FedEx guidance and housing data lift US stocks

Twenty-nine out of thirty Dow components ended higher

An increased forecast from FedEx and some better-than-expected new home sales figures sent the US stock market up solidly on Monday, 26 July 2010. With Monday's gains, stocks closed higher for third straight day. There weren't any major earnings announcements for traders to digest this morning. The dollar index fell against its competing currencies.



For the day, that ended on Monday, 26 July 2010, Dow ended higher by 100.81 points at 10,525.43. Nasdaq ended higher by 26.96 points at 2,296.43. S&P 500 ended higher by 12.35 points at 1,115.01.

All ten economic sectors ended strongly higher led by industrial, financial and telecom sectors. Twenty-nine out of thirty Dow components ended higher today led by Bank of America and Pfizer. Wal Mart was the sole laggard.

US stocks slipped at the open but then traded with modest gains following the housing data. But a late session rally helped stocks to finish with triple digit gains.

On Monday, FedEx raised its profit forecast for the first quarter and full year, citing better-than-expected growth in shipping volumes. Its shares were up 5.6%. This improved overall sentiment at Wall Street on Monday.

The only economic data scheduled for the day also checked in better than expected boosting overall sentiment. The Commerce Department in US reported on Monday, 26 July 2010 that U.S. sales of new homes rose 23.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000. The figure was better than expected. The report detailed that in June, the number of unsold new homes on the market slipped 1.4% to 210,000, the fewest since September 1968. That represented a 7.6-month supply at the June sales pace, less than the 9.6-month supply in May. The median sales price of $213,400 in June was down 0.6% compared with a year earlier.

The report also showed that new-home sales for May plummeted a revised 36.7% to a record low 267,000 level after a federal subsidy for home buyers expired. This is a steeper drop than the 32.7% fall and 300,000 in annualized sales that the government initially estimated.

In the currency market on Monday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by 0.2%.

Crude oil prices ended flat on Monday, 26 July 2010 at Nymex. Prices fluctuated throughout the day and rose earlier during the day following better than expected housing data. Then, prices pared early gains and settled flat for the day. On Monday, crude oil futures for light sweet crude for September delivery closed at $78.98/barrel (higher by $0.32 or 0.4%). Earlier during the day, prices rose to a high of $80. Natural gas for August delivery, the thinly traded front-month contract, gained 3 cents, or 0.7%, to $4.61 per million British thermal units.

Bullion metal prices ended mixed on Monday, 26 July 2010 at Comex. Gold prices dropped but silver rose after the housing report at Wall Street checked in better than expected. On Monday, gold for August delivery ended at $1,183.1 an ounce, lower by $4.7 (0.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices closed below the $1,200 mark for seventh consecutive session. September Comex silver futures ended higher by 1 cents (0.1%) at $18.2 an ounce. Prices rose due to the industrial appeal of the metal.

For every stock on the decline, more than four were rising on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume topped 1 billion shares, or 81% of the exchange's one-month average.

Barring Rediff.com, Dr Reddys and Patni Computers, all Indian ADRs ended higher on Monday. Wipro Technologies and Tata Motors were the main gainers soaring 1.2% and 1% respectively. Dr Reddys and Patni Computers shed 2.9% and 2.2% respectively.

Tomorrow, no economic data is expected but a number of companies are scheduled to report earnings. Economic data will pick up later in the week with Durable Orders and the Fed Beige Book due on Wednesday and the Advance reading for Q2 2010 GDP due on Friday.