Like Voters, Stocks Undecided
Friday’s mixed October employment report erased some of the market’s recent
positive conviction, and by the close, the major averages were split, with the
Nasdaq up 0.6% and the Dow off 0.6%. The S&P 500 eased by 0.1%.
Unemployment levels held steady at 3.9%, which was slightly below the 4.0% level analysts had expected. Average hourly wages increased 0.4%, which was
above the expected 0.3% increase, and 137,000 new jobs were created, which was fewer than
the 190,000 that the Street had expected.
Nasdaq volume dried up by about 20% from Thursday’s heavy level, as just 1.8
billion shares changed hands. NYSE volume also eased by 12%, as 992 million
shares traded.
"The market seems to be getting less sensitive to otherwise unsettling
news, as stocks are bouncing back after dips much more quickly than they did a
month or two ago. When the market starts to turn a deaf ear to news that could
be taken as a negative catalyst, it’s a sign that the buying pressure is
building," said Robert Dickey, Managing Director of Technical Research,
Dain Rauscher.
"The Nasdaq has been choppy, but constructive during the past two weeks,
and a move over 3500 would see the trend accelerate to the upside. Since 3500
has been both an important top and bottom area recently, it may take more time
to get through but it is working toward that eventually," he added.
According to preliminary numbers the Dow fell 62.56 to 10,817.95, the Nasdaq
added 22.53 to 3451.55, and the S&P 500 slipped 1.62 to 1426.70.
Top sectors were forest and paper products
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silver
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On the weak side were retailers
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down 1.8%.
In earnings news, Qualcomm
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quarter, and that beat estimates by a penny. Qualcomm jumped 7 11/16 to 70 1/2
on more than double average volume.
All eyes now focus on Cisco
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which announces its earnings on Monday. Analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expect the tech giant to earn 17 cents per share. Cisco finished the day up 1 to 56 3/4.
Palm
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continue to create a buzz. Palm closed at a seven-month high on nearly triple the
average volume.
Additional tech screamers included Rambus
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up 10%, and CacheFlow
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Dow winners were International Paper
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4.0%, American Express
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2.6%.
Dow losers were General Motors
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3.5%, and Phillip Morris
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Looking ahead, the next big economic news set for release is the Producer
Price Index which due out next Thursday at 8:30 AM ET. Street estimates look for
a 0.2% increase.