Daily Market Commentary for May 25, 2011
Mark Haines, age 65, CNBC founding anchor of Squawk Box and co-anchor of the networks Squawk on the Street passed away suddenly at his home, Tuesday evening. (read more at Millennium-Traders.Com)
http://www.millennium-traders.com/news/newscommentary.aspx

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said U.S. home prices fell 2.5% in Q1 and 0.3% in March.

Shares of American International Group (NYSE: AIG) was lower by 5% into mid-afternoon trading after company priced an offering of 300 million common shares at $29 each. The offering is set to raise $8.7 billion and company is selling 100 million shares and the U.S. Treasury Department is selling another 200 million shares as the federal government moves to eliminate its ownership stake in the bailed-out insurer. AIG will use proceeds to settle litigation acrued over the past decade and the U.S. Treasury Department will be using the offering to reduce its stake in the firm. In a statement on Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the move marks “an important milestone as we continue to exit our stake in AIG and wind down TARP.”


The overall mood of the markets remains touchy as concerns continue regarding domestic and international economy.

France's Christine Lagarde is set to announce her bid to become the next head of the IMF [International Monetary Fund].

Zale (NYSE: ZLC) shares gained 15% into mid-day trading after the diamond and jewelry retailer reported Q3 revenue that beat analysts expectations.

Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS) shares were down 16% into mid-day trading after the operator of Payless ShoeSource stores projected Q2 earnings below Wall Street’s estimates.

Avago Technologies (NasdaqGS: AVGO) shares were higher by 8% into mid-day trading after the maker of semiconductor components reported late Tuesday Q2 profit that beat analysts’ expectations.

Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) shares were lower by 6% mid-day after reporting Q2 results that disappointed the street.

Heico (NYSE: HEI) shares rose 11% into mid-day trading after the aerospace and defense company reported Q2 earnings late Tuesday that exceeded expectations.

Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) shares were lower by 6% or down 11 points after the clothing maker reported Q4 earnings below market expectations.



Economic data released today:

U.S. MBA Market Index: +1.1% at 540.8 compared to last week 534.8; U.S. MBA Purchase Index +1.5% at 191.4 compared to last week188.6; U.S. MBA Refinance Index +0.9% at 2,591.7 compared to last week 2,568.2.

Durable Goods Orders: March Durable Goods Excluding Transportation revised to +2.5% from +1.3%; March Durable Goods Orders Revised to +4.4% from +4.1%; April Durable Goods Orders, Excluding Defense -3.6%; April Durable Goods Orders, Excluding Transportation -1.5%; U.S. April Durable Goods Orders -3.6% compared to Consensus -2.1%.

Chicago Fed Financial Conditions Adjusted Index: -0.93 in week to May 20.



Viewers may opt-in to our free Weekly Market News sent via email on the first trading day of the week. Review market news and active stocks from the previous week plus, see what is ahead for the upcoming trading week.

Detailed performance for stocks, futures or forex by date on our News & Commentary. Access our FREE Monthly Trading Lesson posted on our website.

Access a one week trial to our Weekly Swing Trades service. View detailed historic performance from our News & Commentary page.

Follow us now on Twitter

Viewers Poll: Do you approve of the test which measures the length of a person’s telomeres to determine a person’s lifespan?

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders.Com
http://www.millennium-traders.com