Smoky Outlook For Tobacco
More cigarette makers raised prices Monday, but the technical picture shows a
clouded outlook for the group.
R.J.. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
(
RJR |
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PowerRating) and Liggett Group said Monday they have raised U.S.
cigarette prices to distributors by 6 cents a pack, following a like increase by
Philip Morris Cos.
(
MO |
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PowerRating)..
Philip Morris, the industry leader, fell fractionally to 25 1/4. Over the
past seven weeks, the stock has encountered resistance around 28 a share. Shares
now are trading below their 50-day moving average.
On July 14, a Miami jury ordered America’s big cigarette makers to pay $145
billion in punitive damages to hundreds of thousands of smokers. As you can see
in the chart, volume has remained anemic since then.
R.J.. Reynolds rose fractionally to 28
3/8. The stock has been trying to base, but shares have twice pulled back from
resistance around 30 a share. Volume has been weak over the past two weeks.
Watson Pharmaceuticals
(
WPI |
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News |
PowerRating) matched Wall
Street expectations, reporting operating net of 45 cents vs. 43 cents a year
ago. The stock fell on active trade.
