Post Market News
Stocks that were active in U.S. trading on Friday were Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD) and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE:RBS) (LON:RBS).
Market Levels
- U.S.: Dow Jones: 15,345.84 (0.74%), S&P 500: 1,666.02 (+0.94%), Nasdaq: 3,498.97 (+0.97%)
- World Markets: Shanghai: 2,282.87 (+1.38%), Nikkei 225: 15,138.12 (+0.67%), Hang Seng Index: 23,082.68 (+0.17%), TSEC: 8,368.19 (-0.26%), FTSE 100: 6,723.06 (+0.53%), EURO STOXX 50: 2,817.99 (+0.40%), BSE Sensex: 20,286.12 (+0.19%)
- Metals: Gold: $1364.70 (-1.60%), Silver: $22.35 (-1.35%), Platinum: $1468 (-1.18%)
- Currency: EUR/USD: 1.2828 (-0.62%), USD/JPY: 103.19 (+1.12%), GBP/USD: 1.5171 (-0.89%), USD/CAD: 1.0284 (+1.15%), USD/CNY: 6.1412 (-0.13%), AUD/USD: 0.9736 (-1.03%)
- 10 year U.S. Treasury: 1.95% (+0.06), 30 year U.S. Treasury: 3.17% (+0.05)
Market & Economy Update
Data showed today that consumer sentiment index in the United States rose in early May to its highest levels in over five years as record stock prices and increasing real estate prices pushed up household wealth. The U.S. dollar rose past 103 against the yen, a level unseen since October 2008.
Stock markets ended the week on an upbeat note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 121.18 points to 15,354.40, the S&P 500 index rose 15.65 points to 1,666.12, while Nasdaq jumped 33.73 points to 3,498.97. Asian and European stock markets, too, closed the session higher.
Stocks In Focus
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)
Autodesk reported lower than expected first quarter earnings. Excluding one time items, the company earned 42 cents per share with $570 million in revenues, compared to the consensus estimate of 45 cents in earnings and $583 million in revenues. The software company issued downbeat guidance for the current quarter. Shares skidded 6.71 percent to end the session at $37.08.
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN)
The wireless equipment maker surprised Wall Street with a third quarter loss despite improvement in revenues due to rising expenses and higher taxes. Aruba’s second quarter guidance also fell short of analysts’ expectations. Shares tanked 25.61 percent to $13.10.
J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)
The struggling retailer posted a first quarter loss of $1.31 a share with $2.64 billion in revenues. Analysts were expecting $2.74 billion in sales and 89 cents in losses. J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) had suffered a loss of $1 billion last year. Same store sales declined 16.6 percent in the latest quarter compared to the same period of 2012. Shares were down 4.15 percent to $18.02 at the end of the trading session.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD)
The networking equipment maker reported a 19 percent increase in the second quarter earnings that were helped by falling expenses. However, revenues remained almost similar to the same quarter last year. Brocade issued pessimistic guidance for the current quarter. Shares plunged 3.48 percent to end the session at $5.51.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE:RBS) (LON:RBS)
The banking giant unveiled a restructuring plan to improve returns that includes 1,400 job cuts in its retail head office. RBS is 81 percent owned by the government. American shares of the company soared 6.39 percent to close the session at $10.33 a share.
