Key Support Levels The Market Is Challenging
Stocks are mostly under water
this Monday as the Dow and S&P 500 have been challenging key support levels.
Attempting to ease concerns over the economic fallout of the West Cost port
lockout, President Bush has announced formation of a board of inquiry before
potentially ordering workers back to their jobs. As a result of the
lockout, retail stocks have experienced heavy selling.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is +0.16% at 7540.54. The
S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is -0.19% at 799.07. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is -0.29% at 1136.51.
The biggest advancers are in biotechnology,
healthcare, utilities, and pharmaceuticals.
The biggest losers are in forest
and paper, gold and silver, airlines, and retail.
U.S. Treasury Bonds
closed + ’13 at 114 ’01.
The Dollar is down 2 at
108.00
Market breadth is negative,
with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 2.20, and down
volume over up volume by a 1.89 ratio.2.20 Nasdaq declining issues over
advancing issues came in at 2.14, and down volume beat up volume by a 1.297
ratio.
Leading the Dow are Phillip
Morris
(
MO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +4.15% at 38.11, Intel Corp.
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.06% at
14.13, and Merck [MRK|MRK[], +2.91% at 45.55.
Stocks in the news:Â Â Â
Retailer Sears
(
S |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-10.33% at 33.82, has announced that it will miss its third-quarter earnings.
Chip giant Intel
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+2.91% at 14.11, is one of the few stocks in positive territory after CEO Craig
Barrett said he expects conditions to improve in early 2003.
The semiconductor sector as a
whole has been downgraded by Prudential to “market perform” from
“market outperform,” as it downgraded Broadcom
(
BRCM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-1.58% at 9.95, LSI Logic
(
LSI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.58% at 5.55, Cypress Semi
(
CY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.50% at 3.89, Microtune
(
TUNE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), unch at 1.69, and Emcore
Corp.
(
EMKR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.89% at 1.11.
Internet infrastructure company
Cisco Systems
(
CSCO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.85% at 9.19, had its full-year profit
estimates cut by Deutsche Bank due to a recent deterioration in information
technology.
Investment bank JP Morgan
(
JPM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.29% at 16.92, warned that its third-quarter profit will come in
below expectations due to high commercial credit costs, mostly form the telecom
and cable sectors.
Medical equipment company
Medtronic
(
MDT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.38% at 43.80, has received FDA approval for its
Zipper stent.
Also in the medical
equipment business, Guidant
(
GDT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.90% at 26.79, received positive
comments in a Barron’s article over the weekend which claimed the company’s
stock is undervalued.
Electric utilities company
Entergy
(
ETR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +7.42% at 42.81, has increased its third-quarter earnings
guidance to 1.45 a share vs. the Multex consensus of $1.36 a share.
Retailer TJX Companies Inc.
(
TJX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.17% at 16.90, has had its estimates cut by Prudential based on the
belief that it will be one of the biggest losers from the West coast port
lockout. The stock has also been downgraded by Bank of America to “market
perform” from “hold”.
Chemical company
Sigma-Aldrich
(
SIAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -7.30% at 43.41, is down in the pre-market due to
rumors of an Off Wall Street report which values the stock at $28.
Airline AMR Corp.
(
AMR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-5.55% at 4.08, sold off after it announced a $990 million impairment charge.