May 14, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Philip Holmes) — Stocks ended way down on Wednesday as investors took in some lousy economic news and weighed the effects on share prices of the current rash of big share offerings by companies including Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM).

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the trading session at 8,284.89, down 184.22 points, while the S&P 500 index dropped 24.43 points to finish at 883.92. The Nasdaq composite index lost 51.73 points to close at 1,664.19.

What had investors spooked? The U.S. government delivered some bad news from the nation’s cash registers. According to a Commerce report, retail sales dropped 0.4% in April, instead of remaining flat, as analysts expected. Take the moribund car dealers out of the equation and retail sales were off by 0.5% for the month against expectations of a 0.2% rise.

Any little green shoot in housing? No, in fact investors learned around 342,000 American households were notified that they faced foreclosure in April, a whopping 32% increase versus the same month last year.

Then there are the stock offerings. MGM Mirage joined the throng on Wednesday, saying it planned to offer 81 million common shares. That follows recent offerings by companies ranging from big banks like Bank of America and Capital One Financial, Ford Motor Co. and Anadarko Petroleum.

The success of these offerings is a healthy sign that investors are taking on more risk. And they could herald a new wave of IPO activity. But some experts worry that the billions being spent on stock offerings will have the effect of blunting the recent recovery in share values.

Individual floats are being diluted, but the enormous aggregate size of the sales, (over $6.5 billion just from recent offerings by B&T, Capital One Financial, U.S. Bancorp and KeyCorp, as William Patalon III of Daily Markets points out), may drain enough investor capital that the major indices will take a price hit. Patalon’s experts say “no”, but it’s a legit question.   

The Investrend Earnings Calendar features Agilent (NYSE: A), expected at $0.14 a year ago versus $0.35 a year ago; Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), expected at $0.15 versus $0.20 a year ago; Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR), expected at $0.19 versus $0.23 a year ago; Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS), expected at $0.43 versus $0.49 a year ago.

The Investrend Economics Calendar lists Weekly Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Producer Price Index (PPI) for April (8:30 a.m.).

The Investrend Events Calendar showcases ACE, AB, HIG, LM at Credit Suisse Group Financials 1-on-1 Conference; ADM, SCI, OMI, SCI at Davenport & Company Institutional Investors Conference; AVY, RPM, ARJ, FMC at Gabelli & Co Specialty Chemicals Conference; BWLD, CAH, TXN, BMRN at Robert W. Baird Growth Stock Conference; CNI, BNI, KSU, CNW at Longbow Research Transportation & Logistics Investor Conference; COL, PCP, NOC, GR at Macquarie Capital Securities Aerospace & Defense Conference; CPE, SPN, EAC, TDW at Al Petrie Investor and Media Relations Louisiana Energy Conference; F Shareholders Meeting; GIS, CL, PM, CCE at Goldman Sachs Consumer Products Conference; MOS, POT, IPI, DHR at BMO Capital Markets Agriculture, Protein & Fertilizer Conference; OII, CXO at Calyon Securities Energy Forum; RX, SVNT, NUVA, CERN at Bank of America Securities Healthcare Conference.

The Investrend Money Index is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the NYSE/NASDAQ 50 Most Actives indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing. Last session’s trading showed eight advancers versus 42 decliners. Advancers were led by Financial Bear 3x (NYSE: FAZ) up 13.88%, Ultrashort Real Esta (NYSE: SRS) up 13.81%, Ultrashort Financial (NYSE: SKF) up 9.76%. Decliners followed The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) down 36.98%, M G M Mirage (NYSE: MGM) down 29.84%, Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE: LVS) down 15.69%, Huntington Bancshares Incorpora (NASDAQ: HBAN) down 14.86%, Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) down 14.70%, Financial Bull 3x (NYSE: FAS) down 14.38%, Ultra Real Estate Pr (NYSE: URE) down 12.80%, Dryships Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) down 12.02%, Amer Intl Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) down 11.60%, Ultra Financials Pro (NYSE: UYG) down 10.90%, Bk Of America Cp (NYSE: BAC) down 10.20%, Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) down 8.77%, Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) down 8.63%, Brocade Communications Systems, (NASDAQ: BRCD) down 8.44%, News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) down 6.92%, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) down 6.83%, Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) down 6.46%.

Vote in the Investrend Poll Question of the Day at Investrend Information (http://www.investrendinformation.com).

Investrend Website of the Day: http://www.dilithiumcrystal.com/

Quote of the Day: “Never raise your hands to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected.” Red Buttons

Today is: National Buttermilk Biscuit Day.

Happy Birthday: Richard Deacon, Bobby Darin, Tony Pérez, Jack Bruce, George Lucas, David Byrne, Cate Blanchett, Sofia Coppola.

Today in History: Jamestown, Virginia, was settled as an English colony in 1607. Four-year-old Louis XIV became King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII, in 1643. Edward Jenner administered the first smallpox vaccination in 1796. The Lewis and Clark Expedition departed in 1804 from Camp Dubois and began their historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River. New York Governor William Sulzer approved in 1913 the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which began operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller. Israel was declared to be an independent state in 1948 and a provisional government was established.

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