tv Closing Bell CNBC May 1, 2012 3:00pm-4:00pm EDT
3:00 pm
that contain that controversial ingredient. thank you very much for watching "street signs." a nice rally out there. "closing bell" is going to take you all the way to the close. see you tomorrow. welcome to the "closing bell." i'm michelle caruso-cabrera. i'm here for maria bartiromo. >> and i'm bill griffeth. the dow is hitting a four-year intraday high. the dow is off that four-year high. but as you know, anything can happen here in this final and most important hour of the trading day. here's a look at the major averages right now. the dow up 105 points. we were up 125 at the high of the session. now at 13,319. the nasdaq up 20 points here. the dow is the strongest of the
3:01 pm
gainers. we'll talk about apple and what it is doing momentarily and the s&p up almost a full percent there, a gain of 13 points at 1410. >> one stock that's on our radar today is herbalife. after influential short sellers asked a question on the company's conference call. why has the company stopped disclosing in its filings? the dow down 23%. 16 bucks to 53.75. we'll talk to one analyst who is calling day's plunge in her ba life a major buying opportunity. find out why. we're going to get to john harwood who has breaking news. president obama is in afghanistan. >> we just got confirmation that
3:02 pm
president obama has been in kabul, afghanistan, to sign a joint partnership agreement with president karzai. he's doing this on the one-year anniversary on the raid that kill canned osama bin laden. he's gotten some criticism for making too much of that politically. he may get some more criticism. he's going to give a speech to the nation at 7:30. our colleagues say it will be ten to 11 minute long. the president is going to make comments about the war on terror one year after osama bin laden's death. back to you. >> thank you very much. let's get to the "closing bell" exchange in light of the 12% rally so far this year. of course, everyone is wondering if stocks can keep this positive momentum going, right? >> but this is something that was mentioned that could have a big impact on the bulls. the biggest bond fund cautioned that the u.s. could get another downgrade to its debt if it
3:03 pm
doesn't get its financial house in order. take a listen. >> unless the united states begins to make inroads and that's called the struck sturl deficit that the cbo and imf identified as 6 to 7% greater than any other country other than japan and the united kingdom. we're headed to aa territory. >> a pretty bold statement from him himself. is downgrade possible? you know, that -- i will say, it didn't move the markets. >> it did not. >> it's still a possibility. >> it rallied since the last effort. >> it's something we all know. if we look around the world, yes, we certainly have our problems on the fiscal side of
3:04 pm
things. we're still doing much, much better than other parts of the world, as michelle knows better than anybody. i think investors wouldn't come as unexpected given the issues that the united states faces. >> and that's almost a short -- that's a long-term concern and this market is very short-term oriented. we were most concerned about spain and whether it's going into recession and today we are rallying on a manufacturing report. >> i think there are reasons to be concerned. the republicans are showing signs of being very accommodate tif going along with the bush tax cuts so i think he has reason to be concerned. certainly nothing is imminent. you're right. look what is going on. the ism caught everybody by surprised. it was better than a weak string of economic reports. and what everyone is trying to figure out today is if this is a
3:05 pm
string of a better economic news or an anomaly. that's what has the big debate going right now. >> let's face it. we all know bill gross very well. he's a well respected investor but he's talking his investments at this point. >> absolutely. >> fed officials will say they certainly need to address the structural deficit issue in this country. >> bernanke said it all along. >> right now they are concerned about growing the economy and concern about inflation and price stability and all of those important things. >> we've learned that the market is very impressed with the credit rating agencies and what they have to say. after the last downgrade of the u.s. debt happened on a friday night, monday morning, what happened to u.s. debt? it rallied tremendously because it was so pointed out that -- as sue pointed out, we are the best house in a bad neighborhood right now. >> exactly. >> because of our economy compared to the rest of the world. and the stock market went down because of europe. because they were terrified that they were on the verge of systemic failure. >> on that friday afternoon and then monday morning we had the
3:06 pm
biggest drop in a long time. >> that's right. because the ecb had to step in and save the banking system of europe. that's why. >> remember, they had problems with the inability of congress to extend the whole deficit deal and that was a major issue as well. so to the extent that we get bogged down, it's not a concern. >> i think the rating agencies have no credibility out there with many investors and as a result of that, when they make a move, i think investors look at it twice. >> your credit rating is determined by your interest rate. the market tells you every day. >> right. >> for many months, there were many countries that had much better credit ratings than the united states and yet they had to pay higher interest rates. so clearly they think that we are a better credit rating. >> let's not forget, with the quantitative easing program under way by the federal reserve -- >> which may or may not be
