Stocks Plummet into Negative Terrain
Originally published: 02.17.18 by Margot Crabtree
As our month began, it took just eight trading days for the Dow industrials to surge from 25,000 to 26,000, but as our trading session ended Feb. 15, 2018, Wall Street had tumbled just as far and fast into correction territory.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index slid to 72 in January, from December’s 74, which was an 18-year high. The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales slid 3.6 percent in December, weighed down by rising prices and the lack of homes available.
The Commerce Department said that U.S. December construction spending rose 0.7 percent, to a record high, and the fifth monthly consecutive increase.
The Federal Reserve said that December’s industrial production rose 0.9 percent. The Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods jumped 2.9 percent in December, the fastest rate since June, with a 15.9 percent push from non-military aircraft and parts.
As we entered February, however, a job report ignited inflationary fears, and markets endured their worst week in two years. The Labor Department reported that job growth jumped in January, and wages exploded, hitting their highest annual gain in over 8.5 years, sparking fears of inflation and faster-than-expected Fed rate increases, and pressure on business profit from higher wages.
The Conference Board said that consumer confidence increased to 125.4 in January, from December’s revised 123.1. Markets improved a little as our session ended, but the savage downturn left everyone a bit dazed.
“The CPI (Consumer Price Index) shows there is some inflation, but it was not through the roof,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co. “People got too pessimistic.”
Exchange |
Symbol |
Company Name |
Price
|
Price
|
Net
|
PercentChange |
52-Week
|
52-Week
|
Shares
|
Market
|
| NASD | AAON | AAON, Inc. | 34.60 | 36.55 | -1.95 | -5.34% | 38.25 | 29.95 | 52470 | 1815462 |
| NYSE | ABB | ABB Ltd. | 25.47 | 28.09 | -2.62 | -9.33% | 28.67 | 22.04 | 2130000 | 54251100 |
| NYSE | AOS | AO Smith Corp. | 65.23 | 65.32 | -0.09 | -0.14% | 68.39 | 48.96 | 145820 | 9511838.6 |
| NYSE | FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 41.45 | 44.10 | -2.65 | -6.01% | 44.80 | 31.90 | 36970 | 1532406.5 |
| NYSE | DOV | Dover Corp. | 101.59 | 104.14 | -2.55 | -2.45% | 109.06 | 75.51 | 154420 | 15687527.8 |
| NASD | ELON | Echelon Corp. | 4.71 | 5.90 | -1.19 | -20.17% | 7.20 | 4.26 | 4520 | 21289.2 |
| NYSE | DWDP | DowDuPont | 71.85 | 75.41 | -3.56 | -4.72% | 77.08 | 59.29 | 2330000 | 167410500 |
| NYSE | EME | EMCOR Group, Inc. | 76.50 | 84.14 | -7.64 | -9.08% | 85.08 | 59.76 | 58810 | 4498965 |
| NYSE | EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | 71.50 | 73.91 | -2.41 | -3.26% | 74.45 | 56.77 | 638640 | 45662760 |
| NYSE | FCAU | Fiat Chrysler | 22.39 | 23.39 | -1.00 | -4.28% | 24.95 | 9.60 | 1540000 | 34480600 |
| NYSE | F | Ford Motor Co. | 10.76 | 13.23 | -2.47 | -18.67% | 13.48 | 10.19 | 3900000 | 41964000 |
| NYSE | GM | General Motors Co. | 41.85 | 44.07 | -2.22 | -5.04% | 46.76 | 31.92 | 1400000 | 58590000 |
| NYSE | HON | Honeywell International, Inc. | 153.42 | 159.07 | -5.65 | -3.55% | 165.13 | 122.40 | 752000 | 115371840 |
| NASD | HDSN | Hudson Technologies, Inc. | 6.06 | 6.37 | -0.31 | -4.87% | 10.40 | 5.40 | 42040 | 254762.4 |
| NYSE | IR | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 92.01 | 91.10 | 0.91 | 1.00% | 97.67 | 77.26 | 249890 | 22992378.9 |
| NYSE | JCI | Johnson Controls, Inc. | 38.19 | 39.80 | -1.61 | -4.05% | 44.37 | 34.51 | 926120 | 35368522.8 |
| NYSE | LII | Lennox International Inc. | 207.23 | 210.68 | -3.45 | -1.64% | 223.05 | 159.57 | 41770 | 8655997.1 |
