Morning Spy: Solar Pops, Apple Worst 1H Since ‘08 (MCP, YGE, FSLR, IMAX, USCR, BCS, AMZN, BAC, AAPL, GOOG)

The markets have started Thursday higher once again, adding to Wednesday’s gains. In economic news, Initial claims fell slightly from 429,000 for the week ending June 18 to 428,000 for the week ending June 25. Analysts’ consensus expected the initial claims level to fall to 420,000.

Today’s Top tickerspy Indexes:

Rare Earth Stocks (up 3.0%, see graph): Shares of Molycorp (MCP) are helping the Index today after the company received some positive comments from Piper Jaffray and a report was released indicating a Malaysian rare-earth refinery may be delayed by a government review that called for higher safety standards. This news could be viewed as positive for miners like Molycorp.

Chinese Solar Stocks (up 2.6% today, see graph): The Index is being led by shares of Yingli Green Energy Hldng (YGE)even though Avian initiated coverage of the company with a negative rating and $8 price target, which is below where the stock currently trades. Also performing well today is the Solar Stocks Index. Shares of First Solar (FSLR) are brightening the day after it was reported that the Department of Energy will announce $4.5 billion in loan guarantees for three California solar projects.

Photographic Equipment Stocks (up 2.4%, see graph): Shares of Imax (IMAX) are leading the Index higher after the company announced that the SEC informed Imax that its investigation had been completed and that it did not intend to recommend any enforcement action against the company.

Cement Stocks (up 2.2%, see graph): US Concrete (USCR) is leading the Index higher on well below average volume.

Today’s Top Market Headlines

First Solar : Home run on loan guarantees – Credit Suisse: The call of the day comes from Credit Suisse solar team as they comment on First Solar following an Associated Press report saying the company has won conditional loan guarantees for 3 of their Solar projects.

Barclays Sells 460 Million Pounds of Fund Stakes to Axa Unit: Barclays PLC (BCS), the British bank run by Robert Diamond, agreed to sell 460 million pounds ($739 million) of stakes in private-equity funds as regulators make it costlier for lenders to own the assets.

What Happens When Every State Hits Amazon On Taxes?: California means to make Amazon.com (AMZN) and other e-commerce companies pay state sales taxes on all the goods and services the companies sells in the largest state by population.

Bank of America Said to Eliminate 60 Jobs in Equity Sales, Trading Units: Bank of America (BAC), the biggest U.S. bank, cut about 60 positions in its equity sales and trading division this month to help bring expenses in line with revenue, said two people with knowledge of the decision.

Canada Sells AECL’s CANDU Reactor Division to SNC-Lavalin: The Canadian government agreed to sell the CANDU reactor division of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited to SNC-Lavalin Group, a construction and engineering company based in Montreal.

Apple Has Worst First Half Since ‘08 as Investors Await IPhone: Apple (AAPL) shares have dropped 4 percent this month, capping their worst first-half performance in three years, as investors await new products and fret that rivalry from Google (GOOG).

Tags: AAPL, AMZN, BAC, BCS, FSLR, GOOG, IMAX, MCP, USCR, YGE