You Know The Number, Now Here’s The Bias

June 25, 2003
Vincent Mao

Stocks
fell Wednesday, after the Fed cut rates by 1/4 point and said the
economy still looks sluggish. This leaves the
Fed funds rate at 1% — the lowest in 45 years. Earlier in the day, a
better-than-expected report from the housing sector overshadowed a
weak durable goods report. Bonds were lower, and gold was slightly higher.

In economic news, the May
Durable Goods fell by 0.3% vs. an expected rise of 1%. This was the second
month of declines. Existing Home Sales in May increased by 1.2% to an
annualized rate of 5.95 million ahead of the expected 5.90 million rate. Lastly,
New Home Sales jumped 12.5% to an annualized rate of 1.16 million topping
estimates of 1.04 million. This was the biggest one-month increase since
September 1993.

The Fed said that the economy
hasn’t exhibited sustainable growth, although they said that recent signs point
to a firming in spending, imrroved financial conditions, and stabilizing labor
and product markets.

The 10-year U.S. Note
was down 265 at 118 14.

The dollar was down 0.28
at 94.55.

Gold fell 1.90 at 347.70.

Crude Oil slid 0.03 at
29.92.

Volume was
1,441,958,000
on the NYSE, and 1,563,569,000 on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth was positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 1.18, and down
volume over up volume by a 1.39 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues at 1.17, and up volume over down volume is at a 1.15 ratio.

Top Dow stocks were:

Stocks in the news:

Goldman Sachs
(
GS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat earnings
estimates by .17, and doubled its dividend. Also, the company said a lockup
period expired for 51 million IPO shares.

Amkor Technology
(
AMKR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was higher after Soundview upgraded the stock from “neutral” to
“outperform”. Soundview based the upgrade on the belief that Amkor will beat its
second-quarter estimates. Soundview also raised its target price from $9 to
$16.

ATI Technologies
(
ATYT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gained after reporting better-than-expected
third-quarter results. The computer graphics chip maker reported earnings of 5
cents a share compared to a loss of a penny a share during the same period a
year ago. ATI’s results also topped estimates by a penny.

Christopher & Banks
(
CBK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was higher on heavy volume after the women’s apparel retailer reported
first-quarter results that topped estimates. The company reported earnings of
44 cents a share compared to 37 cents a share for the same period a year ago.
The results were 2 cents better than the consensus estimates.

Human Genome Sciences
(
HGSI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was higher after the FDA gave the company clearance to begin testing of its ABthrax
drug. ABthrax is used for the prevention and treatment of anthrax infections.

Palm
(
PALM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was
higher after the company reported a
smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. The portable hand-held computer maker
reported a loss of 51 cents a share compared to 95 cents a share during the same
quarter a year ago. Analysts had been expecting a loss of 93 cents a share.

Carnival Corp.
(
CCL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell after the company missed its second quarter
estimates. The cruise operator reported results of 19 cents a share compared to
33 cents a share for the same quarter a year ago. The results were 3 cents shy
of analyst estimates. The company also warned that third-quarter results would
likely be between 83 to 87 cents a share compared to consensus estimates of 93
cents a share.

Verity
(
VRTY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell
$5.00 on very heavy volume. The company reported fourth-quarter results of 11
cents a share compared to 9 cents a share for the same quarter a year ago. The
results were 2 cents shy of estimates. Verity also warned that due to
challenging global conditions, first-quarter results are likely to be between 3
to 5 cents a share compared to estimates of 11 cents a share.

You Know The Number, Now Here’s The Bias

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

Quick Links

Company Info

Contact

Company Resources