-share results of 31 cents on $10.75 billion in sales. Furthermore, the Whisper Number Whisper Number Unofficial and unpublished earnings per share forecasts that circulate among the professionals and wealthy investors on Wall Street. Whisper numbers are especially useful when they differ from the consensus forecast. totaled 31 cents per share as well. Looking forward, MSFT said its yearly earnings-per-share outlook was roughly in line with analysts' expectations. 3:13 PM Wendy's Misses Expectations As the final hour of trading dwindles away, the major market indices are solidly in the black this afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA -12,154) has added 19 points and the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,388.33) is up six points. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,376.4) has increased 20 points. Meanwhile, the December gold futures contract Futures Contract An exchange traded agreement to buy or sell a particular type and grade of commodity for delivery at an agreed upon place and time in the future. Futures contracts are transferable between parties. finished the day with a gain of $9 to close at $599.80 an ounce. The contract tagged an intraday high of $601.50. December silver added 2.9 percent to finish at $12.24 an ounce, while December copper was the lone loser among the major metals, closing down 0.45 cent at $3.40 a pound. Elsewhere, Wendy's International (NYSE:WEN) announced third-quarter earnings of $72 million, or 61 cents per share, as sales inched 2.5 percent higher to $623 million. The Street had forecast earnings of 64 cents. The company said its results were impacted by a lower number of restaurants operating in the quarter compared with last year. Same-store sales increased 4.1 percent at Wendy's U.S. company-operated restaurants and 3.9 percent at its U.S. franchised restaurants. 1:46 PM New Highs Dwarf New Lows The mood on Wall Street is one of resilience yet again, as early-morning losses have reversed into modest midday gains. Checking in on the always-intriguing crude pits, December futures have reversed slightly after powering forward in Wednesday's session. A barrel of oil will now run you about $61.18, down 22 cents from yesterday's settlement price. As has been the trend for several weeks, new highs are pummeling new lows on both major stock exchanges. At the New York Stock Exchange, 348 equities have already hit new peaks today, with eight plunging to new depths. Over at the Nasdaq, there are 138 equities in new-high territory compared with 28 at new lows. Among those pegging new highs are Time Warner, Clear Channel Communications Not to be confused with clear channel radio stations, which are AM radio stations with certain technical parameters. Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU) is a media conglomerate company based in the United States. , Verizon Communications, and Google. Triad Hospitals is on today's new-low list, as is Red Hat. 12:11 PM Homebuilder Earnings It's high noon on Wall Street, and U.S. market averages are mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 12,121.6) managed to tag yet another new all-time high this morning (at 12,165.3) but is now down about 12 points. The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 13,82.53) posted another new five-year high but is up a modest fraction in midday action. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,357.4) is virtually unchanged as well, as is the Russell 2000 Index Russell 2000 Index An index measuring the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which is made up of 3,000 of the biggest U.S. stocks. The Russell 2000 serves as a benchmark for small-cap stocks in the United States. (RUT - 767.12). Checking out some equities, Pulte Homes (NYSE:PHM) said last night that its third-quarter income plunged 52 percent to $190.2 million, or 74 cents per share, down from $1.50 per share, or $395.4 million, in the year-ago period. Revenue edged six percent lower to $3.56 billion. Analysts were projecting per-share earnings of 76 cents on $3.35 billion in revenue. Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) reported third-quarter earnings per share of $2.25 from $2.40 last year. Wall Street's consensus view came in at $2.202. Quarterly revenue rose to $878.2 million from $755.5 million last year, outpacing the Street's outlook of $835 million. PHM is trading slightly lower today, while MTH shares have gained 1.2 percent. 11:03 AM Natural-Gas Prices Rise, New-Home Prices Plunge The major market indices are mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in the red today, as a deluge of economic data is taking the wind out of trading sails. First and foremost, natural-gas prices have rebounded from early losses, as the Energy Department said that inventories rose by a lower-than-expected 19 billion cubic feet for the week ended October 20. November natural gas rose 12.7 cents to a seven-week high of $7.82 per million British Thermal Units, on the news. Elsewhere, prices of new homes in the U.S. dropped at their fasted pace in 36 years during September, equating to a rise in sales to the highest level in three months. The government reported that sales of new homes unexpectedly rose 5.3 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted Mathematically adjusted by moderating a macroeconomic indicator (e.g., oil prices/imports) so that relative comparisons can be drawn from month to month all year. annual rate of 1.075 million, the most in three months and well above the 1.05 million expected by economists. However, sales in June, July, and August were revised down by total of 67,000 annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. , continuing a pattern of downward revisions to the originally reported data. In equity news, Red Hat (NASDAQ:RHAT) is on the ropes this morning, as Oracle (ORCL ORCL Oracle (stock symbol) ) announced that it will offer full technological support for RHAT's Linux operating system at a much lower price than RHAT currently charges for its support services. At last check, ORCL shares were flat lining, while RHAT plunged more than 26 percent on the news. For more information on these stocks or any stock in your portfolio, feel free to visit our Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard feature. Click here to read all of the Today's Market entries: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB PROB Probable/Probably PROB Problem PROB People's Republic of Bangladesh 13C&PAGE=1. Take advantage of the timely Schaeffer commentaries by signing up for their free e-newsletters -- Opening View, Market Recap and Monday Morning Outlook. Click here to have the Schaeffer's commentaries delivered to you free via email every day and get entered to win an IPod Nano. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRMS13M&PAGE=1. About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com) Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com, is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method. |
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