Crude oil tops $101; stocks end day unchanged
Oil moves higher as Iran threatens again to block the Strait of Hormuz. Sears shares fall 27% on news it will close 100 to 120 stores because of poor sales. Consumer confidence rises. Stocks are ending 2011 about flat.
Updated: 7:59 p.m. ETStocks started the last four days of a volatile year going nowhere.
It probably doesn't mean much. The week between Christmas and New Year's typically commands light volume because many big money managers take the week off. Today's volume -- less than 500 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange and roughly 960 million on Nasdaq -- looks to be the lightest of the year.
An increase in consumer confidence was offset by crude oil (-CL) topping $101 a barrel after Iran threatened again to block the Strait of Hormuz if oil sanctions are applied. Gold (-GC), however, was lower.
Meanwhile, a report showed home prices in 20 major markets fell more than expected in October from a year earlier. And shares of Sears Holdings (SHLD) were down $12.47 to $33.38 after the company said it would shut 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores -- about 5% of the total -- as the struggling retailer reported fewer sales during the all-important holiday season.
The Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) gave up a 34-point gain and finished down 3 points to 12,291. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) was flat at 1,265, and the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) gained 7 points to 2,625.
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Bank stocks, especially those of the largest banks, ended lower.
A second reason was that bank stocks have been such dogs in 2011 that many investors are selling this week to lock in tax losses.
The market heads into the last week of the year with the Dow up about 6.3%, its smallest gain annual since 2007. (There was, of course, the 2008 crash, that pushed the blue chips down 33.8%.)
Perhaps the most telling point about the market is the S&P 500's change for the year. As of today's s close, the index was up 0.6% for the year. That's the smallest change in a year, positive or negative, since 1970. The Nasdaq is off 1% for the year, its smallest positive or negative change since 2005.
The modest change for most indexes doesn't begin to tell the story of the year: big gains, followed by ugly sell-offs, followed by recoveries.
The market peaked on April 29, with the Dow up 7.1%, the S&P 500 up 8.2% and the Nasdaq off 10.7%. That rally was followed by worries about the economy, an ugly fight over the federal budget that resulted in a downgrade of U.S. debt by Standard & Poor's 500, and nonstop worries about Europe.
The market bottomed on Oct. 3, with the Dow off 8% for the year, the S&P 500 off 12.6% and the Nasdaq down 12%. The Dow is up 15.5% since then, with the S&P 500 gaining 15.3% and the Nasdaq rising 12.4%.
The market has been led by utility, consumer staples and health care stocks, although Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) and El Paso (EP) have been the top S&P 500 stocks this year.
The laggards have been financial stocks, down more than 17%. Bank of America (BAC), down 59% this year, has been the worst Dow stock and sixth-worst among S&P 500 stocks. Goldman Sachs (GS), down 45%, is the 20th-worst performer in the S&P 500.
On Wednesday, the market will face a weekly report on mortgage applications. Futures trading suggests a modestly lower open.
Crude oil moves up on Iranian threat
Crude oil settled up $1.66 to $101.47 a barrel on Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi's comment that his country would block the Strait of Hormuz if oil sanctions are applied against his country. Brent crude was up $1.06 to $109.02 a barrel.
The sanctions are among actions being considered as the United Nations considers how to get Iran to halt its nuclear development program. The big worry is that Iran is not building nuclear capacity to supply electricity, as it insists, but for nuclear weapons instead.
The national retail price of gasoline was $3.231, up from $3.213 a week ago, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge report, and up 5.1% for the year.
Energy stocks were mixed. Exxon Mobil (XOM) was up 6 cents to $85.28. Chevron (CVX) was up 48 cents to $107.98.
Gold, however, settled down $10.50 to $1,595.50 an ounce after dropping to as low as $1,591.10. Silver (-SI) was off 22.1 cents to $28.763 an ounce. Copper (-HG) was off 6.1 cents to $3.409 a pound.
| Energy prices -- New York close | ||||||||||||
| Tues. | Fri. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |||||||||
| Crude oil (-CL) | $101.34 | $99.68 | 0.98% | 10.90% | ||||||||
| (per barrel) | ||||||||||||
| Heating oil (-HO) | $2.9159 | $2.8995 | -3.61% | 14.63% | ||||||||
| (per gallon) | ||||||||||||
| Natural gas (-NG) | $3.1120 | $3.1140 | -12.34% | -29.35% | ||||||||
| (per mil. BTU) | ||||||||||||
| Unleaded gasoline (-RB) | $2.6810 | $2.6781 | 4.79% | 9.29% | ||||||||
| (per gallon) | ||||||||||||
| Brent crude | $109.27 | $107.96 | -1.36% | 15.06% | ||||||||
| (per barrel) | ||||||||||||
| Retail gasoline | $3.2310 | $3.2310 | -1.94% | 5.18% | ||||||||
| (per gallon; AAA) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. financial markets were closed Monday for Christmas. | ||||||||||||
A cheery consumer -- at least through the holidays
As the holidays approached, consumers were feeling better about their prospects.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index surged to 64.5 in December from 55.2 in November. Economists had expected a reading of 58. It was the highest reading in eight months.
