Dow stocks at 52 week highs include Dupont (DD), Home Depot (HD), Pfizer (PFE), United Technologies (UTX) and Walt Disney (DIS). There are no Dow stock 52 week lows.

The Market

Premarket today, the Dow was indicated to open down -4 points.

Tuesday, the Dow closed up +227.85 (+1.41%) at 16,395.88. Today, DJIA closed down -35.70 (-0.22%) at 16,360.18.

Year-to-date the Dow is down -1.31%.

The ADP National Employment Report released today said private sector employment increased by 139,000 jobs from January to February. This falls below the consensus estimate and well below the average over the last 12 months.” The report said that goods producing employment rose by 19,000 jobs in February, up from a downwardly-revised figure of 12,000 in January. Nearly all of the growth came from the construction industry which added 14,000 jobs over the month. This also followed downwardly revised increases of 17,000 in the prior two months.

Goldman Sachs (+1.86%) and JPMorgan (+1.57%) were today’s biggest Dow stock gainers.

European stocks and Asian stocks ended lower.

The national average price of gasoline is up four-tenths of a cent to $3.464 per gallon.

Earnings Reports.

There are no Dow stocks scheduled to report earnings in the near term.

Notable earnings reports from yesterday include:

AutoZone Inc. (AZO) reported second quarter EPS of $5.63 on revenue of $2.00 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $4.78 on revenue of $1.86 billion.
Bob Evans Farms Inc. (BOBE) reported third quarter EPS of $0.30, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.56 on revenue of $434.44 million.

Radioshack Corporation (RSH) reported a fourth quarter loss of $1.29 per share on revenue of $935.40 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $1.30 billion.

Stocks reporting earnings today include:

PetSmart (PETM) reported its fourth quarter results with EPS of $1.28, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21. Revenue of $1.81 billion missed the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Gross profit for the quarter fell to $565.99 million from $593.44 million in the same quarter last year, partially due to the current quarter consisting of 13 weeks versus last year’s quarter which included 14 weeks. Gross margin improved 40 bps to 31.4 percent in the quarter and comparable store sales grew 1.2 percent in the quarter. PetSmart issued guidance and sees its full year 2014 EPS to be $4.42 to $4.54 versus a consensus estimate of $4.45. Net sales are expected to grow four percent to six percent in the quarter on comparable sales growth of two percent to four percent. Shares closed down.

Navistar (NAV) reported its first quarter results with EPS of -$3.05 which may not compare to the consensus estimate of -$1.77. Revenue of $2.2 billion missed the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Net loss for the quarter rose to $248 million from a net loss of $123 million in the same quarter last year. The company noted that its first quarter’s poor performance is due to lower military sales and a $67 million in reduced structural costs. An unfavorable impact of $21 million due to foreign exchange fluctuations also hurt the bottom line. Shares closed lower.

Today’s Featured Dow Stock

3M Co. (MMM)

3M Co. (MMM) is down -4.56% year-to-date.

Financial Calendar