3:07 pm
ending. >> but the fed can only hold it for so long. >> i agree, it's not -- the interest rate we're paying now is what really matters. >> very quickly on apple. >> what happened, nothing. if this would have been two months ago, there would have been mass panic. the world is going to be ending. apple went into negative territory and what happened? nothing. intel held up, microsoft held up. nasdaq 100, apple's 20% of it came down a little bit but the market didn't sell off and that's my point here. apple may be used as a source of funds for people opining into the market. >> tell, they are happy today. it's a case by case scenario, whether it's the earnings report, economic report -- >> the a.d.d. market. >> the ism surprised us on the
3:08 pm
upside and now maybe we can get a better number at the nonfarm payroll report. that's still to come. >> i thought they were called adrs. >> it's a game we play but not right now. >> good to see you guys. >> all right. with stocks rallying into the close, let's take a look at the rally behind that. so retailers are some of the leaders? >> that's right, bill. first, take a look. it's the first day of may. traditionally not a strong month for equities but most of the stocks in the s&p 500 are gaining ground, that includes 49 and new 52-week highs thanks to the imf manufacturing rating. a m in of consumer-related stocks are on the move but even on an up day they can't all be winners. take a look at shares of herbalife. they plunged after pointed questions were asked about the company's financial during the conference call this morning. the better than expected earnings seem a distance memory
3:09 pm
to the market with numbers down 23%. why this could be a buying opportunity. sears is the biggest gainer the in the s&p right now. they expect to report operations and the company anticipates that the eps is between $1.26 and $1.86. the stock has a relative small float. shares up 16%. shares of avon are lower today down by almost 8% after the beauty product maker reported an 82% drop in profits. avon did report a slight top line beat. >> thank you very much, courtney. dow jones industrial average and nasdaq are at a multi-year territory. >> the benchmark we're going
3:10 pm
back to is december 31 of 2007 when we were higher than this. stocks are rally you today. another reason why the sell in may may not hold true this time around. >> plus, earlier on, fame to come is a very sober assessment of the bond market. treasuries, you said run, is now the time to bail out of treasuries? the debate straight ahead. after the bell, the cost of doing business. former ceo of hut let pack card carly fiorina. we want to hear your voice on that topic that's been getting so much attention. do you think lower corporate tax rates will help boost the economy? tweet your thoughts. we'll reveal your responses coming up later in today's
3:11 pm
program. green nearly across the whole board. you are watching cnbc, because we are first in business worldwide. at bank of america, we're lending an in communities across the country. fro omrevi htalielzeping t a neigbrhbooklyn..or.ho financing industries that are creating jobs in boston... providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community... and lending to ensure a north texas hospital continues to deliver quality care. because the more we can do in local neighborhoods and communities,
3:12 pm
the more we can help make opportunity possible. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us.
3:14 pm
well, that graphic says it all if you're listening on satellite radio, i'll translate it for you. the dow hit a new four-year intraday high during the session today. meantime, the u.s. debt market has been on a roll as well as concerns about europe and weak economic growth here in the u.s. send investors flocking to safety once again. the benchmark yields are still hovering at the lowest levels in three months. speaking of treasuries, burton made his bearish case for the bond market earlier today. let's take a listen. >> with the paralysis in washington, with our inability to do anything about the -- you know, anything real about the deficit, we're going to get -- we're going to solve the problem but on the backs of the bond holders and i say don't buy bonds. >> should investors take his cue? we've got both sides of the debate. for the bulls, we have paul
3:15 pm
shotz and sharon. >> sharon, be what do you think? what are the biggest risks to the treasuries? >> that the fed will conclude operation twist in june and there will not be another series of quantitative easing moves by the federal reserve. in addition to that, i think the economy is actually starting to rebound. it's not real robust growth but i think you have nouf growyou hh growth to keep the fed from a stimulus and as a result treasuries are the ones that suffer for it. >> so the economy is growing and that will be enough to keep the fed from quaint tntatative easi? >> right. and specifically on the other end of the curve, in treasuries. >> paul, what about you? you're buying treasuries? where on the curve and why? >> hi, michelle.
