Today was supposed to be all about GDP. We got a mere 1% preliminary reported drop in Q2 GDP, much narrower than the -1.5% expected. Yet the market sold off on the news. The the indexes spent much of the day deciding whether to stay up or to go down. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 9,171.39 +16.93 (0.18%)
S&P 500 987.44 +0.69 (0.07%)
Nasdaq 1,978.50 -5.80 (-0.29%)
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was a shocker if you were just expecting the news headlines to rule the roost. The company blew earnings expectations away, but its guidance is tarnished because of a German rebate program. Shares were off by more than 10% at $155.25 late in the trading day.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) spent all day giving back yesterday's gains and then some. Its earnings loss widened and shareholders have decided to take come profits after a 600% or so rise from the absolute bottom. This was off by more than 16% at $9.38 late in the session.
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) took another beating today. Goldman Sachs downgraded it to sell after yesterday's earnings. Shares were down another 13% at $1.22 right before the closing bell.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) was the beneficiary of and victim of a dueling analyst group. A call to buy and sell came out today from different analysts after yesterday's earnings. Shares were down only by a penny at $7.18 in the final minutes of trading.
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