Down more than 9% for the week and now more than 9% for the year, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index continued to fall, dropping more than 45 points to under 1,128, a loss of about 3.9%. Yesterday was the biggest gain for the S&P in two years, but it could not hold on thanks to investor concerns about the U.S. and global economy. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing stocks by better than 4-to-1 in the morning session.
Concerns about the mortgage business and the housing market had Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) continuing to plunge, down another 8% to under $5.90, a loss of more than 50 cents per share, as the filing of its 8K did not contain numbers that pleased investors. For the month, Genworth is down more than 40% because of dim hopes for the mortgage insurer.
Down about 15%, a loss of around $4.75, Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE:CSC) fell under $27 per share as Wall Street did not like what was found in its 8K, as it clarified that 1Q earnings were lower than the consensus because of tax benefits. CSC is trading more than 20% below its 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages.
With its performance tied to employment growth and the economy, Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) was off more than $1, about 8%, to move beneath $12.20. Staples is now down more than 13% for the week. It is trading more than 20% beneath its 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages.
Higher earnings than expected had Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) making a stylish statement, gaining about $7.50 per share to over $127 in the morning session. Stronger sales had profits higher for the upscale retailer. For the year, Ralph Lauren is up more than 40%.
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) was up about 67 cents per share to $42, picking up about %1.65 in early buying and selling as its announced purchase of the credit card unit of Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corp. met with investor approval. With a relative strength index rating of 34.70, Capital One is just above the 30 standard for a stock to be considered oversold. It is down about 10% for the week and 20% for the month.
Another high-end retailer, Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL), was up more than $1.40 per share, picking up more than 1.5% to over $93.50 on its earnings “sneak peek.” Estee Lauder is expected to post net income of 24 cents per share Monday, based on analyst estimates. Estee Lauder is down about 10% for the week, month and year.
Jonathan Yates does not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.
