Markets Pop as Oil Regains Traction
Originally published: 03.17.16 by Margot Crabtree
Indexes closed with the strongest weekly gains this year to begin our trading session, and the Nasdaq posted the best improvement since July. As our session ended March 15, 2016, markets were in a holding pattern, awaiting word from the two-day Federal Reserve meeting.
The Labor Department said that consumer prices stayed flat in January as less expensive oil offset higher prices in health care and housing. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index fell to a reading of 58 in February, down from 61 the previous month.
The Federal Reserve said that factory output increased in January by the strongest rate in 6 months. The Commerce Department that new orders for durable goods jumped by 4.9 percent in January, the highest in 10 months, a change from December's 4.6 percent decline.
The University of Michigan's sentiment index slid to 91.7, from January's 92. A revision showed that the U.S. economy grew at a stronger rate in the fourth quarter than earlier calculated. The Commerce Department said that the gross domestic product (GDP) showed a 1 percent improvement, compared to an earlier 0.7 percent rate.
Other numbers also reflected a stronger economy. The Commerce Department said that January's factory orders improved 1.6 percent, the strongest gain in 7 months, while a significant category tracking business investment gained by the largest figure in 19 months.
The department also said that construction spending rose 1.5 percent in January, the largest increase in 8 months, shored up by non-residential construction. It was the highest level in over 8 years.
The European Central Bank boosted stimulus efforts, including bank loans, bond-buying expansion and interest rate cuts. Three times in our final week the S&P 500 closed above 2,000 for the first time since Jan. 5.
"While things aren't great, they're not the disaster we thought," said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading. "We've rallied after a horrendous start to the year."
Exchange |
Symbol |
Company Name |
Price
|
Price
|
Net
|
PercentChange |
52-Week
|
52-Week
|
Shares
|
Market
|
| NASD | AAON | AAON, Inc. | 25.47 | 20.64 | 4.83 | 23.40% | 26.48 | 18.85 | 54090 | 1377672.3 |
| NYSE | ABB | ABB Ltd. | 18.35 | 17.03 | 1.32 | 7.75% | 23.66 | 15.74 | 2190000 | 40186500 |
| NYSE | ARG | Airgas, Inc. | 141.35 | 140.10 | 1.25 | 0.89% | 141.92 | 86.09 | 72430 | 10237980.5 |
| NYSE | AOS | AO Smith Corp. | 73.20 | 65.81 | 7.39 | 11.23% | 81.15 | 50.09 | 74680 | 5466576 |
| NYSE | FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 28.83 | 25.55 | 3.28 | 12.84% | 35.00 | 19.10 | 37290 | 1075070.7 |
| NYSE | DOV | Dover Corp. | 61.49 | 59.19 | 2.30 | 3.89% | 78.21 | 50.91 | 155010 | 9531564.9 |
| NASD | ELON | Echelon Corp. | 6.00 | 5.43 | 0.57 | 10.50% | 12.10 | 4.71 | 4420 | 26520 |
| NYSE | DD | E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. | 62.83 | 58.40 | 4.43 | 7.59% | 75.72 | 47.11 | 871680 | 54767654.4 |
| NYSE | EME | EMCOR Group, Inc. | 45.85 | 44.32 | 1.53 | 3.45% | 52.37 | 40.98 | 62720 | 2875712 |
| NYSE | EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | 50.79 | 46.02 | 4.77 | 10.37% | 62.75 | 41.25 | 643120 | 32664064.8 |
| NYSE | FCAU | Fiat Chrysler | 7.60 | 6.11 | 1.49 | 24.39% | 11.13 | 5.78 | 1290000 | 9804000 |
| NYSE | F | Ford Motor Co. | 13.23 | 11.55 | 1.68 | 14.55% | 16.74 | 10.44 | 3900000 | 51597000 |
| NYSE | GM | General Motors Co. | 31.05 | 27.71 | 3.34 | 12.05% | 38.99 | 24.62 | 1540000 | 47817000 |
| NYSE | HON | Honeywell International, Inc. | 108.68 | 103.48 | 5.20 | 5.03% | 111.86 | 87.00 | 769320 | 83609697.6 |
