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.
In the wake of the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (^DJI +0.73%) first close above the 16,000-point mark in history, the index on the upswing again to close the week. The Dow's hung flat for most of the day, up about 40 points as of 2:30 p.m. EST, but most of the blue-chip index's stocks have moved higher into the green.
Blame Intel (INTC +12.93%) for the Dow's tepid performance today, as the chip maker's huge drop has weighed down the entire index. Let's catch up on the latest Dow action.
Wall Street turns negative on Intel
Intel's business has left Wall Street questioning the company lately, and its 5.2% stock drop today won't help investor confidence. The tech stock's diving after the company told Wall Street that it sees revenue for next year coming in below analyst expectations. While Intel said it will focus more on chip making -- not just for itself, but for other manufacturers as well through its foundry business -- the company did acknowledge that the PC market likely will continue to be down.
Investors have been concerned about the company's lack of presence in the mobile area, particularly as rivals have sped ahead. Intel claimed still to be pursuing the smartphone market strongly in its investor meeting, as well as continuing its push into tablets.
Still, it's the PC market that's hit Intel the hardest. Intel's PC client group, its largest business segment by sales, saw revenue fall roughly 6% through the first nine months of the year. Intel plans to continue investing heavily in the PC area, something that isn't pleasing Wall Street in light of this decline. PC sales aren't likely to turn around overall while smartphones and tablets continue to grow in the consumer space, and it's questionable just when Intel will be able to record serious growth in this space again.
Intel data center group's sales have been a bright spot with about 6% growth through the first nine months of the year, but the company has to do more. Opening up its manufacturing power to rival chip makers is a good start, and one that capitalizes on the company's strengths. However, it'll take a serious push into mobile for Intel's future to look as bright as its dominant past. This stock's done well this year, with gains of more than 18%, but if Intel continues to stumble in mobile in 2014, shares could hit a snag.
