Wall Street Shrugs Off Hurricanes, Geopolitical Tensions
Originally published: 10.17.17 by Margot Crabtree
Wall Street continued to ignore devastating hurricanes in the US and saber rattling from North Korea, and strode ahead firmly as our trading session ended Oct. 16, 2017, with earnings season just kicking off.
Pressures on housing remained, as sales were pulled down by hurricanes and the widening shortage of available listings. The Commerce Department said that housing starts fell 0.8 percent in August, the second consecutive monthly drop.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index is still positive, though it fell to 64 in September, from August's 67. Sentiment was dampened by builders' concerns about the availability of skilled labor and the cost of building materials.
The Commerce Department reported that the economy grew faster than expected in the April-June quarter, as the gross domestic product (GDP) rose at 3.1 percent, up from the 3 percent increase expected. It was the fastest rate of growth in over two years. Consumer spending remains robust. Brakes are expected in the GDP, however, as the economy registers the impact of hurricanes.
The Labor Department reported that the US lost 33,000 jobs in September. The monthly drop was the first in almost seven years, but is expected to moderate as businesses re-open and construction companies start reconstruction work. The Commerce Department reported that US factory orders gained 1.2 percent in August after a decline of 3.3 percent in July
As our session ended, markets inched backwards and forwards in a narrow range, hitting records and retreating; insurers took a dive after the White House said it would stop subsidy payments to insurers under the current health care law. The Commerce Department reported that September retail sales increased by 1.6 percent after a drop in August. Most of the uptick came from sales of cars as consumers replaced cars destroyed by hurricanes, and from a jump in gasoline prices.
"We're seeing a continuation of the strength in the market combined with low volatility," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. "There seems to be money searching for stocks and looking for investments, simply because the momentum is still positive. Also we're entering a seasonal period where it's difficult to fight the tape. So I imagine there's cash coming in off the sidelines."
Exchange |
Symbol |
Company Name |
Price
|
Price
|
Net
|
PercentChange |
52-Week
|
52-Week
|
Shares
|
Market
|
| NASD | AAON | AAON, Inc. | 34.30 | 32.95 | 1.35 | 4.10% | 38.20 | 27.45 | 52600 | 1804180 |
| NYSE | ABB | ABB Ltd. | 24.97 | 24.43 | 0.54 | 2.21% | 25.83 | 20.26 | 2130000 | 53186100 |
| NYSE | AOS | AO Smith Corp. | 61.21 | 58.22 | 2.99 | 5.14% | 61.80 | 43.66 | 146420 | 8962368.2 |
| NYSE | FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 36.80 | 34.60 | 2.20 | 6.36% | 39.67 | 26.90 | 37120 | 1366016 |
| NYSE | DOV | Dover Corp. | 94.77 | 89.81 | 4.96 | 5.52% | 95.14 | 65.50 | 155730 | 14758532.1 |
| NASD | ELON | Echelon Corp. | 5.00 | 4.69 | 0.31 | 6.61% | 7.20 | 4.17 | 4450 | 22250 |
| NYSE | DWDP | DowDuPont | 70.93 | 69.86 | 1.07 | 1.53% | 71.88 | 51.60 | 2340000 | 165976200 |
| NYSE | EME | EMCOR Group, Inc. | 70.40 | 68.00 | 2.40 | 3.53% | 73.44 | 55.10 | 59180 | 4166272 |
| NYSE | EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | 64.44 | 62.35 | 2.09 | 3.35% | 64.92 | 49.38 | 640020 | 41242888.8 |
| NYSE | FCAU | Fiat Chrysler | 17.67 | 16.66 | 1.01 | 6.06% | 18.10 | 6.25 | 1540000 | 27211800 |
| NYSE | F | Ford Motor Co. | 12.12 | 11.62 | 0.50 | 4.30% | 13.27 | 10.47 | 3900000 | 47268000 |
| NYSE | GM | General Motors Co. | 45.76 | 38.88 | 6.88 | 17.70% | 46.11 | 30.21 | 1450000 | 66352000 |
