Today started out strong with a weaker dollar ahead of tomorrow's FOMC meeting. We have a slew of data coming out the rest of the week and tomorrow's commentary on securities purchases and liquidity programs should likely beat out the notion that rates are still staying at near-zero percent. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 9,829.27 +50.41 (0.52%)
S&P 500 1,071.63 +6.97 (0.65%)
Nasdaq 2,146.30 +8.26 (0.39%)
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Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was almost unbelievable as it rose with the whacky junk financial stocks. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund cut its stake in Citi from 9% down to below 5%, realizing a $1.6 billion profit. Citi shares were down over 4% at $20.99 late in the trading day.
Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) was down late in the day. This might fly against logic since Leerink Swann gave it an outperform rating and a $40.00 target, but this is after an almost 25% rise over the last week. Shares were down 1% at $29.13 late in the day.
Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) fell today despite reaffirming its full fiscal 2009 profit and sales guidance. The home improvement company still expects earnings of $1.13 to $1.21 per share compared to Thomson Reuters estimates of $1.20 per share. The company also said that it may write off up to $100 million in the second half of the year. Shares were down 4.3% at $21.00 late in the trading day.
Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) was lower but off lows after reports said that Sun Microsystems was losing $100 million per month while the E.U. tries to figure out of the deal will be anti-competitive. Shares were down 0.3% at $21.50 late in the trading day.
Smith International Inc. (NYSE: SII) was up big on elevated options trading. There may be some hope that a merger is coming as there has been consolidation in the oil services space.
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