The index -- along with the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index -- is watched closely as an indicator of future consumer spending. The Michigan index also has been moving higher.
The Conference Board’s confidence data showed a measure of present conditions increased to the highest level since September 2008. The measure of expectations for the next six months also climbed.
The share of consumers saying jobs were plentiful rose to the highest since January 2009, while those saying employment was hard to get decreased to the lowest since the same month.
The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home values in cities dropped 3.4% from October 2010 after decreasing 3.5% in the year ended in September. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had projected a 3.2% decline.
The real-estate market is bracing for another wave of foreclosures that pressure home prices, indicating that any housing recovery will take time to develop. Nonetheless, rising builder confidence, a pickup in construction and fewer unsold new properties for sale are among signs the industry that triggered the last recession is steadying.
Techs see some gains
The Nasdaq and the Nasdaq-100 ($NDX) were the market's leaders, thanks to gains for Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC), Cisco (CSCO) and, dare we say it, ResearchIn Motion (RIMM), up 95 cents to $14.87.
Semiconductor stocks were down slightly.
Apple was up $3.20 to $406.53 because of speculation that the iPad 3 will be introduced in late winter or early spring, with a new iPhone 5 due in February with an Apple television due in the fall.
"Steve Jobs’ hands are all over it," Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told CNBC today. The product will be watched closely as the first major product launch following the Oct. 5 death of the company’s visionary leader.
The Nasdaq-100 finished up 6 points to 2,293.
Sears prospects look dicey
There's a good reason that Sears Holdings is closing 100 to 120 of its almost 2,200 Kmart and Sears stores. Sales struggled in the third quarter. Same-store sales dropped 5.2% in the third quarter, the company said. Sears aims to reduce expenses and change its business model, said CEO Lou D’Ambrosio.
The larger question is whether the company can fix its Sears and Kmart stores. Sales have fallen every quarter for the last four years as its stores have lost market share to rivals like Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Target (TGT).
Sears said today that same-store sales are down 5.2% so far in the current quarter, including a 6% sales decline at domestic namesake stores.
Casino stocks jump
Casino stocks surged after a Justice Department opinion may have opened the doors to more online gambling run by states.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) rose $3.53 to $113.53; MGM International (MGM) added 46 cents to $10.42. Boyd Gaming (BYD) rose 68 cents to $7.63.
On Friday, the Justice Department appeared to reverse its previous position on Internet gambling, when it said federal law doesn't cover online betting that's not related to sporting events. The immediate effect may well be that the online sale of lottery tickets within a state does not violate federal law.
It may lead to full federal regulation of online gaming.
GE buys MetLife's bank; Mead Johnson says Enfamil has no bacteria
General Electric's (GE) GE Capital will acquire the depository business of MetLife Bank (MET) in a deal worth about $7.5 billion. The deal is part of MetLife’s plan to move away from being a bank holding company. MetLife was up 10 cents to $31.20. GE was down 22 cents to $18.01.
Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) rose $3.79 to $69.08. The maker of Enfamil baby formula called it safe, saying tests it conducted on samples of the formula tied to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration probe found no presence of bacteria.
Luxury homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) fell 10 cents to $1.32. Its shares may fall further as it struggles to generate cash and make interest payments, Barron’s reported.
Parlux Fragrances (PARL) gained $2.47 to $5.94, the top performer among Nasdaq stocks. The maker of Queen Latifah and Paris Hilton fragrances agreed to be purchased by Perfumania Holdings (PERF) for about $170 million in cash and stock. Perfumania declined $6.47 to $13.23.