3:16 pm
listen, being a treasury bond bear is the easiest argument because one year, three year, five years -- >> exactly. yes. >> being a bear is easy. treasuries are the most unloved security. nobody loves treasury. you've got the fed being the biggest buyer and the global governments buying treasuries. if you look historically at argentina, brazil, europe, post financial crisis recoveries are tepid at best. a friend of mine calls them lame recoveries. >> wait a minute. paul, are you telling me the reason you would buy treasuries is because nobody loves it? or are you saying that the economy is not going to grow as fast as sharon suggests and therefore, we'll need quantitative easing that keeps rates down and go even lower? is that what you're saying?
3:17 pm
>> yes. in the short term, tactical trading is based on sentiment and it continues to be very bearish. and so your point over the longer term, yeah, when qe first started, i said that we were going to have qe 3, 4, 5. we're going to have a five-year fomc balance sheet. >> so burt was saying that we would get our way out of this issue. earlier bill pimco talked about this. take a listen. >> the bond market only yields 2%. let's start from that point going forward. see if an investor wants more than 2%, requires 3, 4, 5% for that 401(k) or for college education or for retirement, then they have to stretch it a little bit. we're suggesting that they buy, yes. agency mortgages that yield 3,
3:18 pm
3.5% and look for agency protection. >> he's reaching for yield. he agrees with you in some ways because he doesn't like the low yield you're getting in the treasury markets. so he's going to go to the agency, the mortgage agencies and and what do you think of that strategy, sharon? >> i tend to agree with bill gross in that the agency mortgage securities make a lot of sense in this environment because i'm not saying that we're out of the woods yet and totally get out of bonds. i'm saying treasuries aren't the safe haven and they are not giving you the kind of returns that i think you deserve for the risks that you're taking. you're at the long end of the curve. so agency mortgage securities give you that higher coupon, give you a higher quality, and it gives you enough yield out there that it makes it worth it for you to buy in that three to seven-year duration area because
3:19 pm
i think investors are tired of earning 2% with their investments. >> thank you both for joining us today. >> thank you. and we would like to know, you viewers, who do you make makes the best case for bonds and why? tweet us @cnbcclosingbell. your responses will be unveiled in the next hour. who won? >> i can't tell you who won but i do know this. there's been one piece of consistent device since i got to cnbc. whatever you do, be don't buy the long end of the curve. and what's the one thing you should have done? don't buy the long end of the curve. let's get reaction to that debate from a man who has never been afraid to hide his opinion. rick santelli is at the cme in chicago with the details. rick, tell us what is happening in the bond market and what do you think of the debate? >> well, when it comes to that debate, you have to separate investing and investors from
3:20 pm
holders. holders are the federal reserve, china, japan, the uk, and they've taken a lot of paper out of the gain. it isn't about what the fed is necessarily going to have to buy to form a new program. it's what they are holding that doesn't trade in the marketplace along with the other big players. so be long, be short, i think there's a long time before either side is going to make or lose a lot of money. 2% is home base until we get the all clear in the world economy and at that point, wow, interest rates, in my opinion, are going to have a digital move that will make jaws drop down the road a bit. as far as today, big deal. four, five basis points that puts forth anxiety in front of the first of two employment reports. and when you've tried to connect jobs in the fed, i don't personally think that they are making much of a difference so the road is probably more like a lane. but that lane is connected by the crack in the door that if there's more it will be because
3:21 pm
employment disappoints. whether you look at intraday or go back to september for 5s, 10s, 30s, it shows a nice move of higher rates today based on data. when you open it up to 5, 6, 7 months, you'll see it doesn't make a big picture difference as you take a step back. back to you. >> rick, it sounds like both of them were right. paul was right in the medium term and when it happens, it's going to be quick and painful. >> much higher rates then, right? >> oh, yeah. it's going to be one of the most unbelievable moves in the history of fixed income but i think we're years away. >> all right. rick santelli, the man who knows at the cme group. as we head towards the close, we have 40 minutes left. the dow slowly coming off the highs. a gain of 95. >> the dow hit a new four-year high today. has the blue chip topped out for the foreseeable future? we're going to breakdown what investors need to know in today's talking numbers. plus, herbalife shares
3:22 pm
plunging today after tough questions were asked about the company's earnings conference call. coming up, a top analyst explains why he feels today's selloff is a major buying opportunity for shareholders of her ba life. >> take a look, the majority is in positive territory. bank of america higher by 3%. ♪ i'm making my money do more. i'm consolidating my assets. i'm not paying hidden fees or high commissions. i'm making the most of my money. and seven-dollar trades are just the start. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. and i'm loving every minute of it. [ rodger riney ] at scottrade, we give you commission-free etfs, no-fee iras and more. come see why more investors are saying... with scottrade.
