Continuing its losing streak of the last six days, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down about 8.6 points to under 1,284. While more than 70% of companies have reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates, few have projected higher forward earnings. The S&P 500 is up 2.19% for the year but down 3.9% for the past five days of trading.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was up more than 4.35%, about 60 cents, to over about $14.50 on takeover speculation, specifically of the Warren Buffett type. The semiconductor is down for the week, month and quarter and beneath its 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages. It was downgraded on July 26 by Needham, which expects it to underperform.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:MPC), recently spun off from Marathon Oil, was up about a dollar to more than $45, about a 2.6% pickup. Continuing its surge since the spin-off earlier this summer, Marathon Petroleum is trading double digits above its 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages. MPC, which is up about 8% for the week, has been upgraded twice by analysts in late July.
Up about 1.6% to over $28, Allstate (NYSE:ALL) gained more than 45 cents in early morning action on numbers that pleased Wall Street. Allstate is down for the week, month and quarter with a relative strength index rating of 37.35. A relative strength index rating of 30 is the floor for a stock to be considered oversold.
Down more than 7%, Health Care REIT Inc. (NYSE:HCN) fell more than $3.70 to under $48 on Medicare cuts in the debt ceiling agreement. Health Care REIT is down for the week, month and quarter while trading beneath its 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages. It has a relative strength index rating of 29.07.
HCP (NYSE:HCP), another health care real estate investment trust, fell more than $2, or 5.5%, to below $34.30. HCP is down for the week, month and quarter and is selling for below its 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages. HCP has a relative strength index rating of 30.19.
Ventas (NYSE:VTR), another health care REIT, was down about 4%, a loss of around $2 to under $52 a share. While up for the month, it is off about 2.5% for the week, with a relative strength index rating of 36.53.
Jonathan Yates does not any of the stocks mentioned in this article.
