Market Wrap: Bernanke Bites Back; More Big Earnings Names; Ackman's Large Stake; JCP's Johnson is Firm (on Strategy)


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July 18, 2012 6:08 PM EDT Send to a Friend
Market wrap-up for July 18th

End of the Day: Dow Jones up 103.2 to 12,908.70; S&P 500 up 9.1 to 1,372.78; Nasdaq up 32.6 to 2,942.60

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:
  • Throwing stones on the Hill: Speaking in from of the House Financial Services Committee, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at a little more easing, saying it was "certainly possible" the central bank would be able to take further steps to support the U.S. economy if job numbers don't begin shaping up.

    Firing a couple of shots, Bernanke defended the Fed's bond buying program (Operation Twist), saying it helped to lower rates and improve asset prices, but also noted that that Fed wouldn't mind a little help from other parts of the government.

    The Fed's Beige Book also came out today. For the run-down, click here

  • Q2 Earnings roll on:
    • IBM (NYSE: IBM) reported EPS of $3.51 on revs of 25.8 billion, versus views calling for EPS of $3.42 and revs of $26.28 billion. Click here for more;
    • Qualcomm, Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) reported Q3 EPS of $0.86, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.86. Revenue for the quarter came in at $4.6 billion versus the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion.
    • eBay, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) reported Q2 EPS of $0.56 on revs of $3.4 billion, versus views calling for EPS of $0.55 and sales of $3.36 billion. For more, click here.
    • BofA (NYSE: BAC) reported Q2 EPS of $0.19, $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of $0.15. Revenue for the quarter came in at $21.97 billion versus the consensus estimate of $22.87 billion.
  • Homebuilders edged lower Wednesday following data from the Commerce Department showing building permits came in at 755,000, missing expectations by 10,000.

    However, New Home Starts at 760,000 were the strongest in four years, according to data.

  • It'll work...promise: Despite shares being down over 50 percent from highs hit in February, JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) CEO Ron Johnson said he's sticking to his strategy of simplified pricing instead of offering per-item discounts.

    Comments were made at Fortune Magazine's Brainstorm Tech conference earlier.

  • Citi for a Staple: After the markets closed, Bill Ackman said he is holding a $1.8 billion stake in consumer staple giant Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG), having sold out of his Citigroup (NYSE: C) position to free-up funds in order to make the deal happen. He thinks the stock is cheap at current levels and is looking forward to meeting CEO Bob McDonald.

  • Software in hard times: Also in late news, enterprise software provider Deltek (Nasdaq: PROJ) said it hired Greenhill & Co. to explore a possible sale of the company. The WSJ cited sources in saying Deltek might fetch up to $1 billion in a sale.

    Private equity firm New Mountain Capital has a large stake in the company, but other PE firms are likely to submit bids in the coming weeks.
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