3:23 pm
my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪
3:25 pm
welcome back. i'm sharon epperson. let's focus on food for the first day of may because the best and worst performers were in the agricultural focus. these were tumbling sharply next week. we're at a five-week high. we're looking at short covering helping to spur this balance in today's trade. on the downside, look what happened to o.j. futures today. down 6% on the session. traders say that full on liquidation is to blame for the down side in orange juice. back to you guys. >> i guess if anything is going to be lick kquidated, it would
3:26 pm
juice. let's get you an update with a market stat check. a better than expected reading on the manufacturing sector. the inter-session high, 13,338. chevron is responsible for 14 points of the dow's rally. ibm. >> as we go into the intraday high, we haven't seen since december 31, 2007, now we're pulling back, is it going to be sell in may and go away or is it still time to go in and get higher from today. on the technical side, dan is the director of technical research and on the fundamental side it's dan greenhouse, chief global strategist dan, good to
3:27 pm
see you. actually, the both of you. insurance-wise, these markets still define gravity here. do you like what we're seeing? >>. >> well, it depends on what type of sector you are. you've got to remember that the market has been in a three-year cyclical bull market. >> exactly. >> we saw qe 1 there in 2010 after the flash crash and here's our most recent october lows. the bull market is at a three-year low and the s&p is up. we are breaking to new highs of the 1350, 1360 range. more importantly today, keeping above the 1400 zone on the s&p. if you can maintain closes above 1350, 1360 as a trader, you can stay long and get another 4, 5% on the s&p. that gives us a target for 2012
3:28 pm
within the 1450, 1475 range. so tactical traders stay long with the momentum above 1360. if you want to go to the dow -- >> kor spoon dending numbers would be there? >> sure. it's going to be the same setup and the levels to watch are around 12,and if we can maintain that, momentum pushes around 14,800, 3, 4, 5%. technical, yes, we are staying out of these markets. we still think it's cyclical. >> what do you think, dan green fundamentally? the economy has been recovering, has been getting better. we always have europe in the background somehow. fundamentally, does this market accurately reflect the outlook for the market? >> generally speaking it does.
3:29 pm
fund mentally there's nothing to say that the market is overstretched given the way that -- given the way that the assumed fundamentals. i generally agree the upside from here is relatively speaking around 3 to 5%. i've been sort of subconsciously using 1450 as a top for the market. again, getting back to the macro concerns, there are some -- there are a series of events that come up late they are year that investors are going to have to pay attention to and has the ability to drive this market much higher or much lower. >> earnings, tax issues, and the election all coming up later this year as well. gentlemen, that's it. the technical and fundamental side of the markets. thank you. michelle? >> the dow is roughly 35 points off the highs. higher by 88 points and nasdaq higher by 13 points.
3:30 pm
peter says he's throwing out every wall street rule, including selling in may. and then after the bell, on her first day as a cnbc official contributor, former hewlett-packard ceo carly fiorina talks about the growth in the united states. do you think a lower corporate tax rate will help spur the economy and boost job creation? tweet your answers to @cnbcclosingbell. we'll air some of your responses later on in the show. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the spx is on my radar. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we're hitting new highs. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and i'm on top of it all with charles schwab. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i use streetsmart edge and its tools like... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 screener plus - i can custom build my own screens tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or use predefined ones. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and i can trade wherever i want, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 whenever i want. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the kicker? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i pay $8.95 a trade. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that's a deal in any language.
