The Strength Of The Day

December 19, 2001
Daniel Beighley

The
markets fell out of bed this morning, then moved higher into a narrow
range where the Dow and the S&P 500 made gains on the day, and the Nasdaq
closed with a loss. The Dow was able to recapture its 10,000 mark, and the
Nasdaq closed below 2,000. Blue chips were the strength of the day, as
technology shares sold off.

This morning, the Commerce Dept reported that the
international trade deficit grew to $29.43 billion in October, compared to
$19.02 billion from a September. Economists
surveyed by Thomson Global Markets anticipated a deficit of $26.9 billion. Meanwhile,
there is much speculation as to what type of economic stimulus package, if any,
Congress will pass. Â

Overall
NYSE volume was 1,443,467,000.
NYSE advancing issues were 1,531,
with up volume at 827,928,000;
declining issues were 1,644,
with down volume at 601,814,000.
Overall Nasdaq volume was 1,907,357,000.
Nasdaq advancing issues were 1,606,
with up volume at 613,732,000;
declining issues were 2,061 with
down volume at 1,281,440,000.
The VIX
was down 0.59 to 23.57. The TRIN
was down 0.33 to 0.67.

Average volume on the session
saw most of its selling pressure on the Nasdaq, as market breadth on the Dow and
the S&P 500 favored the bulls. The 200-day moving averages still remain
obstacles for the Dow and the S&P 500 as the Nasdaq is parked above this
mark on its upward trend line.

The No. 2 memory chip
manufacturer Micron Technology
(
MU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 5.66%
to 30.01, said that sales
fell 73% for a quarterly loss of $265.5 million, off last year’s profits of
$352.2 million.

Metal mining company Alcoa
(
AA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down
5.87% to 35.45, also warned that it will miss fourth quarter analyst
expectations.Â

Investment
services company Morgan Stanley
(
MWD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 4.00%
to 55.70, reported a loss of 28% for the fourth quarter though it still managed
to make a profit with earnings of 78 cents a share compared to $1.06 a year ago.

The largest U.S. cereal maker General
Mills
(
GIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 1.41% to 51.10, announced that earnings had fallen to 63
cents a share compared to 70 cents this quarter a year ago.

Overnight transport specialist Federal
Express
(
FDX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.67% to 49.95, announced that quarterly net income
rose 25% to $245 million, largely from government aid after the Sept. 11
attacks.Â

Financial services company Citigroup
(
C |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
up 3.80% to 49.93, announced that it will sell 20% of its Travelers Property
Causality Corp. in a public offering that may bring the company as much as $5
billion.

The world’s No. 1 soft drink company Coca-Cola
Co
(
KO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 1.94% to 47.40, said unit case volume, a key measure of
financial health, will rise by 4% for the entire year, and that its earnings
forecast of 11%-12% for the year 2002 is still on target.

The Strength Of The Day

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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