The sluggish economy, stubborn unemployment and the crisis in Greece hampered stocks in the second quarter, especially in May and June. And Bay Area companies suffered even more than the broader market.
Bloomberg's index of 80 local stocks fell 3.6 percent in the quarter, marking its first decline in a year. That compared with a 0.4 percent drop for the Standard & Poor's 500 index and a 0.3 percent decrease for the Nasdaq composite index.
Finisar Corp. and Juniper Networks Inc. posted the Bay Area's biggest declines, while the top gainers included Diamond Foods Inc., Netgear Inc. and Polycom Inc. National Semiconductor Corp. had the largest increase, at 72 percent, fueled by a takeover by Texas Instruments Inc.
Investors punished stocks worldwide in June, spurred by dour economic reports and concerns about Greece. That country last week approved budget cuts and tax increases required to win bailout funds - prompting a rally - but the move failed to erase the month's losses. U.S. economic reports missed projections by the most since January 2009, according to data compiled by Citigroup Inc. using Bloomberg surveys.
"Investors were on the edge," said David Goerz, chief investment officer at Highmark Capital Management Inc. in San Francisco, which oversees $17.2 billion in assets. "The No. 1 thing that the market focused on was the slowdown in economic activity."
Still, winners and losers were evenly split in Bloomberg's Bay Area stock index. Shares of Diamond Foods surged after the company agreed to buy Pringles chips from Procter & Gamble Co. for $1.5 billion in April. The deal triples the size of the San Francisco company's snack business.
Netgear, a maker of modems and routers, saw shares rise 35 percent during the second quarter, buoyed by a positive earnings forecast. The San Jose company said in April that sales would be at least $270 million, topping the $240.3 million estimate by analysts. The stock closed at $43.72 on June 30, near the highest level since the company first sold shares to the public in 2003.
Polycom rose 24 percent during the second quarter. The Pleasanton maker of videoconferencing systems said in April that first-quarter profit hit 48 cents per share, excluding some items, beating the 42-cent average estimate from analysts. The company also agreed to buy Hewlett-Packard Co.'s competing videoconference business on June 1.
Finisar, the Sunnyvale maker of fiber-optic transmission gear, fell 27 percent during the second quarter, after reporting revenue that missed analysts' estimates. Demand for its products weakened, especially from Chinese customers.
Juniper Networks, the second-largest maker of networking equipment, slid 25 percent during the period. Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer of the Sunnyvale company, said in June that weakness in the overall economy was affecting performance.
Bonds did best during the second quarter, with Treasurys returning 2.4 percent and the Bank of America global corporate-debt measure rising 1.9 percent.
In Greece, Prime Minister George Papandreou fought a legislative battle for the austerity plan and withstood a confidence vote, staving off default. He won parliamentary approval to implement a $112 billion package that was a condition of receiving further European Union aid.
U.S. unemployment reached 9.1 percent in May and the Conference Board's consumer sentiment index dropped to 58.5 from 61.7, the private research group said last week.
Home values in 20 cities declined 4 percent in the 12 months through April, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index.
"The data were definitely on the weak side through the month," said Thanos Bardas, a managing director in Chicago at Neuberger Berman LLC, which oversees about $85 billion in fixed-income assets. "A self-sustaining economy is all about jobs."
Bloomberg's index of 80 local stocks fell 3.6 percent in the quarter, marking its first decline in a year. That compared with a 0.4 percent drop for the Standard & Poor's 500 index and a 0.3 percent decrease for the Nasdaq composite index.
Finisar Corp. and Juniper Networks Inc. posted the Bay Area's biggest declines, while the top gainers included Diamond Foods Inc., Netgear Inc. and Polycom Inc. National Semiconductor Corp. had the largest increase, at 72 percent, fueled by a takeover by Texas Instruments Inc.
Investors punished stocks worldwide in June, spurred by dour economic reports and concerns about Greece. That country last week approved budget cuts and tax increases required to win bailout funds - prompting a rally - but the move failed to erase the month's losses. U.S. economic reports missed projections by the most since January 2009, according to data compiled by Citigroup Inc. using Bloomberg surveys.
"Investors were on the edge," said David Goerz, chief investment officer at Highmark Capital Management Inc. in San Francisco, which oversees $17.2 billion in assets. "The No. 1 thing that the market focused on was the slowdown in economic activity."
Still, winners and losers were evenly split in Bloomberg's Bay Area stock index. Shares of Diamond Foods surged after the company agreed to buy Pringles chips from Procter & Gamble Co. for $1.5 billion in April. The deal triples the size of the San Francisco company's snack business.
Netgear, a maker of modems and routers, saw shares rise 35 percent during the second quarter, buoyed by a positive earnings forecast. The San Jose company said in April that sales would be at least $270 million, topping the $240.3 million estimate by analysts. The stock closed at $43.72 on June 30, near the highest level since the company first sold shares to the public in 2003.
Polycom rose 24 percent during the second quarter. The Pleasanton maker of videoconferencing systems said in April that first-quarter profit hit 48 cents per share, excluding some items, beating the 42-cent average estimate from analysts. The company also agreed to buy Hewlett-Packard Co.'s competing videoconference business on June 1.
Finisar, the Sunnyvale maker of fiber-optic transmission gear, fell 27 percent during the second quarter, after reporting revenue that missed analysts' estimates. Demand for its products weakened, especially from Chinese customers.
Juniper Networks, the second-largest maker of networking equipment, slid 25 percent during the period. Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer of the Sunnyvale company, said in June that weakness in the overall economy was affecting performance.
Bonds did best during the second quarter, with Treasurys returning 2.4 percent and the Bank of America global corporate-debt measure rising 1.9 percent.
In Greece, Prime Minister George Papandreou fought a legislative battle for the austerity plan and withstood a confidence vote, staving off default. He won parliamentary approval to implement a $112 billion package that was a condition of receiving further European Union aid.
U.S. unemployment reached 9.1 percent in May and the Conference Board's consumer sentiment index dropped to 58.5 from 61.7, the private research group said last week.
Home values in 20 cities declined 4 percent in the 12 months through April, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index.
"The data were definitely on the weak side through the month," said Thanos Bardas, a managing director in Chicago at Neuberger Berman LLC, which oversees about $85 billion in fixed-income assets. "A self-sustaining economy is all about jobs."
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