3:31 pm
tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open an account tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and trade up to 6 months tdd# 1-800-345-2550 commission-free. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 call 1-866-393-6174. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.
3:33 pm
3:34 pm
issues here. transport doing better on prospects for better manufacturing, obviously. the important story is apple has gone negative on the day. technology stocks off their highs but still on the upside. i'm not saying that they are not down from the highs but still on the upside throughout the day. i think that's important. maybe apple is a us auto of source of funds. guys bark to you. >> bob, thank you very much. bulls are off to a strong start. at least they were earlier. dow up 125 points. hitting levels we have not seen since 2007. but we're coming off of those highs. is this a sign that investors should ignore the adage, sell in may and go away? >> one of our next guests, peter bookfar says despite the big gains, sell this rally now, he says. let's bring in mr. bookfar. guys, good to see you.
3:35 pm
>> thank you. >> when i read the tease, i thought you were saying buy in may and sell in may. but you've been selling for months now. >> through november and -- >> so all of the old rules like sell in may are out the door because with the fed doing what they are doing, you can't rely on the old rules. >> right. it's either qe 1 or qe off and to me we're in the middle. while i expect more qe, i expect the only thing that triggers that is a downturn in the economy and stock market. i think the market is so dependent on qe and the fed that sort of this middle ground on growth is not going to be strong enough to satisfy those that are looking for a good economy but not soft enough to get the fed to do more but that's what brings us down that leads us to the next qe. >> if you would hold in may? >> i would maybe to handicapped
3:36 pm
this. everyone is looking for 160,000 adds. but economists have come out saying that they are looking for 120. if you get 120, the probability of the fed doing a qe 3 increase as stocks go up. >> so if we get a bad number on friday, do you think we see stocks rally. >> >> i think stocks could go up. >> it's that preverse reasoning that bad news is good news, right? >> in the late '90s, everyone liked goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold. not too hot is not going to satisfy those who think the economy should start accelerating at this point. not too cold is not cold enough for the fed to do qe 3. goldie locks is not a good change for goldie locks. >> there's another thing going on, too. the u.s. multnomah tie nationals are seeing weakness. we were talking about it before the set here. cummings, emerson, caterpillar's
3:37 pm
comments. yet u.s. centric, large u.s. companies exposed to the consumer are doing well. we were thrilled to see retailers doing better. they could be pretty decent and these stocks are going up significantly on the slightest bit of good news. >> even the gdp report, lower than anticipated, showed that the consumer was still pretty good in the first quarter, right? >> right. they are definitely hanging in in the face of challenges and with the cost of living that forever goes higher. is that the pace that can sustain a recovery to the fact that we don't need the fed anymore? >> what would you do here then, peter? >> because we're in between this qe, i'm the seller here. but with the belief that the next foundation of a rally will come with more fed qe because
3:38 pm
they can't stop for some reason. >> so would you buy treasuries? you're not buying stocks. what would you do instead? >> well, cash all of a sudden becomes an asset class if you think things roll over. >> cash has been an asset class for some time now. >> yes. >> tri-powder. >> yes. >> the bank of japan and bank of england will not stop. agriculture stocks are dramatically underperformed. >> all right. good to see you both. thank you for joining us. peter, i'll see you in a few minutes. as the market continues to slowly lose altitude, we were up 125 on the dow and now it's a 78-point gain with about 20 minutes to go here. >> stocks surging -- or were surging but shares of herbalife, look at that surge in move.
3:39 pm
coming up, one investor who sees big opportunity in this big pullback. >> that would be a dip. after the bell, cbs kicks off media earnings. which names in this industry should you be tuning into? answer on the next hour of the "closing bell." >> agricultural space higher than 7%. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics...
3:40 pm
a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance
3:41 pm
of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.
