Markets End Positive as Mergers Overpower Iraq Fears
Originally published: 07.01.14 by Margot Crabtree
Although turmoil in Iraq churned up market volatility this month, a slew of strong economic data kept markets on the upswing. As our trading session ended June 16, 2014, homebuilder sentiment and solid manufacturing data pushed Wall Street ahead.
When we started our session, the U.S. Association of Realtors said that existing home sales gained 1.3 percent in April, at an annual rate of 4.65 million units, falling short of the 4.68 million units expected by economists. Even so, it was only the second gain in nine months following pressure of higher mortgage rates and housing prices.
In April, new home sales rose 6.4 percent. A survey from HSBC indicated that the slowdown in the Chinese economy was weakening, and a reading on Chinese manufacturing in May revealed the best numbers in five months. Financial data firm Markit said that factory output in May rose to 59.6, from 58.2, its fastest rate since February 2011.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final May consumer sentiment reading was 81.9, down from 84.1 the month previous and below the 82.5 expected by economists surveyed by Reuters.
Reports by the Labor Department show 8.8 million more working now than at the the recession in 2010, when job loss was at a peak. The Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales rose 0.3 percent in May, the fourth consecutive month of improvement, but economists were expecting a rise of 0.4 percent. Mergers littered the landscape.
According to Dealogic, the number of transactions is about the same as a year ago, but the value of the deals has increased. U.S. factory orders improved for a third consecutive month in April; factory output rose 0.6 percent in May across a broad section of industries, with the biggest jump in auto manufacturing.
Overall industrial production, including mining, manufacturing and utilities, also rose 0.6 percent.
"With manufacturing accelerating, there is every good reason to believe that the economy is beginning to hit its stride," Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, stated in a note to clients.
Exchange |
Symbol |
Company Name |
Price
|
Price
|
Net
|
PercentChange |
52-Week
|
52-Week
|
Shares
|
Market
|
| NASD | AAON | AAON, Inc. | 32.15 | 29.88 | 2.27 | 7.60% | 34.27 | 20.19 | 36620 | 1177333 |
| NYSE | ABB | ABB Ltd. | 23.27 | 23.57 | -0.30 | -1.27% | 27.25 | 20.65 | 2300000 | 53521000 |
| NYSE | ARG | Airgas, Inc. | 105.99 | 105.89 | 0.10 | 0.09% | 113.16 | 92.86 | 74290 | 7873997.1 |
| NYSE | AOS | AO Smith Corp. | 47.64 | 49.64 | -2.00 | -4.03% | 55.18 | 38.01 | 90610 | 4316660.4 |
| NYSE | FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 15.88 | 15.33 | 0.55 | 3.59% | 20.95 | 13.90 | 37580 | 596770.4 |
| NYSE | DOV | Dover Corp. | 89.15 | 85.77 | 3.38 | 3.94% | 89.59 | 62.72 | 166490 | 14842583.5 |
| NASD | ELON | Echelon Corp. | 2.46 | 2.42 | 0.04 | 1.65% | 4.18 | 1.99 | 43370 | 106690.2 |
| NYSE | DD | E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. | 68.11 | 66.83 | 1.28 | 1.92% | 69.75 | 52.02 | 918350 | 62548818.5 |
| NYSE | EME | EMCOR Group, Inc. | 44.82 | 44.39 | 0.43 | 0.97% | 48.00 | 36.26 | 67280 | 3015489.6 |
| NYSE | EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | 66.33 | 66.64 | -0.31 | -0.47% | 70.66 | 53.42 | 701740 | 46546414.2 |
| NYSE | F | Ford Motor Co. | 16.63 | 15.69 | 0.94 | 5.99% | 18.02 | 14.30 | 3950000 | 65688500 |
