Markets Start Earnings Season on a Positive Upturn

Originally published: 04.18.16 by Margot Crabtree

Economic data from previous months reflected a slowing global marketplace and the ravages of rock-bottom oil prices, but the gloom was moderated as earnings season began and our trading session ended April 15, 2016.

It began with a National Association of Realtors existing home sales report sliding 7.1 percent in February, switching from months of gains as low inventories escalated prices and dampened sales.

On the flip side, the Commerce Department said that new home sales rose 2 percent, on the back of home sales in the West, which jumped 38.5 percent in February after huge declines in January.

The National Association of Realtors said that contracts to buy homes increased in February, with a spike in the Midwest, as its pending home sales index increased 3.5 percent to 109.1, its highest level since July 2015. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index remained flat in March, at 58.

The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose to 51.8 in March, from February's 49.5; any number above 50 signals expansion. This ends five months of declines in factory activity. The Federal Reserve said factory output fell in March for the second straight month, down 0.3 percent,

after a 0.1 percent decline in February.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 91 in March, from 91.7 in February, its lowest level since October, as people reviewed the country's economic outlook. Conversely, the Conference Board's consumer confidence improved to 96.2 in March after a 94 reading in February.

"The market has been expecting earnings to be absolutely terrible and they are, but they're not quite as terrible as everyone thought and things are looking better ahead," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Massachusetts. "When you combine not-as-bad today with the promise of a better tomorrow, that says that perhaps there's more upside and the market is starting to react to that."

 

Exchange	Symbol	Company Name	Price 4/15/16	Price 3/15/16	Net Change	PercentChange	52-Week High	52-Week Low	Shares Outstanding	Market Capitalization
NASD	AAON	AAON, Inc.	27.27	25.47	1.80	7.07%	28.28	18.85	53070	1447218.9
NYSE	ABB	ABB Ltd.	19.79	18.35	1.44	7.85%	23.66	15.74	2190000	43340100
NYSE	ARG	Airgas, Inc.	142.00	141.35	0.65	0.46%	142.24	86.09	72430	10285060
NYSE	AOS	AO Smith Corp.	79.23	73.20	6.03	8.24%	81.15	50.09	74760	5923234.8
NYSE	FIX	Comfort Systems USA, Inc.	32.81	28.83	3.98	13.81%	35.00	13.37	37200	1220532
NYSE	DOV	Dover Corp.	65.98	61.49	4.49	7.30%	78.21	50.91	155120	10234817.6
NASD	ELON	Echelon Corp.	5.41	6.00	-0.59	-9.83%	12.10	4.71	4420	23912.2
NYSE	DD	E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.	65.27	62.83	2.44	3.88%	75.72	47.11	871680	56894553.6
NYSE	EME	EMCOR Group, Inc.	48.46	45.85	2.61	5.69%	52.37	40.98	60660	2939583.6
NYSE	EMR	Emerson Electric Co.	55.32	50.79	4.53	8.92%	62.75	41.25	643120	35577398.4
NYSE	FCAU	Fiat Chrysler	7.52	7.60	-0.08	-1.05%	11.01	5.78	1290000	9700800
NYSE	F	Ford Motor Co.	12.94	13.23	-0.29	-2.19%	16.10	10.44	3910000	50595400
NYSE	GM	General Motors Co.	30.56	31.05	-0.49	-1.58%	37.45	24.62	1550000	47368000
NYSE	HON	Honeywell International, Inc.	114.63	108.68	5.95	5.47%	114.99	87.00	761340	87272404.2
NASD	HDSN	Hudson Technologies, Inc.	3.56	3.48	0.08	2.30%	4.75	2.45	32850	116946
NYSE	IR	Ingersoll-Rand Plc	63.77	58.64	5.13	8.75%	70.93	47.08	256850	16379324.5
NYSE	JCI	Johnson Controls, Inc.	39.17	37.66	1.51	4.01%	54.52	33.62	648240	25391560.8
NYSE	LII	Lennox International Inc.	140.84	132.88	7.96	5.99%	142.49	104.94	43600	6140624
NYSE	LXU	LSB Industries, Inc.	13.41	10.25	3.16	30.83%	47.33	3.68	23470	314732.7
NYSE	MTW	Manitowoc Co., Inc.	4.79	4.22	0.57	13.51%	20.85	4.00	137020	656325.8
NYSE	MLI	Mueller Industries, Inc.	30.49	27.45	3.04	11.07%	37.11	23.09	57180	1743418.2
NYSE	NWL	Newell Rubbermaid, Inc.	44.33	41.37	2.96	7.15%	50.90	33.26	268070	11883543.1
OTC	NSANY	Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.	18.38	19.07	-0.69	-3.62%	21.92	16.57	2100000	38598000
NASD	NTK	Nortek, Inc.	48.18	44.42	3.76	8.46%	92.96	33.85	16310	785815.8
NASD	OFLX	OmegaFlex, Inc.	35.91	34.12	1.79	5.25%	43.20	25.87	10090	362331.9
NYSE	PH	Parker-Hannifin Corp.	113.72	108.23	5.49	5.07%	125.33	83.32	135100	15363572
NYSE	RBC	Regal-Beloit Corp.	67.19	58.61	8.58	14.64%	81.36	47.77	44670	3001377.3
NYSE	ROK	Rockwell Automation	116.86	107.18	9.68	9.03%	127.05	87.53	131420	15357741.2
OTC	SIEGY	Siemens Aktiengesellschaft	104.43	100.83	3.60	3.57%	111.49	86.58	807730	84351243.9
NYSE	SPXC	SPX Corp.	16.91	12.86	4.05	31.49%	21.48	7.62	41860	707852.6
NYSE	TXN	Texas Instruments	58.93	55.73	3.20	5.74%	59.67	43.49	1010000	59519300
NYSE	UTX	United Technologies Corp.	104.57	96.29	8.28	8.60%	119.66	83.39	876730	91679656.1
NYSE	WSO	Watsco, Inc.	135.42	127.88	7.54	5.90%	136.43	106.58	27480	3721341.6

 

The HVACR Business Stock Index rose 54.28 points, or 4.84 percent, and closed at 1175.02. Advancing issues dominated declining issues by a 28-to-5 count.

Rockwell Automation jumped 9.68 points, or 9.03 percent. ROK's board approved an additional $1 billion to its share repurchase program, which expands the program initially authorized in 2014 at $1 billion in buy-backs. Morgan Stanley increased its price target on Rockwell to $101, from $91. ROK will announce earnings in late April. Rockwell ended at 116.86, and was the top dollar gainer.

Despite posting record sales in March, shares of Nissan fell 0.69 points, or 3.62 percent. NSANY sold more vehicles in the U.S. in the month, at 163,559, than in any previous month, and 12.7 percent ahead of a year ago. It missed Edwards.com analysts' expectations of 14.4 percent growth, but exceeded Kelly Blue Book projections of 9.6 percent. Nissan closed at 18.38, and was the top dollar loser.

SPX Corp. rose 4.05 points, or 31.49 percent after reporting the completion of its dry cooling business to India's Parharpur Cooling Towers Limited, for about $48 million. Credit Suisse upgraded SPXC to "outperform" from "neutral." SPX Corp. ended at 16.91, and was the top percentage gainer.

 

 

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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