How Happy Can These Bulls Be?
The
indexes shot up this morning, traded down to the day’s
lows around 1 p.m. ET, then rallied in to the close for modest gains on the day.
There was broad participation across the sectors in this pre-holiday session.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
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PowerRating) closed up 0.50% to 10,035.34. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
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PowerRating) closed up 0.49% to 1,145.49. The Nasdaq
[$COMPQ.X |$COMPQ.X] closed up 1.42% to 1,945.81.
A revision to the GDP for the period
from July to September said the number declined at a rate of 1.3%, from its
original assessment of 1.1%. Weak consumer demand inspired by the Sept. 11
attacks was cited for the contraction. On a positive note, the Commerce
Department reported that businesses were able to reduce their inventories to
become more efficient at the fastest pace ever.
The University of Michigan’s Consumer
Sentiment Report rose for the third straight month to 88.8, with consumer
spending accounting for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. The report was
better than expected.
Overall
NYSE volume was 1,694,506,000.
NYSE advancing issues were 2,058,
with up volume at 1,067,642,000;
declining issues were 1,104,
with down volume at 613,018,000.
Overall Nasdaq volume was 2,190,168,000.
Nasdaq advancing issues were 2,249,
with up volume at 1,473,340,000;
declining issues were 1,444 with
down volume at 661,485,000. The VIX
was down 1.17 to 23.21. The TRIN
was down 0.01 to 1.07.
Despite the holiday,
today’s session saw above-average volume. This week’s heavy selling was in
technology, as the Nasdaq broke its lower trend line, and failed to recapture it
with today’s gain. The Nasdaq still remains above key 200-day MA. The Dow and
the S&P 500 have held up better this week, as they remain poised to conquer
their 200-day MA’s.
Top
sectors of the day were the Disk Drive Index
(
$DDD.X |
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PowerRating), up 3.62% at 104.15 and the The Street.com Internet Index
(
$XNG.X |
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PowerRating)
up 2.87% at 185.49.
Losing sectors of the day were the Amex Hong Kong
Index
(
$HKX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down 3.92% at 554.02 and the S&P Chemical Index
(
$XAU.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down 1.80% to 412.27.
The world’s largest
maker of athletic shoes, Nike
(
NKE |
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PowerRating), which jumped 4.96% to 56.46,
said that it expects modest earnings and revenue growth for 2002, as it remains
cautious over the U.S. retail environment
Network equipment supplier Nortel
(
NT |
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PowerRating),
up 11.95% to 7.12, announced that it expects a fourth-quarter loss
including a $630 million charge as it struggles with restructuring.
Houseware retailer Bed, Bath, and
Beyond
(
BBBY |
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PowerRating), fell 0.52% to 32.35, announcing a 30% rise in
fiscal third quarter earnings. It expects to meet fourth-quarter expectations.
Investment bank J.P. Morgan
(
JPM |
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Chart |
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PowerRating),
dropped 2.11% to 35.75 on continued fear of its exposure to Enron.
Drug company Pfizer Inc.
(
PFE |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
fell 1.09% to 40.95 after a law suit settlement in Texas that awarded the
plaintiffs $43 million from damages caused by the diabetes drug Rezulin.