First Quarter Contraction, Interest Rate Worries and Greek Debt Hamper Markets

Originally published: 06.16.15 by Margot Crabtree

Wall Street was beset from many directions and, despite the S&P 500 Index reaching a few new highs, markets ended in negative terrain as the trading session ended June 15, 2015.

The University of Michigan's sentiment index fell to 90.7 in May, from 95.9 in April, the lowest reading since November. Even so, the index in 2015 has hovered at levels not seen since 2004.

The Commerce Department said the contraction of the U.S. economy in the first three months of the year was brought on by bad winter weather and a larger trade deficit. As June began, a stronger jobs report renewed interest rate hike fears. U.S employers added 280,000 jobs to payrolls in May. Economists polled by Reuters expected an increase of 225,000.

The Commerce Department reported construction spending rose in April to the best level in more than six years, and as the trading session ended, homebuilders' confidence shot up to 59 in June, from 54 in May.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index said builders show more confidence in their sales outlook than they have since fall. Their projections for sales over the next six months is the strongest it's been in 10 years.

The Institute

for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose to 52.8 in May, from 51.5 the month before, increasing for the first time in six months. U.S. retail sales grew more than expected, up 1.2 percent in May, on cars and an array of other items.

The Commerce Department also reported that business stockpiles in the U.S. rose 0.4 percent in April, the strongest increase since March 2014. The gains follow a months of stockpiles remaining flat or falling.

The failure of negotiators to ink a deal to resolve Greece's debt crisis, however, weighed most heavily on markets.

"All eyes, including our own, are on Greece," said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank. "This is a grand experiment and if it were to go awry, it would certainly have implications."