3:42 pm
and welcome back to the "closing bell." i'm darren rovell. we are monitoring shares of both gnc and vitamin shoppe following news that amazon.com was pulling dmaa products off its site. that is the supplement or ingredient that the fda sent warning letters to come companies that have products with dmaa in it on friday. they are still looking into it. there's been no action taken by
3:43 pm
the fda. amazon.com reacting saying that they are in the process of pulling dmaa stuff off their website and it will be off momentarily. that moving the shares of both gnc and vitamin shoppe and trading in heavy volume. back to you. >> thank you very much. we are here at the post 10a. we ticked it because that's where shares of herbalife are traded. the stocks pummeled after david asked about the 10k disclosures during the conference call. you can see the exact moment when he asked that question. wanting to know why they disposed three groups of distributors at the low end.
3:44 pm
the company said it took out that information because they didn't view it as valuable information. as you look at the year to date chart, they are gaining nearly 30% this year. that is all before this conference call began today. bill, back to you. >> as we all know, herbalife uses that direct selling model. products are coming off the shelf and what david einhorn wanted to know, who has those products? are they buying these at a discount? so that's a good question. and at least one analyst thinks it's not an issue right now. he would buy shares. he calls it a major buying opportunity. join us to tell us why. you're not concerned about david einhorn's concerns, yes? >> i'm not concerned about the concerns that he raised, no. i don't think this is a meaningful risk for the company. >> it comes down to margins,
3:45 pm
really. are they selling at a full retail price to customers or are they selling at a discount, the wholesale price to the distributors buying them for their own use? >> actually, bill, that's not the way it would be accounted for. the products are sold at wholesale and that's the way herbalife books them. they don't book the retail revenue that would accrue to a distributor if that distributor sold to a third party. >> but you would agree it's a transparency issue and whether its value l its value lid or not, would it be who have the company to disclose the products? >> i'm sure they will come out with disclosures but does campbell's soup know who buys their soup at costco? we don't know. most multi-level companies really ought to talk about the bottom layer of their distribution as customers.
3:46 pm
because if you're a customer and you're not a distributor, you ought to become a distributor to get that discount. so the vast majority of people who want to buy the product, either would become, say, a preferred customer at nuskin or isana or a distributor at herbalife. and there's nothing wrong with that, by the way. >> you would buy these shares hand over fist? >> i would buy them hand over fist and expect this company to react to this bit of news, quite forcefully, i imagine. >> tim, thanks for the other side of the story. thank you for joining us. take a break, come back, head towards the close with 15 minutes to go. coming off the highs of the dow, up 78 points. forget sell in may and go away this year. our next guest explains why this chart is very bullish for the market straight ahead.
3:47 pm
i see a theme. as we head to the break, here's how each sector has been traded. all have been traded higher and energy tops this list. we're back after this. . zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. recently, students from 31 countries took part in a science test. the top academic performers surprised some people. so did the country that came in 17th place. let's raise the bar and elevate our academic standards. let's do what's best for our students-by investing in our teachers. let's solve this.
3:48 pm
3:50 pm
i'm seema mody. here's what is happening at the nasdaq. sears holdings, the best performing stock on the nasdaq 100. a decline in same-store sales but the outlook for q1 getting investors excited. semiconductor space, qualcomm, paired gains over the past hour but not only got upgraded to outperform, but also named qualcomm the new topic among large cap semis, based on better hand set pricing. the stock better than 28% over the past six months. that's qualcomm for you. guys, back over to you. >> seema, quick check on the nasdaq. we ignored it because of the dow setting the intraday high. the nasdaq is nearly at a one-month high although it's still down 1.7% from the march
3:51 pm
highs. intel, big mover on the 100 today adding three points to the index. the volatility index, fear indicator down 4% or has been today. 4 1/3 after rallying. the fear indicator near a one-month low. michelle? >> we're going to stay with the markets because we saw the dow hit a four-year high. my next guest says, however, you would be wrong to sell in may and go away, at least this time around. according to his calculations. investors who stay in this market could get an average return of 4% from may to october. chris johnson is director of research and joins us now to explain why. there's so many cliches when it comes to the market. one is sell in may, go away. the other one is the trend is your friend. that's the one that people should be following right now, correct? >> i'm saying, if we're going to follow one, let's follow the
3:52 pm
