A nice one-day performance
With investors already discounting a Fed
rate hike on Feb. 2, further evidence of an economy bursting at the seams
unleashed a storm of buying Friday, as an oversold market reacted with a
vengeance.
Breadth was excellent, volume potent,
and leadership exemplary…Three-to-two days on the Nasdaq don’t happen all that
often.
Among senior
techs, Dell was the worst performer as turnover jumped 41% from that
of Thursday…Nortel [NT>NT] exploded for a 26% gain on volume 167% above its
norm as it ricocheted off its 50-day moving average line…
Few computer-related bellwethers offer
attractive entry points for the intermediate-term player…the technical damage
done recently needs more time to repair before low-risk entries can be the
norm…the same is true for marquee Internets.
B2Bs
showed good tone…Ariba [ARBA>ARBA] and Broadvision [BVSN>BVSN]
bounced 13%-15% on good volume after three days of red…It’s premature to know
if these stocks and others like Internet Capital Group [ICGE>ICGE],
Purchasepro [PPRO>PPRO], Freemarkets [FMKT>FMKT] and Epiphany
[EPNY>EPNY] have bottomed…even if they have, they aren’t close to offering
low-risk entries–too much overhead supply…Intraware [ITRA>ITRA] is one of
the better actors in the segment.
Some color=#008000>genomics moved back impressively to their old
highs…the group got a head-start on the rest of the market by beginning its
correction over a week before the popular averages…Genentech [DNA>DNA] came
back nicely and is poised to test its prior high…ditto for Human Genome
Sciences [HGSI>HGSI] and Imclone Systems [IMCL>IMCL]…among genomics
breakouts: Hyseq [HYSQ>HYSQ], on six times its average trade; Genzyme
Transgenics [GZTC>GZTC]; Myriad [MYGN>MYGN], on double average volume; and
Millennium Pharmaceuticals [MLNM>MLNM].
In all, a nice one-day performance. But
that’s all it was — a one-day performance.
At press time, Kevin N. Marder held a
long position in Millennium Pharmaceuticals.