One Encouraging Piece Of The Puzzle

April 5, 2002
Daniel Beighley

The markets jumped higher off
the opening bell, drifted down to the day’s lows by 12:30 p.m. ET, then pushed
higher again, though failed to make new highs. The Dow was the only major index
to close positive. Healthcare, Mexico, and forest and paper products made mild
gains on the day, with networking, biotechnology, and hardware stocks left
deepest in negative territory.

The markets were fed somewhat
encouraging pieces of economic data as non-farm payrolls rose by 58,000
for March for an unemployment rate of 5.7%. Economists polled by Thompson
Global Markets were looking for an increase of 50,000 in payrolls and a jobless
rate of 5.6%.

Market breadth was neutral,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 1.48, and down–volume
over up–volume
by a 1.13 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues came in at 1.22,
and down–volume
over up–volume
by a 2.52 ratio. The
VIX
was down 0.64 at 21.13. The TRIN
was up 0.31 at 1.67.

Low volume moved the Dow further above its 50-day MA as
well as its upward trendline on the daily chart, as the S&P 500 made its
third consecutive close below its 50-day MA, and the Nasdaq still remains below
its major MAs. The Semiconductor Index
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.42%,
remains in a consolidation between its 20- and 50-day MAs. The Broker/Dealer
Index
(
$XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 0.07%, closed at the bottom above its daily range,
though above its 50-day MA.

Storage networking company McData Corp (MCDT),
down 22.54% at 9.72, announced a first
quarter loss of 4
to 7 cents compared to anticipated loss of 2 to 4 cents.

Communications equipment maker Qualcomm (QCOM),
up 1.88% at 35.91, said its mobile phone
chips have defects and are delaying deliveries to some of its customers.

Image vendor Getty Images (GETY),
up 22.11% at 34.68, reported sales of $113.5 million, beating expectations of
$103 to $106 million. An increase in customer demand was cited for the boost.

Conglomerate Minnesota Mining &
Manufacturing Co (MMM),
up 6.84% at 121.93, said first quarter
profits came in at $1.20 a share to beat forecasts of $1.05 to $1.19
a share. Cost–cutting
strategies were given as the reason for the increase. MMM was the biggest gainer
in the Dow.

Coffee vendor Starbucks Corp (SBUX),
up 0.67% at 24.04, said that it expects to earn 52 to 53 cents a share for the
year.
Analysts
were expecting 54 cents a share.

Metal mining company Alcoa
(
AA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up
3.03% at 38.00, met earnings expectations for the first quarter as it reversed
its loss from the fourth quarter. The company is the world’s biggest aluminum
maker.

Communications equipment maker Nortel Networks
(
NT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 11.55% at 3.75, fell after Moody’s Investment Service cut its
long-term debt and commercial paper ratings. A continued decline in spending
from telecom carriers was cited as the reason.

Clothing retailer The Gap
(
GPS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up
1.17% at 15.45, was upgraded by Wells Fargo to a "strong buy" from a
"market perform."

One Encouraging Piece Of The Puzzle

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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