Flip A Coin!
As the legal wrangling dragged on and on in Florida and D.C., traders took a wait-and-see
approach Monday as stocks turned in a mixed performance. Renewed interest in
industrial and consumer stocks helped the Dow gain 1.9% and the S&P 500 rise
0.7%. Technology again showed weakness, as the Nasdaq slipped 1.1%.
Uncertainty over the Presidential outcome has kept market participants
sidelined, as evidenced by the 28% decline in Nasdaq volume which totaled 1.82
billion for the day. NYSE volume also eased by about 11% as 1.08 billion shares
changed hands.
In economic news, the October new home sales came in at 928,000, which was
higher than the 900,000 analysts had expected. Also, the index of leading
economic indicators fell the expected 0.2%.
“Bull markets need a constructive earnings environment and good
liquidity. This market has neither. However, stocks are steeply oversold and
seasonal forces should be positive for the next 90 days,” said Paul Rabbitt,
President, RabbittAnalytics.com.
“Nasdaq crushed investors in November as it declined 23%, proving that
technology is economically sensitive. $1.7 trillion in wealth was lost according
to the Wilshire 5000. A “dead-cat bounce” is likely,” he added.
According to preliminary numbers, the Nasdaq slid 29.02 to 2616.27, the Dow
added 187.41 to 10,560.95, and the S&P 500 gained 9.83 to 1325.06.
Top sectors were chemicals
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PowerRating), up 5.6%, gold and silver
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up 3.7%, and retailers
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On the weaker side were Internets
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down 1.4%, and biotechs
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PowerRating), down 4.2%.
Qualcomm
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PowerRating) was one of the day’s standouts as it rose 7 to 90 on
heavier-than-average volume. Qualcomm apparently has made yet more inroads with
the Chinese government’s adoption of Qualcomm’s CDMA wirless technology
standard.
Also strong in the chip arena were Newport
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up 7%, and PMC Sierra
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PowerRating), up 4%.
Dow winners were Du Pont
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up 6%, and 3M
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PowerRating), up 5%. Dow dogs were Intel
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PowerRating), down 3%, and
American Express
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PowerRating), down 4%.
Looking ahead, the October factory orders report is due out Tuesday at 10:00
AM ET. Analysts expect a decrease of 1.6%. Then on Wednesday, traders will be
looking toward the third quarter productivity report which will be out at 8:30
AM ET.