Tariffs Collide with Bull Market; Stocks End Mixed
Originally published: 03.19.18 by Margot Crabtree
Our session was a bit of a tussle after President Trump announced aluminum and steel tariffs and markets intersected with the 9th anniversary of the bull market as our trading session ended March 15, 2018.
The continued lack of housing stock contributed to a drop in sales of existing homes. The National Association of Realtors said that sales fell 3.2 percent in January. Year-over-year, sales of existing homes fell 4.8 percent, the biggest yearly decrease since August 2014.
In a separate report, the organization said that that pending home sales fell 4.7 percent in January, citing higher prices, increasing mortgage rates and fewer homes on the market. Their index fell to 104.6, the lowest reading since Oct. 2014. Stock markets worldwide swooned amid Trump’s talk of a “trade war,” and Wall Street finished out its worst month since January 2016.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index increased to 130.8 in February, ahead of January’s 124.3. Stocks enjoyed a broad rally as we stepped into the anniversary of the bull market, and also got a boost from a jobs report that showed sturdy hires, a low jobless rate, and modest wage growth.
There was concern and some wobble on Wall Street as President Trump’s premier economic advisor Gary Cohn resigned in opposition to the proposed aluminum and steel tariffs. But when Trump signed onto the import tariffs, the provisions were not as strict as traders feared, and by and large markets shrugged off tariffs, trade wars and inflation, and focused on jobs and job growth.
“The market is being driven by a very strong jobs report and lack of wage inflation. The Goldilocks economy reappears,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel. “But anything that accelerates the (Russia probe) and removes some uncertainty is good. The financial markets really dislike uncertainty.”
Exchange |
Symbol |
Company Name |
Price
|
Price
|
Net
|
PercentChange |
52-Week
|
52-Week
|
Shares
|
Market
|
| NASD | AAON | AAON, Inc. | 38.80 | 34.60 | 4.20 | 12.14% | 39.20 | 29.95 | 52430 | 2034284 |
| NYSE | ABB | ABB Ltd. | 24.13 | 25.47 | -1.34 | -5.26% | 28.67 | 22.04 | 2130000 | 51396900 |
| NYSE | AOS | AO Smith Corp. | 65.24 | 65.23 | 0.01 | 0.02% | 68.39 | 49.48 | 145470 | 9490462.8 |
| NYSE | FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 42.35 | 41.45 | 0.90 | 2.17% | 44.80 | 31.90 | 37100 | 1571185 |
| NYSE | DOV | Dover Corp. | 99.12 | 101.59 | -2.47 | -2.43% | 109.06 | 76.23 | 154560 | 15319987.2 |
| NASD | ELON | Echelon Corp. | 4.67 | 4.71 | -0.04 | -0.85% | 7.20 | 4.26 | 4520 | 21108.4 |
| NYSE | DWDP | DowDuPont | 67.88 | 71.85 | -3.97 | -5.53% | 77.08 | 59.29 | 2330000 | 158160400 |
| NYSE | EME | EMCOR Group, Inc. | 80.40 | 76.50 | 3.90 | 5.10% | 85.08 | 59.76 | 58370 | 4692948 |
| NYSE | EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | 70.93 | 71.50 | -0.57 | -0.80% | 74.45 | 56.77 | 634840 | 45029201.2 |
| NYSE | FCAU | Fiat Chrysler | 21.14 | 22.39 | -1.25 | -5.58% | 24.95 | 9.60 | 1540000 | 32555600 |
| NYSE | F | Ford Motor Co. | 11.07 | 10.76 | 0.31 | 2.88% | 13.48 | 10.14 | 3900000 | 43173000 |
| NYSE | GM | General Motors Co. | 37.85 | 41.85 | -4.00 | -9.56% | 46.76 | 31.92 | 1400000 | 52990000 |
| NYSE | HON | Honeywell International, Inc. | 151.07 | 153.42 | -2.35 | -1.53% | 165.13 | 122.40 | 748380 | 113057766.6 |
| NASD | HDSN | Hudson Technologies, Inc. | 5.48 | 6.06 | -0.58 | -9.57% | 10.40 | 5.37 | 42400 | 232352 |
| NYSE | IR | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 90.22 | 92.01 | -1.79 | -1.95% | 97.67 | 77.26 | 249890 | 22545075.8 |
