Dow Breaks Four Day Losing Streak As Calm Restores Last Week's Jittery Market - Air Lease (NYSE:AL), American Intl Gr (NYSE:AIG)

U.S. stocks rallied to start the week on a positive note.

Investors are looking for bullish signs that can erase last weeks declines as the S&P 500 had its largest weekly drop since 2012 and the Volatility Index surged more than 30 percent.

Portugal's Central Bank plans to spend 4.9 billion euros to save Banco Espirito Santo by splitting the troubled bank in to a “good bank” named Novo Banco and a “bad bank” which contains troubled assets that have exposure to Espirito Santo.

The Dow gained 0.46 percent, closing at 16,569.28.
The S&P 500 gained 0.72 percent, closing at 1,938.99.
The Nasdaq gained 0.72 percent, closing at 4,383.89.
Gold lost 0.43 percent, trading at $1,289.20 an ounce.
Oil gained 0.73 percent, trading at $98.59 a barrel.
Silver lost 0.77 percent, trading at $20.22 an ounce.

News of Note

Gallup US Consumer Spending rose to $94 in July from $91 in June.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades of Note

Analysts at UBS maintained a Neutral rating on 3D Systems DDD with a price target lowered to $50 from a previous $51. Shares lost 1.38 percent, closing at $47.27.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets upgraded Air Lease AL to Top Pick from Outperform with an unchanged $49 price target. Shares gained 2.95 percent, closing at $35.55.

Analysts at Credit Suisse maintained an Underperform rating on CBOE Holdings CBOE with a price target lowered to $48 from a previous $49. Shares lost 1.03 percent, closing at $49.20.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Chevron CVX to Equal-weight from Overweight. Shares gained 0.21 percent, closing at $128.17.

Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating on Church & Dwight CHD with a price target lowered to $71 from a previous $73. Shares lost 0.12 percent, closing at $65.57.

Analysts at Miller Tabak upgraded Domino's Pizza DPZ to Buy from Hold with an unchanged $81 price target. Shares gained 1.61 percent, closing at $71.30.

Analysts at Argus Research maintained a Buy rating on Eaton ETN with a price target raised to $81 from a previous $78. Shares gained 0.74 percent, closing at $67.68.

Analysts at Jefferies maintained a Hold rating on FMC Corp FMC with a price target lowered to $74 from a previous $78. Shares gained 0.17 percent, closing at $65.59.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets downgraded Kodiak Oil KOG to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target raised to $16 from a previous $15. Also, analysts at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey maintained a Neutral rating on Kodiak Oil with a price target lowered to $14 from a previous $15. Shares gained 4.96 percent, closing at $15.45.

Analysts at Barclays upgraded Mellanox Technologies MLNX to Equal-weight from Underweight with a price target raised to $45 from a previous $36. Shares gained 0.53 percent, closing at $42.05.

Analysts at Barclays downgraded QLogic QLGC to Equal-weight from Overweight with a price target lowered to $10 from a previous $13. Shares lost 1.97 percent, closing at $8.94.

Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating on Sprint S with a price target lowered to $9 from a previous $9.50. Shares lost 1.07 percent, closing at $7.37.

Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Buy rating on Starbucks SBUX with a price target raised to $91 from a previous $84. Shares gained 0.69 percent, closing at $77.51.

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Steel Dynamics STLD TO Buy from Hold. Shares gained 3.49 percent, closing at $21.65.

Analysts at Evercore Partners upgraded T-Mobile U.S. TMUS to Overweight from Equal-weight with a price target raised to $40 from a previous $34. Also, analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating on T-Mobile with a price target raised to $35 from a previous $32.50. Shares gained 0.81 percent, closing at $33.69.

Analysts at UBS maintained a Neutral rating on Teva Pharmaceutical TEVA with a price target raised to $54 from a previous $50. Shares lost 2.26 percent, closing at $52.80.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Transocean RIG to Sell from Hold with a price target lowered to $27 from a previous $45. Shares lost 2.37 percent, closing at $39.49.

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded United States Steel X to Buy from Hold. Also, analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded U.S. Steel to Buy from Hold with a price target raised to $40 from a previous $28. Shares gained 1.67 percent, closing at $34.00.

Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating on Whole Foods Market WFM with a price target lowered to $40 from a previous $41. Shares gained 0.24 percent, closing at $37.95.

Equities-Specific News of Note

General Electric GE plans to invest $2 billion in several African countries by 2018. Shares lost 0.32 percent, closing at $25.27.

Darden Restaurants DRI made claims that Starboard Value issued misleading statements over its sale of Red Lobster. The company also warned investors that if Starboard is successful in replacing the entire board of directors, the company could see its $2.20 annual dividend reduced or completely eliminated. Shares gained 2.60 percent, closing at $47.86.

McDonald's MCD plans to restore its entire menu in China later on this week. The company noted that the food safety issue in China will negatively impact its near-term results but the company can not estimate the impact on its full year results at this time. Shares gained 0.01 percent, closing at $94.31.

Analysts at OTR Global reported that GT Advanced Technologies GTAT will most likely be tasked with supplying sapphire cover for the iWatch. Share gained 1.28 percent, closing at $14.13.

Honda Motors HMC reported that its July sales in China fell 22.7 percent from a year ago to 39,543. Shares lost 0.29 percent, closing at $34.50.

According to The National, a spokesperson from Soros Fund Management confirmed that George Soros sold off his stake in Israeli based SodaStream. SODA The report was later confirmed by Bloomberg. Shares lost 2.67 percent, closing at $33.14.