| NASD | HDSN | Hudson Technologies, Inc. | 3.48 | 2.91 | 0.57 | 19.59% | 4.75 | 2.45 | 32800 | 114144 |
| NYSE | IR | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 58.64 | 51.32 | 7.32 | 14.26% | 70.93 | 47.08 | 256850 | 15061684 |
| NYSE | JCI | Johnson Controls, Inc. | 37.66 | 34.81 | 2.85 | 8.19% | 54.52 | 33.62 | 648240 | 24412718.4 |
| NYSE | LII | Lennox International Inc. | 132.88 | 119.50 | 13.38 | 11.20% | 138.57 | 104.94 | 44700 | 5939736 |
| NYSE | LXU | LSB Industries, Inc. | 10.25 | 5.05 | 5.20 | 102.97% | 47.33 | 3.68 | 22810 | 233802.5 |
| NYSE | MTW | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | 4.22 | 14.97 | -10.75 | -71.81% | 22.67 | 4.00 | 136590 | 576409.8 |
| NYSE | MLI | Mueller Industries, Inc. | 27.45 | 25.40 | 2.05 | 8.07% | 37.18 | 23.09 | 57160 | 1569042 |
| NYSE | NWL | Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. | 41.37 | 34.79 | 6.58 | 18.91% | 50.90 | 33.26 | 267200 | 11054064 |
| OTC | NSANY | Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. | 19.07 | 17.07 | 2.00 | 11.72% | 21.92 | 16.57 | 2100000 | 40047000 |
| NASD | NTK | Nortek, Inc. | 44.42 | 35.88 | 8.54 | 23.80% | 92.96 | 33.85 | 16260 | 722269.2 |
| NASD | OFLX | OmegaFlex, Inc. | 34.12 | 33.18 | 0.94 | 2.83% | 43.20 | 23.50 | 10090 | 344270.8 |
| NYSE | PH | Parker-Hannifin Corp. | 108.23 | 97.25 | 10.98 | 11.29% | 125.33 | 83.32 | 135100 | 14621873 |
| NYSE | RBC | Regal-Beloit Corp. | 58.61 | 50.61 | 8.00 | 15.81% | 81.36 | 47.77 | 44660 | 2617522.6 |
| NYSE | ROK | Rockwell Automation | 107.18 | 96.33 | 10.85 | 11.26% | 127.05 | 87.53 | 131420 | 14085595.6 |
| OTC | SIEGY | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | 100.83 | 90.80 | 10.03 | 11.05% | 113.90 | 86.58 | 807730 | 81443415.9 |
| NYSE | SPXC | SPX Corp. | 12.86 | 8.80 | 4.06 | 46.14% | 21.92 | 7.62 | 40800 | 524688 |
| NYSE | TXN | Texas Instruments | 55.73 | 51.14 | 4.59 | 8.98% | 59.67 | 43.49 | 1010000 | 56287300 |
| NYSE | UTX | United Technologies Corp. | 96.29 | 85.95 | 10.34 | 12.03% | 120.60 | 83.39 | 836430 | 80539844.7 |
| NYSE | WSO | Watsco, Inc. | 127.88 | 124.22 | 3.66 | 2.95% | 133.09 | 106.58 | 27610 | 3530766.8 |
The HVACR Business Stock Index enjoyed a healthy uptick, besting the national markets and rising 99.84 points, or 9.78 percent, closing at 1,120.74. Advancing issues nearly shut out declining issues at a 32-to-1 count.
Lennox International zoomed ahead, up 13.38 points, or 11.20 percent. Investment firm Cowen and Co. started Lennox with an "outperform" rating and a target price of $138. LII ended at 132.88, and was the top dollar gainer.
Manitowoc tumbled 10.75 points, or 71.81 percent, following the completion of the spin-off of its food service subsidiary. Manitowoc Foodservice now trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MFS. Investment firm Barclays cut its price target on MTW to $4, from $14, citing a sector slow-down and pressure from overseas competitors. MTW ended at 4.22, and was the top dollar and percentage loser.
Although LSB Industries swung to a loss in its fourth quarter, Avondale Partners upped its price target on LXU, and shares jumped 5.20 points, or 102.97 percent. LXU said it lost $8.1 million, or $0.48 per share. Revenue was $157 million, off 16 percent from a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, LXU lost $0.23 per share. LSB Industries closed at 10.25 and was the top percentage gainer.
Margot Crabtree is president of Trade Trends, Inc., a financial data services provider. She has been offering market analysis with customized stock indices and financial commentaries since 1999. For additional information, visit www.tradetrendsonline.com.