The S&P 500 climbed to a new high for 2009 last week, breaking the 1,100 mark, but couldn’t manage to close out the week at that level. The index ended Friday down 0.2% to 1,091.38, as earnings season wound down. Six out of 10 sectors posted losses last week.
Pops and drops
Here are the five biggest S&P 500 upticks and five biggest S&P 500 drops of last week (measured Friday close to Friday close):
Winners on the week:
|
Company |
Percentage Gain on the Week |
|---|---|
|
Sprint Nextel |
21% |
|
Regions Financial |
13% |
|
Merck |
10% |
|
SunTrust Banks |
10% |
|
Monsanto |
9% |
Source: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's).
Losers on the week:
|
Company |
Percentage Loss on the Week |
|---|---|
|
Jacobs Engineering Group |
(17%) |
|
D.R. Horton |
(13%) |
|
Autodesk |
(13%) |
|
Nabors Industries |
(9%) |
|
Smith International |
(8%) |
Source: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's).
A closer look
Shares of Merck got a boost last week after the drugmaker received recommended approval from the EU's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for its new fertility drug, Elonva. Recommended approval is essentially the same thing as drug approval in the EU. However, as my Foolish colleague Brian Orelli writes, the drug may not be a blockbuster for Merck.
Shares of D.R. Horton took it on the chin last week after the homebuilder reported a worse-than-expected fourth-quarter loss thanks to writedowns of unsold homes, land and other assets. Revenue tumbled 42% as the company cautioned that foreclosures, high unemployment and elevated levels of inventory on the market pose challenges going forward. The homebuilder did see new home orders surge 26% year over year, though it was helped by eager purchasers looking to take advantage of the government’s first-time homebuyers’ tax credit.
Jacobs Engineering posted worse-than-forecasted fourth-quarter results and guided below Wall Street’s expectations for 2010. The company’s revenue slipped 20% in the quarter on weakness in its oil and gas business. The downstream market continues to weigh on the company’s margins. The construction services company also said its backlog fell on account of some project cancellations.
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