Closing Bell: US auto industry to the rescue, really

Posted Apr 24th 2008 4:31PM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Ford Motor (F), Taser Intl Inc (TASR), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)

Today's good news really came from issues outside of economic numbers. Many are starting to think the end of the rate cut cycle is near because of inflation concerns, and even oil saw a nice drop of over $2.00 per barrel today. The Labor Department showed weekly jobless claims for unemployment benefits declined by 33,000 last week to 342,000, and that was slightly better than expectations. The Commerce Department gave really bad news though, as new home sales fell by 8.5% in March to an annual rate of 526,000 houses, the worst in more than fifteen years. Median home prices slid more than in almost 40 years. Below are the unofficial closing levels:

DJIA 12,843.09 (+79.87; +0.6%)
S&P500 1,388.58 ((+8.65, +0.6%))
NASDAQ 2,428.92 (+23.71; +0.99%)
10YR-TBond 3.827% (+0.097%)
52-WEEK LOWS

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) managed to climb up after opening soft as many noted there wasn't much sizzle to its guidance the stock after it blew past earnings yesterday. That didn't last and shares rose by more than 4% to $169.60 in the last minutes of the day.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) was a major surprise after the company managed to post a profit rather than a loss. Maybe the restructuring and shrinking to profitability really can work.

NextWave Wireless (NASDAQ: WAVE) saw a huge surge today after the company said it plans to sell its wireless spectrum to focus on WiMAX and other wireless technology offerings coming dopwn the pipe. Shares were up a monster 35% at $6.48 in the last minutes of the day.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) blew out earnings and guided significantly higher based on strong demand and price hikes. Shares actually sold off though as the fast money traders took major profits on a "Sell the news" trade. Shares were down over 4% at $195.50 in the final minutes of the day.

TASER International (NASDAQ: TASR) saw a hard day after the company disappointed with earnings today. Shares were down some 20% at $7.52 in the last minutes of the day.

True Religion Apparel Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG) saw a gain of more than 5% to $16.75 in the last minutes of the day after Morgan Keegan raised its rating to an Outperform.

Jon Ogg is a producer and editor of weekly "10 Stocks Under $10" newsletter for 247WallSt.com.

Tags: nextwave wireless, NextwaveWireless, true religion apparel, TrueReligionApparel, WAVE