The Trigger
Stocks are making
an comeback attempt intraday. This
follows a sell-off in the first two hours of trading. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU |
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PowerRating) sold off in the first two hours
of trade to open
down 128.14,
but at the time of this writing is trading at
10331.98. U.S. stocks fell, led by Wal-Mart
Stores
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), after Merrill Lynch & Co. said retailers’ profits will
lag other industries amid concern rising interest rates and crude oil prices may
stunt spending by individuals
The
S&P 500
(
$SPX |
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News |
PowerRating) fell 9.42, or 0.8%, to
1138.02, with consumer stocks and financial companies accounting for half the
loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost 102.96,
or 1.0%, to 10,300.7. The Nasdaq Composite Index
(
COMPQ |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) slid
9.47, or 0.5%, to 1835.91.
Stocks declined after a report by the Institute for Supply Management showed
prices paid by manufacturers rose more than expected in March, triggering
speculation accelerating inflation may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise
interest rates.
U.S. manufacturing expanded in March for the second month, while the index of
prices paid jumped to 51.9 from 41.5. Some analysts surveyed expected a number
of 45.5.
May crude oil
(
CLK2 |
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News |
PowerRating) is trading higher today. The
Amex Oil Index
(
$XOI.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is trading in positive territory and some of the stocks
helping oil trade higher are
Amerada Hess
(
AHC |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Marathon Oil
(
MRO |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Occidental Petroleum
(
OXY |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and
Total Fina SA
(
TOT |
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News |
PowerRating).
June gold
(
GCM2 |
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News |
PowerRating) is slightly lower
today. It has overhead resistance at 305.00 and support at 300.00. Gold
influences the movement of the PHLX Gold & Silver Index
(
$XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
Some
of the stocks in that sector are Anglogold
(
AU |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Barrick Gold
(
ABX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and Newmont Mining
(
NEM |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), all of which are trading positive.
The Amex Pharmaceutical Index
(
$DRG.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is positive this morning. Some of the stocks helping push the drug sector higher
are Abbott Laboratories
(
ABT |
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PowerRating), AstraZeneca PLC
(
AZN |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Eli Lilly
(
LLY |
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PowerRating)
and Pfizer
(
PFE |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
Direct Focus
(
DFXI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is hitting an
all-time high with strong volume. DFXI has a
TradingMarkets.com RS3 rating of 94
and an uptrending ADX of 26.
SBC Communications
(
SBC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is breaking down
below the 50-day moving average. SBC is holding a
3-month relative strength rank of 17 from TradingMarkets.com.
Tenet Healthcare
(
THC |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating) is running higher
after staging an opening reversal intraday. The stock is hitting a new
52-week high on its daily chart. Another healthcare stock showing strength this
hour is Cardinal Health
(
CAH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), which has also reversed this
morning’s earlier sell-off and is moving to a new intraday high.