| NYSE | LXU | LSB Industries, Inc. | 7.33 | 9.76 | -2.43 | -24.90% | 11.71 | 5.55 | 28410 | 208245.3 |
| NYSE | MTW | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | 35.27 | 39.36 | -4.09 | -10.39% | 44.03 | 21.00 | 35180 | 1240798.6 |
| NYSE | MLI | Mueller Industries, Inc. | 26.65 | 36.91 | -10.26 | -27.80% | 43.68 | 25.59 | 57810 | 1540636.5 |
| NYSE | NWL | Newell Brands, Inc. | 27.64 | 32.26 | -4.62 | -14.32% | 55.08 | 23.85 | 490100 | 13546364 |
| OTC | NSANY | Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. | 21.05 | 20.75 | 0.30 | 1.45% | 22.14 | 18.18 | 3910000 | 82305500 |
| NASD | OFLX | OmegaFlex, Inc. | 60.90 | 66.20 | -5.30 | -8.01% | 76.63 | 41.87 | 10090 | 614481 |
| NYSE | PH | Parker-Hannifin Corp. | 184.63 | 210.04 | -25.41 | -12.10% | 212.80 | 151.17 | 133050 | 24565021.5 |
| NYSE | RBC | Regal-Beloit Corp. | 75.95 | 78.05 | -2.10 | -2.69% | 87.50 | 71.05 | 44300 | 3364585 |
| NYSE | ROK | Rockwell Automation | 187.58 | 207.92 | -20.34 | -9.78% | 210.72 | 148.31 | 127780 | 23968972.4 |
| OTC | SIEGY | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | 69.10 | 74.65 | -5.55 | -7.43% | 77.17 | 63.47 | 815520 | 56352432 |
| NYSE | SPXC | SPX Corp. | 31.30 | 32.93 | -1.63 | -4.95% | 33.93 | 21.97 | 42610 | 1333693 |
| NYSE | TXN | Texas Instruments | 104.57 | 112.72 | -8.15 | -7.23% | 120.75 | 75.52 | 983160 | 102809041.2 |
| NYSE | UTX | United Technologies Corp. | 130.00 | 136.58 | -6.58 | -4.82% | 139.24 | 107.05 | 799780 | 103971400 |
| NYSE | WSO | Watsco, Inc. | 169.73 | 174.24 | -4.51 | -2.59% | 182.79 | 134.08 | 27610 | 4686245.3 |
|
|
Price 2/15/18 |
Price 1/15/18 |
Net Change |
Percent Change |
| HVACR Business Stock Index | 1,615.38 | 1,716.84 | -101.46 | -5.91% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 25,200.37 | 25,803.19 | -602.82 | -2.34% |
| S&P 500 Index | 2,731.20 | 2,786.24 | -55.04 | -1.98% |
| NASDAQ Composite | 7,256.43 | 7,261.06 | -4.63 | -0.06% |
Gainers/Losers |
||||
| $ Gainer | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 0.91 | ||
| $ Loser | Parker-Hannifin Corp. | -25.41 | ||
| % Gainer | Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. | 1.45% | ||
| % Loser | Mueller Industries, Inc. | -27.80% | ||
| Advancers | 2 | |||
| Decliners | 29 | |||
The HVACR Business Stock Index plunged 101.46 points, or 5.91 percent and closed at 1615.38. Declining issues dominated advancing issues by a 29-to-2 count.
Mueller Industries shed 10.26 points, or 27.80 points, and closed at 26.65. For its fourth quarter, MLI earned net income of $5.7 million, or $0.10 per share, versus last year’s $17.3 million, or $0.30 per share. Revenue was $523.5 million, compared to revenue of $472.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Mueller was the top percentage loser.
Ingersoll-Rand met fourth quarter earnings estimates, but exceeded on revenue and posted a bullish forecast, which sent its shares ahead 0.91 points, or 1.00 percent. IR said it earned $459.9 million, or $1.81 per share. Adjusted for one-time items, IR earned $1.02 per share. Revenue was $3.62 billion.
Analysts expected earnings of $1.02, and revenue of $3.52 billion. For 2018, revenues are expected to increase between 5 percent and 5.5 percent. IR ended at 92.01, and was the top dollar gainer.
Although Parker-Hannifin beat on fiscal second quarter earnings and revenue, it also received a downgrade, and tumbled 25.41 points, or 12.10 percent. PH posted net income of $56.2 million, or $0.41 per share. Adjusted for one-time items, PH earned $2.15 per share. Revenue was $3.37 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Zacks expected earnings of $2.06 per share and revenue of $3.34 billion. Investment firm Buckingham Research cut its rating on Parker-Hannifin to “neutral” from “buy.” PH closed at 184.63, and was the top dollar loser.