BetterTrades Stock Market Daily Report - December 2, 2008

The day following yesterday’s massive sell-off, the markets rebounded nicely today, gaining back a large percentage of the prior day’s losses. With bargain hunters jumping back into the markets, there was little economic news to sway the direction of the markets. Despite giving back all of its gains during the afternoon session, the Dow Jones Industrial average concluded the day in the green, adding 270 points, or 3.31%, to close the session at 8,419.09, while the broader market indicators finished in positive territory as well. At the close, the S&P 500 index gained 32.60 points, or 3.99%, to finish at 848.81, while the NASDAQ composite index increased by 51.73 points, or 3.7%, to close the day at 1,449.80.

The only economic news regarding the status of the nation was the Auto/Truck sales figures for November. Sales for the month showed that Ford (F) saw their numbers dwindle more than 30%, while General Motors (GM) and Chrysler both saw their sales figures plunge more than 40% each. As for the foreign carmakers’ numbers, Toyota (TM) saw their U.S. sales numbers drop 34%, and Honda’s (HMC) numbers slipped 32%.

Designer, builder and seller of single family homes to appeal primarily to entry-level and first move-up home buyers, Beazer Homes USA (BZH) made it known before the markets opened today that the company posted a bigger-than-expected loss for the 4Q as the housing crisis continues to devastate the company’s bottom-line. For the quarter, BZH recorded a net loss of $473.9M, or $12.29 per share, compared to a loss of $155.2M, or $4.03 per share from a year ago. With the lack of home sales, total revenues for the company slipped more than 35% during the quarter, down from $1.09B to $712.6M. During the quarter, new homes managed to increase 10% from last year, but the company was hurt severely by a 38% decline in closings. In the meantime, analysts were anticipating that the home builder record a loss of $2.10 per share on total sales of $593.4M. For the full-year, Beazer posted a loss of $951.9M, or $24.69 per share, versus a loss of $411.1M, or $10.70 per share form a year ago. Yearly revenues plummeted more than 40% over the course of the year, falling from $3.47B to $2.07B. In today’s trading session, shares of BZH dropped 8%, or $0.12, to close out the session at $1.38 per share. Learn more about Beazer Homes at MarketWatch

The parent of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., Sears Holding Corp. (SHLD), is the leading home appliance retailer in North America and is a retail sales leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics, and automotive repair and maintenance. In a statement released early Tuesday morning, the company confirmed reports that SHLD recorded a bigger loss for the 3Q as consumer spending was curtailed in the midst of an economic recession. For the quarter, SHLD posted a loss of $146M, or $1.16 per share, compared to a profit of $4M, or $0.03 per share. During the 3Q, the company took a charge of $0.26 per share in relation to closing 14 stores nationwide. As consumers cut back on spending, revenues for the quarter dropped 8%, from $11.62B a year ago to $10.66B. A key economic indicator of the health of the company, same store sales, declined nearly 11% from last year’s tally. Meanwhile, analysts following the retail industry, expected SHLD to record a much smaller loss of $0.49 per share on overall sales totals of $10.93B. Looking ahead, the company announced the closings of eight additional stores along with the approval from the board to repurchase an additional $500M worth of stock, on top of the $72M worth of shares already outstanding from the previous repurchase program. With that, shares of SHLD surged in trading today, adding $4.25, or 13.3%, to end the day at $36.09 per share. Read more about Sears Holding Corp. at Forbes

A leading business-to-business electronic marketplace offering a comprehensive solution for all of the office needs of business customers, Staples Inc. (SPLS) affirmed before the markets opened today that the company’s profit for the 3Q plunged on acquisition and restructuring charges. For the quarter, Staples posted earnings of $156.7M, or $0.22 per share, versus a profit of $274.5M, or $0.38 per share from a year ago, a 43% decline in profits year-over-year. The charges taken during the quarter amounted to more than $190M in acquisition fees and taxes. However, overall sales for the company during the 3Q jumped 35%, from $5.17B a year ago to $7B. Analysts, on average, were looking for Staples to post earnings of $0.41 per share on total revenues of $7.03B. By the close of trading today, shares of SPLS were up nearly 8%, adding $1.20 to end the day at $16.32 per share. Over the past year, shares of SPLS have traded in a range between $13.57 and $26.57 per share. Discover more about Staples at Yahoo! Finance

