Divergence & Disappointment for Investors

Stocks diverged on Thursday after some high profile earnings reports in the tech sector dis- appointed, including Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). That led the NASDAQ lower despite the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials’ rise. On the economic front, mixed news was reported, but the important Leading Economic Indicators Index was unchanged and confirmed the worst of expectations for Q2 GDP. For regular unbiased analysis and research visit our stock market blog.

Market ETF	July 18, 2013	Year-to-Date
SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)	+0.5%	+18.3%
SPDR Dow Jones (DIA)	+0.6%	+19.0%
PowerShares (QQQ)	-0.3%	+14.7%

Economic Events

ECONOMIC REPORT SCHEDULE
Economic Data Point	Prior Period	Expected	Actual
THURSDAY
Bloomberg Consumer Comfort	-27.3	NA	-28.4
Weekly Jobless Claims	358K (R)	344K	334K
EIA Natural Gas Report	+82 Bcf	NA	+58 Bcf
Bernanke Testimony	NA	NA
Philly Fed Survey	+12.5	+9.0	+19.8
Leading Economic Indicators	+0.2% (R)	+0.3%	0.0%

Jim Cramer called the data mixed, and it was. However, the numbers that mattered most were the worst of the bunch. I’m really speaking of one data point in particular for Thursday, the Leading Economic Indicators Index (LEI). It was unchanged in June, versus economists’ expectations for an increase of 0.3%. At this point, everyone should be expecting Q2 GDP issue, and contemplating what will unfold thereafter.

Overseas Markets

EUROPE	CLOSE	ASIA/PACIFIC	CLOSE
EURO STOXX 50	+1.3%	NIKKEI 225	+1.3%
German DAX	+1.0%	Hang Seng	-0.1%
CAC 40	+1.4%	S&P/ASX 200	+0.2%
FTSE 100	+1.0%	Korean KOSPI	-0.6%
Greece ASE	+1.7%	BSE India SENSEX	+0.9%

Commodity Markets (2:03 PM ET)

WTI Crude	+1.8%
Brent Crude	+0.1%
NYMEX Natural Gas	+5.3%
RBOB Gasoline	0.0%
Gold Spot	+0.7%
Silver Spot	+0.7%
COMEX Copper	+0.1%
CBOT Corn	-0.2%
CBOT Wheat	-0.7%
CBOT Soybeans	-1.4%
ICE Cocoa	+2.0%
ICE Sugar	+0.6%
ICE Orange Juice Conc.	-1.2%
CME Live Cattle	+1.0%

Corporate Events

REPORTING EARNINGS
Company	Ticker
THURSDAY
Philip Morris	NYSE: PM
Morgan Stanley	NYSE: MS
UnitedHealth	NYSE: UNH
Google	Nasdaq: GOOG
Microsoft	Nasdaq: MSFT

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS
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Ocera Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OCRX)	+32%
New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB.PU)	+28%
Emmis Communications (Nasdaq: EMMSP)	+24%
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Stereotaxis (Nasdaq: STXS)	+22%
iPath Long Extended Russell 100 (Nasdaq: ROLA)	+20%
BIGGEST LOSERS	% Drop
Spirit Realty Capital (NYSE: SRC)	-50%
JAKKS Pacific (Nasdaq: JAKK)	-39%
TrovaGene (Nasdaq: TROVU)	-28%
VelocityShares 3X Inverse Nat Gas (Nasdaq: DGAZ)	-14%
American Electric Technologies (Nasdaq: AETI)	-14%
Methes Energies (Nasdaq: MEIL)	-14%
Gilat Satellite Networks (Nasdaq: GILT)	-13%
Northwest Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: NWBOW)	-12%
Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS)	-11%
ImmuCell (Nasdaq: ICCC)	-11%

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