Evercore Partners EVR confirmed that it will issue up to eight million share equivalents to finance its acquisition of ISI Group. Evercore Partners believes the acquisition will be accretive to its EPS in 2015 and may be “meaningfully accretive” in 2016 and beyond. Shares lost 1.22 percent, closing at $49.52.

Wal-Mart WMT is introducing a new version of its website which will show visitors a personalized content based on preferences and locations. Shares finished the day unchanged at $73.54.

Jana Partners continues its push for a sale of PetSmart PETM and said that there several potential acquirers for the company. Shares gained 0.98 percent, closing at $68.09.

Freeport McMoRan FCX may start exporting copper out of Indonesia as soon as Wednesday after reaching an agreement with the government. Shares gained 1.25 percent, closing at $37.24.

Winners of Note

The FDA approved Lannet Company's LCI generic oxycodone 5 mg treatment. The company confirmed that it will begin shipping the treatment in the next several months. Shares gained 5.35 percent, closing at $35.87.

Politicians in Colorado have reached an agreement to remove anti-fracking initiatives from the ballot. The politicians plan to form a task force to create regulations to minimize conflicts over the oil and gas facilities within the state. The politicians also plan to withdraw two initiatives which would have tightened controls for the oil companies. Shares of Noble Energy NBL gained 5.21 percent, closing the day at $70.23 while shares of Anadarko Petroleum APC gained 4.84 percent, closing at $110.73.

Decliners of Note

This morning, Michael Kors KORS reported its first quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.91, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81. Revenue of $919.20 million beat the consensus estimate of $852.45 million. Net income for the quarter rose to $187.7 million from $125 million in the same quarter a year ago as the company saw its comparable-store sales rise 24.2 percent in the quarter. Wholesale net sales rose 40.0 percent from a year ago to $406.8 million while licensing revenue rose 30.5 percent to $32.1 million. The company's gross profit rate rose 20 bps to 62.2 percent while investors may have expressed caution of inventory levels that rose 65 percent to $527.25 million. The company issued guidance and expects its second quarter revenue to be $950 million to $960 million versus a consensus estimate of $956 million. As well, comp sales are expected to rise at a high teens percentage rate. The company mentioned during its conference call that its margins will shrink as it continues to expand across Europe. The company's CEO John Idol said “we never believed that a 30 percent operating margin was a sustainable margin for the company.” Shares lost 5.89 percent, closing at $77.01.

Insmed INSM plans to conduct two Phase 3 studies of its Arikayce treatment, signalling the treatment may not receive regulatory approval as early as originally thought. The company plans to file a Marketing Authorization Application with the European regulatory authorities by the end of 2014. Shares lost 26.61 percent, closing at $12.66.

Earnings of Note

This morning, Cardinal Health CAH reported its fourth quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.83, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81. Revenue of $22.90 billion beat the consensus estimate of $21.90 billion. Net income for the quarter rose to $234 from a net loss of $586 million in the same quarter a year ago as the company saw significant progress in new ventures such as the launch of the largest generic purchasing entity in the U.S. through a joint venture with CVS Caremark while also expanding its product lines. The pharmaceutical segment saw a 12 percent decrease in revenues to $20.1 billion due to the continuing impact of the expiration of the Walgreens contract. Excluding the impact of Walgreens, revenue would have grown by 13 percent due to strong organic sales growth, especially in its Specialty Solutions division in China. Medical Segment saw its revenues increase by four percent to $2.8 billion due to a growth in strategic hospital network accounts and acquisitions. Overall, revenue in the quarter declined ten percent. The company issued guidance and expects its full year fiscal EPS being in a range of $4.10 to $4.30. Shares lost 2.89 percent, closing at $70.28.

This morning, Realogy Holdings RLGY reported its second quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.59, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58. Revenue of $1.51 billion beat the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Net income for the quarter fell to $68 million from $84 million in the same quarter a year ago as the company saw a $17 million pre-tax charge related to its repurchase of $354 million of its 7.875 percent First and a Half Lien Notes in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter fell by three percent from a year ago to $269 million due to a slowdown in mortgage refining. Home sale transaction volume improved by three percent due to higher home prices which rose by seven percent. The company noted that it saw a three percent decrease in the number of transactions at its Realogy Franchise Group while the company owned brokerage operations saw a five percent drop in transactions. The company expects home sale sides will be down four to six percent in the third quarter but prices are expected to rise four percent to six percent. Shares gained 4.07 percent, closing at $37.57.

After the market closed, American International Group AIG reported its second quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $1.25, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06. Revenue of $8.53 billion beat the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. Shares were trading higher by 2.73 percent at $54.10 following the earnings release.

After the market closed, GT Advanced Technologies GTAT reported its second quarter results. The company announced an EPS of -$0.16, missing the consensus estimate of -$0.14. Revenue of $58 million missed the consensus estimate of $63.94 million. Shares were trading higher by 11.90 percent at $15.81 following the earnings release.

After the market closed, Avis Budget Group CAR reported its second quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.68, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61. Revenue of $2.19 billion beat the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Shares were trading higher by 3.66 percent at $60.25 following the earnings release.

Quote of the Day

“Given PetSmart's chronic operational underperformance and failure to generate shareholder value, and given significant interest in an acquisition of the Company, it is very likely that such a sale offers the best risk-adjusted return for shareholders.” –Jana Partners, pushing for a sale of PetSmart.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs