Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
After celebrating its 16,000 milestone yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI 0.40%) opened quietly Friday morning, rising just 10 points as of 11 a.m. EST. With an ongoing battle between those seeing better times ahead for the economy and those pointing to the need for a correction in the long-running bull market, the tension could keep stocks from moving much in either direction until a resolution arrives. Still, individual stocks provided some substantial moves, as Intel (INTC -9.20%) and Home Depot (HD 0.94%) fell while Boeing (BA 0.25%) climbed.
Intel dropped by almost 5% as shareholders emerged disappointed from its investor-day presentations yesterday. Despite the importance of its shift toward mobile devices and aggressive moves like opening its production facilities to other manufacturers, Intel's long-term strategy involves some short-term bumps in the road. Analysts pointed to poor guidance for revenue growth in the 2014 fiscal year as forcing investors to be patient for higher profits in the long run, and that's not the answer that short term-minded traders wanted from the chip giant.
Home Depot declined by 1%. Interest rates have started to rise again during the Dow run-up, continuing a trend that started during the spring. With investors continuing to be nervous about the possible impact of rising rates on the housing market, and therefore on home-improvement efforts, Home Depot might once again need to demonstrate its ability to provide stronger growth even without the tailwinds of sharp growth in home prices helping push its sales upward.
Boeing gained almost 2% despite the embarrassing publicity the aerospace manufacturer is getting after landing a support aircraft at the wrong airport yesterday. Rather than landing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kan., a Boeing 747 arrived at a smaller airport nearby. Still, Boeing still has substantial wins from its Dubai Airshow performance to point to, with the company's main goal being to fulfill the massive order backlog it has accumulated in recent years.