| NYSE | JCI | Johnson Controls, Inc. | 37.05 | 38.19 | -1.14 | -2.99% | 44.37 | 34.51 | 926120 | 34312746 |
| NYSE | LII | Lennox International Inc. | 211.44 | 207.23 | 4.21 | 2.03% | 223.05 | 160.18 | 41180 | 8707099.2 |
| NYSE | LXU | LSB Industries, Inc. | 6.97 | 7.33 | -0.36 | -4.91% | 11.71 | 5.55 | 28600 | 199342 |
| NYSE | MTW | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | 29.94 | 35.27 | -5.33 | -15.11% | 44.03 | 21.00 | 35350 | 1058379 |
| NYSE | MLI | Mueller Industries, Inc. | 27.98 | 26.65 | 1.33 | 4.99% | 37.57 | 25.50 | 57560 | 1610528.8 |
| NYSE | NWL | Newell Brands, Inc. | 28.89 | 27.64 | 1.25 | 4.52% | 55.08 | 23.85 | 490100 | 14158989 |
| OTC | NSANY | Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. | 21.17 | 21.05 | 0.12 | 0.57% | 22.14 | 18.18 | 3910000 | 82774700 |
| NASD | OFLX | OmegaFlex, Inc. | 63.52 | 60.90 | 2.62 | 4.30% | 76.63 | 42.00 | 10090 | 640916.8 |
| NYSE | PH | Parker-Hannifin Corp. | 180.08 | 184.63 | -4.55 | -2.46% | 212.80 | 151.17 | 133050 | 23959644 |
| NYSE | RBC | Regal-Beloit Corp. | 73.30 | 75.95 | -2.65 | -3.49% | 87.50 | 67.84 | 44320 | 3248656 |
| NYSE | ROK | Rockwell Automation | 181.76 | 187.58 | -5.82 | -3.10% | 210.72 | 148.31 | 127780 | 23225292.8 |
| OTC | SIEGY | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | 65.51 | 69.10 | -3.59 | -5.20% | 77.17 | 63.25 | 815520 | 53424715.2 |
| NYSE | SPXC | SPX Corp. | 31.10 | 31.30 | -0.20 | -0.64% | 33.93 | 21.97 | 42780 | 1330458 |
| NYSE | TXN | Texas Instruments | 109.71 | 104.57 | 5.14 | 4.92% | 120.75 | 75.92 | 983790 | 107931600.9 |
| NYSE | UTX | United Technologies Corp. | 129.25 | 130.00 | -0.75 | -0.58% | 139.24 | 109.10 | 799780 | 103371565 |
| NYSE | WSO | Watsco, Inc. | 181.38 | 169.73 | 11.65 | 6.86% | 183.84 | 134.08 | 29020 | 5263647.6 |
|
|
Price 3/15/18 |
Price 2/15/18 |
Net Change |
Percent Change |
| HVACR Business Stock Index | 1,582.58 | 1,615.38 | -32.80 | -2.03% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 24,873.66 | 25,200.37 | -326.71 | -1.30% |
| S&P 500 Index | 2,747.33 | 2,731.20 | 16.13 | 0.59% |
| NASDAQ Composite | 7,481.74 | 7,256.43 | 225.31 | 3.10% |
Gainers/Losers |
||||
| $ Gainer | Watsco, Inc. | 11.65 | ||
| $ Loser | Rockwell Automation | -5.82 | ||
| % Gainer | AAON, Inc. | 12.14% | ||
| % Loser | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | -15.11% | ||
| Advancers | 12 | |||
| Decliners | 19 | |||
The HVACR Business Stock Index slid 32.80 points, or 2.03 percent, and closed at 1582.58. Declining issues passed advancing issues at a 19-to-12 count.
Manitowoc tumbled 5.33 points, or 15.11 percent, and closed at 29.94. Activist investor Carl Icahn said he was unaware of President Trump’s intention to increase steel and aluminum tariffs before he sold one-third of his stake in Manitowoc shares, worth about $31 million, saying that he divested for “legitimate business reasons.” MTW was the top percentage loser.
AAON jumped 4.20 points, or 12.14 percent. For the fourth quarter AAON posted net income of $15.8 million, or $0.30 per share; adjusted for one-time items, earnings were $0.22 per share.
Revenue was $104.2 million. This compares to last year’s profit of $11.4 million, or $0.22 per share and revenue of $91.7 million. AAON also reported the acquisition of the assets of WattMaster Controls with available cash. AAON ended at 38.80, and was the top percentage gainer.
Despite an upgrade, shares of Parker-Hannifin slid 4.55 points, or 2.46 percent. Investment firm Robert W. Baird upped its rating to “outperform” from “neutral.”
Their price target remained the same at $203. Baird analyst Mircea Dobre cited PH’s improving performance, as well as several initiatives the company is executing. PH closed at 180.08.