Swinging Between Optimism And Concern…
Benchmark indices swung between gains and losses amid optimism that the economy is
recovering and concern the growth won’t be fast enough to meet profit
expectations. The Dow climbed as much as 0.8% and fell as much as 0.6%. Stocks also received positive news from the Labor Department. It was reported
that new claims for unemployment benefits declined to 389,000 last week from a
revised 414,000.
The S&P 500
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rose for the fifth day in six as AOL Time Warner
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third-quarter profit and AT&T Wireless Services
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customers than expected.
The S&P 500 gained 3.17, or 0.4%, to 899.31 as of 1:05 p.m. ET. The Dow
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to 8487.96. The Nasdaq Composite
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Four stocks rose for every three that fell on the New York Stock Exchange while
five advanced for every four that declined on the Nasdaq. Some 913
million shares traded on the Big Board, down 4.8% from a week ago.
One of the strongest sectors on the day is the
Telecom sector. The sector is experiencing strength through several earnings
reports. The top components within this index are: Verizon (VZ),
SBC Communications (SBC),
Nextel (BLS)
and AT&T (T).
The big winner today is AT&T Wireless (AWE)
up over +22.7% is just 1.6%. of the index with . The Telecom HOLDRs (TTH)
are trading. TTH has thus far held just below resistance at 28.20 (Oct 22
high). Next resistance, if this level is taken out, comes into play
at 28.40/28.50.
The Phlx Semiconductor Index
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has held a positive bias throughout the morning, but trade has been choppy.
Early upside leadership is being provided by Texas Instruments
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+5.7%, Advanced Micro Devices
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AMD |
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TER |
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+4.6%, Micron
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+3.9%. Initial resistance is at 294 with the next barrier at 298/300. Index
has surged as much as 12% off yesterday’s low and 40% off the Oct low.
Coach (COH)
is breaking out above resistance with increasing volume to make a 52-week
high. COH has a
TradingMarkets.com RS3 rating of 94.
Corporate Executive Board Company
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is rallying up above resistance to hit a 90-day high with increasing volume.
EXBD has a
TradingMarkets.com RS3 rating of 80 and has an up trending
ADX of 30.
Covance Inc. (CVD)
has recorded a new YTD High of 21.90 on a volume surge after breaking out
of a 1 month consolidation. This action, although below the 52 Week High, has
also taken the stock through a downtrend line extending back through its July
2001 highs. CVD has a
TradingMarkets 6 Month RS of 88.
Nasdaq Market Breadth
Adv: 1650 UpVol: 7225784
Dec: 1308 DnVol: 2644798
Net: +342 Net: +4580986
NYSE Market Breadth
Adv: 1808 UpVol: 65797568
Dec: 1297 DnVol: 35330740
Net: +511 Net: +30466828