Stocks lower ahead of option expiration

Stocks were flat Thursday despite positive news from
two Dow components.

Merck
(
MRK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reaffirmed 2005 and 2006 guidance and announced a plan to reclaim its leadership
position in the industry. MRK’s

PowerRating is 4.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of Altria
(
MO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) in a tobacco lawsuit, reversing a $10.1 billion lower court verdict. MO
hit an all-time high. MO’s

PowerRating is 5.

Michael Malone, trading analyst at S.G. Cowan, said "Today’s
action was pretty mixed. We’ve had a couple of good days in a row since the Fed
came out on Tuesday with their decision; I think we’re consolidating those gains
right now."

The CPI fell 0.6% in November; dropping at the fastest rate since 1949,
with energy prices falling a record 8% after a 12% gain in September. Ex-food/energy,
CPI rose 0.2%. Jobless claims for the week ending 12/10 rose 1,000 to
329,000, slightly more than expected. Capacity utilization was 80.2% vs 79.8%
consensus. Industrial production was +0.7% vs. +0.5% consensus.

After the close, Standard Microsystems
(
SMSC |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
beat by 0.05 and issued upside guidance. SMSC’s

PowerRating is 6. Oracle
(
ORCL |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was in-line at 0.19/share. ORCLs

PowerRating is 4. Adobe
(
ADBE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by a penny and issued mixed Q1 guidance. ADBE‘s

PowerRating is 8. Tektronix
(
TEK |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by 0.03. TEK‘s

PowerRating is 4.

Bear Stearns
(
BSC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by $0.27, boosted its stock buyback program to $1.5 billion and
raised its quarterly dividend to $0.28/share.  BSC‘s
PowerRating
is 6.

Goldman Sachs
(
GS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported $3.35, in-line with the First Call estimate and a penny behind
the Reuters estimate.  GS’s
PowerRating
is 5.

Lennar
(
LEN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported $3.54, beating by 0.20. Revenue rose 42%; the company also
reaffirmed guidance and said it had a $6.5 billion backlog. LEN’s

PowerRating is 5.

Goldman Sachs raised its fiscal 2006 estimates on
eBay
(
EBAY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and raised its implied value on the stock to $54 from $46.
EBAY’s

PowerRating is 5.

Amgen
(
AMGN |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) will acquire

Abgenix
(
ABGX |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) for $22.50/share. AMGN‘s

PowerRating is 7.

Microsoft
(
MSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) raised its dividend 12.5% to 9 cents/share/quarter. MSFT’s

PowerRating is 5.

Apollo Group
(
APOL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reports before the open Thursday; look for 0.70. APOL’s
PowerRating
is 5.

KB Homes
(
KBH |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reports after the bell; look for $3.34. KBH’s

PowerRating is 5.

On Tuesday, Charles Schwab
(
SCH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
begins trading on the NASDAQ with the symbol "SCHW." The company has been
listed on the NYSE since 1987 and is currently dual-listed.