End-of-Day Market Summary for December 14, 2011
This is your Benzinga news summary and traders' summary for Wednesday, December 14, 2011, covering headlines from Wednesday's trading session.
Today at market close, the Dow Jones Index traded down about 131.46 points or 1.1%, the S&P 500 traded 1.13% lower, the Nasdaq Composite Index traded down 1.55%, and the U.S. dollar trades slightly higher near the $81.25 level.
Earlier today, Goldman Sachs upgraded Post Properties (NYSE: PPS) to buy and Citi upgraded Geo Group (NYSE: GEO) to Buy. View all of today's upgrades here.
Piper Jaffray downgraded First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to Neutral and Jefferies downgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Hold. View all of today's downgrades here.
Overseas, European markets ended their trading session mixed. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 2.25%, Germany's DAX decreased by 1.72% and France's CAC 40 slid by 3.33% on the session. Asian stocks ended their session lower. China's Shanghai Index lost 0.86%, Japan's Nikkei 225 decreased by 0.39%, and the Hang Seng index lost 0.5%.
On the economic calendar, MBA Mortgage Applications 4.1% vs 12.8% Prior; November Import Price Index (MoM) 0.7% vs 1.0% Est; November Import Price Index (YoY) 9.9% vs 10.2% Est. On the commodity front, gold and silver futures traded lower today, with gold trading about 0.6% lower today. Energy futures are lower, with crude oil down over 5% near the $94.90 level and gasoline futures are trading lower by about 4.7%. Natural Gas futures are lower by about 4.3% and copper futures are trading over 0.3% lower.
On the earnings front this afternoon, VeriFone Systems Reports Q4 EPS $0.53 vs $0.51 Est; Revenues $410.7M vs $406.45M Est; Rick's Cabaret International Reports Q4 EPS $0.20 vs $0.24 Est; Revenues $21.50M vs $22.23M Est.
In corporate news, BioSante Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BPAX) announced that its two Phase III drugs did not meet primary or secondary endpoints.
Mistras Group (NYSE: MG) announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract by The Shaw Group; terms undisclosed.
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) announced that Clara Shih will join its board of directors, serving on the Board's Nominating and Corporate Committee.
Today's movers include:
ViroPharma Inc (NASDAQ: VPHM) +15.2% on heavy volume
Synageva BioPharma Corp (NASDAQ: GEVA) +9.4% on positive analyst comments
Bio-Reference Laboratories (NASDAQ: BRLI) +8.1% on heavy volume
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) -21.3% after issuing poor 2011 and 2012 guidance estimates
Hyperdynamics Corp (NYSE: HDY) -19% on heavy volume
Silicon Graphics International (NASDAQ: SGI) -18.4% after its CEO stepped down from position to serve as an executive at another company
This concludes your news summary for December 14, 2011
