In the last full day of trading before the holiday weekend, stocks ended essentially flat but small gains lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.67%) and the S&P 500 into record territory once again. On the day, the blue chips finished up 20 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P gained 0.07% and the Nasdaq edged 0.02% lower.
Though trading will close tomorrow at 1 p.m., the day will be a busy one as it's chock-full of economic reports including the always-followed monthly jobs report from the Department of Labor. Today, ADP reported a whopping 281,000 jobs were added last month, trouncing expectations at 200,000 and May's total of 179,000. The unofficial report from ADP often differs significantly from the government's reading, but it stillbodes well for tomorrow's numbers nonetheless. Growth in construction was particularly high with 36,000 jobs as the overall number was easily the best in over a year. Elsewhere, factory orders fell 0.5% in May but economists had expected a decline in that category.
Among stocks making headlines today was Constellation Brands (STZ -0.37%), which finished up 2.3% after turning in a strong earnings report. The alcohol distributor and parent of brands including Modelo and Corona said sales jumped 127% to $1.53 billion, ahead of expectations of $1.49 billion, driven by its acquisition of Crown Imports beer business, which gave it access to the high-profile Mexican brands above. Adjusting for the acquisition, net sales grew 14% in the beer segment, and CEO Rob Sands called the results in the beer business "outstanding," while wine and spirits sales fell 1% on a constant currency basis, in line with company expectations. On the bottom line, the company delivered a per-share profit of $1.07, ahead of estimates at $0.93. Looking ahead, Constellation lifted its full-year EPS guidance from $3.95-$4.15 to $4.10-$4.25, better than $3.25 a year ago and ahead of estimates at $4.12. With strong growth in the Mexican beer category, Constellation should have more promising years ahead.
Finally, shares of Shutterfly (SFLY) were soaring today, finishing up 15% after reports emerged that the company was looking to selling itself. According to Bloomberg, the digital photo-specialist, which makes albums and household products with personal digital images, is in the early stages of seeking a buyer, considering private-equity firms, e-commerce companies and web storage businesses. Shutterfly has hired Qatalyst Partners, a boutique investment firm, to help with its search. After many years of profits, the company has seen its bottom line turn into the red recently despite revenue growth in the teens. That struggle and the number of acquisitions among Internet companies recently may explain its search for a buyer. There were no details on a potential buyer, but further reports could push shares higher as we learn more about a possible sale.