| NYSE | HON | Honeywell International, Inc. | 143.75 | 138.95 | 4.80 | 3.45% | 145.30 | 107.41 | 760570 | 109331937.5 |
| NASD | HDSN | Hudson Technologies, Inc. | 6.21 | 9.16 | -2.95 | -32.21% | 10.40 | 5.55 | 41640 | 258584.4 |
| NYSE | IR | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 91.30 | 89.44 | 1.86 | 2.08% | 94.39 | 63.87 | 253670 | 23160071 |
| NYSE | JCI | Johnson Controls, Inc. | 41.75 | 39.81 | 1.94 | 4.87% | 46.17 | 36.74 | 932400 | 38927700 |
| NYSE | LII | Lennox International Inc. | 181.09 | 167.53 | 13.56 | 8.09% | 192.58 | 140.97 | 42180 | 7638376.2 |
| NYSE | LXU | LSB Industries, Inc. | 7.54 | 6.99 | 0.55 | 7.87% | 11.71 | 4.52 | 28410 | 214211.4 |
| NYSE | MTW | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | 9.22 | 7.79 | 1.43 | 18.36% | 9.97 | 3.65 | 140610 | 1296424.2 |
| NYSE | MLI | Mueller Industries, Inc. | 34.84 | 32.25 | 2.59 | 8.03% | 43.96 | 27.72 | 57630 | 2007829.2 |
| NYSE | NWL | Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. | 42.75 | 43.20 | -0.45 | -1.04% | 55.08 | 40.88 | 490100 | 20951775 |
| OTC | NSANY | Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. | 19.31 | 20.55 | -1.24 | -6.03% | 20.91 | 18.06 | 3910000 | 75502100 |
| NASD | OFLX | OmegaFlex, Inc. | 62.13 | 66.14 | -4.01 | -6.06% | 74.55 | 34.62 | 10090 | 626891.7 |
| NYSE | PH | Parker-Hannifin Corp. | 181.41 | 169.69 | 11.72 | 6.91% | 181.94 | 118.77 | 133200 | 24163812 |
| NYSE | RBC | Regal-Beloit Corp. | 79.60 | 77.05 | 2.55 | 3.31% | 87.50 | 56.45 | 44600 | 3550160 |
| NYSE | ROK | Rockwell Automation | 186.41 | 173.73 | 12.68 | 7.30% | 186.49 | 115.36 | 128360 | 23927587.6 |
| OTC | SIEGY | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | 70.33 | 69.72 | 0.61 | 0.87% | 73.42 | 55.73 | 812830 | 57166333.9 |
| NYSE | SPXC | SPX Corp. | 29.63 | 26.32 | 3.31 | 12.58% | 30.37 | 15.49 | 42520 | 1259867.6 |
| NYSE | TXN | Texas Instruments | 94.23 | 84.84 | 9.39 | 11.07% | 94.41 | 66.80 | 990040 | 93291469.2 |
| NYSE | UTX | United Technologies Corp. | 119.01 | 113.08 | 5.93 | 5.24% | 124.79 | 97.62 | 798770 | 95061617.7 |
| NYSE | WSO | Watsco, Inc. | 159.46 | 155.00 | 4.46 | 2.88% | 163.95 | 128.60 | 27480 | 4381960.8 |
|
|
Price 10/16/17 |
Price 9/15/17 |
Net Change |
Percent Change |
| HVACR Business Stock Index | 1,578.76 | 1,516.98 | 61.79 | 4.07% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 22,956.96 | 22,268.34 | 688.62 | 3.09% |
| S&P 500 Index | 2,557.64 | 2,500.23 | 57.41 | 2.30% |
| NASDAQ Composite | 6,624.00 | 6,448.47 | 175.53 | 2.72% |
Gainers/Losers |
||||
| $ Gainer | Lennox International Inc. | 13.56 | ||
| $ Loser | OmegaFlex, Inc. | -4.01 | ||
| % Gainer | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | 18.36% | ||
| % Loser | Hudson Technologies, Inc. | -32.21% | ||
| Advancers | 27 | |||
| Decliners | 4 | |||
The HVACR Business Stock Index jumped 61.79 points, or 4.07 percent, and ended at 1578.76, another record high close. Advancing issues dominated declining issues by a 27-to-4 count.
Lennox International soared 13.56 points, or 8.09 percent. Investment firm Cleveland Research started coverage on LII with a rating of "neutral." Wolfe Research re-stated its "peer perform" rating on Lennox. LII ended at 181.09, and was the top dollar gainer.
Hudson Technologies stumbled, shedding 2.95 points, or 32.21 percent. Hudson closed its purchase of the Airgas-Refrigerant unit of Airgas, a transaction which was valued at about $220 million. ARI is a refrigerant distributor and an EPA-certified reclaimer. HDSN ended at 6.21, and was the top percentage loser.
Manitowoc rose 1.43 points, or 18.36 percent, and closed at 9.22. MTW broke into new 52-week high territory, breaching 9.97. Manitowoc was the top percentage gainer.