Dow's best month since Oct. '02
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its best month in nearly seven years, posting an 882-point boost since Friday, July 3. In fact it was the best July for Wall Street in twenty years. Gains for the week for the Dow and NASDAQ were meager however, with both gaining less than a percent. The 20SSI decreased 5.8% from last week's close but the net gain since July 3 was nearly 22 points.
Company earnings and earnings outlooks continue to lead the surge on the major indexes. The big gainer for solar this week was Entech Solar which announced "successful completion of the preliminary design review and prototype of the next-generation concentrating solar product, ThermaVolt II." The company is also completed preliminary design for a tubular skylight. To be frank, many solar investors may have decided to take short-term profits on the terrific gains made in the industry earlier on the month.
Being active in the solar business, this blogger sees renewed interest in PV systems as the summer gets hotter in California and can last into November. Power rates are high and demand shoots up with the gross necessity of air conditioning--especially in the inland deserts which are getting more inhabitants resulting from cheaper land. Places like Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and Indio are beginning to see some serious traffic. There is a thriving town called Ridgecrest farther north with its own solar-powered junior college. Ridgecrest is 17 miles from Death Valley, the hottest spot in the contiguous 48 states. Inland desert temperatures range from 98-123 degrees in the hot months and the AC required to stay comfortable can result in electricity bills that look more like mortgage payments. ROI for solar installations here is quick and painless.
(Picture: A parabolic trough array in the California desert near Victorville.)
Week of July 27-31, 2009
|
Monday Open |
Friday Close |
Up/Down |
% Change |
Close 1/5/09* |
Close 3/6/09** |
| Dow Jones DJIA |
9093.24 |
9171.62 |
+78.38 |
+.8619% |
8952.89 |
6626.95 |
| NASDAQ |
1965.96 |
1978.5 |
+12.54 |
+.6378 |
1628.03 |
1293.85 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Akeena Solar AKNS |
1.41 |
1.3101 |
-.0999 |
-.0763 |
2.28 |
.61 |
| Amtel Systems ASYS |
5.56 |
5.74 |
+.18 |
+3.237 |
4.00 |
2.73 |
| Applied Materials AMAT |
13.19 |
13.80 |
+.61 |
+4.625 |
10.67 |
8.70 |
| Canadian Solar CSIQ |
15.57 |
14.54 |
-1.03 |
-7.084 |
7.00 |
3.0601 |
| ECD (UniSolar) ENER |
15.22 |
14.24 |
-1.03 |
-7.084 |
29.33 |
17.45 |
| Entech Solar ENSL.OB |
.1900 |
.2300 |
+.0400 |
+21.05 |
.28 |
.23 |
| Evergreen Solar ESLR |
2.34 |
2.10 |
-.24 |
-11.43 |
3.60 |
1.03 |
| First Solar FSLR |
169.43 |
154.39 |
-15.04 |
-9.741 |
157.80 |
108.49 |
| GT Solar Int. SOLR |
6.16 |
6.20 |
+.04 |
+.6493 |
4.00 |
4.02 |
| JA Solar JASO |
5.32 |
4.81 |
-.51 |
+10.60 |
5.09 |
1.91 |
| Kyocera KYO |
78.83 |
80.17 |
+1.34 |
+1.699 |
71.87 |
54.21 |
| LDK Solar LDK |
11.81 |
10.94 |
-.87 |
-7.952 |
14.84 |
4.40 |
| MEMC Elect. WFR |
18.74 |
17.62 |
-1.12 |
-6.356 |
15.76 |
13.68 |
| Renesola SOL |
6.20 |
5.45 |
-.75 |
-1.376 |
5.15 |
2.1201 |
| Satcon SATC |
1.80 |
1.89 |
+.09 |
+.5586 |
1.60 |
1.23 |
| SolarFun SOLF |
7.50 |
7.20 |
-.30 |
-4.166 |
6.12 |
2.30 |
| SunPower SPWRA |
32.04 |
32.20 |
+.16 |
+.4993 |
45.13 |
23.39 |
| SunTech STP |
20.49 |
18.39 |
-2.10 |
-11.42 |
13.55 |
5.34 |
| Trina Solar TSL |
31.10 |
28.26 |
-2.84 |
-10.05 |
10.09 |
7.23 |
| Yingli YGE |
15.10 |
13.27 |
-1.83 |
-13.79 |
7.25 |
3.888 |
| 20SSI Weekly Cumulative: |
Previous 458 |
Current 432.75 |
Change -25.25/-5.8% |
Avg Stock -3.208% |
1/05/09* 415.41 |
3/06/09** 266.01 |
* The starting date of the 20 Solar Stock Index (20SSI).
** NOTE: Consensus "new" bull market began on Monday, March 9, 2009.
