While it didn't show in the headline numbers, Thursday was one of the more interesting sessions in a long while for markets. A relatively quiet morning was followed by fireworks midday when Google's (GOOG) earning release was published (still in draft form) about four hours too early. The data was poor, and sent the stock spiraling down some 8 to 10% before the stock was halted for a few hours. After reopening late in the day the stock stabilized but at depressed levels; obviously the 50 day moving average was broken for the first time since mid July on huge volume.
This action, along with another resoundingly poor day out of Apple (AAPL) continued to pressure the NASDAQ which as we've been noting has been the weakest of the major indexes, and continues in its "head and shoulders" formation. The index was down 1% on the day. You can see the two charts continue to mirror each other which is no surprise given the outsized effect Apple's weighting has on the index.
Then after the bell, former momo favorite Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) put out the second disappointing earnings report in a row, and its stock slumped some 11% in the after hours session to the mid $255s. Same store sales fell to the mid single digits versus the low double digits the chain has been used to.
- Chipotle's net income rose to $72.3 million, or $2.27 per share, from $60.4 million, or $1.90 per share, last year. Analysts expected $2.29 per share, according to FactSet. Revenue rose to $700.5 million from $591.9 million a year ago. Analysts expected $702.9 million. Revenue from restaurants opened at least one year rose 4.8 percent.
[Note - chart does not show the after hour damage]
As for the S&P 500 it continues to have a much more benign situation as investors hide out in big cap names, along with a rotation into commodity sectors such as coal and into financials. It only dropped 0.24%.
Meanwhile the Russell 2000 of small caps looks more challenged with a series of lower highs and lower lows since the mid September peak; this pattern needs to change for bulls to feel confident over the intermediate term.
There is definitely a mixed bag among the major indexes as some areas of the market are still doing ok but a lot of highly visible stocks are getting crunched. With a lot of broken charts it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks play out.
In terms of economic data weekly jobless claims surged back to the high 300Ks after last week's suspicious drop to the mid 300Ks.
Speaking of sectors holding up, take a look at the housing sector in 2012. Bespoke Premium put out this data yesterday - some incredible stock returns in the space, and many are still 50%+ below levels seen 5 years ago.