| NYSE | GM | General Motors Co. | 36.06 | 34.36 | 1.70 | 4.95% | 41.85 | 31.13 | 1600000 | 57696000 |
| NYSE | HON | Honeywell International, Inc. | 93.80 | 91.16 | 2.64 | 2.90% | 96.49 | 76.15 | 783120 | 73456656 |
| NASD | HDSN | Hudson Technologies, Inc. | 3.01 | 2.86 | 0.15 | 5.24% | 4.00 | 1.75 | 25090 | 75520.9 |
| NYSE | IR | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 62.84 | 57.16 | 5.68 | 9.94% | 63.42 | 42.64 | 269900 | 16960516 |
| NYSE | JCI | Johnson Controls, Inc. | 49.82 | 44.63 | 5.19 | 11.63% | 52.50 | 34.40 | 664160 | 33088451.2 |
| NYSE | LII | Lennox International Inc. | 88.77 | 83.53 | 5.24 | 6.27% | 94.69 | 59.30 | 49150 | 4363045.5 |
| NYSE | LXU | LSB Industries, Inc. | 41.18 | 36.44 | 4.74 | 13.01% | 42.30 | 29.39 | 22540 | 928197.2 |
| NYSE | MTW | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | 28.08 | 27.52 | 0.56 | 2.03% | 33.46 | 16.18 | 135160 | 3795292.8 |
| NYSE | NWL | Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. | 30.57 | 29.25 | 1.32 | 4.51% | 32.54 | 24.32 | 276600 | 8455662 |
| NYSE | MLI | Mueller Industries, Inc. | 29.44 | 27.81 | 1.63 | 5.86% | 32.13 | 24.05 | 56690 | 1668953.6 |
| OTC | NSANY | Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. | 18.77 | 17.77 | 1.00 | 5.63% | 22.55 | 16.45 | 2100000 | 39417000 |
| NASD | OFLX | OmegaFlex, Inc. | 19.42 | 20.00 | -0.58 | -2.90% | 24.99 | 13.02 | 10090 | 195947.8 |
| NYSE | PH | Parker-Hannifin Corp. | 127.18 | 122.56 | 4.62 | 3.77% | 130.44 | 92.08 | 148940 | 18942189.2 |
| NYSE | RBC | Regal-Beloit Corp. | 77.71 | 74.55 | 3.16 | 4.24% | 80.41 | 61.86 | 45130 | 3507052.3 |
| NYSE | ROK | Rockwell Automation | 125.66 | 119.77 | 5.89 | 4.92% | 128.57 | 80.60 | 138440 | 17396370.4 |
| OTC | SIEGY | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | 134.33 | 132.66 | 1.67 | 1.26% | 139.28 | 99.07 | 846130 | 113660642.9 |
| NYSE | SPW | SPX Corp. | 107.03 | 102.75 | 4.28 | 4.17% | 109.89 | 69.27 | 43820 | 4690054.6 |
| NYSE | TXN | Texas Instruments | 48.13 | 44.89 | 3.24 | 7.22% | 49.77 | 34.10 | 1080000 | 51980400 |
| NYSE | UTX | United Technologies Corp. | 116.87 | 115.70 | 1.17 | 1.01% | 120.66 | 90.30 | 916730 | 107138235.1 |
| NYSE | WSO | Watsco, Inc. | 100.79 | 99.65 | 1.14 | 1.14% | 105.39 | 79.66 | 32250 | 3250477.5 |
The HVACR Business Stock Index rose 41.06 points, or 3.20 percent, and closed at 1325.85. Advancing issues overpowered declining issues at a 28-to-3 count.
Rockwell Automation jumped 5.89 points, or 4.92 percent. The company’s board of directors authorized another $1 billion in stock repurchases. This joins an earlier stock buyback program in 2012 for $1 billion. ROK also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share. It will be paid on Sept. 10, 2014 for stakeholders of record as of Aug. 11. Rockwell closed at 125.66, and was the top dollar gainer.
ABB inched down 0.30 points, or 1.27 percent. The company announced that it has finished the placement of three gearless mill drive systems for Codelco’s Mina Ministro Hales, based in Chile. ABB ended at 23.27.
Shares of LSB Industries rose 4.74 points, or 13.01 percent, and closed at 41.18. LXU said it has formed a committee to explore the strategic options of separating business units, and transferring some or all of its chemical divisions into a master limited partnership structure. LSB Industries was the top percentage gainer this month.
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.