The Best Quarter Since 1999

  • December 24, 2001
  • Daniel Beighley

U.S. stocks declined, on
a shortened trading session. The benchmark indexes are falling for a
second straight year but they have managed to rally back since reaching
three-year lows on Sept. 21. This has been due partly to the optimism that the
eleven interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year will help revive
company profits.

The S&P 500 has gained 19% since late
September and the Nasdaq has rallied 37%. For both, it’s been the best quarter
since the end of 1999. For the year, the S&P 500 has dropped 13%, the Nasdaq
has declined 21% and the Dow has fallen 7%. The Dow
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) ended at
10035.20, down -0.21. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 1944.53 down
-1.30 and the S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed out at 1144.76 down -0.13.

Trading was below average with some investors and
traders getting an early start on the Christmas holidays. Just 265 million
shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange by 11:30 a.m. ET, 39% less
than a week ago. There are only 3 1/2 trading days this week and trading should
be light.  I would encourage all of you to read “This
Week’s Battle Plan” by Larry Connors and Brice Wightman.  It is a
great recap for your trading education.

Oil Shares Climb

Exxon Mobil
(
XOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) helped add a bright spot to
the oil sector. The biggest oil company rose .56 cents to 39.06. OPEC will cut
crude oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day, or 6.5%, starting Jan. 1 in
an effort to support oil prices, the Middle East Economic Survey reported,
without citing sources.

ChevronTexaco Corp.
(
CVX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) climbed .11cents to
88.71. Devon Energy Corp.
(
DVN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), an exploration and production company,
advanced  to 37.09, up .88 cents. While EOG Resources Inc.
(
EOG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose
.40 cents to 37.92.

Among oil drillers and oilfield service
companies, Rowan Cos.
(
RDC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained .47cents to 18.93, Cooper Cameron
(
CAM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
climbed  to 39.88 up 2.08, and Schlumberger
(
SLB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained .86 to close
at 53.12.

Terror SCARE

Shares of InVision
(
INVN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Technologies Inc.
rose to 32.77 a 15% gain. Visionics
(
VSNX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose to 15.96 up .79 and OSI
Systems 
(
OSIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose 1.68 to 16.18 an 11.72% gain. These three
companies are makers of bomb-detection equipment and all advanced up after a
passenger apparently tried to ignite an explosive in his shoe on a weekend
trans-Atlantic American Airlines flight.

Drug Stocks Advance

Schering-Plough
(
SGP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose .74 cents to
37.09. The drugmaker won U.S. regulators’ approval for Clarinex, the successor
to its best- selling allergy pill Claritin, after a delay of almost a year.

Sepracor
(
SEPR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained 3.07 to close out at
56.62. The pharmaceutical company that patented Clarinex will receive royalties
on the sale of the drug. Other drug shares rose as well. Eli Lilly
(
LLY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
advanced 1.36 to 79.76 and Forest Laboratories
(
FRX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) climbed  to 82.50,
up $1.50.

Stocks in decline:

WatchGuard Technologies
(
WGRD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell -3.24 to
6.95 and traded as low as 6.76. The maker of Internet-security software said in
a statement distributed by Business Wire that it expects a fourth-quarter loss,
excluding items, of 23 cents to 29 cents a share.

A.C.L.N.
(
ASW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell -2.40 to 7.70
and traded as low as $7. The provider of automobile logistics in Africa and
Europe was named in class-action lawsuit Friday on behalf of buyers of the
company’s securities during the last three years.

Covanta Energy
(
COV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped $6.00
to  3.99. The power plant developer is considering options that include a
possible sale, and retailed Salomon Smith Barney as its adviser. Covanta said it
has “limited” cash available, and is negotiating with its banks for
covenant waivers.

Volume was light for the abbreviated
session.  Merry
Christmas
to all!

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