Aug 17-21: Dow, NASDAQ; Solar Slides Some More
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Crude oil is credited with upsurge
TheDJIA gained nearly 185 points for the week and NASDAQ went up 62. WallStreet suggests the surge is related to increased crude oil prices. The20 Solar Stocks Index took another slide to finish at 385.89, an 11%drop from last Friday.
On July 11, 2008 crude oil was at$146.65 a barrel and the Dow took a 129 point hit that day. The highoil prices back then were bad for the stock market because expensiveoil absorbs capital the could have gone to other areas. Today, as crudesits around $74 a barrel, up from $40/barrel not long ago, the increaseto many suggests the economy is recovering. It seems to be the inversefrom last year.
Either way, the market still seems to beinextricably tied to the cost of crude. Crude oil, the dirty stuff,that powers most forms of transportation.
Solar power is gainingpopularity nationwide but even though panel prices are a record lows,the weak economy is keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines. Lowpanel prices come as a result of oversupply of both panels and actualsilicon wafers. Thin-film companies like UniSolar, First Solar and(indirectly) Applied Materials see their sales faltering likely becausecrystalline panel pricing has dropped to the point of being the same orcheaper than their PV offerings. Also, high-concentration PV makers,who use lenses to magnify the output of smaller silicon chips, haveless of a play in the solar market because they counted on siliconprices staying high. With today’s glut of crystalline panels andwafers, the HCPV approach is neutralized.
Spiking electricitycosts are still the biggest motivation to go solar and wind. As theeconomy bounces back and the need for power surges, solar will surgealong with it. Besides, many states either have or are about toinstitute clean energy mandates that public utilities will have tomeet. For the time being solar will have to bear these challengingtimes just like virtually all other sectors.
20 Solar Stocks Index Week of August 17-23, 2009
| Monday Open | Friday Close | Up/Down | % Change | Close 1/5/09* | Close 3/6/09** | |
| Dow Jones DJIA | 9321.40 | 9505.96 | +184.56 | =1.980% | 8952.89 | 6626.95 |
| NASDAQ | 1985.52 | 2020.90 | +62.38 | +3.185 | 1628.03 | 1293.85 |
| Akeena Solar AKNS | 1.21 | 1.17 | -.04 | -3.420 | 2.28 | .61 |
| Amtel Systems ASYS | 4.91 | 5.05 | +.14 | +2.851 | 4.00 | 2.73 |
| Applied Materials AMAT | 13.55 | 13.74 | +.19 | +1.402 | 10.67 | 8.70 |
| Canadian Solar CSIQ | 16.54 | 15.98 | -.56 | -11.24 | 7.00 | 3.0601 |
| ECD (UniSolar) ENER | 13.35 | 12.36 | -.99 | -8.009 | 29.33 | 17.45 |
| Entech Solar ENSL.OB | .2010 | .1750 | -.026 | -14.85 | .28 | .23 |
| Evergreen Solar ESLR | 2.00 | 1.89 | -.11 | -5.820 | 3.60 | 1.03 |
| First Solar FSLR | 141.78 | 121.54 | -20.24 | -16.65 | 157.80 | 108.49 |
| GT Solar Int. SOLR | 5.50 | 5.38 | -.12 | -2.230 | 4.00 | 4.02 |
| JA Solar JASO | 4.17 | 3.79 | -.38 | -10.02 | 5.09 | 1.91 |
| Kyocera KYO | 81.45 | 79.85 | 11.60 | -2.003 | 71.87 | 54.21 |
| LDK Solar LDK | 9.22 | 8.94 | -.28 | -3.132 | 14.84 | 4.40 |
| MEMC Elect. WFR | 16.82 | 17.00 | +.18 | +1.070 | 15.76 | 13.68 |
| Renesola SOL | 5.38 | 5.53 | +.18 | +2.788 | 5.15 | 2.1201 |
| Satcon SATC | 1.90 | 1.96 | +.06 | +3.157 | 1.60 | 1.23 |
| SolarFun SOLF | 6.70 | 5.51 | -1.19 | -21.59 | 6.12 | 2.30 |
| SunPower SPWRA | 27.65 | 26.25 | -1.40 | -5.33 | 45.13 | 23.39 |
| SunTech STP | 17.64 | 15.30 | -2.34 | -15.29 | 13.55 | 5.34 |
| Trina Solar TSL | 28.31 | 25.93 | -2.38 | -9.178 | 10.09 | 7.23 |
| Yingli YGE | 12.43 | 11.07 | -1.36 | -12.28 | 7.25 | 3.888 |
| 20SSI Weekly Cumulative: | Previous 410.71 | Current 385.89 | Change -43.19/-11% | Avg Stock -6.21% | 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.
