Stocks Lack Direction Ahead of Earnings

After failing to sustain an early upward
move, the U.S. stock markets have shown a lack of direction over the course of
the trading session on Tuesday. The choppy trading comes as traders wait for the
earnings season to pick up steam.

Casino stocks have begun 2007 on a high
note and continue to gain ground by posting notable advances on Tuesday. Shares
of gaming giants Las Vegas Sands
(
LVS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), MGM
(
MGM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), and
Wynn Resorts
(
WYNN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) have reached historic highs over the course of the
new year.  LVS and MGM shares are up 21% in 2007, while WYNN has gains of
15%.

The price of oil showed a substantial
decline during trading on Tuesday, more than offsetting the increase that was
seen in the previous session. After ending the previous session up $1.11 a
barrel, crude for February delivery closed down $1.78 at $51.21 a barrel.

The steep decline by the price of oil came
as comments from Saudi Arabia’s oil minister eased recent concerns that OPEC
intends to hold an emergency meeting in order to make further production cuts.

The price of gold saw some weakness during
trading on Tuesday, although it ended the session off its lowest level of the
day. After hitting a low of $623.20 an ounce, gold for February delivery closed
down $1 at $625.90 an ounce.

Stocks on the Move

Symantec
(
SYMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Lowers Q3 Outlook On Weaker Than Expected
Performance In Data Center Management; Guides Q4, FY07 Below View; Stock Plunges
(full
story).  SYMC shares plunge 13%.

Commerce Bancorp
(
CBH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q4 Profit Up, EPS Matches Consensus;
Reveals Federal Investigation, Shares Fall (full
story).  CBH shares drop 8.5%.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
(
FCX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q4 EPS Falls On Lower
Production (full
story).  FCX shares fall by 3%.

TD Ameritrade
(
AMTD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q1 Profit Surges 69%, Revenue Climbs 93%,
Back FY07 EPS Forecast (full
story).  AMTD shares rise by 3.7%.

IndyMac
(
NDE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Cuts Q4 EPS Outlook On Slowdown In Mortgage, Housing
Markets; To Maintain Quarterly Dividend At Current Level (full
story).  NDE shares drop 7%.

For more stories as they happen, go to our
Breaking News section.

Market Snapshot

Strongest/Weakest Sectors

Economic News

NY Empire State Index 9.1 vs 20.0 consensus

Darren Wong
darrenw@tradingmarkets.com

P.S.

Click here to use PowerRatings to identify stocks that could potentially
move higher in the next few days.