America's Car-Mart Inc. (CRMT), which operates automotive dealerships and is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States focused exclusively on the “Buy Here/Pay Here” segment of the used car market, made it known early Tuesday that the company’s profits for the 2Q increased on higher sales within the used car market. For the quarter, CRMT posted net income of $3.9M, or $0.33 per share, compared to a profit of $3.5M, or $0.29 per share from last year’s 2Q. With consumers looking towards used cars instead on new ones, CRMT’s overall revenues increased over 6% from last year, from $68.2M to $72M. On average, analysts were anticipating that CRMT record earnings of $0.35 per share on total sales figures of $73.4M. By the close of the markets today, shares of CRMT surged, jumping $2.39, or 28.8%, to end the session at $10.68 per share. Read more about America’s Car-Mart at CNNMoney

One of the world's leading providers of analytical services to determine occupational and environmental radiation exposure, Landauer Inc. (LDR) has provided complete radiation dosimeter services to hospitals, medical and dental offices, universities, national laboratories, and other industries in which radiation poses a potential threat to employees. In a statement released early this morning, the company stated that 4Q earnings increased over last year’s tally as sales increased handily. For the quarter, Landauer posted net income of $5.48m, or $0.50 per share, compared to $4.61M, or $0.50 per share from a year ago. During the recent period, total sales increased 6% over last year, from $21.33M to $22.5M. Analysts, in the meantime, were looking for Landauer to post earnings of $0.58 per share on total sales of $22.2M. Looking ahead to 2009, the company anticipates overall revenues to increase between 3% and 5%, with net income advancing between 6% and 8%. By the close of trading today, shares of LDR jumped over 9%, adding $4.97 to end the day at $57.13 per share. Find out more about Landauer at Reuters

Despite the markets surge in trading today, the crude markets continued their downward trek on Tuesday as the price for a barrel of light, sweet crude for January delivery slipped $2.32 to settle at $46.96 a barrel. In additional NYMEX trading, gasoline futures slipped $0.0529 to settle at $1.0583 a gallon. Heating oil dropped $0.0319 to settle at $1.5832 after hitting a 52-week low of $1.5778 a gallon. Natural gas for January delivery plunged $0.18 to settle at $6.424 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In a side note, the price of gasoline declined as well today, giving up $0.008 to $1.812 per gallon nationally. Over the past month, the price of gas has dropped over $0.62 a gallon, and nearly $1.25 in the past 12-months.

In the Treasury markets, bond prices traded relatively higher today, as many investors got back into the markets to bargain hunt following yesterday’s massive sell-off. By the sound of the closing bell, the benchmark 10-year note gained 13/32 to 109 7/32 as its yield slipped to 2.69% from yesterday’s 2.74%. Meanwhile, the 30-year note increased as well, adding 15/32 to 124 25/32, while its yield declined to 3.20% from Monday’s 3.22%. Finally, the 2-year note remained virtually unchanged, trading at 100 22/32 and yielding 0.91%.

In currency trading today, the U.S. Dollar was mixed against all other major currencies as the equity markets advanced and investors await news from the European central banks of a possible rate cut later this week. By late afternoon, the 15-nation Euro advanced against the greenback, buying $1.2725, up from Monday’s price of $1.2646. Meanwhile, the British pound increased in value as well against the Dollar, buying $1.4963, up from the previous day’s price of $1.4884. However, against the Japanese yen, the Dollar gained value, buying 93.51, up from last night’s price of 93.212.

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