Can Anything Slow These Bulls Down?

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 4:50 pm EDT, Tuesday September 15, 2009

Stocks climbed for the 7th day in eight, with the major market indices finishing at their highs for the year. While we continue to lean on the cautious side, it's hard to fight the tape at this point. The bulls have exercised an impressive grip over the markets, ignoring pessimists who called for a rocky September.

The Fitness and Dieting Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by Ediets.com Inc (Nasdaq: DIET - News) with a 41% gain.

Stocks climbed on the day, with the Dow up 57 points to 9,683. The S&P added 3 points to 1,053, while the Nasdaq climbed 11 points to 2,103. Oil jumped $2.07 to $70.93 a barrel, while gold rose $5.20 to $1006.30 an ounce.

On the economic front, the Labor Department reported that the producer price index (PPI) climbed 1.7% in August, while core PPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.2%. Economists were looking for readings of 0.8% and 0.1%, respectively. Elsewhere, the Commerce Department announced that August retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 2.7%. Economists were expecting a 2.0% increase. Excluding autos, sales increased 1.1%, above expectations of a 0.4% rise.

In earnings news, electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) announced Q2 earnings of $158 million, or 37 cents per share, down -22% from $202 million, or 48 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 12% to $11.0 billion, while same-store sales fell 3.9%. Analysts were looking for EPS of 42 cents on sales of $10.8 billion. Despite the earnings miss, the company raised its full-year EPS guidance to $2.70-$3.00 from prior expectations of $2.50-$2.70. The stock fell -5.2%. Twenty-eight Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

Shares of Cracker Barrel (Nasdaq: CBRL - News) rose 5.1% after the restaurant operator reported fiscal Q4 EPS ahead of analyst views. For the quarter ended July 31st, the company posted a profit of $22.8 million, or 99 cents a share, up 9% from $21.0 million, or 93 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell -1% to $595.6 million, as same-store retail sales dipped -7% and comparable-store restaurant sales edged down -1.4%. The consensus was for EPS of 95 cents on revenue of $600.0 million. The company forecast EPS for the new fiscal year of between $2.85-$3.10 versus Wall Street estimates of $3.02. Two Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

Kroger (NYSE: KR - News) shares dropped -7.5% after the grocery store operator's Q2 earnings missed Wall Street estimates and took its guidance lower. For Q2, the company recorded net income of $254.4 million, or 39 cents per share, down -8% from $276.5 million, or 42 cents per share, last year. Revenue, including fuel sales, dipped -2% to $17.7 billion. Analyst estimates called for EPS of 44 cents on sales of $18.2 billion. The company lowered its full-year EPS guidance to $1.90-$2.00 from $2.00-$2.05.

Manufacturer Pall Corp (NYSE: PLL - News) reported fiscal Q4 earnings of $69.5 million, or 58 cents per share, compared with $69.9 million, or 57 cents per share, a year ago, when it had more shares outstanding. The Wall Street consensus was for EPS of 52 cents. Revenue fell -10% to $652.0 million. The stock rose 1.9%.

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