NYSE: Markets Mixed Closing News 12/05/2012

Stocks finished mixed today, with the Dow and S&P trading higher, led by a rally in financials, on speculation that Republicans and Democrats will reach a budget agreement before the end of the year.  Several Republicans joined a bipartisan call to break the impasse between the President and House speaker Boehner, signing a letter calling for exploration of “all options”.  The Dow closed up 82.17 to 13,034.49.



Energy shares also helped lift markets higher today after Freeport-McMoRan announced that they will buy Plains Exploration & Production Co.,  and McMoRan Exploration Co. for a total of $9 billion.



ADP reported that U.S. Companies added 118,000 workers in November according to their private report based upon payrolls.  The increase in employment was lower than projected.  The median forecast of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 125,000 rise with estimates ranging from gains of 35,000 to 174,000.



Service industries in the U.S. unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in November.  The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index rose to 54.7 last month from 54.2 in October showing the biggest part of the economy is weathering concern about looming federal tax increases and spending cuts.   The report runs counter to the group’s factory survey this week showing manufacturing shrank last month.



Investors Real Estate Trust (Nasdaq:IRET) announced today that it plans to transfer the listing of its common shares and 8.25% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares to the New York Stock Exchange from the NASDAQ.  The Common Shares and Series A Preferred Shares have been approved for listing on the NYSE, and the Company expects to begin trading on the NYSE on December 18, 2012.   Timothy P. Mihalick, IRET's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to join the significant majority of our real estate investment trust peers who are listed on the NYSE. We believe a listing on the NYSE will increase our visibility within the REIT investment community, consistent with our goal to create value for our shareholders."



Have a good Wednesday night!                                                                                            



Market Indices/Statistics:

·         Dow closed up 82.71 pts/+0.64% to 13,034.49; 21 of the 30 Dow stocks closed higher

·         S&P closed up 2.23 pts/+0.16% to 1,409.28;  7 of the 10 S&P 500 sectors closed higher

·         Nasdaq closed down 22.99 pts/-0.77% to 2,973.70

·         Utilities was  the most positive sector (+1.57%); the most negative sector was Technology (-1.82%)

·         The VIX ended down 0.66 to 16.46

·         Oil is down $0.66  to $87.84

·         Nat Gas closed up $0.148 to $3.687

·         Gold is down $0.70 to $1,695.00

·         Euro vs. Dollar is down 0.0021 to $1.3073

·         Dollar vs. Yen is up $0.55 at $82.44





Top Headlines:



Citigroup Inc (C + 2.17/6.33% to $36.46), moved higher today after announcing that it is cutting 11,000 jobs worldwide, about 4 percent of its staff and saving as much as $1.1 billion a year in expenses.  These cuts are Chief Executive Michael Corbat's first major steps to reorganize the company since he took the reins in October.   

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc (FCX – 6.12/-15.99% to $32.16), announced that they will buy Plains Exploration & Production Co (PXP 8.45/+23.44% to $44.50) and McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR + 7.36/+87% to $15.82) for a total of $9 billion as they diversify into the energy sector.   FCX shares traded lower on the news and an analyst at Blackrock commented that FCX did not describe justification for the acquisition.  FCX, one of the world's largest copper miners with operations outside the United States would combine with PXP and MMR who are concentrated in energy plays in California, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.  

According to a Reuters report, in the fourth quarter, U.S. companies have pledged more than $21 billion in one-off dividends, not including early payment of regular ones. Shareholders receiving them will be able to book the gains at the 15 percent tax rate currently in place rather than the worst-case 39.6 percent scheduled to go into effect next year if President Barack Obama and Congress don't agree on an alternative rate.

Earnings:



SAIC (SAI) reports Q3 EPS of $0.33, missing estimates by $0.01 and revenue of $2.87B



Ascena Retail Group (ASNA) reportsFQ1 EPS of $0.39 beating estimates by $0.05. Revenue of $1.14B



Vera Bradley (VRA) reports Q3 EPS of $0.44, beating estimates by $0.06 and Q3 revenue of $138.3M



Synopsys (SNPS) reports Q4 EPS of $0.47 in-line with estimates and Q3 revenue of $454.2M



Coming Thursday:



Economic Reports:  Challenger Job Cuts YoY for Nov. (11.6% prior month) 7:30am; RBC Consumer Outlook Index for December (48.9 for the month prior)8:00am; Initial Jobless Claims (Est. 380k) 8:30am;  Continuing Claims (Est. 3275k).



Earnings Thursday:   Canadian Imperial Bank (Est.  $1.98); Cantel Medical Corp. (CMN) (Est. $0.28); Cooper Companies Inc. (Est. $1.55); Esterline Technologies (Est. $1.60);  H&R Block (Est. -$0.40) and Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (Est. $0.14)