US equities finished sharply lower in the wake of today’s FOMC policy announcement and the subsequent speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. All major sectors were lower, with Telecom and Consumer Staples leading the retreat. Technology and Materials relatively outperformed but were still sharply lower. Crude oil and gold also sold off after holding steady for most of the session.
The U.S. Federal Reserve announced no change in policy, and said it would maintain its $85B monthly bond purchase program. The Fed gave no specific indication when it would scale back its efforts, rather saying it would increase or reduce purchases as needed. U.S. equity indexes experienced a brief pop following the news, only to reverse and drop sharply in the minutes following. That slide continued through the remainder of the session with stocks finishing at the lows of the day.
Market Indices/Statistics:
- Dow closed down 206.04 pts/-1.35% to 15112.19; all of the 30 Dow stocks closed lower.
- S&P closed down 22.88 pts/-1.39% to 1,628.93; all of the 10 S&P 500 sectors closed lower.
- Nasdaq closed down 38.98 pts/-1.12% to 3,443.20
- Telecom was the weakest sector (-2.73 %), Materials were the strongest (-0.75%).
- The VIX finished down 0.12 to 16.49
- Oil is down 0.45 to $98.18
- Nat Gas is up 0.048 to $3.972
- Gold is down 17.9 to $1,349.00
- Euro vs. Dollar is down 0.0113 to $1.3281
- Yen vs. Dollar is up 1.12 to $96.44
Top Headlines:
FedEx Corp(FDX,$100.54) the world’s largest air-freight company , rose 1.07% on the NYSE after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profits on Wednesday. FedEx, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive volume of goods it ships around the world, said they’re cutting more capacity between the United States and Asia in an effort to adjust to increasing demand for cheaper ground transport rather than pricier but faster air shipping.
Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent’s (ALU,$1.93) new CEO Michel Combes, today announced a plan to tighten the company’s focus on a handful of core businesses such as networking products and high-speed broadband, and rework its balance sheet and significantly in an effort to return the company to profitability by 2015. Shares of ALU closed 3.21% higher in NY trade after hitting 52 week high intraday.
Earnings After the Bell:
Jabil Circuit (JBL) reports Q3 EPS of 0.56c, vs. Est. 0.54c.
Micron (MU) reports Q3 EPS of 0.04c, vs. Est. 0.02c.
Red Hat (RHT) reports Q1 EPS of 0.32c, vs. Est. 0.31c.
Steelcase (SCS) reports Q1 EPS of 0.13c, vs. Est. 0.13c.
Coming Thursday
U.S. Economic Reports:
Initial Jobless Claims at 8:30am (June-8) consensus 348K, prior 346K
Continuing Claims at 8:30am (June-1) consensus 2974K, prior 2952K
Existing Home Sales (May) at 10am, consensus 4.99M, prior 4.97M
Leading Indicators (May) at 10am, consensus +0.2%, prior +0.6%
Earnings Thursday:
HIS Inc. (HIS) Est. $1.03; Kroger Co. (KR) Est. 0.89c; Methode Electronics MEI) Est. 0.16c ; Pier 1 Imports (PIR) Est. 0.19c ; Rite Aid (RAD) Est. 0.08c ; Oracle (ORCL) Est. 0.87c.
Here at the NYSE
At the open:
Thursday, June 20 , Abbe Land, Chairman and CEO of The Trevor Project, will visit the New York Stock Exchange and ringThe Opening Bell. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people under 24. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, in-school workshops, educational materials, online resources and advocacy. Honored by the White House as a Champion of Change, The Trevor Project is a leader and innovator in suicide prevention. Learn more at TheTrevorProject.org, or TheTrevorProject.org/TrevorLIVENY.
At the close:
Executives and guests of Exton, Pa.-based West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST), a world leader in pharmaceutical and biotech drug packaging and delivery, will visit the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the company’s 90thanniversary of founding. Chairman and CEO Donald E. Morel, Jr., Ph.D., joined by members of West’s senior leadership, will ring the NYSE Closing Bell to mark this company milestone.
Please remember to check in with us every morning for the NYSE Morning Update! http://exchanges.nyx.com/parasnand-madho/nyse-morning-update-05022013
Thanks and have a great evening!
