Frisky Friday for Ford? Maybe, it’s at least worth watchingI think it’s one to watch..Tomorrow, we learn more about the auto industry and Ford may be positioned to move:
Motor Vehicle Sales
Sales of domestic light motor vehicles slipped 3.8 percent August to an annualized 8.3 million from 8.7 million in July. Imports gained 8.8 percent to 3.1 million from 2.9 million in July. Net, consumers and fleet purchasing managers are still heading to the showrooms as total sales of domestics and imports of autos and light trucks for August came in at an annualized 11.5 million units, matching the July pace. If you want to be picky, it was 11.47 million in August, down 0.6 percent from 11.54 million in August. On the margin, sales are holding up. But without a doubt, the latest was sharply lower than the cash-for-clunkers jacked number of 14.2 million in August 2009.
First, from Bloomberg:
The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today its business barometer climbed to 60.4 in September, exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The number of applicants for unemployment insurance payments fell more than projected last week, another report showed.Manufacturing figures tomorrow and next week’s September jobs report will need to confirm that a further slowdown in the economy has been averted in order to reassure Federal Reserve policy makers, who last week said they were willing to take more steps to spur growth. As firings abate, employers aren’t adding enough workers to reduce an unemployment rate that’s hovering near 10 percent.
Article also quoted CEO from FORD:
Automakers including Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Co. are among manufacturers seeing sales picking up while holding below pre-recession levels. The auto business is pretty steady and coming back up a little bit,” Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally told reporters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sept. 17. The economy “is coming back slower than past recessions.”
Ford, F, is positioned to move tomorrow, in my opinion, based on both the technicals and sales numbers. Of course, the overall Motor Vehicle Sales number needs to look good to encourage buying. But, if we get a satisfactory report, I expect Ford to take care of the rest and possibly give us a nice return into the weekend. I’m looking for strong European growth sales to push Ford’s number into the ‘surprise’ category tomorrow.
image from WSSTREET.COM:
Technically, the chart does not look bullish and at this point, it will need news to turn it back up. If the news is negative tomorrow, I would look for a pullback to the bottom trendline just under SMA200 before considering taking a position. If the news is good, we should look for a bounce off of SMA50 and a push through the top of the triangle on its way towards 13.25 (next resistance).