Exchange	Symbol	Company Name	Price 7/15/14	Price 6/15/14	Net Change	PercentChange	52-Week High	52-Week Low	Shares Outstanding	Market Capitalization
NASD	AAON	AAON, Inc.	23.55	23.14	0.41	1.77%	25.17	16.78	54140	1274997
NYSE	ABB	ABB Ltd.	22.51	22.21	0.30	1.35%	24.15	19.14	2240000	50422400
NYSE	ARG	Airgas, Inc.	105.01	103.04	1.97	1.91%	119.00	99.61	75510	7929305.1
NYSE	AOS	AO Smith Corp.	72.78	69.76	3.02	4.33%	73.50	44.60	76050	5534919
NYSE	FIX	Comfort Systems USA, Inc.	23.05	22.40	0.65	2.90%	23.96	12.63	36860	849623
NYSE	DOV	Dover Corp.	71.89	75.95	-4.06	-5.35%	91.84	67.13	160380	11529718.2
NASD	ELON	Echelon Corp.	0.90	0.93	-0.03	-3.23%	2.74	0.89	44050	39645
NYSE	DD	E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.	69.05	70.25	-1.20	-1.71%	80.65	63.70	905240	62506822
NYSE	EME	EMCOR Group, Inc.	47.01	45.83	1.18	2.57%	48.06	38.68	62690	2947056.9
NYSE	EMR	Emerson Electric Co.	58.70	60.19	-1.49	-2.48%	68.80	54.95	668300	39229210
NYSE	FCAU	Fiat Chrysler	15.51	15.45	0.06	0.39%	17.08	8.54	1290000	20007900
NYSE	F	Ford Motor Co.	15.05	15.48	-0.43	-2.78%	18.12	13.26	3900000	58695000
NYSE	GM	General Motors Co.	35.46	34.91	0.55	1.58%	38.99	28.82	1610000	57090600
NYSE	HON	Honeywell International, Inc.	103.44	106.85	-3.41	-3.19%	107.10	82.89	781710	80860082.4
NASD	HDSN	Hudson Technologies, Inc.	4.03	4.12	-0.09	-2.18%	4.80	2.60	32360	130410.8
NYSE	IR	Ingersoll-Rand Plc	69.04	70.91	-1.87	-2.64%	70.93	52.47	264720	18276268.8
NYSE	JCI	Johnson Controls, Inc.	51.58	50.48	1.10	2.18%	54.52	38.60	654830	33776131.4
NYSE	LII	Lennox International Inc.	113.60	114.06	-0.46	-0.40%	118.43	72.91	45000	5112000
NYSE	LXU	LSB Industries, Inc.	43.15	42.76	0.39	0.91%	47.33	28.91	22730	980799.5
NYSE	MTW	Manitowoc Co., Inc.	19.66	19.62	0.04	0.20%	33.50	16.24	136150	2676709
NYSE	MLI	Mueller Industries, Inc.	35.41	35.97	-0.56	-1.56%	37.18	27.10	56930	2015891.3
NYSE	NWL	Newell Rubbermaid, Inc.	40.60	40.08	0.52	1.30%	41.33	30.45	268700	10909220
OTC	NSANY	Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.	20.40	21.46	-1.06	-4.94%	21.75	16.65	2100000	42840000
NASD	NTK	Nortek, Inc.	84.00	84.00	0.00	0.00%	92.30	70.73	16270	1366680
NASD	OFLX	OmegaFlex, Inc.	35.30	31.12	4.18	13.43%	39.46	15.93	10090	356177
NYSE	PH	Parker-Hannifin Corp.	118.20	122.33	-4.13	-3.38%	133.41	99.82	138680	16391976
NYSE	RBC	Regal-Beloit Corp.	75.86	79.64	-3.78	-4.75%	81.36	62.15	44810	3399286.6
NYSE	ROK	Rockwell Automation	123.90	124.37	-0.47	-0.38%	127.88	98.55	134580	16674462
OTC	SIEGY	Siemens Aktiengesellschaft	104.52	110.00	-5.48	-4.98%	136.27	103.20	835250	87300330
NYSE	SPW	SPX Corp.	71.47	76.83	-5.36	-6.98%	111.47	70.92	41030	2932414.1
NYSE	TXN	Texas Instruments	53.04	55.61	-2.57	-4.62%	59.99	41.47	1040000	55161600
NYSE	UTX	United Technologies Corp.	114.61	118.49	-3.88	-3.27%	124.45	97.30	890200	102025822
NYSE	WSO	Watsco, Inc.	122.58	126.31	-3.73	-2.95%	131.10	84.28	27570	3379530.6

 

The HVACR Business Stock Index slid 29.56 points, or 2.26 percent, and closed at 1279.54. Declining issues bypassed advancing issues by a 19-to-13 count.

Siemens fell 5.48 points, or 4.98 percent. Siemens will provide turbines for a $3 billion offshore wind farm for ScottishPower Renewables.

"Selecting the turbine supplier will be the single largest agreement for East Anglia One, and the most significant in terms of achieving important cost-reduction goals," Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, said in a statement.

SIEGY closed at 104.52, and was the top dollar loser.

A.O. Smith increased 3.02 points, or 4.33 percent. Investment firm Maxim Group upped their target price on AOS to $78, from $72. AOS climbed to several new 52-week highs following the upgrade, topping out at a high of 73.50 on June 12. Zacks upgraded AOS to "buy" from "hold." AOS ended at 72.78.

Despite an upgrade, shares of SPX Corp slid 5.36 points, or 6.98 percent. Investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SPW to a "focus list" rating. SPW ended at 71.47, and was the top percentage loser.

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Margot Crabtree is president of Trade Trends, Inc., a financial data services provider. She has been offering market analysis with customized stock indices and financial commentaries since 1999. For additional information, visit  www.tradetrendsonline.com. 

 

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About Margot Crabtree

Margot is president of Trade Trends, Inc., a financial data services provider. She has been offering market analysis with customized stock indices and financial commentaries since 1999. For additional information, visit tradetrendsonline.com.

 

 

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Articles by Margot Crabtree