Fueled by wider Eurozone summit rally, industry-specific news out of Germany and a trader-driven assessment that share prices might have reached technical bottoms, shares in various solar panel manufacturers surged Thursday and Friday. Disappointing industry developments, the possibility of negative surprises coming out of China, and the increasingly unforgiving economics of the business, however, mean the industry could face a very stormy fourth quarter.
Health Insurance major Humana Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter as it generated higher revenues from premium and services.
The top after market NYSE gainers on Friday were: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Nabors Industries, Canadian Pacific Railway, 3D Systems and Carter's, Inc. The top after market NYSE Losers were: Freescale Semiconductor, China New Borun, Mindray Medical International, Swift Transportation and Jones Lang LaSalle.
The companies that are expected to see active trade on Monday are: Loews Corp, Humana, Allstate, Anadarko Petroleum, CNA Financial, HCP, FMC, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, AvalonBay Communities, Cooper Tire & Rubber.
The top after-market NASDAQ stock market movers on Oct.28 include Momenta Pharmaceuticals, HMS Holdings, Clayton Williams Energy, MedAssets, Fuel Systems Solutions and Netgear.
Diversified financial services firm Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) said it is cancelling its planned five-state pilot of a monthly $3 fee for users of its debit cards as a response to customer feedback the bank has received.
U.S. stocks closed out a fourth week of gains in quiet fashion on Friday, edging higher as the market took a breather after rallying 3 percent on Europe's deal to stem its debt crisis.
Technology giant Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) has now abandoned its previous decision to spin-off its PC division, which has led to the ouster of its ex-CEO Leo Apotheker.
The top after market NYSE gainers on Thursday were: Advanced Micro Devices, E-Commerce China Dangdang, Cliffs Natural Resources, Cemex, Agilent Technologies, Bankrate, Quantum Corp, Renren, GAIN Capital Holdings and Box Ships Inc.
Jefferies downgraded its rating on shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) to hold from buy with a price target of $55.
The top after market NYSE Losers on Thursday were: 3D Systems, Graco, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Leggett & Platt, EQT Corp, Viad Corp, Tidewater, Global Geophysical Services, Insperity and ENSCO plc.
The companies that are expected to see active trade on Friday are: Chevron Corp, Advanced Micro Devices, Cigna Corp, Aon Corp, Biogen Idec, Interpublic Group of Companies, Whirlpool Corp, Electronic Arts, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Rockwell Collins and Merck & Co Inc.
In the U.S., bank stocks performed especially superbly.
The New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Amex Cash Markets invoked Rule 48 on Thursday after European leaders agreed to boost the region's bailout fund and struck a deal with private banks and insurers to accept 50 percent losses on Greek bonds.
The top after market NYSE gainers on Monday were: Spartech, Cobalt International, Nelnet, CTS Corp, Ameriprise Financial, Briggs & Stratton, Lennar Corp, Sunoco Logistics Partners, Manitowoc and Methode Electronics.
The top after market NYSE Losers on Tuesday were: DeVry, Lincoln National, Las Vegas Sands, Discover Financial, FMC Technologies, Radioshack, MetLife, Interpublic Group of Companies, Alcoa and Capital One Financial Corp.
The companies that are expected to see active trade on Wednesday are: Automatic Data Processing, Boeing, Sprint Nextel, Amazon.com, Ford Motor, Lockheed Martin, FMC Technologies, Akamai Technologies, CA, ConocoPhillips, Exelon Corp and General Dynamics Corp.
Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ) reported a 14.2 percent increase in third quarter earnings, due to ongoing cost cutting measures. Because of historically strong yen and lower production activities, the company lowered its full year 2011 outlook.
Most of the job cuts will take place in Switzerland and the United States.
The companies that are expected to see active trade on Tuesday are: Xerox, Western Union, DuPont, Netflix, United Parcel Service, United States Steel, 3M, AK Steel Holding, Texas Instruments, Amazon.com, Cummins and FMC Technologies Inc.
The top after market NYSE gainers on Monday were: Unisys, Hexcel, Ethan Allen Interiors, Omnicare and Charles Schwab. The top after market NYSE Losers were: ResMed, Aaron's, Inc, Masco Corp, Fortress Investment Group and STMicroelectronics.
The companies that are expected to see active trade on Monday are: Caterpillar, Amgen, Invesco, Texas Instruments, Netflix, Eaton, Kimberly Clark, Masco, VF and Zions Bancorporation.
