The Market Today

The stock market finished a lousy October on a positive note today. The S&P 500 rose by 0.72%, while our Buy List increased by 1.33%. For the month, S&P 500 lost 1.75% and our Buy List dropped 1.03%. This doesn’t include dividends. For our tracking purposes, I rebalance the portfolio at the end of each month.
Of our 25 stocks, 21 closed higher today. The best performer was Frontier Airlines (FRNT) which is still doing well after its great earnings report. The stock briefly touched $9.50 a share today. Expeditors (EXPD) hit a new high today ahead of tomorrow’s earnings report. AFLAC (AFL) also hit a new high.
Today saw an unusual split between “early” cyclical stocks and “late” cyclical stocks. Merrill Lynch maintains an index for each group. Today, the early index was up 2.75% (led by retailers) while the late index was up just 0.34% (held back by basic materials). You rarely see a gap that wide. It may be a one-day event, but it fits with our theme that the economy is getting stronger.
There were two contrasting stories today that caught my eye. The first is that oil continues to fall. Oil is now down about 15% from its peak. Here’s a little fact you don’t often here: Oil peaked before Katrina made landfall. The man-made storm has been far worse. It was seven months ago today that Goldman Sachs said that oil could spike to $105 a barrel. Despite all the hysterics, that storm has passed.
The other story was Valero Energy’s (VLO) earnings, and the retirement announcement of its CEO, Bill Greehey. Valero is Bill Greehey. He’s been the top dog there for 30 years. One of the many things I’ve liked about Greehey is that he’s unafraid to criticize analyst estimates. When he thinks they’re too low, he’s says so.
I have to give him a lot of credit. A few years ago, he went around buying refiners on pennies to the dollar. People must have thought he was nuts. Then, all the variables swung his way. For the third quarter, Valero netted $4.37 a share, compared with estimates of $4.23. The company also said that estimates were too low for the fourth quarter. Cramer will go nuts tonight.
Congratulations to Greehey and Valero, but don’t go anywhere near this stock. Oil and energy stocks are going down.
For reasons I’ll never get, today General Motors (GM) said it will keep its quarterly dividend at 50 cents a share. This makes no sense to me. Kellogg (K) got nailed today for its worst loss in three years. The stock dropped 4.9% today as it guided lower.
In other news, Apple (AAPL) said that iTunes users have downloaded more than 1 million videos since October 12. Also, Google (GOOG) came within inches of $375.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts rank Delaware as the best state to work in. Louisiana is last. The SEC now says it will randomly check up on investment advisors instead of regular five-year visits.
Did you know Barbados has a Fed? Me neither.
Expeditors (EXPD) reports tomorrow (forecast: 46 cents a share) and we have the Fed tribal council meeting (forecast: dark suits, jargon).
And finally, Jeff Matthews has some thoughts on Octobers 1987 and 2005.

Posted by on October 31st, 2005 at 4:30 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.