Economic data was mixed today. GDP for Q1 was revised to less-bad, but not as much as expected. Confidence was higher in a University of Michigan report, but purchasing manager data in Chicago took an expected dip. All in all, this was one of those trading days where you had no clue where the market was going to be up or down until the last ten minutes of the day. Fortunately, that was up. The DJIA went negative at least four times today.
Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA
S&P500
NASDAQ
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) was basically flat after beating earnings estimates by one penny per share. The company did not call a bottom in tech spending at all, but also noted it was preparing for a powerful replacement cycle in PC sales. Shares were down 0.3% at $11.44 late in the day.
DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) rose by over 10% and was at $8.14 late in the day. The company's SEC report seems to indicate that the immediate funding needs are mostly addressed after getting waivers for the remainder of the debt.
General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) is almost certainly heading into an Administration-led bankruptcy on Monday. Common stock holders should assume little to no residual value and the NewCo stock will likely not trade for 6 to 18 months. As noted, GM's stock broke the buck.
Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) took a big hit today after UBS decided to downgrade the stock's rating to a SELL. Shares were down 10% at $1.05 ahead of the close.
MasterCard (NYSE: MA) was given a positive article in "Inside Wall Street" in Business Week. The publication said MA should outperform rival Visa based upon lower debt and relative underperformance so far.
Have a great weekend.
Google's plan for netbook PCs moves higher into the clouds
Closing Bell: Stock bulls and dollar death (DDRX,GMCR, PEET, SBUX, EBAY, CI, TECD)
So long peak oil, here comes peak uranium
