Stock Market Summary - Week Ending January 25, 2019
Stocks closed the week virtually unchanged from the prior week, seemingly taking a breather from the volatility of December. As the partial government shutdown appeared to be at a stalemate, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its global growth forecasts for 2019 and 2020 amid an economic slowing in China and Brexit tensions. Late in the day on Friday, the government announced a temporary 3-week end to the shutdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed the week 30.85 points higher or 0.12% at 24,737.20 while the S&P 500 (SPX) slipped -5.95 points or -0.22% to close the week at 2,664.76. The Russell 2000 (RUT) crept up 0.35 points of 0.02% to finish at 1,482.85 and the Nasdaq (COMP) added 7.63 points for a 0.11% gain to close at 7,164.86. The S&P 100 (OEX) slid -5.44 points or -0.46% to end the week at 1,176.11 and the VIX calmed slightly by falling -0.38 or -2.13% to close the week at 17.42.
Corporate Gainers
Western Digital Corp (WDC) soared 10.10% for the week, trading at $43.16 at Friday's close. The hard disk drive manufacturer was a top performer in the S&P 500 on Friday in high-volume trading. The stock fell in response to a negative earnings report but quickly reversed its course in sync with other technology stocks.
Micron Technology Inc (MU) gained 8.95% overall in high trading volume for the week with a Friday closing stock price of $38.96, also gaining from the momentum shown by other companies in the technology sector.
Shares of SVB Financial Group (SIVB) surged 4.81% with a closing stock price of $242.09 on Friday as venture capital investors responded favorably to the financial company's 4th quarter earnings. Earnings were up 127% from a year ago, largely attributed to rising interest rates and lower taxes.
Corporate Sliders
ResMed Inc (RMD) plunged -19.76% overall for the week, trading at $94.56 per share at Friday's market close. The drop followed the 2nd quarter earnings reported posted by the health equipment manufacturer in which adjusted revenue fell short of analysts' expectations.
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) tumbled -10.01% to a Friday closing price of $80.54 per share. The drop appeared to be spurred by the pharmaceutical company's 4th quarter earnings report that missed expectations. The disappointing earnings appear to be due to cheaper alternatives from overseas suppliers to the company's popular drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Humira.
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) slid -5.07%, trading at $515.04 per share at market close, after posting disappointing 4th quarter earnings. The medical equipment company is a pioneer in developing minimally invasive robotically-assisted surgery equipment.
Economic Indicators of Note
Existing Home Sales for December fell a sharp -6.4% to an annualized rate of 4.990 million. This occurred despite a downward move in mortgage rates.
Initial jobless claims for the January 19 week dropped 19,000 to below 200,000 at 199,000. It is noteworthy that this is the lowest level in almost 50 years when the labor force was roughly half of the size it is today.
Continuing jobless claims in lagging data for the January 12 week fell by 24,000.
Crude oil supplies increased by 8.0 million barrels to 445.0 million in the January 18 week while gasoline supplieswere up by 4.1 million barrels to 259.6 million. Supplies of distillates declined by 0.6 million barrels to 142.4 million.
Upcoming Economic Events
Market Movers:
International Trade in Goods-Tuesday @ 8:30 a.m. ET
GDP-Wednesday @ 8:30 a.m. ET
EIA Petroleum Status Report-Wednesday @ 10:30 a.m. ET
FOMC Meeting Announcement-Wednesday @ 2:00 p.m. ET
Fed Chair Press Conference-Wednesday @ 2:30 p.m. ET
Jobless Claims-Thursday @ 8:30 a.m. ET
Personal Income & Outlays-Thursday @ 8:30 a.m. ET
Employment Situation-Friday @ 8:30 a.m. ET
ISM Manufacturing Index-Friday @ 10:00 a.m. ET
Events Worth Noting
S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI-Tuesday @ 9:00 a.m. ET
Consumer Confidence -Tuesday @ 10:00 a.m. ET
ADP Employment Report-Wednesday @ 8:15 a.m. ET
Pending Home Sales Index-Wednesday @ 10:00 a.m. ET
Employment Cost Indexq-Thursday @ 8:30 a.m. ET
Chicago PMI-Thursday @ 9:45 a.m. ET
EIA Natural Gas Report-Thursday @ 10:30 a.m. ET
Fed Balance Sheet-Thursday @ 4:30 p.m. ET
Motor Vehicle Sales-Friday
Construction Spending-Friday @ 10:00 a.m. ET
Consumer Sentiment-Friday @ 10:00 a.m.
Index Trading Levels For Week Ending 1/25/2019
DJIA 24737.20 (Dow Jones)
SPX 2664.76 (S&P 500)
RUT 1482.85 (Russell 2000)
COMP 7164.86 (Nasdaq)
OEX 1176.11 (S&P 100)
VIX 17.42 (CBOE)