$1.5 Billion Buyback Announced!
Stocks fell
Thursday as investors weigh continued violence in Iraq with economic reports.
Oil prices edged up on the news and on the escalation of the Norwegian oil
strike.
Microsoft
(
MSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating) was higher after Banc
of America upgraded the company to Buy. Microsoft also said they would increase
storage limits for its hotmail users following recent moves by Yahoo!
(
YHOO |
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PowerRating)
and Google.
New home sales rose 14.8% to
1.369 million units, the biggest monthly gain since April of 1993. Initial
claims edged up 13,000 to 349,000 and durable orders dropped unexpectedly by
1.6%; with analysts expecting a gain of 1.5%. Â Treasury prices rallied as
yields on the ten-year hit a one-month low of 4.70%. Five-year notes also
dropped to 3.82% with 30-year bonds down to 5.33% AOL
(
TWX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) purchased
marketing firm Advertising.com for $435 million in an attempt to capture a wider
audience; analysts expect a rebound in online advertising.
Gold hit $400 after insurgents
killed 75 people in five Iraqi cities overnight and a bomb killed 3 in Istanbul.
After the close, Nike
(
NKE |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
beat by 0.05 and announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback.
| Dow | -35.76 | 10443.81 |
| S&P 500 | -3.44 | 1140.62 |
| Nasdaq | -5.41 | 2015.57 |
Strong today were Amex Gold
Bugs
(
HUI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.73%, Gold and Silver
(
XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.230%,
Brokers
(
XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.87%, Hardware
(
HWI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.99%.
Weak today were Telecoms
(
XTC.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -2.14%, Oil Services
(
OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.40%,Â
Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.17%.
Economic news release today:
Durable orders that dropped by 1.6% from a consensus of a 1.5% gain. Initial
claims rose by 13,000 to 349,000, Helped wanted index was at 39. New home sales
surged to 1.369 million.
10-year Notes were +135
at 108 310
The dollar
was -0.67 at 88.70
Gold was +8.30 at 402.50
Crude Oil was +0.39 at
37.96
Volume was 1.39 billion
on the NYSE, and 1.66 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was mixed.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1696 | Up Vol 533 |
| Declining | 1593 | Down Vol 697 |
| Ratio | 1.06 | 1.30 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1636 | Up Vol 737 |
| Declining | 1496 | Down Vol 819 |
| Ratio | 1.09 | 1.11 |
Stocks in the news:
AT&T
(
T |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) cut its earnings forecast
and revenue outlook, citing pricing pressures and its decision to stop adding
residential customer in some markets. Earnings are expected to be around $1.2
billion on sales of $29.5 billion.
OmniVision Technologies
(
OVTI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported earnings of $20.8 million on revenue that
more than doubled to $99.7 million on strong camera phone sales.
Rite Aid
(
RAD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) posted
better-than-expected earnings and boosted its full-year estimates, now expecting
$121 million to $167 million.
SG Cowen came out with a rosy outlook for
Biogen Idec
(
BIIB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), expecting an out-performance in the second half of
2004. SG expects approval of BIIB’s Antegren in Q1 of FY05.
Del Monte Foods
(
DLM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lowered earnings
forecast on higher commodity and energy costs. The company reported earnings
that more than doubled, at $56.6 million. For the next quarter, it expects sales
to rise 1%, with earnings around 83 cents a share.
Brice Wightman
bricew@tradingmarkets.com