Greenspan’s Answer
Stocks
are mixed midday, after higher opens and early attempts to rally
turned into a decline. All ears have been on Fed Chairman Greenspan, who told
Congress today that additional stimulus wasn’t necessary to get the economy
cranking. The day is far from over, as Greenspan continues to answer
Congressional questions that have potential market-moving power. Volume is on
the light side as the Nasdaq attempts to provide upside leadership.
The Dow Jones Industrial
Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is -0.15% at 7,907.84. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is -0.21% at 834.18. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is +0.47% at 1,302.82.
Top sectors for the session are
gold and silver
(
$XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.60%, telecoms
(
$IXTC.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.36%, and semiconductors
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.07%.
Losing sectors are banks
(
BKX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.98%, utilities
(
$UTY.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.79%,
and broker/dealers
(
$XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.53%.
There are no economic releases for the day.
The 10-year U.S. Note
is +030 at 114 085.
The Dollar is unch at
100.48.
Gold is +1.20 at 364.90.
Crude Oil +0.77 at
35.25.
Volume is at 622,160,000
on the NYSE, and at 657,012,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is mostly
negative, with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of
1.11, and down volume over up volume by a 1.21 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues
over advancing issues are at 1.06, and up volume is over down volume by a 2.11
ratio.
Big Dow losers are:
SBC Communications
(
SBC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -3.20% at 23.76,
Citibank
(
C |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.64% at 32.35, Honeywell
(
HON |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.40% at
23.30, Altria
(
MO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.23% at 37.62, United Tech
(
UTX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-1.23% at 63.19, Procter and Gamble
(
PG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.11% at 83.93, and
International Paper
(
IP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.94% at 34.99.
Stocks In The News:
Construction and agricultural machinery company
Deere & Company
(
DE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.81% at 41.64, has beat its first-quarter
earnings expectations by $0.14 per share with earnings of $0.28 per share.
Mobil phone giant Nokia
(
NOK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.31%
at 14.19, has been upgraded by Soundview to “outperform” from “neutral”.
Food producer Fresh Del Monte
(
FDP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.18% at 21.50, beat its fourth-quarter earnings expectations by $0.21 per
share.
Electric utilities company Dominion
(
D |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+0.44% at 55.12, has been upgraded by UBS to “buy” from “neutral.” Also in the
sector, Ameren Corp.
(
AEE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.98% at 38.57, has missed its
fourth-quarter earnings expectations by $0.02 with profits of $0.18 per share.
Transportation company Expeditors
International
(
EXPD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +4.42% at 32.57, has beat its fourth-quarter
earnings expectations by $0.04 with profits of $0.33 per share.
Key insurance companies have
chimed in with earnings, as Aetna
(
AET |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat its fourth-quarter
earnings expectations by $0.04 with profits of $0.63 per share. MetLife
(
MET |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+5.31% at 24.62, beat its fourth-quarter earnings by $0.01 per share with
profits of $0.65 per share. And, WellPoint Health
(
WLP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.66% at
67.45, beat its fourth-quarter earnings by $0.03 per share with profits of $1.18
per share.
Communications company
Qualcomm
(
QCOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.59% at 38.22, has announced its first-ever
dividend, and will also buy back $1 billion worth of its own stock.
Video retailer Blockbuster
(
BBI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +10.42% at 14.52, has missed its fourth-quarter earnings
expectations by $0.01 with profits of $0.17 per share.
Household product maker
Clorox
(
CLX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.50% at 40.21, beat its second-quarter earnings
expectations by $0.04 with profits of $0.39 per share.
Printing and publishing company
Scholastic Corp.
(
SCHL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -22.79% at 25.99, has issued a profit
warning for the full year 2003, and has been downgraded Merrill Lynch to
“neutral” from “buy,” and by CSFB to “neutral” from “outperform.”
Restaurant company YUM!
Brands
(
YUM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +7.04% at 24.01, beat its fourth-quarter earnings
expectations by $0.01 with profits of $0.56 per share.
Retailer Sears
(
S |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+0.09% at 22.90, is the focus of a negative Wall Street Journal article
which says the company’s credit problems could hurt its turnaround plan.
danielb@tradingmarkets.com