After recent heavy action in morning sessions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was relatively light in Thursday’s opening session and was up just 14 points to 11,428. Traders were waiting to hear what President Barack Obama has to say Thursday night in his address to the nation about creating more jobs. Recent jobless claims rose more than expected, and consumer confidence is at an all-time low, with the great majority of Americans expecting economic matters to worsen.
Financials were off again as the Federal Reserve was considering moves to revitalize the U.S. economy, according to a front-page article in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal. Bullish sentiment was at 55% in early-morning buying and selling, with stocks hitting new highs outnumbering those hitting new lows by a 2-to-1 margin in the broader market.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was continuing in its role as the leading loser in the Dow for 2011, off by more than 2%, about 15 cents, to under $7.30. More layoffs and 600 branch shutdowns are ahead for Bank of America, which recently announced major personnel changes that essentially split the bank into two divisions: one to service consumers, the other for commercial accounts. Bank of America is down more than 7% for the week and more than 43% for the year.
Financial sector woes continued with Travelers (NYSE:TRV), which was down about 1% to under $49.50, losing about 50 cents a share. For the week, Travelers is up around 1% and up over 4% for the month.
Losing about 10 cents, or around 0.65%, to under $15.70 was General Electric (NYSE:GE). The U.S. reportedly is preparing to sue subprime lenders, which could ensnare General Electric. A Warren Buffett favorite, GE is down more than 20% in the past six months of trading.
Techs were leading the morning gainers, with Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) rising more than 2%, a gain of more than 30 cents per share, to around $16.20. Cisco was upgraded to a “buy” by Auriga Securities on Thursday morning. Cisco also was upgraded to a “buy” on Aug. 11 by Wunderlich. Cisco is up more than 13% for the month but down more than 20% for the year to date.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also was up more than 2% to over $26.50, picking up more than 50 cents per share. Microsoft announced the signing of several patent agreements this morning and is reported to be making a major move into tablets. Many recent articles have suggested Microsoft might increase its dividend and implement a share buyback program, as it has more than $50 billion in cash on the books.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) was over $71 in early buying and selling, up more than 40 cents, or 0.6%. Coca-Cola, viewed as a safe-haven stock, is at its 52-week high. Coca-Cola is up more than 1.3% for the week, more than 8% for the month, more than 9% for the quarter and more than 26% for the year.
Jonathan Yates does not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.
