Can This Bellwether Index Break Critical Resistance?
The
major indexes are higher midday as price action has ground steadily
north with a nice boost coming in on the heels of the Philly Fed data. The
earnings bandwagon continues with a nice surprise from chip stock Broadcom, as
well as disappointments from Dow components Honeywell and United Tech. The
semiconductor index is a focus of strength for the session, and is now trading
at its 200-day EMA as it makes an 18-session high. Volume is average ahead of
the Good Friday holiday. US Bond trading closes early at 2 pm ET, which often
keeps major money out of equities with hedging capabilities cut off.
The Dow Jones Industrial
Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is +0.42% at 8,291.92. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is +0.97% at 888.42. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is +1.53% at 1,416.10.
Biggest gainers are airlines
(
$XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +4.92%, semiconductors
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +4.04%,
healthcare
(
$HMO.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.17%, and oil
service
(
$OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.93%.
There are no losing sectors.
In economic news, initial
claims came in at 442K vs. expectations of 410K, and the Philly Fed
fell 8.8 vs. and expected 8.0 decline.
The 10-year U.S. Note
is -0.20 at 114 085.
The dollar is +0.31 at
99.60.
Gold is +1.90 at 327.70.
Crude Oil +0.62 at
29.80.
Volume is at
706,998,000
on the NYSE, and at 848,216,000
on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 2.54, and up
volume over down volume by a 3.96 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues are at 1.79, and up volume over down volume is at a 3.50 ratio.
Strongest in the Dow are:
AT&T Corp.
(
T |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+4.17% at 14.23, JP Morgan
(
JPM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.64% at 27.20, American
Express
(
AXP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.22% at 37.16, Home Depot
(
HD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.25% at
27.25, Walt Disney
(
DIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.94% at 18.34, Microsoft
(
MSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.48% at 25.28, and Intel Corp.
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.43% at 18.42.
Stocks in the news:
In the semiconductor sector,
Broadcom
(
BRCM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +18.29% at 16.36, posted first-quarter earnings $0.04
ahead of expectations with profits of $0.06 per share. The company also raised
guidance for the second-quarter.
Advanced Micro Devices
(
AMD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+3.16% at 7.84, announced earnings $0.06 ahead of expectations with a loss of
$0.42 per share and guided in line.
Also in the chip biz,
Qualcomm
(
QCOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.33% at 32.97, has had its price target cut by UBS
Warburg to $31 from $40 due to new accounting regulations from the SEC and
modest earnings growth.
Biotech company Biogen
(
BGEN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+2.02% at 35.34, has beat its first-quarter earnings by $0.02 with profits of
$0.50 per share.
European mobile phone giant
Nokia
(
NOK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +7.82% at 16.13, has raised its earnings guidance to EUR
0.18 per share vs. previous expectations of EUR 0.15-0.17 per share.
Aerospace and defense company
Honeywell
(
HON |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.04% at 22.40, has missed its first-quarter
earnings by $0.01 with profits of $0.32 per share.
Conglomerate United
Technologies
(
UTX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -5.13% at 60.44, has beat its first-quarter earnings
by $0.03 with profits of $1.00 per share. The company has also reaffirmed its
full year guidance.
Construction and agricultural
machinery maker Caterpillar
(
CAT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.92% at 51.69, has been
downgraded by UBS Warburg to “neutral” from “buy”.
Catalog retailer Sears
(
S |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-4.90% at 26.39, posted earnings $0.03 ahead of expectations with profits of
$0.60 per share. The company also guided lower for the second-quarter.
Personal computer maker
Apple
(
AAPL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.90% at 13.12, announced earnings $0.02 ahead of
expectations with profits of $0.04 per share.
In the airline sector, Delta
(
DAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +6.48% at 11.50, reported earnings in line with expectations with a
loss of $3.49 per share.
Drug retailer CVS Corp.
(
CVS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -4.49% at 23.18, has been downgrade by JP Morgan to “underweight”
from “neutral”.
Home builder DR Horton
(
DHI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.75% at 22.68, has beat its second-quarter earnings by $0.09 with profits of
$0.86 per share.
Computer peripheral company
Avid Technology
(
AVID |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -5.56% at 24.98, has beat its
first-quarter earnings by $0.03 with profits of $0.18.
Communications services company
UTSI Starcom
(
UTSI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +5.15% at 21.25, has beat its first-quarter
earnings by $0.06 with profits of $0.33 per share.
Insurance company First
Health
(
FHCC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -9.06% at 23.25, has been downgraded by Goldman Sachs to
“underperform” from “in-line”.
Software and programming
company Mercury Interactive
(
MERQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.12% at 34.37, has been
upgraded by Merrill Lynch to “buy” from “neutral”.
Regional bank PNC Financial
(
PNC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.07% at 43.51, has missed its first-quarter earnings by $0.01 with
profits of $0.92 per share.
From TM’s Momentum List, DVD
retailer Netflix
(
NFLX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +7.59% at 21.68.