other. they are both overly simplified rules and when you put the two together we solve some of the big question that everybody is asking themselves on may 1st, which is, should i sell in may. when you look at it over the last 22 years, if you sold many may and go away, you miss out on a flat market. going back over to the last 22 years. if you look at it from the perspective of, if i stay in the market when my trend is my friend, and whether we gauge whether the s&p 500 is trading above the 20-month moving average. that's a line of demarkation between bull and bear market for the technicians out there. if we're above that 20-month moving average in may, it's better to stay in the market. you'd make about 4% for this period that goes from may to october. what we're saying right now is the trend is our friend. let's stay in this market now. >> all right. if you're going to do that, are there any particular sectors that you can pick or buy an etf
3:53 pm
or a spider? >> well, sure. you can go out and buy the spider shares right now. a couple areas of the market that we like a little more because there's a good economic story behind them or a fundamental story, small cap stocks, they lead the market higher during the rallies, but i really like the retail and insurance groups right now. when you look at those two etfs, we're seeing great numbers in terms of the companies making new highs and, again, there's a good fundamental story. with the economic recovery that we're seeing, retail activity continuing to pick up. i think you're looking at a great opportunity for those two sectors to continue outperforming the market. >> and we've just shown the are retail and insurance index, and certainly the trend is in the direction thaw say so. maybe it works. chris, good to see you. thank you so much. >> thanks a lot, michelle. coming up next, we're coming right back with the closing countdown. >> also, after the bell, a bargain or value trap? we don't often talk about it but
3:54 pm
it's a segment that you cannot afford to miss. >> herb greenberg never stops talking about that. don't forget, we want to know who won or bond battle earlier in the show. was it the bull, paul schatz or bear sharon stark? your answers will be unveiled in the next hour of the "closing bell." >> as we head to a break, here's how the major averages are trading at the top of the hour and the second hour of the closing be "closing bell." you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide. ficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪
3:55 pm
and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team.
3:56 pm
a living, breathing intelligence helping business, do more business. in here, opportunities are created and protected. gonna need more wool! demand is instantly recognized and securely acted on across the company. around the world. turning a new trend, into a global phenomenon. it's the at&t network -- securing a world of new opportunities. ♪ on december 21st polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd, and you still need to retire. td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans?
3:57 pm
welcome back to "closing bell." breaking news on facebook. the stock is ready. they have the paperwork all at hand. the s.e.c. is looking favorably on the documents that they filed, from my understanding. there could be a last-minute hitch so we can't say with absolute certainty but it's looking like monday is when facebook will hit the road and they will probably start with a meeting at morgan stanley some time mid-morning, midday to introduce to the sales force their offering. they could start trading as early as may 16th or 17th. >> like that scene in jurassic park is coming our way and water staurts starts vibrating because
3:58 pm
of the heavy footprints, facebook is coming. a witness to the ism number, manufacturing highest level that we've seen in ten months and what did the market do with that number? the dow was up 125 points but since then we've been losing altitude here. as we head to the close, only a 61-point gain here. oil, one-month high. if manufacturing is good, demand is good for energy. prices are higher 117 to 106.04. gasoline is very interesting. the report from the government showed that demand is down 5.6% year over year. gasoline is continuing to move lower here a little bit and you're seeing that at the pump. the yield on the ten-year was moving higher today, selling bonds to buy stocks. but we're coming off those highs. the yield at 1.9%. we're still well below the yellow flag area that i find at
3:59 pm
16.5 with a decline of 3.6%. as we look at the sectors, you're itemizing what you would hang on to as you're selling this market. what about the likes of an energy, even as prices go higher, or technology, which has been the sector for all seasons? >> energy stocks have dramatically lagged the stock itself. they are trading as if crude oil is $80. part of that has to do with the decline in natural gas prices. >> right. >> because i think natural gas prices are near a bottom, i would be buying them. technology has had a phenomenal run. technology has been mostly apple. >> apple. >> and apple is dragging. it's trading very poorly. i think it's topped out. i'm not necessarily calling for a change in the fundamentals but this technology run has run its course. >> and the market overall, we're seeing here, this selloff here. do you think we're peaking here? we have a pretty good rally this morning. >> the market for months has been
232 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNBCUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=834006506)