Something To Be On The Watch For
The indexes put in a choppy,
downtrending session where price action closed out with modest losses. Making
slight gains were healthcare, computer box makers, utilities, and gold and
silver, with telecoms, Internet, biotechnology,
and computer hardware experiencing the steepest declines.
Today wasn’t the rebound
session the market
bias page suggested, but according to Larry
Connors’ Battle Plan, it is something to be on the watch for in the upcoming
days.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU |
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PowerRating) closed down 0.91% at 9819.87 The
S&P 500
(
$SPX |
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PowerRating) closed down 1.00% at 1065.45. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
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PowerRating) closed down 0.41% at 1656.93.
U.S. Treasury Bonds were
down 8 at 101’31.
News was on the quiet side this Monday, with traders given
little to match sentiment with. Tomorrow will bring economic releases for Chicago
PMI and consumer confidence.
Market breadth was
negative, with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 1.25,
and down–volume
over up–volume
by a 3.15 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues came in at 1.48,
and down–volume
beat up–volume
by a 1.72 ratio. The
VIX
was up 1.47 at 26.11. The TRIN
was up 0.53 at 2.52.
Average volume saw the Dow to
its second consecutive close below its 200-day MA, the S&P 500 below its
triple-bottom support, and the Nasdaq to its 61.8% retracement from its
September low to January high. The Semiconductor Index
(
$SOX.X |
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PowerRating),
up 0.73%, made its second consecutive close below its 200-day MA. The
Broker/Dealer Index
(
$XBD.X |
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PowerRating), unch, closed at the bottom of its range
for a double-bottom.
The top sectors of the
day were the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Index
(
$HMO.X |
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PowerRating), up 0.89% at
614.36, and the Computer Box Maker Index
(
$OSX.X |
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PowerRating), up 0.87% at
92.04.
Losing
sectors of the day were the North American Telecom
Index
(
$XTC.X |
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PowerRating) down 4.41% at 534.90,
and the GSTI Internet Index
(
$GIN.X |
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PowerRating), down 2.89% at 79.70.
Aerospace and defense giant Boeing
(
BA |
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PowerRating), up 5.10% at 43.63, was the
subject of positive comments from Barron’s, and was also upgraded by
Merrill Lynch to “strong buy” from “buy” with the belief
that its defense business will increase.
Health insurer Anthem
(
ATH |
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PowerRating), down 5.72% at 66.65, said that it
will be acquiring Trigon Healthcare
(
TGH |
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PowerRating), up 17.35% at 98.87, in a
$4 billion stock deal.
Entertainment monster Disney
(
DIS |
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PowerRating), down 4.48% at 23.02, fell
after it announced it has changed its boardroom practices and hired a consultant
to review its changes and suggest new ones. The company has been criticized for
its boardroom methods, notably a lack of independence among its members.
Communications services company Qwest
(
Q |
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PowerRating), down 13.73% at 4.96, hit
a new 52-week low after it was reported that the company had been making secret
deals with its competitors who agreed not to oppose expansion of its long
distance business.
Chemical company and Dow component DuPont
(
DD |
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PowerRating), down 1.43% at
43.27, said that it will reduce its workforce by 10% in its textiles and
interiors division.
The biotechnology sector was down again after comments from Prudential
Securities said the sector was victim of sector rotation and negative sentiment
over news from the sector. Active in the biotech sector today were Amgen
(
AMGN |
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PowerRating), down 3.64% at 51.88, Gilead Sciences
(
GILD |
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PowerRating), up 0.30%
at 29.13, and IDEC Pharmaceuticals
(
IDPH |
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PowerRating), down 3.89% at 5252.
Also in the biotech sector, Genta
(
GNTA |
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PowerRating), up 9.04% at 12.78, rose
after it was announced it would sell its anti-cancer drug, now in late-stage
patent testing, in conjunction with Aventis
(
AVE |
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PowerRating), down 1.23% at
68.69, in a $480 million deal.