| Short hits from the markets -- New York close | ||||||||||||
| Tues. | Fri. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |||||||||
| Treasury yields | ||||||||||||
| 13-week Treasury bill | 0.0500% | 0.030% | 400.00% | -58.33% | ||||||||
| 5-year Treasury note | 0.968% | 0.984% | 1.68% | -51.98% | ||||||||
| 10-year Treasury note | 2.009% | 2.030% | -2.85% | -39.21% | ||||||||
| 30-year Treasury bond | 3.039% | 3.064% | -0.75% | -30.33% | ||||||||
| Currencies | ||||||||||||
| U.S. Dollar Index | 80.135 | 80.236 | 2.09% | 1.07% | ||||||||
| British pound | 1.5681 | 1.5625 | -0.02% | 0.49% | ||||||||
| (in U.S. $) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. $ in pounds | £0.638 | £0.640 | 0.02% | -0.48% | ||||||||
| Euro in dollars | $1.31 | $1.31 | -2.72% | -2.28% | ||||||||
| (in U.S. $) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. $ in euros | € 0.765 | € 0.766 | 2.80% | 2.33% | ||||||||
| U.S. $ in yen | 78.00 | 77.99 | 0.23% | -4.13% | ||||||||
| U.S. $ in Chinese | 6.35 | 6.32 | -0.69% | -4.07% | ||||||||
| yuan | ||||||||||||
| Canada dollar | $0.982 | $0.000 | 0.09% | -2.13% | ||||||||
| (in U.S. $) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. dollar | $1.019 | $1.019 | -0.09% | 2.18% | ||||||||
| (in Canadian $) | ||||||||||||
| Commodities | ||||||||||||
| Gold (-GC) | $1,595.50 | $1,606.00 | -8.84% | 12.25% | ||||||||
| (per troy ounce) | ||||||||||||
| Copper (-HG) | $3.409 | $3.4695 | -4.66% | -23.34% | ||||||||
| (per pound) | ||||||||||||
| Silver (-SI) | $28.7400 | $29.084 | -12.39% | -7.10% | ||||||||
| (per troy ounce) | ||||||||||||
| Wheat (-ZW) | $6.4460 | $6.2200 | 5.01% | -18.82% | ||||||||
| (per bushel) | ||||||||||||
| Corn (-ZC) | $6.3325 | $6.20 | 4.15% | 1.73% | ||||||||
| (per bushel) | ||||||||||||
| Cotton | $0.8780 | 0.8699 | -3.42% | -39.37% | ||||||||
| (per pound) | ||||||||||||
| Coffee | $2.2285 | 2.1965 | -5.93% | -7.34% | ||||||||
| (per pound) | ||||||||||||
| Crude oil (-CL) | $101.34 | $99.68 | 0.98% | 10.90% | ||||||||
| (per barrel) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. financial markets were closed Monday for Christmas. | ||||||||||||
this is how it's always been. oil-wheat-cattle, etc. there is no changing it. only living with it. drive less. drive higher MPG cars. eat less. government will not stop it
It really amazes me what oil traders and speculators are allowed to get away with on Wall Street. Prices have nothing to do with supply and demand, it is all speculation. There will always be threats from other countries, but is it justified to hike prices for things that may never take place? They do because they can get away with it as they answer to nobody. There is nothing right now to justify crude oil at $101 dollars a barrel. All they are doing is screwing the comsumer and making big oil and themselves richer. This may not seem like a big deal right now people as gas prices have come down some, but believe me it will be an issue when they skyrocket once again. Demand is still weak and we have plenty of oil, but this is just another excuse with Iran for the traders to jack it up some more. This will continue until something is done to slow them down. Call your representatives in Congress and tell them to support stiffer regulations on oil traders and speculators or have crude oil taken out of the commodity market. If not, we all will pay dearly once again because of Trader Greed.
Quoted text:
Crude oil moved up to $101.47 a barrel on Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi's comment that his country would block the Strait of Hormuz if oil sanctions are applied against his country.
It doesn't really matter what the topic will be to jack up OIL prices...it could be Sunny & 72 degrees with total peace on Earth & these jerks on Wall Street will raise the price because they CAN & WILL & Government will not step in to control these money rapists!!! It just sounds better or justifies it if Wall Street can blame it on something else like the quoted text.
...and there it is...oil tops $101/barrel. I called this a month ago. In just a few days, gas will be $3.50/gallon or better. Do you think you were played by big oil over the holiday shopping season? lulled into a false sense of security with cheap gas ? Bought that new car that only gets 18/mpg because you thought gas was coming down? FOOLS!!!!
Is this truly any surprise to anyone with the way its been going the last few years?
Iran threatened again to block the Strait of Hormuz
Let them go right ahead. We need to get this thing over with anyway. All we need is
a good excuse and this just might be it. This plus 9/11 should equal the end of our
problems in the middle east. If we don't want to take the job, then farm it out to Isreal.
I'm sure there itching for a fight.
The speculators are at it again. I think the Gov is going to shut them down for good. They need to set it up so that we buy and sell at the days price not at a speculated price.
The speculators need to have to buy at the price they jack it up to. Th strait(HORMUZ) they are talking about closing won't affect it at all. Down with the speculators and the hedge funds. They are all CROOKS!!!!!
I hope they lose it alll!!!!
Reported on 12/20/2011 - After Holiday trips have come to end this year, the average American will have spent $4,115 this year filling up. Gas averaged $3.50/gal. Over the past decade, gas has taken up 5.7 percent of the family budget. This increase is the highest in 30years.
If oil and gas prices could be reeled in to a reasonable level, you'd see the economy rebound quickly. This is not rocket science, and everyone recognizes it, but nothing is done. Greed is the problem.
simply one more reason to F the middle east and get out of there!
but we will never leave. too much money involved there
Iran threatened again to block the Strait of Hormuz
So the world will stand by and do nothing? Don't think so. Welcome to WWIII. I'm building a underground bunker. Those old missile silos look pretty good now.
But maybe we can just stiff the Chinese.
mr. franks"
my son is 33 married and has 1 child, rents my home and i tell hime that the reason i did what i did is so you can save money, they spend all their money on crap, ipod's and games. yep everything i own is going to my granddaughter, and she can't touch it till she is 28 or 30 haven't made up my mind yet, hopefully this will support her in case of emergency in this country. i also am hopeing to buy a home way the hell up in the north woods to keep away from problems.
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