Here’s What Weighed In Today

January 30, 2003
Daniel Beighley

The markets gave back gains
today, as uninspiring economic numbers coupled with disappointing earnings from
key Dow components greased the path for sellers. Price action opened flat, put
in a feeble attempt at a rally, then held a downtrend for the rest of the
session led by the semiconductors. An advance number on the nation’s GDP put
economic growth at 0.7%, which was slightly less than expected, and profit
reports from Dow Chemical, International Paper and Exxon Mobile helped to weigh down
sentiment.

After the bell today, Walt
Disney
(
DIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.64% at 16.61, beat its first-quarter earnings by $0.02
with profits of $0.17 per share.

In economic news, initial
claims were for 397K vs. an expected 385K, GDP-Adv. came in at 0.7%
vs. a consensus of 0.9%, the chain deflator-adv. was at 1.8% vs. an
expected 1.4%, the employment cost index rose 0.7% vs. an expected rise
of 0.9%, and the help wanted index came in at 39 vs. an expected reading
of 40.Â

The Ten Year Note
(
TYH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was +110 at 114 015.

The U.S. Dollar
(
DXH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) wasÂ +0.22 at 99.75.

Volume was average,
with the NYSE coming in at 1,466,326,000
and the Nasdaq at 1,425,529,000.

Market breadth was negative,
with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 2.01, and down
volume over up volume by a 4.22 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing
issues came in at 2.14, and down volume beat up volume by a 4.68 ratio.

The

VIX was +1.15 at 36.37. The

TRIN was +1.22 at 2.10.

Leading the Dow lower were:

Stocks in the news:

Oil and gas company Amerada Hess
(
AHC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-14.00% at 48.40, beat its fourth-quarter earnings expectations by $0.08 with
profits of $1.64 per share, though that number was down 11% from a year ago. The
company was downgraded by Merrill Lynch to “neutral” from “buy,” by JP Morgan to
“underweight” from “neutral,” and was placed on review by Moody’s for a possible
downgrade.

Railroad company CSX Corp.
(
CSX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+3.47% at 27.68, beat its earnings expectations by $0.07 with profits of $0.64
per share as its bottom line more than doubled from a year ago.

Personal product maker Estee Lauder
(
EL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+13.13% at 29.89, beat its fourth-quarter earnings estimates by $0.04 with
profits of $0.44 per share, which is a 22% increase from a year ago. The company
also guided in line expectations for its outlook.

Entertainment giant America
Online (AOL),
-14.04% at 12.00, announced a $98.7 billion loss in 2002 from its America Online
and cable TV divisions. This is the largest loss in U.S. history.

Paper and paper products maker
International Paper (IP),
-1.88% at 35.40, announced earnings $0.06 ahead of expectations with profits of
$0.33 per share. The company said it expects a weak first quarter due to
seasonal weakness, though it expects business to pick up in the spring.

Tool maker Black & Decker
(BDK),
-2.91% at 36.31, beat its fourth-quarter earnings estimates by $0.03 with
profits of $1.05 per share. The company also said it expects a weak first
quarter.

In the biotech sector,
Celgene (CELG),
+2.78% at 22.48, missed its fourth-quarter estimates by $0.10 with a loss of
$0.11 per share.

Medical equipment and supplies
company Boston Scientific (BSX),
-2.71% at 39.75, was downgraded by Prudential to “hold” from “buy.”

Air carrier JetBlue (JBLU),
+2.40% at 28.93, beat its fourth-quarter earnings estimates by $0.02 with
profits of $0.22 per share.

Chemical manufacturer Dow
Chemical (DOW),
-3.78% at 28.00, posted a fourth-quarter loss of $0.18 per share. Analysts were
looking for breakeven results.

In the pharmaceutical business,
Merck (MRK),
-1.58% at 54.51, was upgraded by Bank of America to “buy” from “neutral.”

Oil company Exxon Mobile
(XOM),
-1.83% at 33.23, beat its fourth-quarter earningsÂ expectations by $0.06 with
profits of $0.56 per share.

Aerospace and defense company
Boeing (BA),
+0.16% at 30.66, reported profits in line with expectations, though guided lower
for full-years 2003 and 2004.

Videogame software maker
Electronic Arts (ERTS),
+1.82% at 51.90, lowered its earnings guidance and filed with the SEC to sell $2
billion in stocks.

Personal product maker
Gillette (G),
-1.99% at 29.50, missed its fourth-quarter estimates by $0.02 with profits of
$0.32 per share.

Auto retailer Autozone (AZO),
+5.16% at 64.36, was upgraded by Lehman Brothers to “overweight” after the
company raised its guidance.

Selling off
on the heels of a negative Wall Street Journal article are online travel
companies Hotels.com (ROOM),
-4.04% at 40.07, and Expedia (EXPE),
-4.94% at 59.83.

danielb@tradingmarkets.com

Here’s What Weighed In Today

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