The Best Way To Trade Under War

March 20, 2003
Daniel Beighley

The
major indexes are hovering around unchanged levels midday as conflict
in Iraq dominates the day’s events. Volume is extremely light, with breadth
mostly negative. As mentioned by

Kevin Haggerty this morning, it is recommended that newer traders
only take the most defined setups as the markets are at the mercy of action in
Iraq.

In economic news, initial claims were at
421K vs. expectations of 415K, leading indicators came in at an expected
-0.4%, and the Philadelphia Fed disappointed with a reading of -0.80% vs.
an expected -1.0%.

The 10-year U.S. Note
is -010 at 113 175.

The dollar is -0.44 at
101.67.

Gold is -0.10 at 337.60.

Crude oilÂ -1.0 at
335.20.

Volume is at 619,946,000
on the NYSE, and at 765,482,000 on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth is mostly
negative, with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of
1.21, and down volume over up volume by a 1.29 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues
over advancing issues are at 1.43, and up volume is over down volume by a 1.17
ratio.

Strongest on the Dow are:

Stocks In The News:

Electronic instrument and
control company Jabil Circuit
(
JBL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +6.43% at 18.38, rallied after
reporting earnings in line with expectations, with profits of $0.16 per share.

Shoe maker Nike
(
NKE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+3.83% at 52.00, beat its third-quarter earnings by $0.01 with profits of $0.47
per share.

Grocery store operator
Supervalu
(
SVU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -4.38% at 13.98, issued a profit warnings for its
fiscal fourth-quarter due to pressure on its distribution.

Oil and gas company
Occidental Petro
(
OXY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.31% at 29.99, has been downgraded by Deutsche
Securities to “hold” from “buy.”

Software and programming
company Manhattan Associates
(
MANH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -10.16% at 18.83, has been
downgraded by JP Morgan to “neutral” from “overweight.”

Internet infrastructure company
Cisco Systems
(
CSCO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.86% at 14.10, has announced that it will
buy The Linksys Group for $500 million in stock. The Linksys Group provides
networking products for the home and small office.

Financial services company came
in with upside earnings surprises this morning with Lehman Brothers
(
LEH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-0.15% at 59.60, beating its first-quarter earnings expectations by $0.18 with
profits of $1.15 per share, Morgan Stanley
(
MWD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.24% at 39.97,
beating its first-quarter earnings by $0.20 with profits of $0.82 per share, and
Goldman Sachs
(
GS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.16% at 70.16, beating its first-quarter
earnings expectations by $0.33 with profits of $1.29 per share.

In the biotechnology sector
Genentech
(
DNA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -3.65% at 35.06, has been downgraded by CSFB to “underperform”
from “neutral.”

Transportation company
Federal Express
(
FDX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.81% at 56.18, has been upgraded by Morgan
Stanley to “overweight’ from “equal-weight.”

Oil company Royal Dutch
(
RD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.49% at 40.44, has been upgraded by Lehman Brothers to “overweight”
from “equal-weight.”

Retailer Ross Stores
(
ROST |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+4.845 at 37.93, has been upgraded by CSFB to “outperform” from “neutral.”

Furniture maker Herman
Miller
(
MLHR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.50% at 16.08, has guided lower for the fourth quarter
and now expects to earn $0.01-0.06 per share vs. previous estimates of $0.17 per
share.

danielb@tradingmarkets.com

The Best Way To Trade Under War

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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